Morocco Part One

For Morocco, I decided it would be best to do one of the SAS-sponsored trips. This was my first one, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Looking back, it was a good mixture of being able to see the most things in the shortest amount of time as well as doing tourist-y things that were kind of artificial. Those two conditions both have their pros and cons. On one hand, we were only there for three days, so I wanted to maximize the time I had there. On the other hand, while traveling sometimes I want to try and see things that not everyone sees and achieve a personal experience rather than a manufactured one.

That being said, the first thing I did in Morocco was get on a tour bus. Haha. We traveled from Casablanca to Marrakesh, which is about a three-hour drive. On the way, our guide, Larbi, pointed out some notable places as we were leaving Morocco and entering Marrakesh. The countryside in between was interesting, even as seen from a bus window. The gentle green hills are very similar to those in Spain, actually, which isn’t too surprising considering that we learned in Global Studies class that the countries both share the Mediterranean climate –a dry, hot summer and cool, wet winter. That also explains the common crops of oranges and olives that they share. I swear we had oranges with every meal in Morocco. It was interesting to see singular figures overseeing sheep grazing in the middle of nowhere beyond the highway, as well as little towns offset with the minaret of a mosque as its only landmark.

Upon our arrival in Marrakesh, we stopped at the Majorelle Garden. This botanical garden was started in 1947 by the Frenchman who is its namesake. Since 1980, it was partly owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and there was a memorial there to him, which I didn’t understand until I read the Wikipedia article, which also said that the designer’s ashes were spread there after his death last June. Anyway, the garden was pretty, with lots of different types of cacti and palm trees. I wish I could post pictures of it.

We stopped next in a library with a large mural inside depicting the Green March, which I believe was some sort of march for independence in 1975 (Wikipedia’s not working right now or I would confirm that). It was hard to hear the guide in the echoing room we were in.

Then, our next stop was lunch on the plaza of the central market, Djemaa el Fna, in the old city, or medina, of Marrakesh. We were grouped together on the terrace of the restaurant and didn’t have to order (since we were in such a big group) they just brought the food out to us –some sort of salad with eggplant, a tajine (stew) with lamb (I think), prunes and almonds, and a creamy vanilla yogurt for dessert.

After that we stopped at the Bahia Palace, which was one of the king’s palaces in the past that is not in use today. It had multiple wings for the king’s multiple wives and a Koran school attached, presumably for the king’s children. The craftsmanship on most of the buildings we saw is so ornate and intricate. Most of the ceilings were carved cedar, usually dyed with plant-derived dyes –so beautiful and detailed. Only geometric shapes are used in most of the ornate work in the Muslim world because otherwise creating images of people or animals is seen as worshipping or glorifying something other than God (Allah). Larbi pointed out, however, that the palace also incorporated other symbols, such as a Jewish star of David that he pointed out and French fleur de lis (sp?) as well as stained glass, which comes from Christian churches.

Then we did something kind of touristy –we stopped at this pharmacy buried among the souks (tiny market stores) for a presentation about Moroccan spices and remedies. Among the group, I think there was a kind of consensus later that Larbi was probably getting a cut of the profits from bringing us there. But, it was interesting nonetheless. The walls of the place were lined with jars (about the size of those large pickle jars we have) full of tons of different kinds of things, some spices, solids, liquids, powders, etc. So, even though it was touristy it was a cool place to see.
I bought some mint tea, the most popular drink in Morocco –the man called it Morrocan “whisk-key”in the same cadence as “mint tea”as a joke –and some henna powder and some small gifts.

Then we wandered through the souks –some of which had touristy stuff like souvenirs, some had real handcrafted goods, others had modern clothes like knock-off watches, clothes and purses. We stopped at one rather large one, which Larbi was also probably getting some kickback from, but I bought a brown kaftan, which is kind of like those Indian-looking hippie shirts that I like. It has blue embroidery on it around the sleeves and neck and is about the length of a short dress.

We were all getting a little tired from the stress of walking the crowded, narrow alleyways of the souks by this time, so the bus took us to the hotel, which was pretty nice. The hotel was pretty nice, it was in two parts, separated by one courtyard with a fountain and café and another with a swimming pool (it was too cold to go in, of course –about in the 50s, similar in Spain, too).

The night wasn’t over, however, but since this post is getting on in length, I’ll split my Morrocan adventures into parts.