Mapping my Moroccan travels

One last thing before I hop on the bus to go to the Casablanca airport. I made a map of the basic outline of various trips I took this summer....hopefully this will give you a better idea of Morocco geography. I'll write you from Jordan!!

The last hours...

Eid Mubarak, or as Moroccans say, ‘awasher mabrouka! Happy Holidays!

 Yesterday was officially the end of Ramadan for Moroccans, also known as Eid al-Fitr, even though the rest of the Muslim world celebrated the end of Ramadan two days ago. Morocco and Pakistan were the only exceptions, as determined by astronomical calculations, since the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar calendar.

Larache in the morning...completely empty during Ramadan. I was on the way to the bus station to meet up with Meredith in Casablanca.

We’re also wrapping it up here at AST. We finished our exams on Saturday, so we’ve had the past few days free of any classes or work! Definitely a welcome break, and it was the only full weekend that I’ve spent in Tangier since the very first weekend – actually this past Saturday night was the first time I’ve slept at AST since June 23.

Some updates on my recent travels:

-       July 28-29: weekend in Larache, Casablanca, and Al-Jadida

-       August 4-5: weekend in Meknes, Fes, and Sefrou

-       August 11-12: weekend in Taza and Al-Hoceima

And the highlights: 

(a) Going to a play in Larache that didn’t start until 11pm, so I ended up sleeping through basically the whole thing. Also, it was in French and Tunisian Arabic, so I probably wouldn’t have understood much if I had tried. At least my napping served as a form of entertainment for the other students there. The view from the Corniche in the quiet morning was incredible, though.

Part of my walking tour in Casablanca to admire the colonial architecture...not much else to do besides walk around and go to the mosque, especially during Ramadan.

In front of the minaret, as well as the women's entrance to the mosque. Luckily I dressed conservatively, so I was allowed to go in.

(b)   Going into the enormous Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, even though it was technically closed to non-Muslims that day. Usually there are tours for non-Muslims (the only mosque open to non-Muslims in Morocco), but Ramadan messes up all the schedules. I convinced the guard in Arabic to let me go in to the women’s section (a raised platform inside the massive mosque), as long as I covered my hair. The inside was incredible and ridiculously massive, and I didn’t even have to pay the normal tour fee! It’s Morocco’s largest mosque, and its minaret is the tallest in the world.

The enormous Hassan II mosque, built on land reclaimed from the Atlantic.

On the walls of the old medina in Al-Jadida

(c) People-watching with Meredith in al-Jadida before Iftar. We sat on a bench outside a giant market and were enthralled by the endless buzz as people rushed to prepare for breaking the fast – Moroccans scrambling to buy last minute foodstuffs, cars nearly running people over in the street, men jogging in the street to pass the time, oblivious children chasing each other in the park, homeless men waking up, probably hoping for some acts of generosity. Then we ate Iftar in a restaurant on the street with Moroccans, and took a perilous grand taxi ride back to Casablanca in the dark to catch the train in time.

The outdoor seating of the non-descript restaurant in Al-Jadida where we ate Iftar

(d) Being amazed by the generosity of a Sufi family in Meknes. Idriss, the father, gave a lecture on Sufism at AST the previous week, and I spoke to him after the lecture, and everything fell into place after that. They not only picked me up from the Meknes train  station, but also generously welcomed me into their house for Iftar, dinner, and sleep. They took me around Moulay Idriss (the first Muslim city in Morocco), Meknes, and then saw me off to Fes the next day. I felt incredible lucky to have had this experience and truly couldn’t have asked for more. 

Outside the mausoleum in Moulay Idriss with two members of the (large) family in Meknes. The wooden bar is meant to keep out large animals, as well as non-Muslims.

The Sufi family unexpectedly bought me so prayer beads as a gift!

(e) Having Iftar at another Moroccan family’s house in Fes, after a long day of walking around the old medina. I had spent quite a bit of money (it’s all relative) on a leather purse earlier that day and was slightly frustrated at being ripped off, but a little family time definitely helped. 

Walking through the small alleys in the expansive souq in Fes.

The old section of Fes - the Islamic buildings have green roofs.

Looking out over Sefrou and the Middle Atlas Mountai

(f) Taking a side trip to Sefrou, a small town outside of Fes, to spend a little time at some refreshing waterfalls there. I then walked up to an overlook point with a gorgeous view of the Middle Atlas Mountains before heading back to Fes to catch the train to Tangier.

(g) Sleeping in a dirty, slightly sketchy hotel in Taza for 4 hours (5:30-9:30am) after taking a miserable 7-hour train ride from Tangier. That bed was the most welcome sight ever, and those four hours were the most needed in a while…and better than taking a nap in the train station, for sure.

James and me in the Friouato caves, towards the beginning of the four-hour expedition when our clothes were still semi-clean. Our guide was a huge picture-taking fan, too, even though it wasn't the most environmentally-friendly practice.

On our way back up the 500+ stone stairs to daylight and the heat of Taza.

(h) Exploring the largest known cave in North Africa – Friouato Caves – just outside of Taza, and chatting with our friendly taxi drive on the way. James and I had been planning this trip for a couple weeks, and we actually made it happen! Even though we only had small flashlights, and everything else was pitch black, the caves were amazing, and like nothing else I’ve ever done. We were required to go with an official guide, and the whole expedition last around four hours. We were covered in mud afterwards, and then took a two-and-a-half hour grand taxi ride to Al-Hoceima on an incredibly windy route through the mountains. We shared the taxi with a slightly crazy man who kept going on random rants – luckily the taxi driver bore most of the brunt of his craziness, while we sat in back in relative peace.

(i) Taking a hot shower in Al-Hoceima and watching vast amounts of dirt go down the drain.

The view from our short hike along the coast in Al Hoceima, looking out at the Mediterranean and back toward our beach.

(j) Eating chocolate ice cream while sitting in the expansive main square of Al-Hoceima. About ten minutes after finishing our ice cream, we both suddenly realized that we were incredibly exhausted and soon thereafter hit the bed.

(k) Swimming in the Mediterranean! The water was absolutely gorgeous, even though the beach itself was slightly subpar. We hiked for a short time along the coast, in hopes of finding a route to a beautiful beach that we could see in the distance, but the route became impassible, so admired the lovely views and then headed back down to jump in the water. We tossed the Frisbee for a bit, collected pretty rocks (which we unfortunately forgot to take back with us), and floated with ease in the salty water.

Even though we didn't make it to the really pretty beach, the view was still awesome.

(l) Following another treacherous, yet beautiful route back to Tangier through the mountains. It was a five-hour ride, during which we couldn’t do anything but occasionally look out the window before getting too scared or too sick, or just sit and talk. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though, although I wish we could have spent more time in Al-Hoceima. Arabic class was calling, though.

Overlooking Tangier during sunset

(m) Relaxing in Tangier for the last weekend…saying goodbye to Moroccans, taking the final exam, playing 1v1 soccer, throwing the Frisbee, swimming in the pool, scrapbooking, catching up with friends, packing, doing laundry in the sink so I don’t take a giant suitcase of dirty clothes to my Egyptian host family, and getting ready for the next period in my life abroad.

Part of our recording of an ant documentary for a class project...narrated in Arabic, of course

I’m hoping to write another blog post with more about the actual Arabic program, since that was the focus of the program. Somehow traveling updates seem to have taken priority, at least as far as blog posts go, but in short, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here – from Arabic, to culture, people, and travel, of course.