Morocco

Visited: April 2005, November 2008

Duration of visit: 15 days

Capital city: Rabat

Population: 31.5 million (2008)

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

• Walking on the narrow alleys around Chefchaouen – the Blue Pearl of Morocco.
• The most liberal of all places in the country, the coastal capital of Rabat offers a unique mix of beautiful gardens, royal palaces and well-preserved historic sites that provide an escape from the international crowds.
• Hassan II Mosque – the second largest functioning mosque of Africa in Casablanca (White House), that has almost nothing to do with the white color.
• Numerous tanneries in the form of round stone vessels filled with dye or white liquids in Fes.
• Top cultural, historic and entertaining destination of Marrakesh.

From sun-soaked coastlines, amazing Atlas Mountains, imperial cities with souks and medinas, wind-swept Sahara and friendly people, The Kingdom of Morocco is also known as the Land of the Berbers, descendants of the first inhabitants of Morocco, a very colorful and nature-driven culture.

Medinas – human mazes, tiny-allayed towns entwined with intricate labyrinths and souks – the traditional Moroccan markets, usually situated inside the medinas and divided according to the products. They are the most outstanding places to visit in every urban center. From iconic mosques to colorful street corners, thanks to Morocco’s diverse past, you can spot both Islamic and Hispano-Moorish inspired designs.

Morocco was a French protectorate between 1912 and 1956 and a strong influence is still present. A constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary national legislative system under which ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, has remained relatively stable since independence. Morocco wields significant influence in both, Africa and the Arab world.

Its power was reconfirmed when the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara was annexed in 1975 without the approval of international community.

Rabat is the capital, Casablanca is the economic and business hub of Morocco, Marrakech is a major tourist destination, attracting visitors from all over the world with its bustling markets, historic sites, and vibrant culture.

I visited Morocco twice; the first trip in 2005 was at the end of my Middle East & Africa adventure of almost a year. I had enough of East Africa and, from Tanzania through a short stop in the UK, ended in south Spain. Easy bus ride and ferry cross brought me to the most European of all Morocco’s cities, Tangier, a major port with regular ferry connections to Spain.

Even though most people follow a less restrictive form of Islam, alcohol is still not permitted.

That’s why Morocco’s national drink is the Berber whiskey, or as we know it in the west – mint tea. Everything is centered around the tea.

Whenever I didn’t know what to do, how to find a place, needed some quiet time for myself, to observe the action around or refill the batteries, I stopped for a cup of tea. Preparation of gunpowder green tea with spearmint leaves and sugar, is a ceremony, when a waiter or a drinker will try to pour it from as high as he can to swirl loose tea leaves to the bottom of the glass, whilst gently aerating the tea to improve its flavor. The leaves are left in the pot while the tea is consumed, changing the flavor from one glass to the next.

I was a complete beginner in this process. For quite some time, people laughed, when I tried to make a quality tea and the stream was missing the glass. However, with practice and patience, a man learns everything.

Even though it was a predominantly Muslim country, the big news was that Pope John II passed away. All international news stations were broadcasting the happenings from the Holy See in the Vatican. What will happen, who will be the new pope, will we finally get a leader of the Catholic Church from Africa for the first time, etc. It seemed that nobody cared about the big news on the streets of Tangier, where life was moving along established patterns.

My first real stop was Chefchaouen, a rather unattractive city, up in the Rif Mountains, in the northern part of the country.  Shades of light, dark, turquoise, sky, sea and any shade of blue color are combined only with white color of the buildings, houses, verandas and walls. Calm, exotic and extravagant whitewashed old town fascinates with photogenic appearance. It must be some kind of coordination or connection of the inhabitants in a common goal.

Why is the city so beautifully marked with shades of blue?

There are different (some quite unbelievable) theories about why Chefchaouen is blue.

According to the Jews, the blue color is representative of the sky. They settled here as the first inhabitants of the city, after fleeing Hitler atrocities in Europe. Another story justifies that the blue shades repel mosquitoes, since insects do not like being in the water, although they live near.

It could represent the striking blue of the Mediterranean Sea or Ras el-Maa Waterfall, important source of drinking water. The last, less probable thesis argues that blue decorated old town is attractive for tourists, bringing income to residents.

Whatever the reason may be, Chefchaouen is not only a perfect place to wander and take photos, but also to chill out in the local restaurants, browsing through the markets or narrow streets, while receiving warm welcome from the locals.

My first dishes were a delicious vegetarian tagine with mixed vegetables and couscous with seven vegetables. Authentic couscous is complex to make and takes time to prepare. Both dishes are prepared in North African cookware, traditionally made of clay or ceramic, also called tagine.

The bottom is a wide, shallow circular dish used for both cooking and serving, while the top of the tagine is distinctively shaped into a rounded dome or cone, removed after the dish is served.

