Moroccan Allure, September 2016

Today our latest adventure began. Gayle picked me up and after an uneventful trip to Charlotte we parked and made our way to the terminal. No hassle as we were checked in and TSA-pre. We had time for lunch and relaxing also. Soon we were at the gate and waiting to board. We landed in JFK on time and we grabbed our roll-a boards and headed to the train. We made it to the International terminal and even found our way to the Royal Air Morocco counter. Then the fun began. We were in a long line with people with at least 3 suitcases of significant size each. There were only 2 check in clerks to begin with but soon this increased to 4. When we got to the counter we found out why it was taking so long. They were explaining that our flight was delayed several hours and they would hand out vouchers for dinner. This did not sound good as our flight should have served us dinner. We hung around for our voucher and were told that our flight was now scheduled for midnight. We claimed our $15 and made our way through security. There was only one sit down restaurant and we got in line for a table. We finally were seated and decided to have wine with dinner. This was a great choice as our flight did not leave until 2:30 am. We were tired and frustrated when we boarded and hoped to sleep some. Not on their schedule as they decided to serve a full dinner at 3:30. My seat mate was a 90ish woman with a large cane that she insisted on laying across her lap and therefore across mine. I would gently move it and she would immediately move it back. She spoke Arabic so I tried to get the steward to move it and he had no better luck even though he spoke the language. She was also in possession of a hot pink patent leather MK purse the size of a suitcase. The steward tried to put it under the seat but she immediately brought it out and placed it half in my lap and half in hers. This flight was a disaster from this point on. We cat napped the rest of the flight and we landed after 2:30pm and did not get to our hotel until almost 5. Our extra day in Casablanca was wasted. We checked in, washed our faces, and headed out. With a recommendation from the concierge we walked about 25 minutes to a great restaurant in the harbor area. Sqala was a local hang out and the setting and the food were fabulous. It is built inside the façade of a fort including the cannons. We enjoyed a lazy meal and then we walked down to see Rick's Café of Casablanca movie fame. This one is new and only built to honor the movie. We then walked back and showered and hit the beds and were asleep by 8:30.

Today we thought we would sleep in but we were up by 8:15am. We dressed for the day and repacked our bags. We had a great breakfast at the hotel of naan and olives and croissants with honey. We then gathered our bags and deposited them at the front desk. We walked to the souk and wandered around the stalls for a bit but the merchandise was mostly made in China and not very interesting. We met a gentleman who told us about a co-op and we walked there to see the handicrafts. We were surprised that the largest amount of things they had were rugs from all the 5 different tribes of the country. These rugs were so different from each other and each held its own beauty. They were a little pricey but better than we had seen in Turkey. We walked back to the hotel stopping in some shops along the way. We decided to head toward the train station which advertised all sorts of restaurants. We settled on gelato for lunch and explored the several stories of the train station and all the little shops before heading to the hotel and our taxi to the airport. The concierge got a taxi for us and said it was a flat 300 dh to the airport. We agreed and off we went. We made it to the gate of the hotel where we ran into a taxi driver riot. Our driver stayed in the car but the conversation was heated. We were transferred to another car and we were told the same price. When we arrived at the airport we said terminal 2 and he charged us an extra 100 dh to travel 100 ft. Outrageous but we had no options. We went in the airport and found the Venizia Ice Café but no rep from Gate One Travel. We waited for a while and no one showed up so we called the local number and were told they were at the outside portion of the café. Just a mix up in communication. We found them and within the hour the rest of our travelers showed up.

We boarded a van and the 6 of us were off on our trip to Rabat to join the rest of the travelers. It was a 90-minute trip with a lot of new construction along the way. It seems this area is inundated with small high-rise apartment villages springing up. Each has a mosque and they are almost connected there are so many. We arrived in Rabat and checked into the Villa Mandarine. This Riad is a converted estate and has truly beautiful grounds. Our room was nice but we only had time to brush teeth and change shoes before we were off to our welcome lecture. We met Rashid our tour manager and he is enthusiastic and filled with information. He gave us handouts with history and also our schedule. We then went to dinner which included soup, chicken tagine, chocolate and wine. Excellent!! Our group is only 19 and this is a good Southern contingency. We were the least tired of the group but were also ready to head to the room to shower and read. We enjoyed the gardens a bit as we walked back. Another relatively early night!

