Dec 30-Jan 1 Casablanca and Coming home

The King: Mohammad VI is the king of Morocco and he primarily lives in Rabat, the administrative capital of the country, where the parliament resides.  His grandfather, Mohammad V led the movement to independence in the 1950’s.  When it was granted from France (and Spain) he came up with the phrase which is placed in huge letters on dams and hillsides “God, Nation and King”.  The king is the head of the faithful in Morocco rather than the head of State.  However, he also controls the army.  In controlling religion a ministry reviews the sermons to be given throughout the nation to make sure they are moderate rather than fundamentalist we are told.  They also suggest topics to be discussed.  There is a giant mosque in Casablanca on the end of the Atlantic ocean.  It is named for Mohammad V and his tomb rests nearby.

Jewish Museum: There is only one Jewish museum in the Arab world and it is here in Casablanca.  Unfortunately it did not have a section speaking to the history of Jews in Morocco which goes back to the early Berber times.  However, it did have displays of artifacts.  One of interest is the hand of Fatima which protects you from evil, much like the evil eye in Greek and Turkish cultures.  It was interesting also to see the part of the constitution that includes religious freedom and guarantees the rights of minority groups.

Rick’s Cafe:  You remember this from the movie with Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.  This was filmed during World War II so it was completely filmed on a Hollywood stage.  Thus, there never was a Rick’s café until one was conceived a decade or so ago by an entrepreneur and it has become a main focus of tourist activity in Casablanca, especially since there is little of interest to see here as it is the commercial hub of Morocco.  We went here for New Year’s eve celebrations complete with a piano player and songs from the 30’s, as well as Moroccan music.  We each got a fez to wear and the film is continuously shown on a big screen.  There is also a roulette wheel.  Karen found it very cute.  The food, however, was not very exciting.

January 1: Coming Home is not always easy

Our flight home: So we made it from Casablanca to Paris with no problem and we even made it over the Atlantic, but then we had a problem.  There was a fire in one of the lithium batteries that power the moving seat in 1^st class.  All of a sudden our movie screen went blank and our plane started a deep descent.  We were going to made an emergency landing in Montreal.  The landing went well-we all applauded the crew that did a nice job-and fire engines surrounded the plane.  The fire had been put out quite rapidly and they were able to stabilize things so we could take off again.  Of course they then needed to gas up and to deice (as the temp was 20 degrees).  We left 4 hours later!  Karen was interviewed on Chanel 7 (ABC News as we walked out of customs).  This was all reported realtime by bloggers-see http://mashable.com/2015/01/01/air-france-business-seat-fire/ So sometimes it is not so easy to come home but it sure feels good when you get there!

Summary of our trip: As I think about the trip I would recommend Morocco for a visit.  It is probably the most liberal and comfortable Arab country to visit.  It feels safe, the roads are well kept, the people friendly and the sights interesting. There is the desert, the high mountains and the ocean.  There is Roman history, Berber history and Jewish history in addition to the dominant Islamic culture.  The Islamic art is beautiful and the food is quite good, although you get tired of stews (tagine) after a while.  Oh, and it is fairly inexpensive with some beautiful hotels.  We found the Lonely Planet guidebook to be excellent.

Dec 30 Chefchaouen

Where we are on the map: This town is in the Northeastern corner of Morocco, not far from Tangier and across the Straits of Gibraltar(which connects the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean) from Spain.  We are basically completing a circle tour of the country, having started in Marrakech in the Southeast, then going west to the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert, to the middle of the country at Fez and completing our tour in Rabat and Casablanca tomorrow in the mideastern Atlantic coast part of Morocco. 

The countryside: Although agriculture remains the major industry of Morocco, there has been a great exodus from the rural areas to the villages and towns.  The reasons are universal:  to find work or to advance one’s children’s prospects for a better life.  The move may also be the result of being one of 8 children and knowing the land will not come to you in the future.,  The result is overcrowding of school in towns and the need for split day sessions of school.  We saw the teenagers traipsing out of school at 11 am, having finished their half day.  It reminds me of when I was in elementary school in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1950’s, and I was part of the baby boom where we too had split day classes.  I moved North to New Jersey in 4^th grade and realized how far behind I was because of those half days.

