Morocco

Monday 8:           

After 5 days at sea full of class and lots of homework, we were excited to be back in port. Especially since yesterday the ship rocked so much that things fell off of our shelves, our bathroom door kept swinging back and forth and our drawers opened and closed throughout the night. We were very appreciative to be back on land again. Also, it’s pretty cool to note that within 6 days we have traveled to three different continents.

We got a late start off of our ship, due to the fact that Morocco decided to stamp all 1000 of our passports before allowing us to clear customs. When we did finally de-board, we were welcomed with 109 degree weather and an even more conservative country than Turkey. At our usual pre-port meeting, the dean told us that girls should tie up their hair. In Morocco loose hair implies a loose woman. We learned how true this is when Molly decided to wear her hair down and quickly received attention from all the males.

At 3:30 we took a 3 hour bus ride from Casablanca (where our ship is docked) to the city of Marrakech. Along with 10 other people, we had hired three tour guides to take us around. It was definitely the best way to go because we wouldn’t have been able to see half of the stuff we did without them. (Thanks Zach and Lee for giving us their info!) When we arrived we were greeted by our 3 tour guides, Hanane, Abdul and Simo. They are all university students around our age. From there, they took us to our Riad, which is like a Moroccan bed and breakfast, and where we will be staying the next four days. We were greeted by our hostess with many hugs and kisses. She is the nicest lady and served us Moroccan tea and cookies when we walked in. We socialized there for a little bit and got settled into our bedrooms. It is so cool that our tour guides are young because they are so open about sharing their culture with us. Abdul told us that in Morocco, if you really like a girl, you take her on a date to McDonalds. How weird! When the call to prayer played at sunset, we broke the fast with our tour guides with soup and special cookies made just for Ramadan. Afterwards, we were led into the city. It’s amazing how it came to life at night since during the day it was so quiet and hardly anyone was on the streets due to Ramadan. In the evening it was packed and the restaurants were full of people finally getting to eat. We went to a spice shop and bought all of the necessary oils that would be needed for when we go to the Hamam tomorrow. Next we went to a very very late dinner. We weren’t served our food until midnight but it was well worth it. We had salad, couscous, chicken, lamb and oranges with cinnamon on them for dessert.  We got back to our Riad pretty late and passed out, so tired from our first day in Africa!

Tuesday 9:           

This morning we woke up to tea, Moroccan coffee, fruits, crepes and apricot jam prepared by our hostess for breakfast. While we ate she gave us all Arabic names. Mine is pronounced as Faht-see-yah and means the introduction to the text of the Qur’an. Then we decided to give all of them American names. Hanane became Hannah, Abdul was named Drake and Simo’s name was Simon. We took a daytrip to Ourkia Valley where we first went camel riding. They were pretty gross and were swarming with flies but the ride was incredibly scenic. From there we went to a Berber village, the original people of Morocco. Here we got to learn about the traditional ways of these people and we toured one of their houses. It is incredible to believe that people still live this way. Their home was made completely out of stone and mud and was very primitive. The Berber people were very friendly and we had tea with them on the top of the roof. The father of the Berber family played traditional instruments and we danced around to the music. Our tour guides also taught us how to tie and wear a turban and it was pretty fun to sport those on our heads for the afternoon. Afterwards we stopped by the Argan Oil Women’s Association, which is a shop where they sell a variety of perfumes, soaps, shampoos and other products made out of the local Argan nuts that the Berber women grind up.

Next we had lunch next to the river and while we ate, I asked our tour guides a series of questions about their lifestyles. They were completely open to having a discussion about their culture and we discussed everything from marriage, religion, the hijab, Islamophobia and women’s rights. I learned so much from this discussion and it really is quite fascinating to hear their viewpoints. When we finished eating we took a nature hike up to the Siti Fatma Waterfalls. Abdul lead the way and he hiked up fast. We were so exhausted but no one wanted to complain or ask for a break since they were making this hike on an empty stomach and no water because of Ramadan. We eventually made it to the top and it was well worth it. The waterfalls offered beautiful views of the Atlas Mountains.

