The Moroccan flag blowing above the medina (old town) of Casablanca. When you walk around inside the medina, you can see that the buildings are old and somewhat run-down - but they all have their satellite dishes!
This is the market that lines the narrow streets of the medina. Clothes, shoes, tajine clay pots, dishes, blankets, jewelery were all available and waiting to be bartered over in the little stands. I think I would have gotten lost inside here if I hadn't been with my friend Anna who's lived in this city for awhile and is familiar with the medina.
On our way home, we stopped at a fruit and vegetable stand for some groceries.
The beach close to the house we stayed at, right on the outskirts of Casablanca. Later in the day and when the sun was hot, this beach and the water filled up with people. The sand is the really fine kind that sticks on everything - especially sweaty sunscreeny bodies... During my last few days in Casablanca, the weather was super hot so playing in the ocean waves was a welcome relief from the heat.
Anna and I took her car (fortunately with air-conditioning!) and went on a three day roadtrip into the heart of Morocco. Once we left the city on the coast, the landscape became flat, barren, and very dry (it's the hottest time of year right now). These are stacks of hay bales we saw on the way.
This was taken from the car window as we drove through one of many little villages.
Eventually, we ended up in a more mountainous region. Here is a village surrounded by olive trees.
Our destination was Cascades d'Ouzoud - a village at the top of a 110m waterfall. This was the washroom in our hotel room. I love the tile work. And the window.
Dinner on our first night there at a little outdoor restaurant part way down the falls. Anna is pouring the typical super sweet mint tea, making sure to pour from up high so that bubbles form in the tea glass. After living in Morocco for a year, she knows all the Moroccan ways!
Little apes live and roam in the cliffs and trees surrounding the falls. A lady from another table gave this ape some bread which he decided to eat about a meter away from our table.
Here are the falls from below. The pools below the falls were teeming with people swimming or riding the fancy boats with bright upholstery. We saw a few foreigners like us, but mostly Moroccan families who were on vacation. It appeared that they either stayed in the hotels in the village (like us) or in the tents that lined the terraces beside the waterfalls. The wide steps leading from the top to the bottom of the waterfall were lined with terraces in which every flat area was used for souvenir shops, little restaurants, tents, orange juice stands (squeezed fresh on the spot), and blankets under olive trees on which Moroccan families relaxed or slept. The atmosphere was vibrant and cheerful as vacationers chatted away in Arabic, took pictures of the falls, went swimming, and mostly just enjoyed being together with their families.
Further down the river, we came across another little restaurant with lunch cooking. The clay dishes that you see are tajine pots in which the cuisine also known as tajine is cooked and served. Most tajines are composed of some type of meat surrounded by vegetables and a broth-like sauce and sometimes prunes or almonds or olives. The whole meal sits on these little barbeque-like structures to cook. Delicious!
Down river from the waterfalls, the water became less muddy and the area less crowded with people, but we continued to pass some restaurants and "campsites."
After going on a little hike up into the hills, we were ready for another swim. I took this photo because the lady in the background was dressed in the traditional head-to-toe Muslim dress. You should have seen the smile on her face as she submerged herself into the cool water, not allowing the many folds of fabric to get in the way of enjoying this swim. We didn't actually see many women swimming, mostly just men and children. Made us feel a little self-conscious when we got into the water, but we were already quite used to being out of place and continually stared at by this point.
Later that day, it suddenly rained - or I should say, poured - for about an hour. I'm guessing it's an uncommon occurrence at this time of year, because it seemed to take everyone off guard. In fact, Anna and I found it kind of amusing watching everyone panic and the police officers frantically blowing on their whistles as people ran for shelter. A couple hours after the rain, we visited the top of the waterfalls only to find that the sparkling clear water running down the side of the cliff had turned into a chocolate brown. And yes, that is a person standing by the edge of the cliff. I guess safety precautions and liability issues aren't considered here.
The following day, we drove to the city of Marrakesh. Here is a little street in the middle of the medina, or old town.
The medina in Marrakesh was massive and full of souvenir shops. I could've bought a whole kitchen of dishes, they were so lovely. I had to settle for a few little bowls and a bright blue blanket which Anna helped me barter for. Most people spoke French and some of the vendors spoke some English, but I think they were impressed when Anna tried out her Arabic on them. I'm convinced it helped us get a better price.
We bought some dates and dried figs from this guy.
Back in Casablanca now. This is the third largest Mosque in the world, named The Hassan II Mosque after the previous Moroccan king. At 200 m, it has the tallest minaret (the tower from which the call to prayer is broadcast five times a day) in the world.
The interior of the mosque. We were allowed inside as part of a tour which is offered at certain times of the week. Other times, only Muslims are allowed inside.
This is a Moroccan family that Anna and I got to visit (what you see here are two sisters and some of their children). They welcomed us warmly into their home and were full of fun and joy! We communicated in French - I was excited to discover that I could understand a lot of what they were saying, Anna translated the rest for me.
The family served us a delicious lunch complete with four courses and then tea and dessert after we had a bit of a siesta (we lay down on their daughter's beds for half an hour). This here is chicken tajine with olives. Everyone eats out of the same plate and they use bread to scoop the food with their hands. Unfortunately, my stomach somewhat unsettled on this day and I couldn't enjoy much of the food, but it all looked delicious!I feel like much of my time in Morocco was composed of glimpses - short moments in time in which I could see a little into the life of a Muslim or share a smile with a Moroccan or catch sight of a landscape or a way of living that is foreign to me. Some of these glimpses I've attempted to show you with these photos; many of these glimpses are tucked into my memory where they may randomly resurface. Some I still remember vividly, like the time a young Moroccan lady helped me as I nearly slipped and fell in the mud when it began to rain. Another is the motorbike I watched weave in and out of traffic carrying a husband, wife, and two children. Then there were the old men and young children riding donkeys loaded down with supplies as they plodded along the side of the road. And the crimson red of the hibiscus flowers growing up the side of a white walled garden in Casablanca.
Many glimpses into another world. I am glad to be home, back in my familiar world where I'm not hot and sweaty day and night and I can walk down the street without getting whistled at by every second guy. But I am also glad that I had the opportunity to experience a new continent, culture, and religion. I heartily recommend a trip to Morocco, to take a glimpse into a different way of life. You will be the richer for it. I know I am!
This is the same farmhouse zoomed in a bit so you can see the rather untypical sign marking the front of the house.