So I know I have touched on this subject before, but I am going to revive it, because it’s what I am most fascinated by in Morocco. I cannot believe how crazy-diverse this country is. In an eight-day excursion we covered everything: metropolitan, mountainous, desert, and historical. Clearly Marrakech was going to be different from the Sahara desert, but even cities I knew only by name had very distinct feelings to each of them. The only common thread was tagine. I haven’t talked about tagine yet, but it is basically a dish of stewed vegetables and meats. I have it most days at home, and while it is delicious, by the end of the trip, after 12-14 meals of tagine, we were ready to take a much-needed break.
This is tagine- vegetarian version.
Marrakech:
Marrakech was a melting pot of history, culture and tourist activity. For the first hour or so in Marrakech, I did not see a single non-tourist who wasn’t working as a guard or taxi driver. Even still, we were able to absorb some culture by visiting the Saadien tombs, which were breathtaking, and taking a trip to the famous Djemma al-Fna, a giant square that dominates a lot of the culture of the area. During the day, the square is full of “snake charmers” and traditionally dressed men who scam tourists, but at night the square fills with locals and story tellers. I got to witness a little bit of both.
The city itself is very modern and artsy:
By contrast, this is Djemma al-Fna. And a picture of the snake charmers I was able to take sneakily without paying for it.
Sahara Desert
I have been in a couple deserts before, and while they are beautiful, not a single one holds a light to the Sahara. I was already hyped to be able to say “that one time I slept in the Sahara desert” but it surpassed my expectations entirely. The sand was unbelievably soft and I was shocked by how quickly the temperature of the sand dropped.
As part of the tourist package, the staff put on a presentation of berber music and dance for the guests of the campsite. There was one guy who was really intent on getting us to “dance”. I put it in quotations because it was really just hopping around holding hands with one another. Throughout the entirety of each song he kept shouting the arabic equivalents of “dance” “come on” “dance” “dance” “come on” “dance” “sexy”.
Our transportation to the desert:
Sahara at sunrise:
Fez
On first appearance, Fez’s medina looks similar to other medinas I have visited: cobblestone, winding, and walled. But upon exploring it further, I found it to be far cleaner and nicer than Rabat. It is known for being old, and historic, and for its particularly thin and winding roads with shallow rooves. There are artisan shops around every corner, probably a result of the near constant flow of tourists through the streets. My day exploring the medina with a guide was fantastic, but the best part by far was my first evening there. My friends and I accidently invaded a man’s house to drink tea on his terrace. He had a sign advertising the tea on the terrace, but it had originally seemed like a café, not someone’s living room.
It was so worth it though! This was the view from his terrace.
A beautiful Madrasa (religious school) we visited.
Carpet shop where I helped a friend bargain for a rug.
And the famous tanneries of Fes! They don't smell quite as bad as everyone says, but I was still relieved to get out of there.
Chefchouen
I have heard countless times from my Moroccan family and staff of our program that Chefchouen is a gorgeous city, but as much as the aesthetic captured me, I was equally captured by the kindness of the people living in this beautiful mountain city. The walls of the medina are entirely blue, ranging from periwinkle to light turquoise. I heard a lot of theories about the reasons behind this; most have to do with color keeping the mosquitos at bay (which, admittedly, were scarce). I was glad to have finished my excursion with this, however, because the people we met there were simply kind hearted and relaxed. I did not face the usual hassle from shop owners or men on the street, and I never had the feeling that someone had an ulterior motive interacting with me. I think that this one particular experience exemplifies my day in Chefchouen best: I had set out early in the morning with a number of friends to explore the city a bit more and take pictures. A woman and her son walked by, clearly having just purchased a ring of beignets (think doughnuts) and offered us one. We were so taken aback by her attempt to make a clear group of tourists feel welcome in her city that we refused the doughnuts, but talked about this little act of kindness for the rest of the day.
I still have a couple cities on my list of travel, but this excursion definitely excited the traveller in me to do more.
