The Mazes of Morocco!

Buckle your seatbelts, everyone... since we took over 200 photos in Morocco, I have a feeling this post is gonna be a long one! Don't worry, I won't include all of the pictures :) So our trip to Morocco provided us with two firsts: our first time to the country as well as our first time to Africa. We were both very excited to add another continent to our "travel resumé." Overall, we had a great trip... and it was definitely our most adventurous yet!

On this trip, we were joined by our friends, Matt and Heather O. When the four of us left Frankfurt the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (at 3:30 am in the morning!), there was snow on the ground, so we were looking forward to some warmer weather. After our three and a half hour flight, we arrived in Marrakesh and started a very interesting day. Leaving the airport, we took a taxi to our hotel... on the way there, Daniel's first comment was "It looks a lot like Iraq." Clogging the streets with their mopeds and bicycles, everyone we saw was wearing traditional Middle Eastern garb, which I believe is common for most of northern Africa.

As we approached the wall of the old fortified city, the Medina, our taxi driver stopped and unloaded our bags, which were promptly picked up by an old man and placed in his push cart. He motioned for us to follow him, and so we did, all while wondering what we had gotten ourselves into! We were soon walking the twisting and turning side alleys of the Medina... the locals were out in the midst of their daily grind, tending to their shops. We all quickly realized that we stuck out quite a bit and that we were already fully submersed into the Moroccan culture! After several minutes, we made it to our "hotel," which is actually called a riad and is essentially a Moroccan bed and breakfast. Compared to the bustling Medina just beyond its doors, it is a quiet oasis. Here are some shots of our room and the terrace... and then there is Daniel trying to read the map so we'd be more prepared to re-enter the labyrinth outside!

As you can see, it has a Moroccan flair... as did the relaxing lobby area, where we had breakfast and dinner, and the hot tub. I especially loved all the red!

After getting settled a bit, we decided to venture back out into the Medina. Only a few minutes away, we found the Djemaa el Fna, the largest traditional market in Morocco. Acrobats, dancers, henna tattoo artists, orange juice vendors, and snake charmers fill the square. I was too afraid to get close enough to get a picture of the king cobras, but Matt was brave enough to wear a snake (thankfully not a cobra!) around his neck for a minute.

The market was a bit overwhelming... after taking it all in for a while, we found a cafe on the outskirts of the market and enjoyed the food and the view. The tall structure in the background is the minaret of the Koutoubiya mosque. This mosque is the biggest in Marrakesh and borders the southern edge of the market. Here is a closer shot of it as well as a shot of the market from ground level.

After lunch, we wandered around the Medina the rest of the afternoon. We were looking to visit some of the historic palaces but we never found them... as I alluded to before, the streets of Marrakesh resemble a maze. The lack of street signs and the winding nature of the alleys make it especially hard to navigate. Even though we didn't find the palaces, we did pass another mosque... check out the intricate carvings on its minaret. In general, it was pretty fascinating to explore the Medina and to see the authentic Moroccan way of life.

After an eye-opening first day in Morocco, it was time to head back to the riad. We passed through the market at dusk, which was pretty neat, and then we had an excellent dinner... couscous, chicken, and vegetables. I was surprised how good the food was the whole time we were there... and now I think it is time to find a Moroccan cook book :)

For Wednesday, we had set up an outing to visit the Ourika Valley of the Atlas Mountains, the major mountain chain that stretches from Morocco through Algeria to Tunisia. On the way, we had a chance to stop and meet a Berber family and to see their home... Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley.

As we walked in the door, the first thing we saw was a sheep! There was also a cow and a donkey in the next room... seriously. They were very nice people... we shared some homemade bread and mint tea with them, which the mother of the family prepared for us. Mint tea is all the rage in Morocco... though I don't normally like tea, I actually thought it was pretty good. It must have been all the sugar that they put in it :) We also saw their hammam, which is like a mini-sauna and is an essential part of Moroccan life. It was a pretty tight squeeze in there!

The open-air nature of their home provided a view from every vantage point.

As we continued east toward the mountains, we also stopped at a cooperative for widowed and divorced women. There they use aragon, which is similar to an olive and native only to Morocco, to make a wide range of products from cooking oil to beauty products. There was a nice view of the snow-capped Atlas from just outside of and from the top of their building.

Next we headed toward the village of Setti Fatma, where we would be having lunch and hiking to see two waterfalls up in the Atlas. The farther we went into the mountains we went, the colder it got... so much for warmer weather! But at least it was very scenic on the way to the village and while we were hiking.

