MORE MORE MORE MOROCCO!!!
So I’m on the train from Madrid to Barcelona for Eirin’s birthday –My Goodness after a day of trauma… anyway it’s over now…
So where was I … oh yes… Morocco… Ok
I want you all to promise right now that you’re going to go to Morocco at some stage mmm kay Mr Garrison. I began by flying direct from the Bar to Casablanca, which was nice and I got to check out Hassan 2nd big, expensive Mosque. This was, by the way, my first experience of travelling on a tour. I think, yes it was, I liked it a lot… even though it was mostly made up of older couples it was cool, my number one reason being that we crammed just soooo much… everything I wanted to see, into 2 weeks – pretty amazing huh.
We moved on to Fes after Casa, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it here. The harassment in Morocco was nothing compared to what I’d been warned – even when I was by myself – or maybe it just seemed so small after the harassment encountered in Egypt and by working nights in Bar… hmmm… yes
Anyway Fes was sooo cool… I don’t know if any of you have seen ‘Michael Palin’s Sahara’ but anyway he goes there and it the town where the tanneries are laid out like paint boxes below the houses and leather stores of the old Medina. Leather is big business and you can buy almost any leather item there, including the world famous slipper – even one’s with beads and curly toes if you so desire!
What was next… oh yes EXCELLENT into the Sahara!!!!!! I was too excited to see the giant red sand dunes rising up against the flat grey stones of the desert landscape. Fossils apparently abound in the grey stones but there is nothing like the serenity of those dunes at night! We rode camels out and camped under the stars. It was freezing – even though the days were still 35 degrees the nights were bitter and I got so much sand in my under crackers from dune climbing it was ridiculous but soooo worth it.
Dune climbing is hard work by the way.
After that we moved on the more desert landscape in the forms of the stunning oases of Todra and Dades gorges. Cool. Vibes. Man,
Alas it was at Ait Ben Haddou – Kasbah and site of such movies as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth and more (in fact Hollywood now owns all the rights to making any movies in Morocco, so um, hello… if you want to shot a film in Morocco who do you ask, the Moroccans – no, don’t be silly – some Hollywood exec!) that I was taken ill once again the curse of the Pharaohs returned… though in this case the curse of the Kasbahs…
'Twas all good as the pizza left my system and we moved on to Marrakech via the high Atlas mountains – so much beautiful scenery.
Marrakech was full of tourists which was disappointing a little, and seemed to be basically one huge construction site. However Ramadan ended while we were there and the town exploded in Eid festivities – it was beautiful. The crescent moon lit up the sky as 1000 food stores in the heart of the old town catered to everyone under the sun, with their gorgeous wee ones all dressed up in their new shoes and galabiyyas.
So I wished I could’ve taken pics of all the people to show you but alas there is a bit of a taboo against tourist photos in Morocco. No, not the Masai the camera is stealing my soul thing, but some French bastard – let me explain. Apparently some years ago a nice French tourist went travelling through Morocco, as people generally are in the Middle East they were kind and welcomed him to their homes and even let him take ‘tourist pictures’ – for his own personal use of their families (read wives and unmarried daughters)… Anyway… he published the pictures into nice postcards and books and went on to make a fortune – nothing back to the families of course – and to make matters worse those girls could no longer get married, in the eyes of society they had bared too much. So now, all my tourist pictures consist of scenery thanks Jean-Jacques-Expletive.
After that I came to the seaside village of Essaouria (I will have to check the spelling of that I’m sure I’m always spelling it wrong. Anyway for those of you in the know – my friend Alexandra was here maybe 5 years ago, I dunno and met her Husband! So I’ve heard a lot about this place and had always wanted to visit. I was lucky enough to be introduced (via the phone – Hi Ally in Sydney!) to Driss’ (Ally’s other half) family… cool, and even better they did henna for me- ‘tis cool I say!
Regretfully after that I had to return to Spain – the tour was over and I wanted to check out Granada and Madrid before meeting up with Eirin in Bar for her birthday. I managed to swing one night in Tangiers – but as I had to catch the ferry at some ungodly hour of the morning and my hotel was near the port (read seedy) I didn’t explore too much – ah well I will have to come back!!!
Seriously you may have found this entry a little lacking from the snide remarks and black humour that this blog seems to encourage in me and I can only suggest that that is because I really was swept away by Morocco -the smells (bad and good), the colours, and the desert sands. The imprint of the henna is starting to fade, but to be sentimental, the imprint of Morocco will last a lot longer on my heart… sigh.
