Hougang Herald: Morocco- Days 1-4

Ready to depart Singapore on a bright sunny morning. We survived the first leg of our trip, Singapore to Dubai, without any dramas. The leg from Dubai to Casablanca was so empty that each passenger could have had a row of seats, so that was 3 for Michael and 4 for me. This was fortunate as when we arrived there was a 'systems failure' in the immigration area so it took almost an hour to be processed. We were met by our booked driver but then had to wait for another passenger, who didn't turn up, so from arrival to leaving the airport was over 2 hours. Not a great start!

Woke to overcast, wet morning but ventured out after breakfast. Wandered through the old Medina being pestered constantly by 'friends' who just wanted to help, then on to the Hassan II Mosque for a group tour.the Mosque is the second largest mosque in the world , second only to the one in Mecca. On our way back to the hotel we passed Rick's Cafe so had lunch there, a must considering we were in Casablanca! After a short rest we then meandered over to the 'new Medina' before returning to meet our tour group. All in all we covered about 15km today.

Hassan II Mosque

Rick's Cafe

We met the rest of our group, a total of 8, of which the only male is Michael! We have 1 Kiwi, 1 Canadian and 6 Aussies. Fortunately our leader, Samir, is male, so Michael is not completely overwhelmed. We have begun to think there is some connection between us and the breaking of droughts! Samir tells us that it rarely rains in Morocco but in the last 2 weeks there has been massive rainfalls (what they usually get in 20 YEARS!) resulting in flooding, bridges being washed away etc!!!

A breakfast we got used to...with minor variations!

Following a typical Moroccan breakfast the next morning we had a one hour train ride, travelling in a very crowded second class to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Samir gave us instructions and sent us off to explore the Kasbah and the Mausoleum containing the remains of the current king's father, uncle and grandfather.

Inside the Kasbah in Rabat

He didn't really give us an idea of the distance so it turned out to be quite a walk but luckily on returning to our meeting place he greeted us with a mixed box of very delicious pastries...the best according to him.

Mixed pastries

Then it was time to board another train, this time in small, very packed compartments with a number of locals who clearly would rather we weren't there. We arrived in Meknes in time to check in to the Hotel Majestic and head out for dinner.
Meknes was once an imperial city of Morocco and the capital of one of its most colourful eras, when the Sultan Moulay Ismail (a contemporary of Louis XIV) set out to build his own version of Versailles, constructing walls, gates and over 50 palaces with an unstoppable labour force of over 25,000 slaves.We all decided to take up the optional walking tour of Meknes which turned out to be a great option. Our guide, Abdullahtif, was very knowledgeable taking us to visit Moulay Ismail's immense Heri es Souani Granary, a mammoth architectural feat and the city's now crumbling imperial palaces and certainly gave us a greater awareness of the sights we saw as well as guiding us through the Medina. When Samir met us he led us back in to the Medina to our lunch spot,the smallest 'restaurant' I have ever been in, for camel burgers!

this is the entire 'restaurant'!

Michael enjoying his camel burger

After lunch we travelled on to Volubilis, Morocco's most impressive Roman ruin. Volubilis was one of the Roman empire's most remote bases, which remained affluent until the 8th century. The main structures remained intact until they were damaged by an earthquake in the 18th century, after which much of the marble was taken for construction in nearby Meknes.Our guide here looked like Joe Peche, and was determined to drop as many English colloquialisms in to his spiel as he could.

'Joe Peche' our guide, with Samir, group leader

Group Photo at Volubilis

From here it was on to Fes, Morocco's most traditional city, where we stayed for 2 nights. Fes is the most complete medieval city in the Arab world. The most ancient of Morocco's imperial cities, it exists suspended in time.
We spent our day in Fes with a local guide, Aziz, who began our morning with a visit to the gates of the Royal Palace before a walk through the Jewish Quarter, followed by a visit to a ceramics factory where we saw the whole process from the grey clay being prepared through the making and glazing of pottery items. Apparently grey clay is best because, unlike terracotta it does not contain any lead. It was here that I was able to convince Michael that a tagine would be a suitable Xmas present.
After this we headed into the Medina, one of the best preserved and still functioning in the world. Descending into the labyrinthine alleyways of the Medina is like taking a giant step back to the Middle Ages. Preserved by the French for its historical value, this preservation also led to the decline of the city's importance, as both government and financial centres were set up elsewhere in the country. With the Jewish population moving away in 1956, and too many rural poor moving in for it to handle, this ancient centre of learning is only a shell of what it used to be. Still, it remains a fascinating living museum. It was an amazing, although at times, claustrophobic area. We visited a tanning/ leather area which I am guessing looks much the same as it did 500 years ago...and smelt pretty bad as well. We were each given a sprig of mint to sniff on when it got too much.
We visited a number of other outlets including fabric, metal work etc and by the end of the day were rather over the shopping experience. We did have a delicious lunch of Moroccan salads and Tagines in the Medina.
After a very light dinner Michael and I had a stroll along what the locals refer to as their 'Champs Elysee' before an early night.