Chris & Shirley's 2016 Europe Trip: Chapter 4

Day 10 – Friday 13 May 2016 – Seville to Casablanca

Much to Shirley’s disgust the alarm went off at 4am, we were in the taxi at 4:40 and in the air above Seville (ahead of schedule) at 6:50. There was so little traffic the taxi driver had no issue running red lights. Thankfully we had plenty of time for breakfast at the airport before we departed. Somehow, we were on the ground at Madrid 20 minutes early.

Two hours later we were on a similar Airbus A320, this time with much more leg room – even though we had the same seats.

We arrived in Casablanca on time and took two hours to get through passport control. We were so late to baggage collection that someone had taken our bags off the carousel. To make matter worse we had to queue for luggage x-ray before we could exit the airport.

We arrived at our hotel about 10 hours after leaving our last hotel. Apart from crossing the Mediterranean we could have driven the 550 km in that time.

Our bags were left strewn around the room as went in search of much needed food. Some local tucker looked really good, and tasted better, before we realised that it was Turkish. Still it was really good. We got chatting to a Hungarian born Canadian who has been in Morocco for five months and does not want to leave.

After a short walk we returned to the hotel and met up with our great mate Fay. We were all weary but wanted to get out for a stroll. Fay quickly sniffed out a market that virtually filled the medina – the old walled city. It was quite an experience with me looking after “my two wives”. I was even asked “who was my preferred wife”. Fay said that she did not mind if I replied with “Shirley”.

Shirley in the Medina Market

We were cornered by a hotel employee (read “part time con man”) who told us the story that “today” was the annual day that the carpet-making-ladies come to Casablanca to sell their carpets. So we went along and listed to the sales pitch and admired fantastic carpets made of wool, or camel hair, or silk. They were varying sizes and prices, but the most expensive was about €600 (around $900). We politely said thanks but no thanks. However they were lovely to admire.

It was time for a rest and more chats so the hotel bar was the next stop and a bottle of wine shared by the three of us.

Now it was dinner time and we tried a local restaurant. I had Moroccan pastille which was a sort of patty consisting of chicken, couscous, sultanas – encased in a pastry casing and topped with cinnamon and icing sugar. It was interesting to say the least – but I was glad that I tried it.

Sleep came easily around 10om.

Day 11 – Saturday 14 May 2016 – Casablanca

Breakfast at 8:15 started the day, followed by a 7.5 km walk around parts of Casablanca. The highlights of the walk were seeing the Hussan II mosque (more details on Monday) and having drinks at Rick’s café (refer to the film Casablanca). Both places were very impressive, for different reasons.

Rick’s Cafe

Every time we crossed a road we risked our lives. However we survived and made it back to the hotel for a rest. The rest did not last long and we were out roaming the city. We tried an ice-cream and visited a market that all sorts of fresh veges and meat. The fish section even included some fat form of turtle.

Casablanca Tram

After about 11 km for the day our legs were weary so we worked out the tram system (which puts Melbourne to shame) and rode the tram 26 stops to the beach. It took around 30 minutes.

Casablanca Beach

We took photos of the beach, had a walk along the promenade and then caught the tram back to our hotel. About half way along there appeared to be a new housing estate under development with many high rise apartment blocks in progress.

We dined in the hotel restaurant and met another couple of the tour – from Adelaide.

This may be hard to believe but we misread the schedule, with our tour starting tonight – not last night. So we had an extra day in Casablanca. Our (new) friends from Adelaide headed off to the market and a tram trip. We decided that we would visit Quartier Habous, a modern medina built around 1923. It is now a walled market that is very easy to get lost in.

We walked three km there, about 3.5 km around the market, and the 3 km back to the hotel. It was an amazing place, with heaps of tourist stuff and plenty of fresh food for local (and visiting) people. We resisted all pressure salesman, and only bought coffee and pastry. Items of interest in plentiful supply included magic boxes, shoes, leather goods of all types, clothes of all types/styles, and plenty of metal items.

Quartier Habous Wall & Mosque Tower

Quartier Habous Stalls

I have some friends who would be in awe at the available olives. The photo below shows maybe 5% of the olives on offer.

Olives at Quartier Habous

Arabic Stop Sign

Back at the hotel it was time for a rest after taking a photo of an Arabic Stop sign.

After a rest it was time for coffee, then a stroll to take in some more sights, then back to the hotel to “meet & greet” our fellow tour participants. There are 16 of us on the tour – 11 ladies and 5 men plus a guide called Aziz. Most of us dined together in an alcohol-free restaurant. We made up for it after dinner, back at our hotel.

