Easter break (part II)

So, Morocco... wow.

It is first necessary to mention that the trip got off to a bit of a rough start. We’ve all spent enough time being upset over it but long story short, our friend Hana had a problem with her passport and was held up by the French border patrol and was not able to come with us. But, as there was nothing we could do to help Hana, the three of us (Christine, Sarah and I) went on without her (but we missed you Hana!)

We arrived in Fez mid afternoon on the 14th. Sarah had spent the previous few days looking for an apartment for us to rent for a night in Fez – she ended up finding us a BEAUTIFUL apartment not too far from the “Medina”, or the old part of town (the touristy part). Anyway, after settling into the apartment, we went to do a bit of exploring in the Medina. First we stopped to look in a beautiful “Riad”, which is basically (although there is nothing basic about it) a traditional, BEAUTIFUL, Moroccan “hotel” of sorts. Even though it must have been painfully obvious to them we couldn’t afford to stay there, they were super nice and let us look around and take pictures – they even showed us some of the rooms and took us up to the terrace! I have never seen anything like it – there was a gorgeous courtyard with a fountain in the middle, with little sofa areas for tea, and of course amazing tile designs everywhere. As nice as our apartment was, it didn’t feel QUITE so glamorous after seeing the Riad! After grabbing a quick bite of lunch (and having our first taste of Moroccan orange juice, AKA the best drink in the world, which we had tons of the whole week) we headed out to check out some of the copper workshops. Fez is known for producing lots of copper goods (ie. teapots, plates) so there are tons of little workshops everywhere. As cool as it was, I felt a bit bad taking pictures because the workers (while using machinery and blowtorches) didn’t have safe working equipment – proper shoes, eye protection, gloves, etc. Not that they were complaining; they seemed quite happy to let us look around. While we were stopped in one of the workshops, it started to POUR outside. Literally, the craziest torrential downpour I’ve ever seen. And of course, the streets are super narrow and don’t have the best draining systems, so the water would have at least been half way up our knees! We waited until it calmed down, which it finally did, but our feet still got really wet. Anyway, our last stop of the evening was one of the tanneries, which are big outdoor areas where they soften and dye leader, where it is then made into bags, shoes, jackets etc. The tannery was SUCH an amazing sight – there are tons of little above ground shallow “well” kind of things, some of which contain a whitish liquid (made from pigeon poo, which is what they use to soften the leather – it didn’t smell too good) and others that have different color dyes, which are all made from natural products (like indigo, for example). It was really something! After seeing the tannery, we just walked around for a little bit and then headed back to the apartment (where the girls agreed to let me sleep in the big bed, which was lovely).

The next morning we made breakfast and then headed out to the Medina. We didn’t have a destination in mind so we were kind of just wandering around at first – well, we ended up in the middle of a market street, but not just any market street (and when I say street, I mean tiny crowded alleyway). It was probably the most overwhelming walk of my life! They were selling all kinds of fish, which made for a very unpleasant odor. They had big coops of chickens that men were grabbing to… well, you know - so the chickens were all flapping in a panic (and I HATE when birds flap their wings really fast, it freaks me out). Everywhere you turned there were huge slabs of raw meat being sold (Moroccans are known for eating a lot of meat), not to mention donkeys passing by every now and again and trying to dodge a million people at once. Just when I thought I couldn’t get any more overwhelmed, we saw a CAMEL HEAD hanging in one of the booths. This is when I thought I actually might get sick – there was just too much (sights and smells) going on! I probably sound like I’m being dramatic but it was just crazy. So after escaping the market alley, we found the main square where all the copper products were being made – it could not have been noisier! I don’t know how people working there don’t become deaf. We also got to go into another copper workshop, but this one was hidden, a bit smaller and (I’m guessing) less visited by tourists so that was cool. The man working there showed us exactly how he engraves the copper: with a tiny little metal chisel and a hammer! We were so surprised at how quickly he was working, and amazed it was all done by hand. I bought a gorgeous decorative tea set from him which I just love. After spending some time watching the man work, we headed over to a building that used to be a religious school. It was stunning. The walls were incredibly detailed, with intricate tile patterns and Koran passages going around the whole courtyard. After that, we just wandered around some more, stopping now and again to look in the many galleries they had, with the most impressive collections of all different kinds of antique Moroccan art pieces (ceramic bowls, jewelry, furniture, rugs, etc.) Seriously, the galleries were just endless. After a little more wandering around (the Medina of Fez is seriously like a labyrinth) we caught our train to Marrakech. It was a long and very hot train ride but, 8 hours later, we were greeted in the Marrakech train station by Sarah’s cousin. He took us out to his favorite casual restaurant, “Winoo” (which means “it’s mine” in Arabic). They had the most DELICIOUS juices I’ve ever had in my life, just amazing. By this point it was already quite late so after that we went back to Sarah’s cousin’s apartment, in central Marrakech, which is where we stayed while we were there.

