ROCKING IN MOROCCO- MAY 2015
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| MARRAKECH, NO EXPRESS |
Come this way, come this way! Kate and I had entered the world of unending mazes in Marrakech, completely lost after midnight, the gate closed to our section of the medina, exhausted after an 8 hour train ride, we were at the mercy of the young boys herding us relentlessly through a myriad of alleys, periodically saying they knew the location of our Riad hotel, we were doing exactly what the guidebooks said not to do..... See below-double click on pictures to enlarge them.
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| HASSAN II MOSQUE |
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| NO PICTURES OF THE WALLS |
FIRST STOP CASABLANCA. As Humphrey Bogart would say,"here's looking at you", I would say, "here's looking at the Hassan II Mosque", nothing short of stunning! The Mosque appears to float off into the Atlantic ocean, and seems to capture the struggle between the never ending ebb and flow of human existence. The third largest mosque in the world, the Hassan II was built in the 1980s, after only 6 years, this gargantuan mosque could easily fit 3 Notre Dames inside. We stumbled on to the perfect way to get inside, we missed the tour and found
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| BUILT ON THE OCEAN |
Moses the guide who was more than willing to take us through for a private 30 minutes. He filled the air with enlightenment, explaining that in one prayer session, 20,000 Muslims could prostrate themselves on the lavish Moroccan carpets, bowing to Mecca and promising to be submissive to Allah.
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ONE OF THE 8 GATES PROTECTING
THE FEZ MEDINA |
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WORKERS MAKING
BELTS |
FEZ: TIME TO GET PSYCHED, We arrived at one of the world's most challenging medinas, protected by 8 Gates that used to be entry points,
there are 9,000 pathways (alleys) inside, and no cars allowed. Our first impression was our delivery method to the hotel, I called it, "let's play pass the tourist". First we had a quick jet ride in a red petite taxi, then a lateral to a young
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BRILLIANTLY
COLORED PLATES |
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| CERAMIC SHOP |
man that guided us through this uphill menagerie, toting our suitcases we huffed and puffed, finally we were passed off to the promising face of our hotel guide, who lead us pass donkeys with feeding baskets and a myriad of enticing shops . A crash of color from rugs to buildings, immediately fills your senses...there is nothing bland about Morocco.
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| DELICIOUS TAJINE MEAL |
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SAID OUR EXCELLENT
CONCIERGE |
Upon arrival our lovely host Said gave us our afternoon tea followed by a mouth watering Moroccan meal called Tajine, consisting of couscous, lentil beans, fresh bread, sauteed chicken, a variety of olives, fresh cooked vegetables all drenched in olive an argan oil, a palate pleasing introduction to Morocco cuisine
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VIEW FROM ROOF TOP OF
DAR BENSOUDA |
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| 20 FOOT DOORS IN THE RIAD |
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| AN OLD FORTRESS ABOVE FEZ |
We climbed 3 flights at our 400 year old Dar Bensouda Riad (garden style home), to our room, that had 12 ' doors and 25' beamed ceilings . On the roof, the next level up, one is immediately encapsulated by the vibrant skyline of the 1000 year old Fez, satellite dishes on every possible rooftop, historic ruins
and majestic blue tiled Mosques. The 5' o'clock Muezzin (prayer caller) filled the air with calls for prayer while a powerful thunderstorm rocked the buildings with a torrential downpour, and the middle eastern mystique seized our imagination.
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ENJOYING OUR
AFTERNOON MINT TEA |
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| THE BLUE GATE |
MOROCCO THE COUNTRY: We all have our horrid fears of mid-east travel, but the reality is Morocco is very safe, we saw no crimes, no real harassment, and they have well protected borders. What took me by surprise is our misunderstanding of the Islamic religion. They don't drink or smoke, and pray to Allah 5 times a day. They have mosques everywhere, not only for praying but sanctuaries to wash and socialize. I think we could all learn from this, by taking out some more time in our days to be thankful for our: health, jobs, homes, family and nature.