Day 13 – Monday 16 May 2016 – Casablanca to Rabat to Meknes

This morning we all met at breakfast just after 7am and were ready to depart by 8:30. I was in the front seat of the bus for the day – between the driver and the tour leader, Aziz. Our first visited was to the Hussan II mosque which was built (1987 to 1993) to commemorate the 60^th birthday of King Hussan II. The mosque is the third largest in the world, allowing 25,000 worshippers inside and 80,000 outside. It is a truly magnificent building/monument.

Hussan II Mosque

It even has a sliding roof that opens in hot weather. The marble floor of the mosque is heated.

Inside of Hussan II Mosque

It was then back on the bus and the drive to Rabat – the capital of Morocco. Our first stop was at the Roman ruins – something that seems to be fairly common in Morocco. Archaeologists were at work as we walked around. A notable feature was the colony of storks who had built many large nests in appropriate spots around the ruins. I was not lucky enough to get a photo of a stork in flight.

Storks among the Roman Ruins

We left the storks and the ruins and visited the mausoleum of Mohammed V, the father of Hussan II. It was another ornate monument and guarded by guards on Arabian horses.

Mausoleum of Mohammed V

The Kasbah was the last place to visit in Rabat – a walled city just like the medinas. It was an interesting place, with some lovely streets.

Lovely Kasbah Street

Our drive east to Meknes (away from the coast) was through rolling countryside that looked quite fertile with lots of feed for stock and many olive groves. We also passed many Australian gum trees that have been imported to replace the significant tree loss as the local have taken trees for heating and cooking purposes.

Other plants of note were huge volumes of cacti (used for beauty creams) and red poppies (used for dyes).

Our arrival saw a visit to an unsigned bottle shop. Alcohol is permitted by law, but not by the Muslim religion. We felt like we had visited a “sly grog” shop. Nevertheless, we purchased appropriate beverages to accompany dinner.
A short time later we were checking into our accommodation for the night – Riad Dor. A riad is effectively a home for the wealthy with the four sides opening onto a central open-space. This riad had sort of been converted into a “bed & breakfast” place. Our room was effectively a two level apartment. It was very comfortable. Other travellers were not quite so happy.

We are constantly amused by the “overloaded” forms of transport as per the photo below.

We took our wine to a local restaurant and had an interesting three course Moroccan meal. My main was some excellent kababs.

We slept well.

Day 14 – Tuesday 17 May 2016 – Meknes to Fes

Our 8am breakfast consisted of fruit juice and four different types of bread – traditional white, a sort of heavy gluggy rice bread (not impressed), some (maybe) wholemeal bread and some sort of pancakes (made from multiple layers of a very thin crepe-like pastry).

The bus was gunned up and we headed off to (surprise, surprise) some Roman ruins.

These date from the 2^nd century and were very impressive. There was also one family of storks in residence, with three chicks. It is believed that 50% of the ruins are still to be uncovered. Our guide, Rashid, was a wealth of information.

Village near Roman Ruins

After coffee we headed back to Meknes for a photo shoot and lunch.

Meknes

Shirley and I both tried a local dish called Viande Hachee Plat, which reminded us off very thin BBQd hamburgers. It was lovely and washed down by a freshly made mixed fruit juice (mainly orange).

After lunch our Meknes guide, Abdul, took us to the Kasbah and gave us a wealth of information on its history and the role of Jews in Morocco and Meknes in particular. When Israel was formed the majority of the wealth and influential Jews moved their businesses and their families to Israel, causing a significant setback to Morocco.

This setback was overcome and Morocco still claims to be one of the few countries where Jews have not been ostracised and Jews and Muslims live in harmony.
The Kasbah was established the Sultan of the time and incorporated stables for 12,000 horses – to support his invasion of other states and protect his own dominium. The 17 hectare “Harem Gardens” is now an exclusive 9 hole golf course.

Stable for 12,000 Horses

We returned to the medina to visit a couple of artisan shops that sell silver embedded knick-knacks as well as other jewellery and embroidered tablecloths etc.

It was time to say good bye to Meknes around 4pm as we headed off to Fes.
Around 5pm we arrived in Fes and checked into our Riad. It was even more impressive than the Riad in Meknes. Shirley and I had an excellent room on the 3^rd/top floor. We each had a quick shower, then met Fay in the main foyer for a chilled beverage before heading out to dinner.

My excellent meal was Tagine de kefta – a superb local dish. A few of us had a great conversation with our guide, Aziz, about family history and the ability (or inability) to trace family lineage. Aziz comes from a family of nomads where family history is so much harder to record and recall.

