Marrakech

OBAMA!!!!

We are estatic, and it's been fun to see the reactions of the Moroccans. Yesterday (Tuesday), as we were walking around the medina, people would shout out Obama's name. Today, I have been wearing my Obama/Biden button on my shirt (it's been on my purse until now, but sort of hidden), and SO MANY people, from the hotel workers, to the shop keepers, to the people sitting in the medina, have all smiled and their eyes light up. I've had numerous requests for the button, or if I had extras, and I wish I did! The Moroccans are very excited for change, not just for how it will effect their country but also for Americans.　They understand that the direction our country has taken in the past eight years is not the will of the American people; they know the goodwill this country has undertaken in the past, and look for that to return, and not to continue the wars that Bush has gotten us into. It's been gratifying to support a positive change, and to be able to hold your head high while walking the Marrakech streets.

Computer problems..... the flash drive where I have been writing my posts and downloading my pictures to is now not being recognized by the laptop. Don't really have a clue as to what's wrong with it, but I have two posts on there, that I now can't get on here.

In short, we had the most wonderful experience in Fes. We were invited to the home of our guide, Abdesalem, as his wife, Aicha, and family prepared a traditional meal for us. We had pastilla, also known as pigeon pie, though this was made (as it is commonly) with chicken. It's phyllo dough, with cooked chicken, mixed with ground almonds & walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, a touch of sugar; it is one of your traditional sweet & savory Moroccan dishes, particularly known as a specialty of Fes. This was FANTASTIC. It had the sweet & savoriness, crispness from the phyllo, tender chicken, I really can't say enough about it! They also made a traditional couscous (which we've only had once until now) with lamb and vegetables. It too had some sweet & savory elements with the tender lamb and golden raisins, and it too was terrific. We were seated at three tables in their living room and hallway, and they made 3 of each of these dishes for each of the tables, and they have a tiny kitchen!

The food & hospitality we received was absolutely fantastic; it is by far the best meal we have had while we've been here. My special thanks to Zahra, one of Abdesalem's daughter-in-laws, who lived in the US for a couple of years. I sat next to her during dinner, and she answered my questions about the food. It was a great evening, and all of us thank them for it!







And a quick recap since leaving Fes:
Monday morning was cloudy and a bit rainy leaving Fes. We headed south for the Middle Atlas mountains, and the drive south. About an hour south of Fes, we stopped in a small town that was built in the late 1920s for French expatriots; it's even modeled after an alpine village. And true to form, it snowed a bit! Continuing down the road, we made a quick stop to see the Barbary apes, who, though wild, are fairly tame for the tourists. Also known as a type of macaque, they were rather entertaining! After cedar forests and more rain, we had a very late lunch at a roadside gas station, that served very good tagine and kefta (like a grilled meatball). Onto a small town with a tourist hotel for one night. Tuesday morning, we continued the drive into Marrakech, and arrived in time for lunch just off the main plaza in the medina, called the Djemma. We then got to tour the medina, which is vastly different from Fes. Basically, think medieval vs. modern. It's very easy to get around without a guide here; people are friendly, and I've had no sense of personal danger like pickpockets that I've felt in other countries; it's comfortable.



(The Djemma al Fna; the stands with the roofs are juice and dried fruit stands. As the day wears on, the grilled meat vendors roll into place, filling up the plaza.)

I didn't sleep super-well last night, I think in anticipation of the election results. We turned on the tv at 6:30 am (1:30 am EST), and after a couple of commercials on CNN, saw the results we wanted! There was much rejoicing at breakfast, and we SHOULD have had mimosas! We went to some beautiful private gardens, a couple of museums, an herbalist shop where we all got the hard sell (it worked!), and then we were turned loose for lunch & time to ourselves. Mom and I went back into the medina, wandering through the different souks as the locals called out Obama's name. And not to be forgotten, the snake charmers sit on the plaza, waiting for tourists.

GO VOTE!!!!

We're leaving Fes this morning for the Middle Atlas Mountains. I think tonight will essentially be in the middle of nowhere, and I doubt I will have internet access. Tues & Wed nights we will be in Merrakech -- in time to watch the election returns, although CNN Europe has been rather repetitive in its coverage the last couple days.

I still have to write about yesterdays sights, and the day was capped off by the BEST meal we have had so far!