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HE HAD SUCH A SWEET
SMILE |
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COPPER WARE
POUNDER |
The country is no longer in the dark ages, a third of the work force is women, and although there were lots of scarves worn by mostly middle age women the teenage kids and children ran free as a bird. Train travel is easy.. you can go from Casablanca to Fez for $12.00.
WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL AT FEZ:
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| THE ROYAL ART OF KORA |
Kate and I had taken off for this Middle Eastern adventure to experience the 'Music of Everywhere'. The annual festival in Fez has become world renown, where musicians and dancers perform their traditional styles of music.
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| KORA HARP |
Part of the challenge of the festival is trying to find the concert venues within the mazes of the medina. Our first experience was in the Dar Adiyel parliamentary building, built in the 1400s. Seated on a giant finely woven Moroccan carpet, the blue lit back stage captured the moment, as the 8 men from the Kora Orchestra played their instruments. I have never seen or heard such a melodically instrument. The kora is built from a large calabash (gourd) cut in half, and covered with cow skin, with 2 sets of harp like strings, the musicians grabbed the protruding wooden handles and would used their thumbs to strum their melodies. As Kate said, "if we could here the music that Angels played, it would probably sound like this".
Other acts followed including a spiritually world bonding performance by a Cuban/African band with Fatoumata Diawara and Roberto Conseco at the Batha museum.
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| FATOUMATA DIAWARA |
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| SUFI BAND |
Followed by Diego el Cigala a Spanish folk singer accompanied by a Flamenco guitarist, and a Gypsy band from Egypt. But the real highlight was the free Sufi band that the locals attend Starting at 11:00 every night, these events give the common person who can no longer afford the concerts, a chance to listen to a variety of spiritual based music that often ends with people dancing themselves into a frenzy and passing out.
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| PRAYER TIME |
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WOMEN WASHING IN
THE IDRISS
MOSQUE |
IDRISS MOSQUE: Another highlight in Fez is where a 4th generation descendant of the prophet Mohammad lies. Indriss was the founder of Fez 1000 years ago. The mosque is in the center of the medina, like many others, it is a place to worship, relax, meditate, and socialize. Many come to bathe themselves in the fountains and find peace while submitting to their God.
MARRAKESH: Is its own animal, I wouldn't skip it, but I wouldn't spend more than 2 days there.
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| DJEMAA EL-FNA SQUARE |
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| DINNER SPOT-YUMMY |
After Fez,
Marrakesh felt like an explosion of the senses accompanied by periodic craziness. Dodging speeding scooters and bikes we submersed ourselves in the serpentine mazes. We decided after a long day of travel to try and see if we could negotiate the windy, unmarked alleys, our mission was to find the world famous
UNESCO main square-
Djemaa El Fna. We started after 9 pm....not to bright, the inner gates were already closed, but we did manage to meander to the square after a few inquiries with shop owners. Once there your senses are overwhelmed,
1000s of people abound in this huge street fair setting, and the tantalizing smells from the 100 or so cooking stalls drift through the air. Story tellers, games of all sorts and comedy were shared by the locals. But the most prevalent is the pervasive drumming circles, and the constant coaxing of passerby's to join their inner sanctums, all of this surrounded by a
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| SOUKS BY THE SQUARE |
myriad of souks.
Continued from above: On the way back after midnight was another story, even though we took a cab to the drop off spot we didn't practice the route back to the hotel. So before you knew it we got lost going down one
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| ALLEY BY OUR HOTEL |
blind alley after another, completely lost,
the young boys that wonder the street at nights, saw their prey and quickly swooped in saying they knew the whereabouts of our hotel. After a good half an hour going in circles, we managed to find our little Riad, only to have the boys argue about the tip I tried to give them claiming this was a ridiculous amount.
The tension rose, and my heart was pounding, as we stood knocking at the door and ringing the bell to get into our Riad. Luckily the hotel help opened the door and we scurried in and he slammed the door in the boys faces. Yeah, we were safe! Time to leave Marrakesh! But the reality is we should have practiced our route to the
Riad, and we should have set price with one of the boys before we enlisted their help.
