Road To Morocco – Take 1: November 18–20, 2017

Morocco – a sea change from our recent Latin / North American and European travels; new sights, sounds, tastes, music, art, religion, and customs and two unfamiliar languages. We spent almost three weeks there, two of which were with a small group (16-person) tour organized by Intrepid Travel called “Best of Morocco”: camel ride, check; Atlas mountains hike, check; night in the desert, check; mosques, souks, medinas and kasbahs - check; carpet purchase, check; and lots of couscous and tagines, check!

We enjoyed Morocco very much and we’ll share what we experienced in this and our next few posts. We also learned a lot about a different type of traveling:

Travel Lesson

As we confessed in our last post we were a bit apprehensive about how well we would “work and play with other children” on a tour. We are relieved to report that we were The Last Kids On The Van only once, Molly gained several new Facebook Friends and we think we parted amicably from all of our 14 fellow travelers. Whew.

Still, we’re not complete package tour converts. Here are some of our thoughts (scroll on down if you want to get to the tour stuff):

• We got a much broader overview of Morocco than we would have traveling at our usual, pokey pace. But it was tiring and involved a lot of travel time.
• We doubt we could have travelled as far for a lower cost on our own (rough estimate: tour + independently purchased meals and day trips = about $115 a day per each). That said, at times we might have been willing to pay extra for a more comfortable experience.
• Our tour leader, Abdou Taghda, was great – charming, patient and organized. He got all of us on the train/bus/tourist van/dromedary on time and knew the location of frequent enough clean washrooms, reputable (if not always fabulous) restaurants and liquor sales outlets (infrequent and not highly advertised in Morocco). As a result we learned almost nothing about how to travel on our own in Morocco and we allowed ourselves to be lazy about acquiring even rudimentary Arabic (we got no further than Hello and Thank You . . . ). 

Abdou

• The tour van was safe, new, clean and well maintained and the driver, Moustafa, was excellent. The taxis we found on our own – not so much. Hiring a reputable transportation company ahead of time is a great idea in certain countries.

Our Chariot

• The local guides arranged for us were Just Fine and three were Excellent. It’s impossible to tell what our luck would have been playing the Independent Traveler Local Guide Lottery.
• Our tour group included many very interesting people, including some hard core travelers (four days on the Siberian Express . . .  eight months driving through Eastern Europe . . . ). But traveling with a group can be insular by times, with one's focus on the group rather than on the culture one came to engage. 
• Tours involve accommodating others and being accommodated in return. Waiting for others to finish meals / find banks / buy souvenirs can be tedious and likewise we weren’t on our own schedule when eating / touring / buying souvenirs.

In sum, a tour is a good way to get an initial overview of a country. It can ease traveling in an unfamiliar culture or in a part of the world where travel arrangements are complicated. We will probably take other small group tours – but we learned that we would find a large bus trip maddening!


That's more than enough about our group travel thoughts – here's our Morocco experience:

As Time Goes By . . . Casablanca

Could there be any more romantic place to celebrate a 28th wedding anniversary than the setting for one of the great movie love stories of all time?

Well -- yes, actually.

Casablanca, Morocco’s financial center, is many things – big, bustling, a large port, home to the third largest mosque in the world (more later), overwhelming, gritty, smoggy . . . but not very romantic. Add our failure to find a celebratory glass of bubbly (or even a post-travel, relaxing glass of wine) and, well – we’ve had more romantic anniversary celebrations. But few as memorable.

[Side note: Not one frame of the famous movie was shot in Casablanca. It was shot in Burbank and Van Nuys because in 1942 Casablanca was controlled by Vichy France.] 

Due to a late arrival (Royal Air Moroc from Lisbon) and two hours in passport control / baggage claim / customs we didn’t begin to look for dinner until almost 9 p.m.. We asked the hotel desk for a recommendation within walking distance and were escorted by the bellman to a nearby restaurant where we were the only guests. Dinner was just fine, wine was not available and the restaurant owner insisted on walking us back to our hotel. The purpose of the escort services was never clear – was the tiny, elderly bellman there to protect us or to make sure we didn’t get lost? 

But we will likely remember that our 28th anniversary was in Casablanca!

There are few tourist sites in Casablanca. The day before meeting with our tour we decided to make up for our so-so anniversary dinner with lunch at a well recommended restaurant, Sqala (pron., Skalah). Sqala is named for the port fortifications (a sqala) in which it is located.

Sqala at the Sqala - Behind The Gate

The restaurant’s gardens are beautiful and the salads were fabulous but the vegetable tagine was a bland, mushy disappointment. Over time we learned that we prefer meat tagines and that it takes a very talented cook to keep vegetables from turning mushy in a tagine.

We walked through the Medina (the old walled city).

[Side Note: Moroccan cities are divided into Before The French / During The French / After The French. The French Protectorate was established in 1912 (protecting French business interests) and not dissolved until 1955. Most of the Protectorate’s administrators failed to see the charm of the medieval labyrinth that made up Moroccan cities at the beginning of the 20th Century, so the colonial administration (oops – sorry – the protectors) built what are still referred to as “villes nouvelles” – new cities – of wide boulevards, parks and big homes. The ancient walled cities that pre-dated the villes nouvelles are referred to as Medinas.]

Casablanca’s Medina is not as tourist-centric as those in some other cities and so is an interesting look into the lives of (predominantly low-income) urban Moroccans. Interesting, but not a charming tourist attraction.

The Plastic Store

The Street

The Skyline

 

Hey, Amigo! [Wait - Where Are We?]