My fingers are crossed for Obama!

Day 6 -- Fes

Pics: olives, silk thread merchant, tannery baths


It's 4:45 am. Do you know where your mosque is? Both Mom and I were awake at this hour, as the call to prayer droned on and on. With no offense to anyone, it sounded like a dying cow. Our guide had previously explained to us that the first call to prayer of the day (5 total) is the longest, because they are trying to get people up. Also, the first call is somehow related to sunrise, but in this part of the world, at this time of year, sunrise isn't until around 6:30 am.... So we have early morning prayer calls to look forward to for the next 2 day. Goody.

When we intentionally got up around 7 am, it was rather a disappointment to see that it was raining, and that clouds & fog completely covered the hillside. You could barely see the hotel's swimming pool which is directly below us. A couple hours later, as we set off for the medina, it wasn't much better. We went first to the gates of the Royal Palace; quite an impressive set of engraved brass doors and mosaic tile work. From there, it was into the medina itself, which is closed to cars. Not so much that they're not allowed, they simply wouldn't fit. The structure of the medina hasn't changed much since it was originally constructed around the 9th century. It's a medieval labyrinth of narrow streets and alleys, accessible by foot and donkey, and not much else. Labyrinth may be a bit of an understatement. Most of the walkways aren't much more than 8 feet wide, and many of them around 4 feet wide. Roof tops overlap with one another, making a view of the sky near impossible. But even if you could see it, it probably wouldn't give you much clue to what direction you were going in. You need a guide. (Or as my Fodor's book says: pay a small child a little bit to escort you out.) And with a group of 18 people, our guide, who grew up in these quarters, also hired a guide to bring up the rear, a very wise move.

So it's raining, mid 50s, and we descend into the maze. Each area of the medina specializes in something. We hoofed it through: the vegetable stands, meat & fish, desserts like halvah, shoes, silk thread, cloth, kaftans & djeballas, brass, silver, ceramics, woodworking, leather tanning, weaving.... saw the mosque, the building that holds the tomb of a long-deceased emperor, a museum of old enthographic artifacts, rug co-op, weaving workshop, tannery, all while dodging raindrops, donkeys full of wares, and donkey dung. As if the donkey dung didn't smell good enough in the rain, you know you are approaching the tanning areas, because the smell of somewhat rotting flesh nearly overwhelms you. Would have loved more time to wander a bit, look more at some of the wares, etc. Definitely opportunities for buying things, and local entrepreneurs who can spot the tourists coming from down a dark passage way, sporting their umbrellas (useful today, though I haven't caved in yet), Fes hats (the red felt ones like what Shriners wear), and trinkets galore. I am sure there are some great areas of the souk that we didn't see.... I saw some spices, but not tons... our guide says in Marrakech we will have some free time in the medina, but that may not be the case here.

Lunch was at a touristy spot in the depths of the maze; totally looks like a hole in the wall from the outside, but the inside was quite elaborately decorated with mosaics, wooden carved arches, and fabric draped ceilings. The meal consisted of plates of cooked veggies, and these were some of the better we've had – beets, carrots with a bit of clove, eggplant/ baba ganoush, potatoes; good bread too, but we asked for olive oil, and what came had something else mixed in with it, and I couldn't identify it. Dinner was back at the hotel, and we were served a Western meal – potato soup (like a vichyssoise), veal with a mushroom sauce (kinda chewy), potatoes, and cauliflower florets w peas & carrots. While not stellar, a nice change from not stellar tagines. The dessert though was lovely – an apple tart tatin, with a raspberry sauce. Not the chocolate cake I was suddenly craving, but you could taste the butter in the crust. :)

Day 5 -- Olive oil, Roman ruins & the road to Fes

Pics from top: pressing the olives the old fashioned way; green & black olive paste; view of Vilubilus ruins

Leaving Chefchaouen this morning, there was much concern about the weather, as the winds were howling, and the clouds were down low on the mountains, with some drizzle. Not good for walking the Roman ruins of Vilubilus, about 2 hours to the south. Fortunately, the further south we traveled, the weather improved.