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| IMLIL LODGE |
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| STREETS OF IMLIL |
THE ATLAS MOUNTAIN TREK: We decided to have a guide on this portion of the trip and enlisted the help of Jamal, entrepreneur extraordinaire! Starting as a mule guide, he has built 2 lodges, and a top notch Trekking company based out of Imlil. He organizes everything for you, including dependable taxi rides to anywhere you want go in Morocco.
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| MOUNT TOUBKAL, 13,671' |
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TYPICAL BERBER
VILLAGE |
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PASSING THROUGH
THE BERBER VILLAGES |
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ABRAHIM OUR COOK
AND HIS MULE |
So who knew the tallest mountains in Northern Africa were in Morocco. At 13,671' Mt. Toubkal stands in the center of the Moroccan trekking world. We were off in the Atlas mountains for a "3 day, 3 valley mountain trek thru traditional Berber villages". "Berber", means "Barbarian", was coined by the Romans who tried to overthrow them when they invaded what is now Morocco.
Today the Berbers are mainly agrarian, growing massive Walnut trees that line their beautiful hillside villages. The trek varied between 5,000-7,000' and we stayed in cute, but very basic, guest houses along the way called Gites. We brought along our faithful cook Abrahim, who charged ahead with his mule and our luggage to get our meals prepared.
REDOUANE OUR GUIDE:
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REDOUNE ON THE RIGHT, NOT
SURE WHO IS ON THE LEFT |
We had the pleasure to have our very own guide on the trek. Redouane, a 25 year old devout Muslim who had a big heart, spontaneous humor, and is a full blooded Berber! He shared with us that he is about to take a wife,
whose hair he has never seen, and even invited us to their wedding in October.
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| KATE EDUCATING REDOUANE |
So we were surprised on the second afternoon when he started the conversation with, "I LOVE HITLER". Well, that's a comment that will stop you in your tracks. Ok take a deep breath....I said to the group, "Let's change the subject", on the other hand Kate took it on as a challenge to get to the bottom of this ridiculous statement. Come to find out they teach them in school that Hitler killed Jews, and Jews killed Muslims therefore he must be good. I guess you could say they missed the part of gassing at least 6 millions innocent women, men and children during World War II. It makes you wonder how an educated man such as Rodouane, who can speak 5 languages, could be so misinformed. So Kate let him know he has some misinformation about all this, and Redouane was very disconcerted about this revelation. It really makes you wonder about the education system in Morocco and other Muslim countries. And we think we have problems with the education system in the U.S.!
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SKALA DE LA VILLA
FORTRESS |
ESSAOUIRA: A fortified coastal city reconstructed by the French in the 18th century, is known for its howling romantic winds, and pounded waves. The Skala de la Ville fortress, is lined with cannons, and it's easy to access the ramparts to watch the waves take a crack at the sea wall. This relaxing coastal town, with rugged scenery is a great place to end your visit to Morocco. There is a quaint medina (a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001) and lots of shops for last minute shopping. And only 21/2 hours to the Marrakesh airport-- we arranged the ride through Jamal to make the last day easy.
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| GREAT LOCAL FISH MARKET |
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VIEW OUT THE
ROOM FROM
MIMOUNA HOTEL |
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| 4 CORNER GLACIAL CAFE |
GLACIAL CAFE: THE 4 PATHWAYS OF LIFE. It is always fun to find somewhere that speaks to you. Dead center in the middle of Essaouira was such a place. A cute cafe where 4 pathways merge and creates the ultimate people watching. As I watched the blend of civilization pass by I felt enlightened by the sights and my travel mate. 1. Laugh: The kids riding bikes, playing, giggling reminded me that we somehow get to serious in our life's pursuits-simply put laugh as often as possible and at yourself, (link to Gnawan hat video) and at the world.
