Morocco, North Africa

We journey to North Africa to visit Marrakech, Morocco. It was a short flight from Faro, Portugal where we dropped off the car. Our journey was due south, over the Atlantic Ocean, and west of the Strait of Gibralter. This destination was so packed with activities, I'm splitting each day into it's own page.

As we approach the African continent, you can see the sandy beach that goes for miles. We were looking forward to a different adventure than the European countries and we got what we were hoping for … and a little bit more.

From the air, you can see how dry and brown the land is. It is desert with a lot of open spaces and farms scattered about. We learned there are underground water pools that are funneled into the big cities. We were unsure how much water was left for those trying to farm in the desert, most of them growing draught tolerant crops.

This is the city of Marrakech and notice how all the buildings are like boxes. In Muslem countries, nothing can be taller than the Mosque so all buildings are topped out at about four stories high. Most people live in apartments and the more wealthy live in houses that are inside the wall.

Here is the Mosque, sitting in the center of the square. There are three balls at the top that represent the three major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Next to the three balls is what looks like a hook, but it is actually pointing due east so when saying prayers, the muslems know where to bow to. There is a call to prayer five times a day: dawn, noon, afternoon, evening, nightfall. A chanting is made over a very loud speaker announcing the call to prayer and the first time we heard it, it was shocking. Eventually, we stopped hearing it, but it was unusual.

This is what it looks like inside the city walls. They are just narrow walk ways with doors. You have no idea what is behind the door but some homes can be very big, with open courtyards just inside. No cars can go down these roads, but everything else can.

There are many tunnels as well and this one had a light. These passage ways are like a labyrinth and we were afraid we would get lost so we took pictures of differnt points so we could get back to our hotel. Gratefully, google maps worked, even in the labyrinth, if you put in the right coordinates. We only made it back to our hotel one time without making a mistake - yup, it was the last day!

This is a common door of a more wealthy home. Notice, there are two door knockers. They each make a different sound. If you are family, you may use the middle one. If you are not, you must use the top one. The women may answer the door to family without coverings. Otherwise, the woman of the house covers herself to answer the door and sends her daughters to their rooms.

Also notice, there are actually two doors in one. Entry for people use the inner door and the outer is used for moving large items in and out. Just inside this door will be garden or courtyard. This is a very nice door so you know the residents are more well off.

This is the door to our little hotel, and it's a good ten minute walk down all the corridors from the open market space.

This is the courtyard inside of our little hotel, taken from the second floor. There are three rooms on the main floor, and four rooms on the second floor. Notice the small pool at the top of the picture. It was cold water but would feel good after a hot day of traveling. No, we didn't get in.

On the third floor, which is the roof, is the eating area and a small kitchen, the size of a walk-in closet. There is also a place to lounge. The roof has a covering so it is protected from the rain.

Our host met us at the market place when we arrived and led us to our hotel, pulling one of our bags. Just as we were settling in our room, tea arrived, and it was yummy. This was a beautiful place, comfortable, friendly, and full of culture. We just loved it.

The most common form of transportation was the bike or scooter, but for labor, it was the donkey and cart. They were everywhere and were small enough they could go through the narrow passages. We saw them carrying everything, including lumber and bags of cement. When a donkey cart or a scooter came through, everyone moved to the side. It was amazing watching how everyone effortlessly moved around each other, rarely touching. But the horn honking, scooter beeping, bicycle ring ring was constant. You had to be careful because, it too could be tuned out.