Having moved to the city does not mean you have left the farm behind.  Our guide is typical of middle class people in Morocco who still have family land in rural areas.  He has his orchard of olive and date trees, orange and apples also.  He goes there on weekends to sit under the date trees and relax. 

In the North we have moved from a desert climate to a verdant one where there are endless olive trees, planted grains, and eucalyptus trees.  There are sellers of crates of oranges on the roadside.  In town we stop at a café.  The toilet is one of those stand up stalls where you plant your feet and hope your aim is good.  You sit with your small glass of mint tea-boiled green tea with sprigs of fresh mint and a sugar cube.  The tea is poured from a silver plated teapot that is held 2 feet above the glass with perfect aim.  The handle of the teapot is so hot it must be held with a table napkin; so too is the glass.  You sip slowly as it is very hot and look at the crowds of people who stare back at the foreigners rare in this village.

Cannabis: This area gets the most rain in Morocco and the weather is perfect for cannabis to grow naturally.  In the 1960’s hippie culture was well established here and had a high time.  However, it remains illegal to grow and harvest it.  The prison terms are quite lengthy if caught.  However, we are told that bales are transported at night on donkey to the nearby coast where they are taken to Europe-especially Holland where it is legal.

Chefchaouen: This is known as the “blue city” because of the colors of the houses.  It is tucked in a mountain valley and very picturesque.  Here Jews came to escape the civil war in Spain and the rise of Nazism in German in the 1930’s. As we climb the hills we can see the Mediterranean in the distance.

Dec. 29 Volubilis, Meknes and Moulay Idriss

Volubilis: This is the first city in Morocco, founded by the Romans around 40 AD and abandoned around 280 AD.  It fell into disrepair and much of the marble brought from Italy was taken to Meknes to build the royal palace there.  Then in 1755 it was buried by the great Lisbon earthquake which destroyed many cities far away from the epicenter in Lisbon, Portugal.  Excavations began with the French occupation in 1912 and, as can be seen in the photos, there remain beautiful mosaics and reconstructed arches and columns.  I also learned where the ancient peoples originally came from: the Berbers from Iraq, the Carthaginians from Tunisia, and the Phoenicians from Lebanon.  We were also told that lead poisoning was a major problem as lead was used to line the areas that held drinking water.  This was a common reason for early death and it was thought that Caligula was affected leading to his madness and excess.

Meknes: This is the least spectacular of the four Royal cities even though it was developed by the most powerful early Arab leader, Moulay Ismail who, through bloody warfare, subdued the major Berber tribes and unite most of Morocco under his leadership.  Perhaps the most interesting area was the stable that held 12,000 horses and the intricate system they had to water and feed the animals.  These served the 16,000 sudanese (the word for black in Arabic) soldiers.  To plan for the future Moulay got them each a woman so they would produce males who he would then train as the next generation of soldiers.

Moulay Idriss: This is a holy city with the tomb of the descendant of Mohammad who brought the Word to Morocco in the 9^th century.  Not only are non-Muslims restricted from visiting the Mosque/mausoleum but until recently they were barred from staying overnight within the city limits.  It is a requirement that every Muslim make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in his lifetime.  For a poor Muslim who cannot afford to make the journey he can instead go to pray at Moulay Idriss 7 times during their lifetime. 

Karen: The Roman ruins are quite remarkable because they have only been excavated recently so that the colors of the mosaics are still very bright. I was truly in heaven because I love Greek and Roman ruins. There were many columns still intact but it was explained that all statues were broken because of the Islamic edict against depicting human forms. We were also told that in addition to the usual brothels there were special houses for homosexuals since homosexuality was accepted by the Romans.

Today we went to another market and I must admit I’ve had enough of animal carcasses. Today men were walking down the aisles with goat and cow carcasses including the heads, carried on the men’s shoulders.  Every market has bins and bins of all kinds of olives and everywhere we go there are olive groves in all directions. Olive trees need little water or care and they start to produce after only a few years. They can live for centuries.