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| NOW THIS IS HOW TO TWIRL A GNAWAN HAT |
2. Pay attention: life is everywhere, and full of beauty and wonder, instead of always looking straight ahead, look up, down and all around, stop, take a breath, and occasionally turn around and see where you have been. 3. Smile! Greet your fellow human with a smile, and maybe a gentle touch on the shoulder it will change the dynamics tremendously, and this will now become an experience not just a purchase of goods. 4. Karma-Although there is no concept of karma in Islam, they believe in treating others fairly and Allah will smile down on them. There was no better example than our new friend Khalid. After a stormy encounter with him in a bartering session he went out of his way to find us the next day to make it right with a hug and tour of his city. So if something did not go right in your day, try to make it right by sending it out to the universe and see what happens:
HOW TO END TRIP IN MOROCCO:
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| AZURE SPA |
One has to experience a
Hammam in Morocco at some point. Make sure you get the exfoliating scrub, and the massage too. We went to Azure Spa in Essaouria. It started off simple enough, lay in the hot steam room close your eyes then,
shazam!, a bucket of cold water is thrown on your body! After the steam they put you on a granite table (use a towel for your neck) and they scrub you down like a dog with a exfoliating pad ..then
shazam! they take out a garden hose and squirt you down--flip you over, and over squirting away. Then a nice massage with penetrating oils on both sides and then
shazam! another squirt down with the hose and a few more flip overs. Pretty wild, but really relaxing--then they take you out on the lounger for a delightful relaxing tea, wrap a robe around you and spray rose petal spray in your face--what an experience!
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| CAFES OFF OF HUERTA STREET |
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| HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU! |
ONE LAST STOP: MADRID- SIMPLY PUT, HAVE TO GO BACK. Only had one night, but this city is full of life, with colorful outdoor cafes, massive city parks, museums and nightlife on Huerta street. Definitely have to come back someday and kick up our heels.
MOROCCAN TRAVEL TIPS: Trains are a great way to travel in Morocco, clean, comfortable and efficient, even 2nd class is fine, but go through a couple of cars before you settle in, they all have different comfort levels. In Casablanca the main train station is the Casa Voyeurs station: $12.00 from Casablanca to Fez. (You can't buy train tickets until you are in Morocco).
* HOTEL in Casablanca: The Gray Boutique Hotel, basically a small apt., 20 minute walk to the the Hussein II Mosque, + includes a lavish buffet breakfast: $120.00
*Guided trek: Difficulty level-2+stars. In the Atlas mountains: $200 for 3 days and 2 nights- a guide, cook, mule for your luggage, includes 3 meals a day and transport to and from Marrakesh: We worked with Jamal: http://www.toubkalguide.com/
I would extend the stay and climb Mt. Toubkal- the ascent is from 9,000' to 13,000' can be done in a morning.
** I would recommend a 2 day trip to the Sahara--let Jamal set it up...I heard nothing but good things about it.
* FEZ WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL: the end of May-early June, you can buy tickets on line ahead of time.
* Dar Bensouda Riad-in Fez- is in medina & has fantastic service
* Hotel in Imlil: Imlil lodge: get the patio room on the roof, with unbelievable views/ breakfast: $35- I would suggest an acclimation day before the trek. And relax there upon your return.
Essaouria: Great windy beach town, nice way to end your trip
Hotel Mimouna in Essaouria: $$$ but worth it, get a room with an ocean view!
* Most importantly: Always agree on a price ahead of time, whether it is a taxi or the boys in the alley!
man that guided us through this uphill menagerie, toting our suitcases we huffed and puffed, finally we were passed off to the promising face of our hotel guide, who lead us pass donkeys with feeding baskets and a myriad of enticing shops . A crash of color from rugs to buildings, immediately fills your senses...there is nothing bland about Morocco. 
We climbed 3 flights at our 400 year old Dar Bensouda Riad (garden style home), to our room, that had 12 ' doors and 25' beamed ceilings . On the roof, the next level up, one is immediately encapsulated by the vibrant skyline of the 1000 year old Fez, satellite dishes on every possible rooftop, historic ruins
and majestic blue tiled Mosques. The 5' o'clock Muezzin (prayer caller) filled the air with calls for prayer while a powerful thunderstorm rocked the buildings with a torrential downpour, and the middle eastern mystique seized our imagination.
Kate and I had taken off for this Middle Eastern adventure to experience the 'Music of Everywhere'. The annual festival in Fez has become world renown, where musicians and dancers perform their traditional styles of music.
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