Travelling around Morocco is simple and straightforward. Buses are comfortable, safe and on time. I always purchased tickets before the departure at the bus station, where snacks, decent food and toilets are available. People are respectful, travelling with decent amount of luggage. Very often, I felt like I was in Europe.

As the capital of Morocco, Rabat is not the most popular destination for visitors in the country and much lesser-traveled destination than Marrakesh or Fes. A coastal city full of history and color, it is located on the western shores of the vast Atlantic Ocean in North Africa. Probably the most liberal of all places in the country, it offers a unique mix of beautiful gardens, royal palaces and well-preserved historic sites that provide an escape from the international crowds.

Hassan Mosque, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and Chellah necropolis are the main historical attractions of Rabat.

In the 12^th century, the Tower of Hassan was intended to be finished as the tallest minaret and mosque in the world, ordered by the Great Sultan of Mansour. Unfortunately, the Sultan died suddenly and all construction was immediately halted. Not finished even a millennium later, they are guarded by elaborately dressed guards on horses. Across the open space is the mausoleum. Built after the death of Mohammed V, Morocco’s first post-independence king in 1961. In 2012, these ruins were granted UNESCO world heritage status.

While the city of Chefchaouen is renowned for its stunning blue buildings, the lesser-explored Kasbah of the Udayas in Rabat is also adorned with the same brilliant blue hues on houses and barriers, home to many Andalusian immigrants, Arab tribes and some of the most powerful sultans of Morocco. Most of the remains of the Kasbah date back to the 12^th century.

Passing Rabat’s oldest mosque, I spotted girls at work, weaving carpets and noticed a superb panoramic view over Salé at the end of the main street. There are several beliefs regarding blue color being used to paint houses, walls and other buildings: for protection from the evil spirits, religious connotation (Jewish), to representing the color of the sea or water in general or due to the importance of blue color in Islam – representing optimism and happiness. Similar to Chefchaouen, but slightly different.

For many visitors to Morocco, the old Medina is one of the most popular things to see in Rabat. The narrow, winding streets, paired with the tightly cramped market stalls filled with handmade crafts and exotic food, are the images most people associate with the country.

The souks in Rabat’s Medina are often less crowded and more organized than in other Moroccan cities, but also much smaller, dedicated mostly to locals, not tourists. While it may not give off quite the same frenetic, claustrophobic feel that some visitors have come to associate with the Moroccan souks, it makes up for it in charm and ease of navigation.

The economic capital of Morocco and its biggest city, with huge skyscrapers, lots of traffic, the sound of honking horns, is not the top tourist destination in Morocco either. Casablanca is a city for travelers who like to feel like a local, rather than a tourist.

The best place to see the action is along Corniche, kilometers-long seafront promenade – an oceanfront neighborhood, just south of the Four Seasons Casablanca Hotel. Starting in the north of the old medina, past emblematic sights including Hassan II Mosque, beaches, pedestrian zones and modern Morocco Mall. It is filled with nightclubs and cafes with views of the ocean.

The main landmark of Casablanca is Hassan II Mosque – the second largest functioning mosque in Africa. The fourteenth largest mosque in the world is a shining example of Moorish architecture.

Beautifully designed, this stunning landmark, was partially built on the land and partially over the Atlantic Ocean. Its minaret is the world’s second tallest at 210 meters, topped by a laser, which directs the light towards Mecca, visible approximately 30 kilometers far at night. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque’s outside grounds.

The building was commissioned by King Hassan II to be the most ambitious structure ever built in Morocco. 10,000 artists and craftsmen participated in building and beautifying decoration of the mosque.

Most of the workers and artists were local, as well as the material used for construction. All of the granite, plaster, marble, wood and other materials used in the construction, were extracted from around Morocco, with the exception of some Italian white granite columns and 56 glass chandeliers.

Fes is the second largest city of Morocco, with population over a million, surrounded by hills and centered around the Fez River. The spiritual and cultural capital of the country reached the zenith in the Marinid era (13^th to 15^th centuries), regaining its status as political capital. Numerous new madrasas and mosques were constructed in Fes el Bali, the medina area and the city’s oldest neighborhood. It’s thought to be the oldest and largest medina in North Africa, dating back to the 9^th century!

The best moments I spent in Fes, were exploring the area inside the medieval walls of the chaotic medina, where vendors compete in arranging and decorating there selling points: towers of spices, traditional handicrafts, fruits stands and more. The world’s largest and oldest urban pedestrian zone is safe to explore during the day and night.

The tanning industry was a major source of exports and economic sustenance since the city’s early history. Nowadays, ancient techniques are still used, offering the main excitement for tourists, slightly less for workers. I visited Chouara Tannery, the largest and one of the oldest out of the three main tanneries in the city. The technology has not changed for centuries.