Alarm was set for 6:45 but we were both awake early and had been awake several times during the night. We dressed and went to breakfast and we were able to sit outside and enjoy a great buffet and especially the café au lait. Our group is punctual and we were off to the Kasbah of Udayas. The buildings are all blue and white; the blue wards off insects and the white reflects the heat. We were all intrigued by the fist of Fatima door knockers, some ancient some new. We saw lots of cats but no dogs in this walled area. We ended our walk in the Andalusian Gardens where some of the ladies did some shopping and some got henna tattoos. Back on the bus we visited the 6th century city walls. We also saw a tremendous Muslim cemetery where people are buried the day they die without caskets. They are buried on their right side in a small grave facing Mecca. Women in mourning wear all white for 4 months and 10 days which is considered an appropriate amount of time for new suitors to determine that she is not pregnant by her late husband. Our next stop was at the ROYAL Palace where the king works not lives. We had a great photo stop here.

From the palace we traveled to the necropolis and ruins of a Roman outpost. It was set up a lot like Ephesus. There were storks nesting on the roofs. It was a photographers dream. From here we went to the Hassan Tower and unfinished mosque from the 12 century. It was intended to be the largest mosque holding 125,000 worshippers. We also visited the tombs of Mohammed V and his wife. From here we drove across the river to Sale and had lunch al fresco at a new marina. The salads were huge and could have easily been the whole meal. Then it was back to the hotel for rest or swimming. We chose to wander the grounds and make pictures of the lovely flowers and art. We then boarded the bus for some free time in Rabat. We walked to the main shopping area but there was nothing that interested us so we explored the Muslim cemetery we had seen earlier in the day. We also walked the large park in the center of town before heading back to the bus. We had a great dinner in the hotel and enjoyed a glass of Moroccan wine. It was late when we headed to our room for showers and reading.

This morning we packed up and after breakfast at the hotel we boarded our bus for Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage site with extensive ruins dating back to the first century. Volubilis was a Roman settlement constructed on what was probably a Carthaginian city. It was the central administrative city for this part of Roman Africa. A Berber prince was appointed as the ruler of the region by Emperor Augustus. Juba II was married to the daughter of Anthony and Cleopatra. Unlike many Roman cities Volubilis was not abandoned after the Romans lost their foothold in this part of Africa in the 3rd century. Arabs conquered the area in the 7th century and Volubilis was not abandoned until the 1800's. There are many lovely mosaics and lovely ruins. The day was hot and there was a lot of climbing and walking.

We were ready for our lunch stop in Meknes where we also saw the Bab Mansour gate and its lovely mosaics. The streets in front of the gate were filled with horse and carriages that looked like they had escaped from Cinderella. We continued the short distance to Fes where we made a stop at a Carrefour's for wine and snacks. Our hotel does not serve wine but allows guest to enjoy it if they have it with them. We checked in to our Riad and it was lovely. The central indoor pool was to be our dining venue. We showered and dressed, grabbed our wine and glasses and headed to the roof top patio. The view was nice even though it was windy and a little chilly. We enjoyed sunset before descending the stairs to the pool area for our dinner. Our meal was served on beautiful Fes dinnerware all in blue and white. The meal was nice and the company lively until around dessert when we all were yawning and ready to head to bed.

After breakfast at the hotel we met our local guide Hassan outside and walked to the Al-Bou Inania madrasa founded in 1351. The madrasa functioned both as an educational institute and as a congregational mosque. This madrasa is one of the few religious places in Morocco that is accessible for non-Islamic visitors. From the madrasa we boarded our bus and drove to the blue gate of the Fes Medina, Fes el Bali. This is the oldest walled part of Fes, originally founded between 789 and 808 AD. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981. Known early on as the Athens of Africa, today this walled city is the world's largest automobile free urban area, with 9,000 twisting streets so narrow that loaded donkeys cannot easily pass. Our first stop was a carpet factory and we had the opportunity to view all the different tribal rugs from Morocco. The building housing this operation was most interesting to me. It was very old and had beautiful mosaics and plaster work. I took lots of pictures. There were several purchases in our group. As we left the carpet shop and continued to walk we were handed a handful of rosemary or basil. Not sure at first what we were to do with it we continued on our way. It soon became evident that we were to hold it near our nose and mouth to stifle the horrid smell of the area we were entering. Our next stop was the Chouara Tannery, wedged among the ancient buildings and serpentine passageways. This 11th century tannery still operates as it did thousands of years ago. Cow, sheep, goat, and camel hides are brought here to be preserved, dyed, and turned into the handbags, jackets, and wallets sold in the souks. In the grid of stone wells, the process begins with the raw skins being soaked in a mixture of cow urine, pigeon feces, quicklime, salt, and water. The jobs here are handed down from generation to generation, father to son. The horrible conditions and horrid smell have not changed in centuries.

