Blogs from Morocco, Africa - page 23

Here I sit on the rooftop, finally having a moment of solitude. These moments are scarce when we visit Morocco. Families are always together. Always. They eat, nap, drink tea, watch TV, and socialize all day in the living room. Long, rectangular living rooms with benches running continuously along the walls, and tables in the centre where meals are eaten communally from tagines with bare hands. Always the right hand and no finger licking until you are finished. These benches are adorned with abundant decorative pillows to be used for ones lounging pleasure. Sit, kneel or lay down for a nap if you please. The choice is yours when it comes to how you’d like to pass your time in the living room: take part in the conversation, stare at the TV, stare into space, read ... read more

Abdel Aziz our very gentle taxi driver picked us up from the Riad at 10 am. It was hard to say goodbye to Rabat. In 4 days we had grown accustomed to its hustle and bustle The Riad the local souk the old Médina and more importantly to Fatiha. She is an angel. It was quite the ordeal to leave Rabat as mentioned before it is quite dense. But we got to the autoroute in about hour and half. The trip to Casablanca took about another one and half hours. Casablanca even denser Abdelaziz had the forsight to ask the local taxi drivers the way to the grand mosque Hassan II We drove thru all the narrow streets and voila we were next to the mosque. The buildings along the way mostly white washed and In ... read more

Hassan Tower Mausoleum of Mohammed V Necropolis at Chella Ville Nouvelle Today we visited all of the above sites Walked thru the boulevards of the ville nouvelle and sipped on cafe Au lait in a laid back cafe The atmosphere of the ville nouvelle is a far cry from the bustles of the old Medina The boulevards are wide and flanked by mostly white art nouveau buildings similar to the parisians the rabatians afford themselves the occasional laid back experience of a cafe seated in rows along the walkways facing the streets and observing the comings and goings of daily life Some discuss passionately and some sit in silence sipping on a cup of coffee served in a small clear glass What is striking about these sites are the tile work the mosaics the plaster and ... read more

Hello from Ceuta, in Spanish Morocco, on the continent of AFRICA!!! That is a whole new continent for us and brings our total to 6. Can you guess which one is still missing? According to the Internet: “The Straits of Gibraltar separate Ceuta from European Spain. Ceuta is an ancient city - it has been continuously inhabited since its founding by Carthage in the 5th century B.C. Over the millennia, Ceuta has been ruled by Carthage, Rome, the Moorish Kingdom of Granada, Portugal and, since 1580, Spain. From 1912 until 1959, the city was also the capital of Spanish Morocco, a colonial protectorate created when France and Spain divided that kingdom during the "Morocco Crisis" of 1912. Generalisimo Francisco Franco launched the Spanish Civil War from Ceuta in 1936. Today, Ceuta boasts an easy-going charm and ... read more

Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life. - Jack Kerouac We are now back in Marrakech for the last night of our tour. I woke up this morning feeling like crap, and unwillingly dragged myself out of bed about 9:30. Susan was feeling better this morning, and she went down for breakfast, which I skipped. She brought me back some yogurt and bread. I slowly got ready, packing up and showering. I felt a bit better after the shower. Our group has been dropping like flies. Practically everybody has gotten sick, to various degrees, even Abdul. Four of the group had to go to hospital for treatment, all with gastrointestinal problems. After Susan got back from breakfast we headed off on ... read more