Our first stop the next morning was the Majorelle Gardens, a beautiful tropical garden with a wide range of tropical plants. The colors were amazing! After that we went marketing which, in Marrakech, is not an activity to be taken lightly. For one, the market area is HUGE, and two, if you’re a tourist (especially if you’re a female tourist) you’re gonna get asked to come into every single booth (because hey, according to the sales people, you get things “for free”!) So, as amazing as the market was (tons of bags, jewelry, etc.) it did get a bit exhausting being hassled and being called a “gazelle” all the time (Sarah told us that it’s a compliment apparently?) After we could market-no-more, we went to the Badii palace, which is a ruin from the Saadian dynasty (the dynasty that came before the one currently in place). It wasn’t anything too special looking but I can imagine it looked just fantastic back in the day. After a traditional dinner (with Sarah’s dad and cousin) of “Tajine”, a traditional dish served in a special ceramic bowl (that we ate with our hands – the real Moroccan way!) we went back to the main square to see all the events going on: traditional singing, fortune tellers… and snail eating! That’s right – Christine and I were coerced into trying snails. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat them again but they actually weren’t that bad.

The next morning Sarah’s dad took us out for an amazing Moroccan breakfast (which, as it turns out, is very very sweet, very different from a savory Canadian breakfast) We had Harsha, a kind of corn like bread, with lots of honey! And of course, more fresh squeezed orange juice and sweet mint tea. Sweet breakfasts were really growing on me by the end of the trip! After breakfast we went to another Saadian palace – I think this one must have been restored because it was in pretty good shape, but it was SO gorgeous! And it was enormous, because it had been used for all the king’s wives and mistresses. I just love Moroccan architecture, with the open air courtyards, and the beautiful tile patterns. We also had a look at the tombs of members of the Saadian dynasty which was interesting. After a last lunch at Winoo, and more delicious juice, we hopped in the car with Sarah’s dad (who had been in Marrakech for work) to head down south to Agadir, Sarah’s hometown. We arrived that evening and were SHOCKED when we entered Sarah’s house (although house is hardly an appropriate word; it was more like a Moroccan palace).

Our first day in Agadir we went to the “souk” (market) because Sarah knew some of the vendors there. The markets in Morocco are really cool – they’re basically like a one-stop-shop, as they have vegetables, toiletries, appliances, clothes, electronics, etc. It’s basically like a small, just divided up into little booths, Kind of a cool idea. Anyway, after a long souk sesh, we headed down to the beach (Agadir has a gorgeous beach!) and just walked along the boardwalk and had some ice cream. We were supposed to be leaving the day after next but, it was the last wish of the Icelandic economy that its ashes be spread over Europe. Haha, okay maybe too soon for jokes… ANYWAY, because of the volcano issue, our flight home got cancelled. Since we didn’t know when we would be able to get back, we took advantage of the situation and organized a trip to Assrargh, a tiny village (in basically, no, LITERALLY, the middle of nowhere) where Sarah’s dad was born. So we set off that evening. After 3 hours on the highway, we met some of Sarah’s family (or friends? I can’t remember, she has so many family members she could be Italian) and hopped into a huge 4 wheel drive van. Why the need for 4 wheel drive? Well, to get to this village, you have to drive for 2 hours on a dirt road that is extremely bumpy. We realized the next day that this drive isn’t so bad in the daytime. Well, at night, it’s pretty brutal. We were all pretty squished and Christine and I, not used to such rugged driving conditions, were feeling pretty queasy near the end. At any rate, we made it there by about 11 that night and were again surprised to see the size of the home Sarah and her family have in the village – it was enormous!

The next morning we realized why we had come so far: the village was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. We had lunch at her aunt’s (who currently lives in the village) and then went on a bit of a hike with her uncle, who showed us all around. There was sand, mountains and palm trees everywhere, and barely a person in sight – I felt like we were in a prehistoric age, it just looked so untouched! And even the houses look authentic; apart from a few people born in the village who have returned to build vacation homes, most are quite modest. We had another meal at Sarah’s aunt’s house and after, she brought out some of her traditional clothing for special occasions and asked if we’d like to try some of it on. How could we say no? So Sarah’s aunt got us all done up in traditional Berber (because Sarah’s family is Berber, not Arab! They are very different, as we’ve found out) wedding outfits, and then we went outside and took pictures. We got a few funny stares from the local kids but it was really cool! Later that afternoon we all piled in the van for another bumpy ride back to Agadir (although, as I said, it was much better in the daytime).