Soon we walked by the lower falls and kept heading toward the upper falls. Both falls were very pretty and peaceful. When we were crossing over to get closer to the upper falls to take a group photo, Matt almost fell in the freezing water... thankfully he didn't!

As we started back down to the valley, I thought I might fall into the water too, but thankfully I didn't either... I just love rickety bridges! We goofed around a bit on the way back while also enjoying the scenery and the fresh mountain air. As we neared the village, we passed some men who were busily carving figurines out of alabaster from the High Atlas. They were pretty impressive... we ended up buying a camel figurine. Then we went back down to Setti Fatma, enjoyed lunch, and finally headed back to Marrakesh.

That evening for dinner, we went to a traditional Moroccan restaurant called Dar Essalam. While it didn't look like much from the outside, inside there were mosaics and carvings everywhere. And the food was fantastic... all five courses of it! During dinner, some dancers came out... the first one danced with a plate full off candles on her head. Next up was a belly dancer... the picture I took of her didn't turn out. Oh darn :) There was also a three piece band playing traditional Moroccan music. At the end of the meal, of course we had mint tea... they all pour it from high above but our waiter was especially good. The whole setting seemed like the quintessential Moroccan experience.

Our third day in Morocco was Thanksgiving Day. It seemed a bit strange to be spending an American holiday in Morocco... but then again, if we weren't in Morocco, we'd still wouldn't be in the States... we'd be in Germany! We decided to spend the day in and around Marrakesh, starting out with a bus tour through the modern part of the city. Beyond the walls of the Medina, it seemed pretty metropolitan. Then again, at one point, we did see some camels just chillin' on a street corner.

We passed by the Royal Theatre and thought we'd just get a quick peek at the place, but we were lucky enough to get a backstage tour. Although it is currently under renovation, it was still neat to see.

So you are probably wondering what we did for our Thanksgiving meal... well, we ate it at KFC! It was the most American place we could find, and we were hoping to at least have some mashed potatoes, but no such luck. Besides, we had a belated Thanksgiving celebration when we got back to Frankfurt... but for now, back to Morocco.

After KFC, it was time to head back to the Medina and do some shopping. Lining all of the side alleys and streets are a multitude of shops with wares of all kinds... hand-painted plates, baskets, mirrors, daggers, lanterns, leather goods, and much more. It really was some great shopping... especially since you can bargain for the price you want. While most Moroccans primarily speak Arabic or French, the shopkeepers know just enough English to get your attention as you walk by and then to haggle with you about the price. Daniel is quite the skilled bargainer... and I got a little better at it during our trip. We definitely bought more than we intended, but we still managed somehow to fit all of it into our suitcases!

For dinner we decided to check out the market at night... it transforms into quite the party. There are drum circles, story tellers, and a myriad of food stalls. Similar to the shopkeepers, all of the food stalls want you to come to theirs and they definitely try to entice you. Despite this, we decided to eat dinner in a nearby cafe and enjoy the view and a little less commotion.

For our last day in Morocco we headed west to the beach town of Essaouira. It was kind of a long bus ride (three hours one-way), but we had heard it was a cool place. It definitely had a laid back vibe to it and it was great to see the ocean again... though it was a bit strange taking in the Atlantic when looking west!

Essaouira is an active fishing town, so the harbor was packed with fishermen. It was pretty interesting... and pretty smelly too! The bright blue boats were also striking.

While we were meandering around Essaouira, we once again found ourselves in the midst of a jumble of side alleys... apparently, the streets in all Moroccan towns resemble a maze! So why not just do some more shopping and enjoy wandering around :)

We spent the remainder of our time just soaking up the sun at a cafe right on the shore... and of course, Daniel and Matt just had to try out the water. I definitely miss living near the beach, so it was nice to enjoy the view for a little while... plus we finally got to experience some warmer weather!

All too soon it was time to catch the bus back to Marrakesh and then get ready to head back to Frankfurt. Overall, we had an awesome trip... on top of some great sightseeing, shopping, and food, we also felt that we truly experienced the Moroccan culture, which is really what it is all about. I apologize for this post being such a novel, but we had a lot to share... thanks for reading this far! We've been busy since we got back, so I do have more to post about, but I am a bit blogged out right now... no worries though, I am sure I will be posting again in no time :) Bye for now!