After the tannery and some shopping in the company store we made our way to a beautiful restaurant in the medina. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was pure Moroccan. Stuffed and ready to move we again made our way through the winding uneven streets and were very lucky that we only had one fall (Linda was not hurt). We made a short stop at the Najjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts. We then walked to the Karaouine Mosque and University. This is the second largest mosque in Morocco and the oldest existing and continually operating and the first degree awarding educational institution in the world according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records. We were not allowed inside but could look inside the gate. After leaving the medina we boarded our bus for a stop at a Jewish cemetery and then we stopped to see the 7 bronze gates of the Kings palace. We went back to the riad to shower and dress for our home hosted dinner. Our home visit was with a middle class family who live in a condo in the French part of the city. We arrived and were very surprised at how spacious and beautiful it was. Dinner was excellent and served by extended family who live in Fes. Only 4 people live in this condo. The cooking was done by mom and grandma and we would love to have recipes but no one spoke English. It was a great ending to a wonderful day!

Today we were up at 6:45 and put our bags out before heading to breakfast. After lots of coffee and delicious bread and apricot jam we said our goodbyes to the staff. They presented each lady with a lovely scarf and the guys got a fez. We then made our way to the bus and began our journey to Erfoud. After about 90 minutes on the road we made a stop at Ifran, one of 2 ski resorts in Morocco. It looked more like Europe than Morocco, green grass and chalets and streets with French names. One of the photo ops was a huge lion statue in the park. When we left this area we drove through large pine and cedar forests. The wood is used for woodworking in most Moroccan homes. We made an unexpected stop to play with some apes in the forest and we had fun feeding them peanuts.

We were up early this morning finalizing our backpacks for our Sahara camp experience. After breakfast we boarded our bus and went to the Fossil Factory in Erfoud. There were beautiful fossils from all periods but some of the largest from the Jurassic period. The countertops and sinks, statuary and even the individual fossils were lovely and we had a great time just exploring. From here we headed into the souk and visited the date vendors and learned about different size dates and quality of dates. We also visited a bread shop and tried the bread. Rashid ordered a Berber pizza for us to try later. Our next stop was Sijilmasa, the El Dorado of Morocco. This city was founded in the 8th century and served as a depot along the trade routes. It is located along the Ziz river and is in disrepair. There is hope that someone one will purchase it and restore it as a historical site. It was lunch time and we headed back to the hotel for our lunch and some rest time before we venture into the desert. We munched our Berber pizza on the way and it was quite tasty. We actually had time to nap after lunch and a lot of us took advantage of the time. We stored our suitcases and grabbed our packs and we boarded our 4x4's for our foray into the Sahara. We stopped for pictures along the way and even visited a home. It was a way of life we could not even imagine.

When we arrived at our embarkation point for our camel adventure we had our scarves tied around our heads in the Bedouin style and it was a good idea as the blowing sand would fill your nose and mouth. We boarded our camels and each of the groups started into the dunes. The sand is constantly shifting and the shadows change from one moment to the next. This made photographing them so much fun and I am sure I have way more pictures than I need. There was a photographer there and he made pictures and our camel drivers made pictures using our cameras. The ride was pretty comfortable and I am sure the camel was able to climb the dunes much better than me. This was proven when we reached the top of the dune and dismounted. It was tough just getting to the blanket where we would watch the sunset. I was expecting a dramatic sunset but the sky was so clear that there was nothing for the light to bounce off and it was not as colorful as I expected but still lovely. We boarded our trusty beast for our trip to the camp. One of my favorite things was our silhouettes on the sand. We arrived at the camp and were assigned our rooms. This is more rustic than some of our group was expecting but we were all up for the fun. The rooms each had two beds, a sink, a shower, and a toilet (this was ideal as several of our group had the traveler's tummy including yours truly). We had musical entertainment before and during dinner. The food was good but the tent was extremely hot. We skipped dessert and went out into the dunes to look at the milky way and the millions of stars. At bedtime I showered and we settled in to read before the generator went off. We left our tent flap up as It was sweltering inside. It was pitch dark soon and we tried our best to sleep but until it cooled some around 4 we were restless. Just one night and we did survive.

