The Joy of Morocco - April 20, 2007  | | Arriving in Meknes |
Last Thanksgiving, we explored Morocco for the first time: the beauty of its land, the warm hospitality of its people, and the richness of its culture took our breaths away.
When we arrived at the Casablanca airport, our taxi driver immediately made us feel welcome: he informed us about the many different peoples who inhabit Morocco today, and he railed against the way all teenagers dress and behave! In the late afternoon, as we walked around the city center, with the setting sun lighting up everything, the streets became crowded with thousands of people, young, old, families, groups of young men or young women, some in modern dress, and some in traditional Arab garb. In many ways, it was a typical downtown, with banks, cafés, stores, small tables displaying all kinds of gadgets, candies, peanuts, fresh fruit… There was even a McDonald’s!
On our main itinerary were Volubilis (the city the Romans built in the 3rd century B.C.), Meknès, Fès and Marrakech: in ten days or so, we moved from ancient Morocco to the most modern. Our group was very small and we were able to take full advantage of our multilingual guide: Nourédine Alami is a knowledgeable and cultured man, he is also friendly and loves his native land. Through his eyes, we learned to appreciate everything we saw: he taught us some basic Arabic so we could greet and thank people, he took us to private homes he knew, he recommended good restaurants, and led us to beautiful antique stores, rug merchants, ceramics and mosaics factories... He even taught us how to bargain hard!
Typical Moroccan medieval cities go back to the 8th and 9th centuries; even today, life revolves around the medina, usually walled in. Commerce takes place in the souqs, a veritable labyrinth of market stalls, shops and craft venues: in medieval style, each commerce or craft has its section: here the potters and ceramicists, there the coppersmiths, further the leather tanners and dyers, the antique dealers and the rug merchants around the corner... We saw Fès and Marrakech over several days, and it was obvious, except for the mobylettes, that life had not changed too much since the Middle Ages: it is intense among its meandering streets, its donkeys overloaded with merchandise of all kinds, its thousands of adorable little cats (their job is to keep rodents at bay!), its friendly crowds; we were also able to appreciate the simple but elegant artwork of highly skilled Arab craftsmen …
Morocco is considering the possibility of turning Fès into a museum, much like Williamsburg in the United States. We were invited into a beautiful home, completely restored by its owner, and transformed into a ryad, not unlike our own B & B's: what elegance! We had a glass of wine and we were taken for a tour: every twist and turn led to a different treasure: a fountain in the middle of the reception room, wall to wall mosaics, paintings illustrating Moroccan life. In typical medieval fashion, one would never have noticed the house from the street, we would even have gotten lost, had the owner not met us at the entrance of the medina!
We also explored Marrakech on foot. One Sunday, we joined local families into the medina, on a huge square with hundreds of food vendors; others sold dates, dried apricots and nuts of every kind; there were snake charmers, musicians, dancers… So much to see and enjoy! In the modern part of the city, called "Ville Nouvelle" since the French occupation (1912-1951), there is a very beautiful museum of Islamic Art, and the gardens of a once famous resident (the painter Jacques Majorelle). We also wandered on our own in the souqs: what a feast for the eyes! As we bought red babouches from one young merchant, bargaining hard in French, he invited us to visit a colorful leather tanning and dyeing factory, no pressure to buy anything, he just wanted to show us what he loves about his home: all the work is done as it was in the Middle Ages. We also observed coppersmiths banging away as they shaped their bowls and buckets, jewelers twisting silver threads into wonderful pieces.
While exploring the Ourika Valley, in a field by the road, we saw a herd of dromadaries, the one-hump camels of Morocco. We had to stop for photos: the animals are very friendly, they let us pet them, some of us rode them a little... They looked at us from the top of their long necks, obviously wandering what the fuss was about! We also stopped at a roadside private home where the ladies of the house were making butter and had just taken the bread out of the oven. They invited us for breakfast and we enjoyed mint tea, with Moroccan bread, Moroccan olive oil and very dark honey: what a treat! Such hospitality! Even the house dog, a little dachsund, and its cat companion made us feel welcome!
The climate in Morocco is so pleasant and mild all year round, that most Moroccans spend their leisure time at café terraces, sipping coffee, tea and nibbling on pastries. They love to strike up a conversation and to hear about you, and to talk about themselves. What a joy to be there!
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