The traditional Moroccan diet has no cheese, although La Vache que rit is advertised everywhere. One can purchase cheese that comes from abroad at a supermarket.  The start of a meal has 8-10 little salad dishes similar to mezzas, all vegetarian.  At every traditional meal we are offered some kind of couscous and a tagine, made of beef, lamb or chicken. The chickens which we also see live everywhere in the markets , taste so different from our chicken in the States because it is fresh when it is cooked.  We have really enjoyed their flavor. For dessert we are offered a huge bowl of assorted fruits. I have never been a fruit lover, so it’s not appreciated by me. In every hotel room we are also given a fruit basket. Orange trees are everywhere, including in business districts. People here do not traditionally eat chocolate. There also is very little salad with lettuce. However, one needs to be careful about eating lettuce here, except in finer restaurants. We also get mint tea offered to us everywhere, including when we go into shops. Mark really loves it. After having it a few times, I’m not that enamored of it. There is a way of them pouring it from high in a spout to your glass. Mark bought a silver tea pot and I promised to make him mint tea when we get home. With all traditional meals we are served bread. It looks like a giant pita and is pretty bland. Occasionally we have had some with more flavor. Today we saw a bakery, where the women bring in their bread for the baker’s oven. At the end of the day, the women come to collect their own loaves.

Dec 28-Fez

Fez: Fez dates from the 9^th century and was the first city developed by the descendants of Muhammad who came to Morocco to convert the Berbers.  It is a Royal city with the king’s palace, a spiritual capital and a seat of learning with the first university of the country.  The melena (the Jewish quarter) is situated next to the Royal palace both for protection and so they could serve as advisors. Note the balconies that come from the Spanish style.  Then there is the medina (the old city) dating from the 9^th century and the new city (dating from the 15^th century).  There is a beautiful blue arched entrance to the medina.  We spent hours wandering through the narrow streets and visiting the various shops: caftan shop (the stylish woman’s dresses that can cost up to $50,000); embroidery shops (handmade tablecloths and linens); and silversmiths (see Karen helping the artisan who is working on our teapot).  There were tons of the best looking foods you could imagine-shops with 20 different types of dates, fruit shops with many types of oranges, apples, and kiwi fruit; bakeries with the middle eastern sweets made of honey and flower, butcher shops with the butchers cutting the meat from a freshly hung carcass and fresh chickens in pens with their heads ready to be lopped off by the buyer. One can even rent a wedding chair in the souq-pure white and elaborate for the bride and groom to be carried through the streets on their wedding day.  We shared the alleys with mules carrying supplies.  In another area there was a tannery which I took a picture of-they give you mint leaves to smell as you walk through it to mask the smell.  Pigeons are kept in cages so their droppings can be used to help cure the leather-camel, goat, cow, sheep. 

Mosques: You may wonder why I do not have pictures of the inside of mosques.  That is because non-believers are excluded from mosques in Morocco.  However, there are a few one can peek into and I took a picture of one.  Our hotel is near one and we are awakened at 5:30am with the call to prayer.

Karen:  Two nights ago we were in a desert encampment. The tent accommodations were very nice but it was so cold I slept under four blankets, two of my sweaters, two of Mark’s sweaters, and my winter coat. The camels we rode seemed very different from those we rode in India. It was much easier getting on and off. In India, when the camel bent down I felt like I was going to fall on my head. That wasn’t the case here. We learned that camels are similar to dogs as they follow commands etc. Apparently they also have a large capacity for remembering. If you are mean to a camel he will remember it and years later try to bite you. Today most camels are raised for their meat. We haven’t tried any yet.  It is very lean with no cholesterol.

Our guide has told us about his family. He saw his future wife by chance and determined he wanted to marry her. He asked her father who said he had three daughters and would give him a choice between the three.  

Fez had many modern areas besides the souks that we went to. The souks were like labyrinths, without both our guide and another man whom are guide hired we would never be able to know where we were. It was quite pleasant but I can imagine the aromatic smells when it is hot would be overwhelming. 

Dec. 26-27 The Desert

Weather: The weather has been the same each day.  Not a cloud in the beautiful blue sky.  The temperature is in the low 50’s in the morning, rising to the mid 60’s in the afternoon and falling to the mid 40’s at night.  There is no wind and the sun is very bright.