A new day dawned and some very sleepy looking people emerged from their rooms. No one was feeling fresh and most of us just snacked on bread for breakfast. Soon it was time to board our 4x4's and drive back to the riad to claim our bags. As our bus made its way toward Ait Ben Haddou we saw different types of topography, sheep grazing, small villages, and dusty stretches. We made our way to the Todra Gorge. Being stuck between a rock and a hard place is a sublime experience in the gorge, where a 300m-deep fault splits the orange limestone into a deep ravine at some points just wide enough for a crystal clear river and single-file trekkers to squeeze through. We walked a long stretch of the river here and saw vendors cooling their drinks in the river, families picnicking, and others like us just enjoying the view. There were vendors and hawkers along the way but they were not bothersome. The photo opportunities were amazing and again I am sure it will be a chore to edit all I took.

After we all made it to the bus we drove into Tinerhir for lunch at a cute restaurant that served a great soup and cold drinks! We did not have a long trip in the afternoon but we passed through the Hollywood of Morocco and could see the movie studios along the way. A lot of well-known movies have been shot here, just not Casablanca. Some we recognized were Othello, the Man Who Knew Too Much, Captain Phillips, Lawrence of Arabia, and Patton. As we approached our riad we saw Ait Ben Haddou in the distance and we will get to explore it tomorrow. Our riad was lovely and there was only one small problem. Our room was very small and our tub would not drain. They moved us to a larger room with a huge shower and all was well. We cleaned up and dressed for dinner and joined the group for a nice buffet. Everyone was tired form the night before so it was an early evening with most of us retiring after dinner to go back and read and get a good night's sleep.

Today after a great breakfast we headed to the UNESCO site of Ait Ben Haddou. The ksar (fortified city), a group of earthen buildings surrounded by high walls, is a traditional pre-Saharan habitat. The houses crowd together within the defensive walls, which are reinforced by corner towers. This area dates to around the 17th century. It is built on a hillside and requires some major climbing to get to the top. With the traveler's tummy making the rounds in our group only about ½ of us made it to the top with Rashid. Fabulous views although the light is harsh. Gayle and I purchased paintings of tea and saffron which were held over a flame to crystallize the sugar. We looked at the vendor's wares before making our way across the bridge to the bus. So many people were feeling under the weather that Rashid stopped at a pharmacy to get us some Moroccan meds to take.

We continued our trip to Marrakesh. We stooped for lunch and then continued our trip through the high Atlas Mountains into Marrakesh arriving around 5. The hotel lobby is lovely and grounds beautiful but our room is very plain. We had an iron so we pressed some very wrinkled tops then donned bathing suits and headed for poolside to journal. Just the right temperature and we caught up on our journals easily. After showers we went to a great dinner in the hotel and then 5 of us decided to walk to the square and see the nightlife. It was not a hard walk and the square proved to cause sensory overload; bright lights, thick crowds, loud music, and the stench of horse urine from the carriage rides. We slowly made our way around after setting up a meeting point in case we got separated. We finished the evening in the souk and then Gayle and I walked back. The younger girls took a cab! We got back around 11 but stayed up to read until around 1 as we were so hyped from our adventure!