The big tourist attraction in Casablanca is the Hassan II Mosque, opened in 1993 to honor King Hassan II, the father of the present king, Mohammed VI.

Moroccan Minarets Are Square / This
Minaret Is the Tallest Religious Minaret In The
World / Green Is The Prophet's Color

Unlike most mosques, the Hassan II Mosque is open to non-Muslims, though only those on scheduled tours.  Travel Tip: Check when those hours are – Lonely Planet was incorrect. We missed the last tour of the day and compensated by a visit to the related museum. We are so glad we did! The museum displays and explains various Moroccan traditional design elements and offered a wonderful introduction to not only the mosque but Moroccan architecture and design in general.

Zellige - Moroccan Tile Mosaic
(Individually Chiseled Tiles Set In Plaster)

Woodwork

Plaster Work - Al Gabs

Apparently we weren't the only ones who missed the last tour of the day. The next morning Abdou delayed the group’s departure from Casablanca so those who wanted to could join a scheduled tour. Bryce passed but Molly joined in and can report that it is impressive. 

Prayer Hall For 20,000 -- The
3rd Largest In The World

Grill Work Open To The Sea Breeze--
Important During Ramadan When
20,000 Worshipers Gather

Ablution Hall (41 Fountains)

 

Women's Mezzanine (Accommodation For 5,000)

And they provide visitors with nice little bags to carry their shoes (don't forget to wear clean socks).

The official literature says that the mosque was partially funded by public subscriptions. We were later told by an unofficial source that these “public subscriptions” came from photographs of King Hassan II which were made available for purchase throughout Morocco. The bigger picture of the king in the living room or office . . . the more loyal the subject.

Rabat

The current political capital of Morocco, Rabat, is less gritty and more charming than Casablanca. During our afternoon there we visited the mausoleum of Mohammed V, the king who negotiated the end of the French Protectorate (King Mohammed VI’s grandfather). He has been joined by King Hassan II (see above). 

Guard at The Mausoleum
He Wouldn't Pose Unless Bryce Joined Him!

Impressive Courtyard Outside of the Mausoleum

Local Showoffs!

We also wandered briefly through the Medina, which is relatively small but complex enough to act as an introduction to the art of Medina wandering. Medinas grew organically over centuries and are labyrinths with few direction signs and many dead ends. Travelers frightened or frustrated when lost should consider taking a local guide even to this relatively small Medina . . . 

A pleasant way to spend an afternoon in Rabat is drinking coffee or mint tea (unless you are Bryce – he thinks mint tea is vile) at Cafe Maure, overlooking the estuary between Rabat and the town of Sale.

Traditional Fishing Boats of Rabat

Medina Wall On The Estuary

A Rowing Style That Fascinated Bryce

Sailboats - Checking In With The Port Captain?

Meknes

Meknes, occupied since the 10th century, became the imperial city in 1672 when Moulay Ismail bested his 83 brothers (murdering more than a few of them) to become the sultan of the Alawite dynasty. Ismail reigned from Meknes for 55 years, and, during that time built (not personally, of course): 25 kilometers of city walls, gates, palaces, a granary and water works (to sustain his court and infamous army during a siege), a stable for over 12,000 horses and a pleasure lake for the court. Though Ismail’s successor moved the capital to Marrakesh, and in the process appropriated building materials from a lot of Ismail’s monuments, walls and palaces, the leavings are impressive.

Our pictures capture a bit of the charm - but do not do justice to the scope of these buildings and gates:

City Wall

Granary

Stables

 

Bab el Mansour Gate To The Medina

Non-Imperial Meknes is also charming. There is a lively central square – the Place el-Hedim – with many coffee houses and restaurants and shops.

Tagines, Anyone?

And a vast covered market (Molly’s favorite place anywhere):

Olives, Olives Everywhere

Herbs and Beans

Spice Mountains

Meat Market - This Is Where Bryce Left -- He
Prefers His Meat Cooked!

Somewhere in the Medina is a great camel burger joint. We’re not sure we could find it again, but if we could, we’d have another camel burger!

Camel Burger Chef

The Medersa Bou Inania – completed in 1358 (no, that’s not a typo) – is also worth a visit. It is a beautiful example of Moroccan decorative arts, and an interesting look into the educational system of medieval Morocco. Like medieval European monks or rabbinical students the medersa students lived at the school and studied one holy text (here, the Koran). The primary focus was on memorization and the casual agnostic visitor is left to wonder what value was placed on interpretation of or questions about that text.

Medersa

View From The Roof
(The Prophet's Green)

Arabic Script - An Art Form Of It's Own

Our local guide for Meknes was one of our favorites. He gave an informative and well organized tour and introduced us to the djellaba – the loose fitting outer robe with a pointed hood worn by both men and women in Morocco (and, apparently, much of the rest of the Maghreb).

Djellaba At The Camel Burger Joint

The djellaba can be a very dignified garment. It is very evocative to see a man in a djellaba standing by the side of a dusty highway stoically waiting for . . . someone. And anyone who has watched a Star Wars movie will recognize the design inspiration for the robe of the Jedi Knights.

But djellabas worn by many lower income Moroccan women can look a lot like what Molly’s grandmother called her “house coat” – complete with pink or turquoise velour and embroidered flowers. Comfortable, and somewhat more dignified than Walmart Shopper Pajamas – but just. [To be clear: Grandma Mollie never wore hers in public.]




We won’t inflict any more of our trip on you in this post. But steel yourselves – we have only covered two days of our 14 day tour! As we said – we covered a lot of ground.