Morocco 2019 - Part I

Morocco - Marrakech to Rabat

We decided to visit Morocco while we were in Amsterdam. The trip we planned was a circular route beginning and ending in Marrakech. But after a couple of days in Marrakech we decided to change our itinerary and simply travel northward ending and flying out of Tangier. By doing so we would miss a few things in the south that we had planned on seeing, but instead, we’d see Chefchaouen, Tetouan and Tangier (in addition to our planned itinerary of Meknes, Volubilis and Fes).

Marrakech was a far busier city than we had envisioned (I think we were twenty or thirty years too late). The weather was warm and there was a constant swarm of people wanting to take you to shops that had good deals (because they got commissions). On the plus side, all they wanted was to sell you things. We never felt in any danger and felt very much at ease and safe. 

The remarkable thing to me was how we eased into a comfort level walking through the dimly lit, narrow passages of the Medina. Although the phone’s GPS was helpful, it was slow and at times, inaccurate. But we always managed to find our way.

The vibrant colors, the fragrant smells of spices and oils and sounds in the tight passages of the Medinas were unique. Diane and I felt quite at ease getting lost in the markets and then somehow finding  our way out and back home. 

 

From Marrakech we took a 3 1/2 hour train ride north to Rabat, Morocco’s capital. We had hoped for interesting scenery, but it was mostly arid land with not much to offer. The train was comfortable and on time, although the air conditioning stopped functioning mid ways, making our compartment “sauna” warm.

Once we got to Rabat, we took an old beat up taxi from the train station to where our riad (hotel) was supposedly located. The taxi driver dropped us off in front of an enormous door and said “Your riad is in there - you have to walk from here! No cars”.  At first we thought he was just trying to pull one on us. But it soon became apparent that our riad was in an area cars were not allowed. It was the “Kasbah” - the old fort city of Rabat..

The walkways in the Kasbah were narrow, painted blue and white. With the help of a young fellow, we found our riad. 

Below, Diane is standing in front of our riad. 





There were cats every where you looked. This little family of cats hung around in front of our riad and were always looking for a little attention.

In Rabat, we visited the Chellah, a necropolis but also part of an area that was used by the Phoenicians (that’s hundreds of years B.C.) and later by the Romans and thereafter, by other civilizations.

A couple of frames below, a woman is feeding cats (and also keeps eels fed in a spring adjacent to where she’s sitting).

After the Chellah, we got a ride on an electric trike taxi to visit the Hassan Tower, a mausoleum built in around the 12th century. The beautiful ornate ceramic work reminded us somewhat of the Taj Mahal. All around and inside, guards were standing guard.

 



Diane had her mind set on getting real argon oil. We asked our hostess at the riad (who only spoke French) about getting some oil. She told us that we easily could find it in the souks. We searched and found a fellow who would grind the nuts and make it right on the spot. Below he is busy grinding the argon nuts into oil. 

The next frame is us having a Casablanca beer on the terrace of our riad (which is adjacent to the beach). BTW, beer and wine were not easily found in Morocco. Sometimes when I asked a clerk where one could find a beer, I’d just get a blank stare. They didn’t have a clue!

Above, Diane and I are having our evening meal with our half-bottles of wine that we got elsewhere. The people at our riad (Riad Bahia) were kind enough to allow us to indulge in our wines with our meal, but would not provide it. I mean, really, why eat dinner if you can’t have a glass of wine with it?