After breakfast at the hotel we boarded the bus for our tour around Marrakesh. The first stop was the Majorelle gardens, a 12-acre botanical garden. The area also includes the Islamic art museum and an archeological museum. The garden was designed by French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920's and 30's. It opened in 1947and since 1980 it has been owned by Yves St. Laurent and his partner Peter Berge'. When Yves St Laurent died in 2008 his ashes were spread here. We walked in the gardens and then checked out the shops and made some Christmas purchases. We loved the bright blue of the buildings and found out it is named Majorelle blue for the founder. Our second stop was the Koutoubia Mosque the largest mosque in Marrakesh. There are lush gardens, a minaret 77m tall topped with 4 copper globes, and lots of mosaic. This mosque was completed between 1184-1199. It is beautiful in the daylight but even more so in the evening. Our next stop is the Bahia Palace. This palace completed at the end of the 19th century was supposed to be the grandest palace of its time. It has 360 rooms decorated in Italian marble and Sudanese gold. The ceilings and plaster craft are beautiful. We did not get to see a lot of the harem as it was being set up for a concert. Our last stop was a silver jewelry store. Fun to look but no buying for us. The tour ended and we had the option of going to the hotel or stopping at the souk. We chose to get off at the souk so I gave my camera to Rashid and we took off to find some goodies. We had Moroccan money and we needed to spend it. We had a list of things we were looking for and we found some of them before hunger set in and we needed sustenance. We talked to a few of our fellow travelers and headed out of the souk in search of a sit down restaurant. We found one overlooking the square and a large contingent of our group was already there. We ordered fries and burgers and cold diet cokes and enjoyed every bite. Then it was back to the souk to finish up our shopping. We did this easier on a full tummy and around 4 we walked back to the hotel. We took showers and rested before dressing for tonight's carriage ride and dinner show.

Our carriage ride provided us another view of the beautiful mosque all lit and the very busy square. It was a lovely way to unwind. We stopped on a dark street and the driver let us off and we were a bit concerned until Rashid showed up and led the way through some winding narrow streets to Lotus Privilege. The entry was fabulous and after our ceremonial hand washing we had some great entertainment and photo ops. We were seated for dinner in a lovely room with a very formal table setting. We ordered and the wine was served as two gentlemen entertained with music and song. Our first course was assorted salads, all cooked, and the presentation was lovely and the taste excellent. Gayle and I had the beef tagine and it was a hearty size portion of tender meat. Our dessert was a pastille du almond and it was good also. After dinner the belly dancer came out and it was the most elegant performance you can imagine, none of what we associate with belly dancing. After more wine the same woman came out in flowing white dress and performed the dervish dance. She was wonderful and we all left filled with good food, wine, and happiness. We boarded the bus for the trip back to the hotel. What a great day!

Last night was not my finest hour. I awoke around 2 with my second go round of traveler's tummy. By morning I was feeling weak and a little dehydrated. Went to breakfast and decided to go on the trip to the Ourika Valley that Gayle and I had signed up for. We boarded the bus and up into the mountains we went. The drive was lovely and the scenery was outstanding, especially the valleys. Our first stop was at a family farm where grandma, her son and his wife, and two grandsons all had homes. We saw the farm animals, their hamam room, and their home. We were served tea and semolina bread with olive oil and honey, all made right on the farm. From there we traveled to the Bio-aromatic Gardens. We had to walk about 15 minutes from the bus to the gardens and it was very hot. We had a Berber footbath and then toured the gardens. I was not feeling great so I rested under an arbor and while the group had lunch I had herbal tea, water, and bananas. The walk back was hard but soon we were on the bus and heading back to Marrakesh.

When we arrived at the hotel we had the rest of the day free and Gayle and I decided to rest. She was suffering from a cold and I felt weak. We napped and read, and drank sprite until dinner time. We decided to go out of the hotel and we walked to the train station area but decided to go to a lovely place we saw in the mall across the street. We ate inside where it was cooler and had pizza. It was just the right thing. We then went back for showers and journaling.

This morning we slept in and finished packing. We put our suitcases out and went for a late breakfast. Before the bus left we sat in the lobby and used the Wi-Fi. Our last day in Marrakesh was topped off with wonderful ice cream for lunch! We have a long afternoon of travel and on the road one of the most interesting things we saw was one of the political party rallies, lots of cars and trucks with signs and lots of people. Rashid told us all the parties do this and the people get paid. We stopped in a grove of argon trees and got to see the nut before it was picked. Our next stop was at the Argon Oil Co-op run by the women in the area. Everything is done by hand as far as processing the nuts. It was very interesting seeing women of all ages working on this project. We spent some time and some money in the co-op store.