So where was I … oh yes… Morocco… Ok
I want you all to promise right now that you’re going to go to Morocco at some stage mmm kay Mr Garrison. I began by flying direct from the Bar to Casablanca, which was nice and I got to check out Hassan 2nd big, expensive Mosque. This was, by the way, my first experience of travelling on a tour. I think, yes it was, I liked it a lot… even though it was mostly made up of older couples it was cool, my number one reason being that we crammed just soooo much… everything I wanted to see, into 2 weeks – pretty amazing huh.
We moved on to Fes after Casa, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it here. The harassment in Morocco was nothing compared to what I’d been warned – even when I was by myself – or maybe it just seemed so small after the harassment encountered in Egypt and by working nights in Bar… hmmm… yes
Anyway Fes was sooo cool… I don’t know if any of you have seen ‘Michael Palin’s Sahara’ but anyway he goes there and it the town where the tanneries are laid out like paint boxes below the houses and leather stores of the old Medina. Leather is big business and you can buy almost any leather item there, including the world famous slipper – even one’s with beads and curly toes if you so desire!
What was next… oh yes EXCELLENT into the Sahara!!!!!! I was too excited to see the giant red sand dunes rising up against the flat grey stones of the desert landscape. Fossils apparently abound in the grey stones but there is nothing like the serenity of those dunes at night! We rode camels out and camped under the stars. It was freezing – even though the days were still 35 degrees the nights were bitter and I got so much sand in my under crackers from dune climbing it was ridiculous but soooo worth it.
Dune climbing is hard work by the way.
After that we moved on the more desert landscape in the forms of the stunning oases of Todra and Dades gorges. Cool. Vibes. Man,
Alas it was at Ait Ben Haddou – Kasbah and site of such movies as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth and more (in fact Hollywood now owns all the rights to making any movies in Morocco, so um, hello… if you want to shot a film in Morocco who do you ask, the Moroccans – no, don’t be silly – some Hollywood exec!) that I was taken ill once again the curse of the Pharaohs returned… though in this case the curse of the Kasbahs…
'Twas all good as the pizza left my system and we moved on to Marrakech via the high Atlas mountains – so much beautiful scenery.
Marrakech was full of tourists which was disappointing a little, and seemed to be basically one huge construction site. However Ramadan ended while we were there and the town exploded in Eid festivities – it was beautiful. The crescent moon lit up the sky as 1000 food stores in the heart of the old town catered to everyone under the sun, with their gorgeous wee ones all dressed up in their new shoes and galabiyyas.
So I wished I could’ve taken pics of all the people to show you but alas there is a bit of a taboo against tourist photos in Morocco. No, not the Masai the camera is stealing my soul thing, but some French bastard – let me explain. Apparently some years ago a nice French tourist went travelling through Morocco, as people generally are in the Middle East they were kind and welcomed him to their homes and even let him take ‘tourist pictures’ – for his own personal use of their families (read wives and unmarried daughters)… Anyway… he published the pictures into nice postcards and books and went on to make a fortune – nothing back to the families of course – and to make matters worse those girls could no longer get married, in the eyes of society they had bared too much. So now, all my tourist pictures consist of scenery thanks Jean-Jacques-Expletive.
After that I came to the seaside village of Essaouria (I will have to check the spelling of that I’m sure I’m always spelling it wrong. Anyway for those of you in the know – my friend Alexandra was here maybe 5 years ago, I dunno and met her Husband! So I’ve heard a lot about this place and had always wanted to visit. I was lucky enough to be introduced (via the phone – Hi Ally in Sydney!) to Driss’ (Ally’s other half) family… cool, and even better they did henna for me- ‘tis cool I say!
Regretfully after that I had to return to Spain – the tour was over and I wanted to check out Granada and Madrid before meeting up with Eirin in Bar for her birthday. I managed to swing one night in Tangiers – but as I had to catch the ferry at some ungodly hour of the morning and my hotel was near the port (read seedy) I didn’t explore too much – ah well I will have to come back!!!
Seriously you may have found this entry a little lacking from the snide remarks and black humour that this blog seems to encourage in me and I can only suggest that that is because I really was swept away by Morocco -the smells (bad and good), the colours, and the desert sands. The imprint of the henna is starting to fade, but to be sentimental, the imprint of Morocco will last a lot longer on my heart… sigh.
posted by Ingrid @ 2:43 AM
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