We drove back to our Riad so our guides could break the fast and then we went to the Hamam, which is the Turkish bath. Hanane took us to the one that they bathe in and it was essentially the same concept of the one we did in Istanbul but was very different at the same time. It was definitely no where near as nice or clean as the other one. At this one, you laid on the floor while the women straddled you and scrubbed you down with the roughest loofah ever. Somehow, these women had even bigger chests than the Turkish women and the boobs of the lady who washed me kept slapping me in the face. Gross! All around you was dead skin and hair and I left leaving feeling more dirty than when I entered. I will say, however, that my skin does feel extremely smooth now though! Abdul and Simo said that Moroccans usually go to a Hamam once or twice a week. Needless to say, we all came back to our Riad and took showers. Afterwards we went to another late dinner. Hanane said that it is typical for Moroccans to eat dinner around 1 or 2 AM during Ramadan. Wow! We ate on the rooftop of a restaurant and it was yet again another delicious meal.

Wednesday 10:

We woke up this morning to another great breakfast prepared by our hostess. Then we took a historical tour of the main monuments of Marrakech, visiting the Dar Si Said Museum and Majorelle Gardens. Afterwards we took a horse carriage to the home of a Moroccan family. There we ate lunch prepared by the mother. We all felt really bad eating in front of them because the family was fasting for Ramadan. It was so gracious of them to cook for us and to invite us into their home. While there I got the pleasure of experiencing a true Moroccan toilet which consists of a hole in the floor. Awesome…When we finished eating, Abdul taught us how to make Moroccan tea and then one of the girls in the family made Henna (Moroccan tattoo) on us. Don’t worry Mom and Dad, it’s not permanent! On my foot I got a floral design and my name in Arabic. Then on my arm I got the word “discover” written in Arabic which is symbolic for my summer on Semester at Sea. Afterwards we explored the Jammaa El Fna Square where there were snake charmers and people trying to get you to take pictures with monkeys and snakes. You had to be careful because they would put a snake on you for free but then make you pay to get the snake off. Then we walked into the souks which are pretty much the same thing as the Grand Bazaar.

Later on after the break fast we went to a nearby mosque to observe people praying. It was absolutely packed! We sat on top of a wall and just took it all in. While we watched them pray I talked extensively with Simo and asked him a million questions. I asked him more about Islamophobia and terrorists. He said that terrorists and suicide bombers are not Muslims. They are very radical people that claim that they believe in Islam but yet they go against the Qur’an’s teachings. The Qur’an teaches not to kill and Simo said it is such a shame that they claim to kill in the name of Allah. He said that every time he hears of a killing on the news he holds his breath and hopes that it is not a terrorist attack. He is so relieved whenever he finds out it is not and instead is just some random crazy person. Every time there is a terrorist killing it gives Islam a bad reputation and it really upsets them. Our conversation really opened up my eyes and I learned that Muslims are in fact such a peaceful people. When I told Simo that I am Jewish he had absolutely no problem with it. And this is the opinion of an extremely devout Muslim who prays 5 times a day. I have never learned so much about another culture as I did from this one experience. Finally, we headed back to our Riad and around 11:30 PM. Abdul gave us a cooking lesson to prepare our dinner in a tajine and we ended up eating at 1AM. Yay for another late night meal!

Thursday 11:           

After another breakfast prepared by Madam, we took a 3 hour bus ride to Essaouira, a coastal city of Morocco. Along the way we stopped at a carpet store where I bought a handmade rug made by the Berber women. When we finally arrived to Essaouira we had fresh fish next to the harbor. Then we hung out on the beach all day. We couldn’t really swim because we needed to remain clothed because it is disrespectful for women to be seen in a bikini, especially during Ramadan. It was fun though to hangout for a day and to see another city of Morocco. On the drive back, we pulled over into a gas station around 7:30 so our guides could break the fast before getting back into Marrakech. For dinner we had a Moroccan delicacy—McDonalds! It was so delicious, especially the Toblerone McFlurrys! We walked around the Jammaa El Fna Square at night which was cool to check out because it was all lit up and packed with people. The best part was I FINALLY got to ride a vespa! Simo took me out for a ride on his bike around the Old City and it was so fun. Later on, we went back to our Riad and sat up on the rooftop while we drank tea. Abdul read the palm of my hand but unfortunately, my future didn’t look so good. Yikes! He did tell me some things about my past that were very accurate so now I’m semi-freaked out! Tomorrow morning our driver will take us back to Casablanca so we can board the ship. At 8:00 PM we set sail for America. I’m so sad that this journey is coming to an end. I hope to have a Semester at Sea reflection post up soon though!

Friday 12:

Just wanted to add real quick that on our drive back to Casablanca we saw the king of Morocco!            

Pictures: 1. Camel riding 2. Berber village 3. Siti Fatma Waterfalls 4. Souks 5. Majorelle Gardens 6. Henna 7. Jammaa El Fna square at night 8. Group picture in our Riad with our three tour guides and our hostess