An introduction to Morocco

    I think I’m still processing where I am when just two days ago I was flying out of Minneapolis to Paris then to Casablanca. I am doing an organized tour, which if you’ve read my other posts, you know that’s not my normal modus operandi. So far so good on that front.  After the introductory dinner last night, which was amazing, and a quick little walk to find a cash point, I retired to my room. You would think I would be tired, but I could not sleep. We had an early start in the morning, heading to Rabat, so I tried to get some rest.

    We piled onto the coach, 27 people for about 40 seats, so plenty of room. The drive out gave us a little bit of an overview of Casablanca (we return on our last for more exploring), views of the Atlantic coast, shanty towns, palm trees, industrial neighborhoods and people selling fruit along the roads. The landscape was greener than most of us expected, but they received a lot of rain in January, which was very much needed. We arrived in Rabat and walked up to the Palace grounds for some photos; the grounds of the Palace are not open to tourists. That was a little disappointing for a few of the stops, but logistically I don’t know how we would have fit it all in. The weather was beautiful and made for some great photos.

        

There is so much history in this country from the Berbers to the Roman Empire to Arab westward expansion to Spanish influence and the French protectorate of the first half of the 20th century. See what I mean? It’s a lot. It’s felt in the architecture, the food and the languages the people speak. 

We spent some time walking through a neighborhood, the lanes reminded me of one of the older quarters in Barcelona, narrow footpaths, shops and homes. After lunch we headed to Meknes, which was once the capital in the 17th century under the Sultan Moulay Ismail. Meknes is in northern Morocco and we all instantly noticed it was cooler, which was really nice after the warm coach. During our visit, there is a lot of renovation of the key sites, but we did visit a wonderful musical museum, with traditional Moroccan instruments, in a gorgeous building. Our local guide also talked about the Jewish population in Meknes, which was of interest to me. When the Spanish, under Ferdinand and Isabelle, kicked out the Jews and the Muslims, they went to Morocco, and one of the cities the Jews went to was Meknes. 

The last stop of the day was at a former mosque, now a mausoleum (under Moroccan law, non-Muslims are not allowed in active mosques, this was set up during the French colonial period, but there is an exception - stay tuned). 

Today was packed with a lot of walking, information and a lot of driving. I do think I will sleep well tonight. Looking forward to the trip to the Middle Atlas Mountains tomorrow and exploring the city of Fes.

I’m hoping my French improves. Fingers crossed.