From here is was a short trip into Essaouira. We checked in to our riad and had time to freshen up a bit before Rashid led us on a quick orientation tour of the souk which was close by. He also recommended restaurants for our dinner. We walked a while before deciding on roof-top restaurant with a great view and live entertainment. Service was slow and once we got our wine we did not mind. We had a delicious veggie ravioli and enjoyed the sunset. After dinner we strolled and checked out the area before heading back to shower and ready our clothes for the next day. This takes more time this late in the trip as we have to find what is the least dirty. We had saved our shorts for the beach here but it is much cooler and windy than we expected. Oh well everyone is in the same boat.

This morning we awoke refreshed and ready to explore. After breakfast the group did an extensive tour of the medina and saw all the craftsmen at work. There were spices, veggies, and fish to be purchased and the crafts here are different. We went to a wood working shop that had beautiful furniture and intricate boxes with hidden compartments. We enjoyed people watching and haggling with the merchants. There were donkeys, chickens, and people everywhere! Rashid turned us loose to explore on our own about lunchtime and Gayle and I decided to head to the beach before we did any shopping. We walked a good part of the 7 miles of beach and then stopped at a seaside restaurant for lunch. The food was great but we skipped the fish. We walked back toward the medina with a side trip to the harbor. The fishing boats and nets made for some great and colorful pictures. We then went into the souk with shopping on our minds. We each purchased a necklace and several small items. On our way to the hotel we purchased the cutest tee's from a really neat store next to our riad.

We cleaned up and prepared for our henna tattoo experience. All the ladies but 2 got tattoos and the woman who did them was amazing. We had pictures made of all our hand together. After that we had wine and a full dinner served at the hotel while we were listening to the Gnawa performance. Music, singing, and dancing had us on our feet and trying our best. It soon ended in a conga line and had everyone laughing. We had planned to go out for dinner not expecting to be served so much during the performance. Instead we sat and talked and then slowly made our way to the stairs and up to our room. Riads are wonderful but sometimes you miss an elevator. After showers we repacked and journaled and read.

This morning was an early one. We had our bags out by 7 and then we had breakfast. Soon we were following our bags out the winding street to the bus. It was another long day of travel as we made our way to Casablanca. We traveled through small villages where donkeys and carts were the main transportation and the local market brought people from near and far. We saw one part of the market where everyone was buying turkeys. The people were the highlight of the trip today. What faces! We arrived in Casablanca about 3:30 and did a city tour. We visited the Mohammed V square, a cathedral, the gates to the royal palace, and the famous Hassan II Mosque. By the time we got to the mosque the fog was rolling in and before we could get any pictures we could hardly see each other it was so thick. The minaret here is the world's tallest at 210 meters. This is a new mosque finished in 1993 and is one of the largest in the world, holding 105,000 worshippers in the outdoor space. We could not go into the mosque so we walked to the waterfront. We drove along the corniche which is active in the warmer months.

Next stop was our hotel and this one is in the heart of the city and is modern and fabulous. Our room was huge and we had an interesting bathroom with the tub and the shower in the same enclosure. We had just enough time to shower and dress and get to the 27th floor for our farewell dinner. The views were spectacular and everyone was swapping cards and wishing each other safe travels. The dinner was wonderful and they kept refreshing our wine. Our table stayed late as we all had mid- morning departures. Some of the other travelers had to leave the hotel at 3:45am. Back in the room we repacked everything trying to assure that nothing would be broken or bent when we arrived. Once that was done we went to bed.

We slept in and had a late breakfast before we met our travel buddies and boarded the bus to the airport. We got checked in quickly and our flight was posted as on time. We walked around the airport and looked in the shops until time to board. Once on the flight we settled in and we did take off close to on time. It will be close in JFK but we both felt we could run and make the connection since we had no checked baggage. The flight passed without incident and soon it was time to join the throngs in passport control. I asked one of the people posted there if they could help us make our connection and to my surprise they walked us right through. We were through passport control and immigration in less than 10 minutes and on our way to the sky train to our next terminal. There was a lot of walking and running but we made it and when we got to the gate our flight was delayed an hour. Oh well, we had time for a bathroom break and to let the family know we would be home that evening. Our American flight was uneventful and the car was right where we left it. Traffic was light and we made it home by midnight. What a wonderful trip. Already looking forward to our next adventure.