On our last full day in Agadir, we went to the beach – it was great! SUCH clear water and perfect sized waves to swim in. Unfortunately Christine and Sarah both got pretty badly burnt – I somehow managed not to! However, being burnt proved to be a bit of a problem for the second part of the day: going to the “Hamam”, a Moroccan bathhouse (being burnt was a problem because the Hamam is like a sauna - not too comfortable if you're sunburnt). Some more traditional Muslim women ONLY bathe in the Hamam, but for others it’s just somewhere they go occasionally. I felt a bit awkward as Christine and I were the only white people in there but it was cool! (Although I must admit I found it a bit funny we weren’t allowed in the mosques, where people are fully clothed, but we were allowed in the Hamam where everyone was naked!) After the Hamam, Sarah had a lady come to her house to do henna for us. Well, Sarah’s mom being amazing as she is, of course it turned into more of a henna party, with cake, tea and amazing home made juice. To make it even more cool, Christine and I were each wearing a “kamis”, a Moroccan dress that they’d use to hang around the house in or to go out to the market. It was so fun! That evening we went to a little bar RIGHT on the beach (still wearing our kamis’s… trying so hard to be Moroccan) and had some tea. We were so sad to be leaving the next day! But we weren’t quite done yet… before catching our bus to Marrakech the next morning we did two things: stopped at the souk one more time, to pick up a couple awesomely priced items and took a little camel ride in a parking lot (it was a bit cheesy but it had to be done!) Then we caught our bus to Marrakech, where we were going to spend the night before catching our 7AM flight to Madrid (this was the cheapest re-routing option we could find after our flight was canceled). So we were lucky enough to get to stay with Sarah’s cousin (and have one more juice at Winoo!) and before we knew it we were in Madrid. We only had a few hours in Madrid, just enough time to get lunch and walk to the bus station (which we ALMOST ended up missing, underestimating the time it would take to find the station) BUT, after a bit of running, we made it safe and sound on the bus which, 16 brutal hours later, got us back to Aix.

MOROCCO WAS AMAZING. By far my favorite trip so far this year. It was definitely overwhelming at times (especially in the market places) but still so worth it. And I know the trip wouldn’t have been half as good if we hadn’t been with Sarah. It is most definitely possibly to get by with French in Morocco but I’m sure being with an Arab speaker helped us to not get ripped off! It was also great (as it was in Czech Republic and Vienna) to have the chance to stay with a local and get to see how they live. And, thanks to Sarah, I feel like we did so many authentic activities: trying traditional food (including snails!!!), eating with our hands, going to the Hamam, getting to see a tiny village in the middle of nowhere… all these incredible things we probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. We were also loving the prices in Morocco! You could easily get fresh squeezed orange juice for 50 cents. Compared to the prices we’re used to in France, we found this to be incredible! One other thing I loved: the architecture. It is so unique and detailed; honestly it’s just indescribable.

Concerning ways of life, I found the different extents of religious practices to be quite interesting. What I mean is, some people follow Islam much more seriously than others. For example, while many women choose to wear a headscarf, many do not. I think it’s safe to say that the majority do but it’s definitely not an overwhelming majority! So many times I would see a pair of girls walking together, one wearing the headscarf and one not - to me it was a bit odd to see! Even Sarah’s family demonstrates this balance: 2 of her sisters choose to wear it, whereas Sarah and her other sister do not. And I was shocked at how few women wore a burka (the one that covers the ENTIRE body and you can only see their eyes, if that.) I think we only saw a handful of women wearing burkas. Even the degrees to which people pray was different: some people pray (literally) 5 times a day, like the bus driver we had from Agadir to Marrakech. Right in the middle of the trip, he pulled over to the side of the road and, without any explanation, got out of the bus and prayed for a solid 10 minutes. I was just shocked! I had no idea anyone took praying that seriously. But then of course there are people, like my friend Sarah, who pray... well, let's just say not very often! Anyways, my points is that I found these religious contrasts to be quite fascinating. I guess I thought "everyone" would be a very strict follower of Islam, which turned out to be totally untrue!

Anyway, even though we got stuck a couple extra days and ended missing all our classes for the week, it was TOTALLY worth it, we had an amazing time – thank you again Sarah!!! Now we’re all back in Aix – kind of a low point after all that travel, to be honest – and waiting for exams to start. Upcoming travel plans: leaving for GREECE on May 26!