The process of a tinning itself is long and complicated. The skins of goats, sheep, cows and, more rarely, camels, are processed by first being soaked in a series of white liquids – made from various mixtures of cow urine, pigeon droppings, quicklime, salt and water. In a several-day soaking process, the tough hides are cleansed and softened to easily absorb the dyes.

Workers, some of them minors, walk barefoot among the colorful pools, tossing skins and without thinking about exposure to toxic dyes, that leave long-term consequences on their health.

Prolonged chrome exposure and lax disposal of waste tannery water can cause serious health and environmental problems. Many workers suffer from immune system and respiratory problems, beside an increase in urogenital disorders. Numerous round stone vessels filled with dye or white liquids are the most magnificent motives for Fes photographs.

The skins are then soaked in dye solutions that use natural dyes such as indigo for blue, henna for orange and poppy for red. Sun-dried, they are later used to make leather products such as bags, coats, shoes and slippers, valued for their high quality. The entire leather-making process involves only manual labor and does not involve any modern machinery; the methods have remained unchanged since the Middle Ages.

Marrakech is known as the Red City, vibrant and enchanting place nestled in the heart of Morocco. That’s because the city walls and most of the buildings in the medina are built of red sandstone and because of the Atlas Mountains near the city, which are remarkably red themselves.

The main cause for its admiration is the medina of Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage site, known for its labyrinthine streets, vibrant markets, and traditional riads.

The Jemaa El-Fna square, dating back to the founding of red-hued Marrakesh by the Almoravids in 1062, is a magical maze of food stalls and souks, selling mountains of spices, lamps, jewelry and hand-woven fabrics. It comes particularly alive in the evening with street performers, food stalls, and snake charmers.

It is actually active the whole day, when local traders and terraces serving mint tea thrive; as the sun sets – fortune tellers, snake charmers, musicians, belly dancers and magicians appear and create an intoxicating atmosphere. Everyone has their own guests and location.

Marrakesh and the whole Morocco is famous all around the world for its snake charmers. The exotic gentlemen who hypnotize cobras with their flute, are one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country. Although very charming and appealing at first glance, the truth about snake charmers is a tricky one.

Most of them (not all) capture wild cobras, pull out their fangs, and sew their mouths. This way, the cobra can’t bite its master but is bound to die of hunger in a few excruciating months. I am personally afraid of snakes and admire the courage of anybody who plays around the snakes.

During my second visit of Morocco in 2008, it served me more as a start point from where it all ended two years before. I flew to Marrakesh, from where my journey to the south began. Southern, less developed Morocco is a different world, with much more poverty, long distances between urban settlements, remote areas and hard-core backpackers, some with overland trucks.

I was travelling with my Slovenian friend Peter, who was as crazy as me, concerning means of transport, accommodation and food.

Morocco was actually only a beginning of venture for travelling south to Mauretania through West Africa to Ghana in the next three months.  We were moving partly with public transport to Agadir and, from there on, by shared taxis or hitchhiking through remote areas of the desert landscape, where tourists usually don’t go.

Instead of friendly restaurateurs, sellers or guides who would orientate foreigners through the hidden labyrinths of souks, I was meeting policemen and soldiers at checkpoints who inexplicably examined my passport.

Due to the lack of catering options that did not contain meat, I often resorted to beans and bread, while the culture of tea was even more present. Men spend a lot of time sitting, observing inaction and waiting for the movement. Women are rare, covered from head to toe, always in the company of male family members.

There is not much to see or do in the southern part of Morocco, the general atmosphere in the area of Western Sahara is tense. The biggest attraction were French overlanders that consist of rather older hippy looking people, who transform their vehicles to a travelling house. From caravans to old, remodeled or adjusted Citroens or Renault that lead them through the harsh conditions of dryland.

None of the old cars have a target to come back, but end up somewhere in French Africa, where it can be sold for the amount of money that covers not only the initial investment, but also pay for all the costs of travelling. Yeah, it is a good business to buy an old car in Europe, drive it through Morocco and sell it on black market somewhere south.

Morocco is a country that is rich in history, culture, and natural beauty. From the bustling markets of Marrakech to the picturesque coastal towns of Casablanca and Essaouira, Morocco offers a diverse range of experiences for travelers.

Low cost airlines connect the country with main European cities for a dozen of euros throughout the year. Tourist infrastructure has drastically improved and grown in the last decade to attract, not only tough backpackers, but also tourist groups, families and retired Europeans in a search of exotic Africa.

If Ghana is called Africa for beginners, then I could nickname Morocco the easiest country to travel around in West Africa.

Easily accessible by ferry or airplane, inexpensive, tourist friendly with great infrastructure and locals who are accustomed to foreign visitors, Morocco offers Saharan Africa at its best: deserts, mountains, spectacular mosques, charismatic souks, inexpensive luxury and great hospitality of its people.