Day 15 – Wednesday 18 May 2016 – Fes

We had an excellent breakfast at 8am and were on the bus soon after 9am. It started as a miserable day with plenty of rain. However it cleared up by the time we had to get out and walk.

Our first stop was to pick up our local guide, Hakiema, who took us to the gates to the Kings Palace, a 14^th century construction spread over 82 hectares. The photo tell the story.

King’s Palace

Haliema explained that until the early 1900’s Muslim women were only allowed to leave their home twice in their lives – one of those times being when they got married. Most women had a craft-type skill that allowed them to create income-generating products at home.

We then drove up a hill outside Fes to look at the view from the Borj tower – one of two towers used to protect Fes in years gone by. The two towers were about three km apart and were joined by underground tunnels – an amazing feat when the local terrain is considered.

Fes Medina

Next on the agenda was a return to the medina and a walk that eventually got to one of the Fes specialities of pottery, ceramic and mosaic. I was particularly fascinated by the process to make mosaic objects. It is a labour intensive process that would not work economically in a place like Australia. Shirley bought a small tagine-like object that should bring back great memories of mosaics in Morocco. I also bought two (10 cent coin sized) ceramic hearts for Shirley and Fay – from a hustler outside the ceramic place.

Our stroll then took us to the dye centre where (mostly) agave silk is dyed a small number of basic colours from natural products. Green from mint, red from poppy, indigo/blue from a local rock, yellow from saffron, etc. It was also explained how the agave silk is gleaned from silk-like strands of the cacti of the same name.
From dying we moved to the tanneries where Shirley was looking forward to leather products. We were given small branches of mint to disguise the smell of the place. As the vats were in a renovations phase and not being used the smell was OK.

Empty Dye Vats

After the difference between goat, camel, sheep and ox leather was explained I bought a black goat leather jacket, that is apparently fire and water proof. After a process of maybe 30 to 40 minutes I got the price reduced by around 48%. Our guide found it hard to believe how well I had done. Shirley bought nothing.
Next stop was the metal ware place (note the pattern here?). Brass, silver, copper plates, tea pots, jewellery, etc, etc. We kept our hands in our pockets. The work was superb.

Last on the shop visits was the weaving place – silk, cotton, wool. Scarves, table clothes, bed spreads. We saw the weaving process and were impressed by the products. Shirley and I were used as guinea pigs for demonstration purposes.

I made the mistake of touching a fez and was pursued for maybe 15 minutes.
Our tour moves from sales to culture as we visited (in turn) a mosque, a mausoleum, a Koranic school and the oldest university in the world (started by a woman). Somewhere in between we were able to get a group photo.

Peregrine Tour Led by Aziz

There were 16 people who were happy to trudge back into our riad, relax, shower, update diaries, check photos and generally take some “time out”. We dined in the riad and casually dissected the day.

Day 16 – Thursday 19 May 2016 – Fes to Sefrou to Fes

Another lovely Moroccan breakfast then in the bus at 9:40 and a 45 minute drive to Sefrou, which is a Berber town – Berbers being the traditional owners of Morocco.

Street in Sefrou

It is maybe time to talk about cats. Virtually everywhere we stop there are cats – sometimes a few, sometimes a lot. Nearly all are malnourished. Many are a standard tabby, but even more are a variation of a tortoise shell in colour. A few are black.

It is also time to talk about the role of a Moroccan bakery, which cooks bread etc of its own making as well as bread where the dough is prepared by other citizens. In the few minutes we were in the bakery below three people came in with their own bread dough that was ready for the oven. The oven itself looked like a huge pizza oven. It looked to be a very hot job as the man doing all the work standard in a pit in front of the fire.

A Baker in a Hot Place

[Note his left hand on the pole to insert/remove bread from the oven]

The majority of the bread we have seen and eaten appears to be (from an Aussie perspective) a type of wide low bread roll – maybe 20 cm wide and 5-7 cm high.

We strolled around the market and took particular attention to the “farmers market”, where people on the land bring in sufficient produce (e.g. vegetables, fruit, olive oil) to allow them to make enough money to buy household supplies for the next week. These people do not have money in the bank, as their “bank” is the produce that they have at home (or soon will) ready for market.
Sefrou is famous for its buttons that are sent (for sale) all over Morocco. The buttons looked like small woven balls of silk. There are used for traditional Moroccan clothes.

For lunch we went to the home of our Sefrou Berber guide who has seven children with twins on the way. We had a superb meal of couscous with chicken and vegetables (zucchini, cabbage, carrot, chilli, pumpkin, squash, potato). I am not a big fan of couscous, but this was delicious. The meal ended with a glass of mint tea. The 12 year old daughter of our host used us to practice her English.