Have you ever visited a place that makes you feel as though you’re in a completely foreign environment? Someplace that feels completely different from any other experience you’ve ever had? Well, if you haven’t been to someplace like that and you are presented with the opportunity, I highly recommend you take it. Believe me- it’s a rush!!
When we booked our trip to Morocco, I had no idea what to expect. The nearest experience I’d had to going there was the very artificial “Morocco” of Disney World, which of course pales pitifully by comparison. I was jumping for joy, but I was also somewhat hesitant. Neither my husband or I spoke Arabic or French (the two most prevalent languages). And we had never been to any of the countries in Africa. I took comfort though in the fact that we were going there to visit my husband’s cousin Tracy. Fortunately we would have a guide who was familiar with the country. So, I put my trepidation aside and decided to just embrace all that the country had to offer. I am sincerely glad that I did!
First Impressions of the People of Morocco
Just one of the many things I soon learned about Morocco was that its people are generous and friendly. They will oftentimes go out of their way to make you feel welcome. In fact, on the very day we arrived, Tracy’s housekeeper made a traditional Moroccan chicken and lentil dish for us. That was our first taste of Moroccan food. One quick mention here is not nearly enough to do it justice so I’ll likely devote a blog post just to the food there. But, suffice it to say- if you’ve never had Moroccan food, especially a Moroccan tagine, I can truly say you’re missing out. Needless to say, we were very grateful for that delicious meal after our long flight. Many people that we came in contact with throughout our trip though were very friendly and more than willing to assist. Many of the most interesting experiences we had were simply due to the generosity of the people there.
Exploring Casablanca
On our first full day in the country, since we were already in Casablanca we decided to visit the Hassan II Mosque. Of course, the building itself was magnificent in the way it was designed. Thousands upon thousands of intricately laid and colorful tiles graced the walls, and we nearly strained our necks gazing up at the absolutely marvelous retractable hand-carved wooden roof! But we all had a good laugh when we were outside and one of the locals teased my husband about his “harem”. I had predicted they would, because he was traveling with his wife and his two female cousins. Who wouldn’t get that impression in a country where having multiple wives is legal? He was simply joking of course, so that was our first hint at the friendliness of the people of Morocco.
Later in the day, we went through our first medina. If you’re not familiar with what a medina is- it is the older walled portion of the city. They are usually comprised of an intricate labyrinth of streets and alleyways lined with shops, restaurants, and dwellings. My first impression was not unlike what I imagine a rat feels like in a maze. Streets turned this way and that, with new and amazing things to behold around every corner! We wandered around for quite some time just marveling at the elaborate detail work on the buildings. Even more interesting though was the crazy manner in which some things were stacked for sale on tables you might spend hours having to dig through. Others though, by comparison, were neatly laid out to entice customers to buy something. A local struck up a conversation with Tracy while we were walking and we thought nothing of it. When we left the medina though, we were invited for tea. How exciting! A chance to truly see what Moroccan culture was like! Little did we know, it was to be one of our most interesting encounters on the trip.
An Opportunity Not to be Missed
When someone asks you to come for tea in Morocco, it can sometimes mean just that- they want you to come have tea and engage in some pleasant conversation. But in this case it had a different, although not negative, meaning- they were actually carpet sellers and wanted to show us their wares. Now you might think that was a kind of sneaky way of going about trying to sell someone something, but don’t discount the idea. If you go to Morocco absolutely do not miss out on this experience. It is something of a spectacle that you will remember for the rest of your life. For the sake of brevity though, I will save that discussion for my next blog post. So stay tuned! I’m certain you’ll love hearing about it as much as I did experiencing it!
I’m really impressed with your writing skills as well as
with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or
did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality
writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one these days.
Thank you for your kind comments. They are much appreciated. It is a paid theme, but I imagine I will change it as I write more in the future. Also, please note that I often remove links in replies I receive only to ensure it does not appear that I endorse all links. Thank you.