Practice of Islam: Today is Friday, the holy day in Islam.  But it is practiced differently depending on where you live and who you work for.  If you work for yourself you take Fridays off and work the other 6 days.  On Friday you dress in white, go to the Mosque in the morning, have a nice couscous lunch and then either visit friends or they visit you.  If you work for the government or industry you have our typical work week, being off on Saturday and Sunday.  You are given an hour off at midday on Friday to go to pray at the Mosque.

Police presence: There is not much of a military presence other than in main tourist areas in major cities, those because of the past history of terrorism.  In the countryside there are 2 gendarmes before the entrance of each town.  You stop; they briefly look at you and your car and then wave you on to enter the city.  Some cars are pulled aside but the reason was unclear.

Race: As we move south the skin color of the people darkens-the Arabs and Berbers.  We now also see blacks from Mali.  They were originally brought here by the Arabs as slaves in the 15^th century.  It appears that there is the same racial disparities in opportunities and health that we have experienced in the States.

Ksars: I remember in my French class in high school the phrase “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose “the more things change, the more they are the same”.  This is apt in describing the ksars, high walled gated communities dating from the 11^th century.  Inside are houses, community areas for weddings, bath houses.  It seemed very much like the gated communities that are found in many of our suburbs.

Olives and Dates: Olives are harvested in November and Dates in October.   Unlike in the U.S. where olive oil prices can vary enormously, our guide says that there is little price differential.  The olives pressed early yield less oil but of better quality but the price is only about $7/kg vs $5/kg for the late harvested olives which had a higher yield of lower quality oil.  Dates, however, have markedly different prices depending on their shape and size.  The large plump ones can cost $25/kg and the smaller ones $2.  He explains that it is not so much the taste but the larger ones are what you give guests. The olives and dates are really good tasting.

Building houses: In the villages you see a lot of unfinished houses.  It was explained to us that you do not borrow money to build a house, if fact, borrowing with interest is against the Muslim religion.  So a person will save enough money to start building a house and when the money runs out the building stops.  The person works hard and saves and then the building can continue.  One is given by the government up to 7 years to complete a house.

Cell towers: They are everywhere placed on any high area as phone service is primarily cellular and TV is by satellite dishes that sprout from the most meager residence in the villages, but not the countryside.

Jinn: There is the mythology around the genies or Jinn that derives from the Quran (Koran).  Although the belief in Jinn is more in the countryside it is quite widespread.  Before one eats, one blesses God so the Jinn do not eat part of your food.  They are as numerous as people and often stand on one’s left shoulder and may be 100 m. tall.  There are good and bad Jinn.  While this is taken very seriously there are also jokes.  Our guide told us one: Aladdin rubs on his lamp and the Genie appears.   Aladdin asks for a villa to which the Genie replies “do you think I would live in a lamp if I could conjure up a villa”.

The desert: You may think of the desert as endless expanses of flat sand, like an unending beach.  It is not so.  Instead the winds build up dunes so it is more like the undulating waves of the ocean with some dunes hundreds of feet high.  We rode on camels for about an hour into the desert.  Riding a camel is like riding a horse but it is more gentle and swaying.  It is quite pleasant.  We watched the sun set from a high dune and some boys had brought a snowboard and were sandboarding down the dune.  The sunset was nice but not spectacular but the stars were wonderful away from the lights.  We slept in a tent and took or meals on the dunes.  Dinner was multicourse with a potato and vegetable soup, followed by a tomato and green pepper mezze that you dipped the thick bread into.  The main courses were couscous with chicken, raisons and vegetables (carrots, celery, squash) and a lamb dish with prunes.  Before dinner sweet Moroccan tea with mint leaves was served with black and green olives and peanuts.  The ending to dinner was a bowl of fruit-oranges with their stems of many varieties, apples and bananas.

Why I write blogs on vacation: I was asked this by one reader.  “This is supposed to be a time of relaxation, why spend it writing”.  For me, the sharing of experiences and new knowledge and pictures is a way of bringing my friends and family with me.  I am also an inveterate teacher and I cannot help but share my new knowledge.