First African Country: Morocco Days 1 and 2

We left Prague at 9:50 headed for Madrid. Of course we took the cheapest flight we could find, resulting in an uncomfortable Ryanair plane and one under the seat bag. This trip we were packing light. I traveled with Tracey, Stacy, and Brendan. We had a 3 hour layover in Madrid where we exited the Schengen zone and got some lunch. Our flight to Casablanca was much shorter with AirArabia, lasting just over an hour. We arrived at about 5:30. The coast line was much greener than expected. Morocco has experienced a drought for the last 7 years or so, but they have had some great rainfall over the last few months, resulting in vibrant greens and yellows as the land receives the water. 

After exiting the airport and withdrawing money from the ATMs we went in search of a shuttle bus to the city center. We quickly found it, and they boarded us and then waited about 20 minutes before leaving. Right around 6:30 the driver came through, offering everyone a date or small sweet pastry to break the Ramadan fast. In Islam, Ramadan is 30 days of Fasting from sun up to sun down for those who are able to. Of course there are expectations for small children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Usually people practicing will break the fast with family and friends, and we felt thankful to be included in the practice with the driver and the rest of the people on the shuttle. 

Dates on the bus

We left soon after, heading for the city center to check into our hotel. We had about an hour long ride, followed by a quick walk. Right about then I felt very lucky to only have a small bag. We usually take the cheapest mode of transportation so traveling light is essential, even if that means we will be very stinky at the end of our trip. 

Stacy booked us a hotel room for 4, a very spacious room separated by a curtain. Not a very beautiful view from our top floor balcony, but far away from street noise and gas smells. After dropping our bags we went out to find something to eat. The first few cafes we found were not selling food, but had some locals outside, usually smoking cigarettes and drinking espressos. We wandered a few blocks and finally stumbled into a Spanish restaurant. Lots of people were inside so we got a table. We enjoyed a beer and some food, recounted the day of traveling we had just completed, and went over plans before finishing our meal and heading back to the hotel for some rest. 

Beers at dinner

We were all awoken at about 5:30 in the morning to the morning prayer. The man’s voice echoed through the city with some light music to go with it. We all knew it would be coming, but didn’t know what to expect. I thought it was quite peaceful. All of the calls are live, no recordings played. We got up at 8 to prepare for the day ahead. Our tour didn’t start until that night, so the day was open to our whim. We started out for a tour at the Hassan II Mosque, the only mosque in Morocco where non-Muslims can enter. The town is visible from lots of part of Casablanca and very impressive. We took a 40 minute walk along a busy road to get there. 

Cell tower disguised as a palm tree. Can you spot the difference?

Some mosaic in the hotel

Outside the mosque

Walk to the tour

from a distance

Busy road

Upon arrival we were allowed to wander the outside and take photos. The mosaic tiles, the detail of the arches, all of it was very impressive. 

Selfie inside of the mosque tower. 

Stacy

A covered walkway

Its so heavy!!!

Small green space

Brendan and mosaic

So much detail!

Walkway

Big entrance that lifts upward

We soon gathered with the guide and walked to the entrance. Shoes were taken off once we got inside and we got bags to carry them in for the tour. 

First entry way

Looking into the mosque. There is a total of 360 columns in this room to represent the days  of the islamic calender

Chandilers from Italy

Word work on the balcony. Christains and Jews also contibuted to donations for the mosque, so to honor that there were balconies for women like in synogogs and the prayer hall was in the shape of a cross for Christians.  

Ceiling under the balcony

Ceiling again. 

Side of the balcony

Closer veiw of the front, where the Imam leads prayer

So much detail!

Wood and metel work on one of the doors

Inside of the door that opens up

lamp

Muslims pray once they are clean. This is a hall of fountains for people to wach thier hands, face, head, and arms. A lot of people come to the mosque already clean but there is always a fountain for people to do it thiere. 

These fountians have 12 petals for the months of the year

So pretty!

Brendan and I had shared a sandwich before leaving the hotel, but Tracey and Stacy had not and were very hungry by the time our tour was over. We snapped a few more quick photos and started a walk in search of some food. We quickly found a restaurant were we could get a bit to eat. Even though Muslims are celebrating Ramadan, there are still options for non-Muslims in the area. 

Colorful assortment to start lunch

Our second destination for the day was the pomade. Tracey and I both really wanted to see the Atlantic so that was high priority for us. We took a quick taxi from the restaurant to the pomade. We walked down to the tide pools in search of sea creatures and sea glass. We almost got caught by one of the waves and quickly retreated to the safety of the cliffs. Took lots of photos, pet a few cats, tried not to get blown away then went to catch another taxi to the old town area of Casablanca. 

It looks so close! 

Kitty

Tide pools

So many cats!

Rocky coast

The driver dropped us off near one of the entrances to the medina, or old city. We entered the narrow winding streets and stuck out like sore thumbs. Everyone around us was a local and we could tell we were far from the touristy area. We were safe, but just felt out of place. Stacy got us back on track and lead the way though the streets. We walked very quickly through a market, and while I wanted to stop and take photos it didn’t seem like the right time. It is always polite to ask for photos of shop keepers, and we didn’t want to be in the way of hungry locals doing their grocery shopping for the evening. We passed crates of fruit and vegetables, trays of fish, small sharks and sting rays, and some meat and dried fruit stands as well. We could not avoid stares, but most eyes we made contact with were very kind and friendly, people say hello or speaking some Spanish and French at us. After navigating the market we found ourselves in a quieter part of the Medina. The area was still narrow and winding, with dead ends and criss-crossing alleyways just large enough for a small car. We got some better photos in the quieter areas. We kept walking and ended up in the touristy area selling souvenirs and trinkets. We didn’t buy anything though. The shop keepers were very eager to make sales, and we prefer to window shop. All of us shared the mentality of just looking, so having someone come and try to push you into their shop is very overwhelming. None of us wanted to buy anything so we continued on. We never did find the old town area that Stacy was trying to get to, so we eventually decided to walk back to our hotel. We picked up our backpacks then made the 20 minute walk to the next hotel to meet up with our tour. We dropped off our things, made a quick grocery run and met in the lobby at 6 pm. 

in the Medina

some boys asked us to take thier picture

Street art

street art again

Wide enough for motercycles and small cars

some parts of the medina were covered

another mosque

shopping

The other people on the tour consisted of 3 married couples, one mom and daughter, and 1 solo traveler. After some quick introductions, we made our way to a Moroccan restaurant for a group dinner. Brendan and I had lamb veggie tagine and Stacy and Tracey had veggie tagine, with pumpkin instead of lamb. Tagine is the name of the cookware the food is cooked and served in rather than the food itself. 

Brendan and his Tagine. 

Lots of spice and good flavor throughout, the food is very healthy with a good amount of vegetables. We also all got some juice mixed with orange. Stacy and Brendan got mango, Tracey got apple, and I got avocado. I felt like the orange juice overpowered the other fruit flavors, but it was still good. After finishing out meal we walked back to the hotel to prepare for a 8:15 start, and began the tour. 

Wishing for the best on your adventures, 

Cienna