Morocco- Home of the McArabia

Hassan II Mosque at night with light pointing to Mecca
September 10
Morocco Day 1

I am now in Morocco. Spain was incredible and I know each country is going to be amazing but each in its own way. First off, we left Spain around 8:00 pm at night. The next day we were out off the Rock of Gibraltar. I think I mentioned in my post about Gibraltar that many ships, freighters and other boats are anchored offshore. The reason for this is this is where many ships refuel before setting off wherever. We spent most of the day after Spain refueling and then we left for Morocco which we would arrive at the next morning.
Before going to bed Wednesday night, I was extremely pleased to hear that we get 2 hours back. For me this means 2 more hours of sleep which you can imagine is very much appreciated. The next morning I woke up around 6am and looking outside my window I saw we were just passing the entrance to the port. I fell back asleep and when I woke up again around 7:30am we were docked next to some cranes and cargo crates. It all reminded me of San Pedro back at home. The window view from the boat while docked in Spain was not better by much. Hopefully future ports will have better views but I won’t hold my breath.
Just like in Spain, I had one of the first field trips which was the Casablanca City Orientation and therefore was part of the first group to leave the ship. We boarded a bus and met our tour guide (who’s name I could not pronounce and subsequently forgot). She wore the typical middle-eastern garb of women which is a long dress with a cover for the hair (the face is okay to leave uncovered now). Most women dressed like this but not all. As I said before, this was my first time in Africa ever and had no idea what to expect. Upon entering the city I first noticed the Arabic writing on the signs and then the French versions right below that. The buildings look similar to those you see in Europe except in slightly worse shape. I’m trying to see figure out how to describe the other buildings. They have a middle-eastern look, being made of concrete and rising a couple levels (you’ll probably see what I’m talking about in my photos). There is definitely a relatively good amount of Western influence here. This is probably due in part to the fact that Morocco has had extremely close relations with the U.S. since the late 1700s when Morocco recognized the US as a country in the 1780s. Morocco claims to be the city of tolerance, specifically tolerance of religion. There are synagogues apparently around town as well as a catholic church which we passed during the tour.
Very important point here: this month is Ramadan for the Muslim world. This is when they fast to gain insight. About everyone partakes and many restaurants are closed.
Our first stop was a beautiful city hall (I believe is what our tour guide called it). One word came to mind upon seeing the interior architecture: Intricate. From the tiles on the walls to the cedar wood panels to the stucko patterns that surrounded the inner courtyard, it definitely gave a middle-eastern feel. We then walked over to the large clearing in front of the king’s (King Hassan II) palace doors. The plaza-like area was lined with olive trees which are apparently almost in season. We walked back to the bus and drove further around town. I was really intrigued by the different aspects of all this Arabic culture (even though we weren’t exactly in the Arabian area) and was also extremely fascinated by all of it.
Next we went to the world famous Hassan II mosque, named after the king of Morocco (who is very favorable and well liked). It is the largest mosque in Morocco and the third largest in the world. It has the tallest minaret (tower) at 689 feet. In Morocco, the minarets of mosques have 4 corners, one of which always pointing to Mecca. A large part of the mosque was built over water because “Allah’s throne is on the water”. Upon entering the mosque, I couldn’t believe how massive the inside was. It was, by far, the largest interior to a building I had ever seen (it put English cathedrals to shame). After removing our shoes we walked inside for a while- I was trying to grasp the magnitude of it all. It can accommodate 80,000 people. The roof also separate to allow sunlight to enter and ‘cleanse’. There is also a powerful, green laser light (which I discovered while walking back at night) that serves as a reference point aiming towards Mecca (for those at home who wish to “follow along”).
We enjoyed lunch (or rather I enjoyed everyone’s lunches as I ate a lot of people’s unwanted sandwiches, etc.) and stopped off close to the water at a coast-side restaurant where some people got mint tea. Meanwhile, I went to the nearby McDonalds to see the differences in menus. Moroccan menus boast a variety of foods exclusive to the area, including the McArabia, pesto mozzarella nuggets, and the choco glace (a chocolate cake w/ ice cream and hot fudge over it- Amazing) which I tried. After leaving the area we went to a food market which was very similar to Spanish food markets (fish, seafood, produce, etc.) except we saw an entire swordfish on display (someone also said they saw a horse hanging too). After boarding the bus, we stopped at a souvenir store which actually sold authentic Moroccan items. I’m not sure what metal they used, but there were workers pounding designs into metals and making them into kettles and vases. There were knives, scarves, cedar wood containers and more for sale- I ended up getting a Moroccan fez hat.
The store concluded the tour and we headed back to the ship. A group of us from the tour wanted to check out the markets so we turned around and left the port. We walked down the street and already I knew I was going to get a better picture. A lot of people constantly stare at you as you walk by- it’s very unnerving. We entered the Medina which is (as we later discovered a maze of markets) a maze of markets quite easy to get lost in. It’s a bunch of narrow alleys lined with stores selling leather jackets, hookahs, and rugs (there was also no shortage of “I love Morocco” shirts). You feel a little nervous going through but the people are pretty friendly and try to get you to come to their store. Our group splintered up and then there were about 6 or 7 of us. We continued walking through and the markets (or souks in Arabic) opened up into slightly larger souks with produce, etc. Walking through (and also throughout the city) you see many men dressed in the typical middle-eastern robes (I forget what exactly their called but imagine the robes they wear in Iraq and all over the mid-east). We became a little nervous because people began to stare at us. The whole day, we did not see any other white people or tourists. There was no shortage of beggars and I even saw a woman leading her son who, I’m assuming, suffered from what I can only guess was leprosy. His face was very gnarled and unfortunately pretty graphic. I’ve never really ever felt uncomfortable looking at someone in real life. Eventually we emerged on a recognizable street and walked down it to find a restaurant. We stopped off at one called the “Les Fleurs” (The Flowers) and had a beer. Afterwards, we headed back to the ship and I decided to stay in. I’ve got nothing tomorrow but hopefully I’ll find a group to join. The next day is a trip to Rabat- the capitol. I have another day of nothing which I might try to do a day trip to Marrakech. The day after that is our last day. I’ll probably tell you more about the culture, etc. in later posts.