Despite being warned about the dangers in Morocco to tourists, and particularly women travelling alone, I felt totally safe. Of course, the culture for women is very different than I'm used to - having to keep my knees, shoulders, and sometimes my hair covered. In 30 degree Celcius heat that was sometimes a challenge. My tour guide (Abdou from Intrepid Tours) gave us tips to ensure our safety on the streets of the old medinas in each location. Most of these tips would apply to any place you would visit around the world. Wear a money belt or protect your pockets with your hands when in a crowd, go out at night in groups of 3 or 4, all common sense stuff. Being with a tour group ensured that I was never wandering alone 95% of the time.
Morocco has the second oldest monarchy in the world (after Denmark), and it is a very stable monarchy. The people love their king. Women can be voted into parliamentary positions, and have the most freedoms compared with other Muslim countries. Abdou said that the position of women in Arab countries has more to do with the culture (polygamous and patriarchal) rather than religion. But how do you separate the two? Especially when the Koran talks about a man's entitlement to four wives (provided that he treats them all the same - with his affection as well as finances). Hmmm.
I'm going to write this blog according to the five senses. Morocco is a country that is experienced best by being there and seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling the surrounds. Before I get into where I visited, I'll tell you where I didn't go: to the blue city of Chefchaouen, nor the Sahara, nor the Atlas Mountain range. But I did see a lot in that short amount of time, and bonded with the group on the same tour. There were 16 of us, a little over half were Australian, 2 Canadians, 3 Swiss Germans, 1 Kiwi, and 1 Saudi. All but 2 of our group (including our guide) were between the ages of 23 and 39, and we all got along very well. Which is so important when being on an intense itinerary such as ours. The cities/sights I did see are: Casablanca, Moulay-idriss, Volubilis (more Roman ruins!), Meknes, Fes, Marrakesh, and Essouira.
Sights:
Certain parts of Morocco reminded me of Andalusia in Spain, although Morocco is much drier. The countryside is arid and in some areas it looks draught-stricken, when in fact the fields have been plouged (often by donkeys), the seeds are in the ground, and now the people are waiting on the rain, Inshallah (god willing).
Above: our taxi was behind these farmers towing a flatbed with their tractor, just outside of Meknes. You can see the olive trees in the background in neat rows. These trees were planted by the Phoenicians more than 2,000 years ago.
Most cities have an old medina (or city centre), and a new part created by the French colonializing forces from 1912-1956. The contrast between these two parts was marked in each place I visited. The medinas are ancient, perhaps a few thousand years old. Most of the hostels I stayed in were located in the new town, but all the sites were in the medinas or countryside. Who wants to go to a modern big city in a third world country anyways? The way to know a country is to visit where the people live and work, with their traditions and customs passed down. For example, donkeys are still a primary mode of transporting goods in the villages, and through the narrow streets of the medinas in Meknes and Fes.
Below: a donkey with saddlebags to transport goods in the town of Moulay-Idriss. Sometimes the animal would also carry a rider as well.
Each town also has several mosques, which Muslims are called to worship in five times a day (twelve times during the holy month of Ramadan). All of the mosques have several features in common: a minaret for the call to prayer (which is always a live voice in Morocco, never a recording), abulution fountains for pre-prayer purification, and a mihrab to indicate the direction of Mecca. The minaret is crowned with either three, four, or five "balls." These correspond to the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the four holy books (the Torah, the Old & New Testiments, and the Koran), or the five pillars of Islam (the declaration/belief there is no god except Allah and that Mohammad was his messenger, to pray five times a day, to give money to the poor, to fast during the month of Ramadan, and to visit Mecca at least once in a lifetime if one is hale and wealthy enough to do so). This shows the acceptance of Muslims of the other monotheistic religions. Something that is not always reciprocated by the West towards Muslim countries, a fact that many Moroccans are baffled by. Clearly, the media has a role in this negative image (especially since 9/11).
Islam came to Morocco in the eight century CE, by a man who was fleeing the Middle East from dynastic/clan wars. His name was Moulay-Idriss, and he founded a town which bears his name, and his mausoleum is a sight of holy pilgrimage in Morocco. It is said that six pilgrimages to Moulay-Idriss during the saint's festival in July is worth one visit to Mecca. Up until five years ago, this town was not open to non-Muslims. I felt privileged to have gone there.
I visited the outside many mosques, but the only one tourists are allowed inside is the Hussain II Mosque in Casablanca. The mosque is modern (built from 1987 to 1993). It was constructed in only six years as labourers worked 24/7 to complete the place of worship. The mosque is situated on bedrock at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. A sight that made me gasp when I saw it first:
Below: a vista from within the mosque. The marble floors are heated for prayer in winter (yeah modernity!) The mosque can hold 10,000 men with their prayer mats on the floor, and another 5,000 spots in women on the mezzanine level above). Gorgeous plasterworks adorn all the arched surfaces, and were carved in place.
The other sights that stand out in Morocco is the colours of the towns themselves: doorways, walls, and ornamentation. It was mostly bright whitewash with pastel colours overtop, and doors came in all sizes, shapes, and colours.
Above: a typical street in Morocco (this one is from Essouira).
Below: typical doors in Morocco (these are from Moulay-Idriss).
No tour of the sights of Morocco would be complete without mentioning the cats. I swear, there are millions of stray/partially-stray or feral cats in Morocco. I was snapping pictures of cats sleeping on bicycles, under refrigerators, playing in gardens, and eating food left out by locals (who tolerate/encourage the felines because they keep mice and rats under control - something very useful in the open-air markets). I even had one staring at me between my legs for a solid ten minutes as I ate food! Obviously it was waiting for me to drop some tasty morsel for it to have. My favourite cat photo is of me with a kitten from Essouira though:
Sounds:
The sounds of Morocco are quite different from most western countries: donkey's clip-clopping up the stairs (except in Fes, where the donkeys are shod with rubber shoes to make their clopping silent and to prevent the animals from slipping), roosters crowing at all hours, cars honking horns at the slightest delay at a freshly turned green-light, and people. The sounds of living and working! Imagine you are walking through a narrow street in the medina of Fes and you hear "ballek!!" That means "watch out!" because usually some one is trying to get by with a donkey, a cart, or a motorbike, or all three!
Above: or how about walking by the coppersmiths quarter in Fes' medina, and having your eardrums assaulted by the sounds of many hammers on metal. The clanging was impressive!
Below: or this, the demure clucking of bound chickens awaiting the slaughter.
And the souks (marketplaces)! Sellers of every kind of goods shouting out at the crowds (especially in Marrakesh, the tourist capital of Morocco). It was overwhelming sometimes to walk in the souks with everyone shouting at you to "Buy this! Buy that! Good price!" And of course, the ever-present sound of the call to prayer five times a day blasting from loud speakers across the medinas from each mosque. One of the highlights of my trip to Morocco was hearing belly-dancing music in a bar in Fes and getting introduced to a Moroccan belly-dance master by my Saudi friend and learning some new moves to supplement my knowledge of the dance (I learned the Lebanese style). I think I surprised my friends from the tour with my dancing ability!
The sounds of Morocco will stay with you. Indeed, I find myself still wanting to use what few Arabic words I learned while there. I miss the sounds of the donkeys and the markets, and the birds in the small towns and gardens.
My next blog will be about the tastes, touch/feel, and smells of Morocco as my tour through the senses continues. Stay tuned!
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