All along the way, lining the hillsides of the Rif Mountains, are olive trees, some citrus, and pomegranates. About an hour into our ride, our guide had the bus driver stop on the side of the road when he saw there was a man operating his olive press. Was I excited! Annie Mance, you would have loved it! The man was leading a donkey, which was turning a huge stone wheel over a basin where the green and black olives were being squashed into a paste. From there, the paste is spread onto woven mats, about 18 inches in diameter, and then placed under a metal plate that screws down on top of it, squeezing the oil out; it drains into a holding tank, and presumably bottled from there. Only the first stage with the donkey was functioning when we pulled up. I asked, and it takes an hour and a half to crush the olives in that press; they were though, adding more olives to it as the olives got more and more crushed down. It takes 100 kilos of olives to make approximately 13 liters of oil. I also asked what kind of olives they were, and was told by our guide, “green and black.” When I further pressed the issue (no pun intended), I was still told, “just green and black.” Aside from the partial lack of info, it was great to see it! Unfortunately, there was no oil to sample.

Another hour down the road took us to the town of Vilubilus, where we had lunch at a fancyish hotel that looked relatively new. They are obviously there for the tourist trade. Lunch was another plate of 4 cooked vegetables, and a mixed grill plate with sausages (the first I've seen in Morocco), a thin pork chop with the salt pork attached, chicken breast, and beef livers. The thin sausages were really good, certainly related to Spanish chorizo, as you could taste the smoked paprika in them. The pork chop wasn't bad (Muslim country, they don't eat much pork here), the chicken over cooked, and liver isn't my thing. Oh, and great bread there too; like a fat, more tender english muffin.

From there, it was a 5 minute drive down the road to the actual ruins of Vilubilus, which was the capitol of the Roman province of Mauritania, Rome's southwesternmost lands in Northern Africa. About 20,000 people lived in this valley 2000 years ago; the ruins are spread over 28 acres, and have some extremely well preserved mosaics of the era. Amongst the ruins are also over 50 olive presses, showing the importance of the oil even way back when. It was used for cooking, massage (they know which building was the town brothel and the public baths), and burning in oil lamps, as well as being sent back to Rome for use there. It was very windy while we were there, but it was an interesting lesson in the Roman Empire, and the views were beautiful.

Back to the bus, and another hour and a half, we were at the Hotel Merinides in Fes, where there is wireless internet! The hotel has a fancy traditional (as in, for the tourists) dining room, which was rather ornate. Unfortunately, the traditional Moroccan meal didn't match the setting..... a reasonable hariah soup, though more tomato-based than what I've had in the past, an assortment of small meat phyllo-wrapped savory appetizers, and an alright beef tagine, but that's our third beef tagine in row, and certainly not the best! The end of the meal was accompanied by musicians playing traditional music, and the requisite belly dancer, who was quite good with the moves, but facially, didn't seem into it.

We get to wander the medina tomorrow! (Today's pictures will be added tomorrow!)

Day 4 -- Chefchauoen

Day 4 -- Chefchaouen

Pic from the top:
The hillside city of Chefchaouen; beef tagine at lunch; Ahmed the local guide


The day started with a town tour by a local guide, the irrepressible Achetot Ahmed, or just Ahmed. A short man, wearing his Berber djellaba (again, think Star Wars robes), with very pale blue eyes.(The light eye color is something I would not have expected in Morocco, but apparently, many of the Berbers are of lighter skin and eyes.) His voice at times sounded like he was talking through a tracheotomy box; then he would raise his voice and yell “hello” to get the attention of the group. Apparently, he's been in the Lonely Planet's video on the town....

Ahmed was entertaining, and like most local guides, is probably in cahoots with many of the area shopkeepers. We wandered through the meandering up & down streets, stopping from time to time, and then taking us to a weaving cooperative where a man and his sons took us through their different styles, types, colors, materials, etc. of the woven items they represented. And then they happily took our money. They had beautiful silk and cotton blankets, some of which were in beautiful ocean blues (the one Mom got) and a really beautiful magenta and cream colored one that another woman in the group bought. The teenage son saw me looking at the fabrics, and of course starts chatting me up. Before I know it, he takes me upstairs to see even more of the collection, and of course, talks me into one. It wasn't the magenta I wanted, but it's a small (2.5' x 4') cotton weave, done in beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. Apparently poppy flowers and henna comprise its natural dyes. My first Moroccan purchase.

We continued onwards, and had lovely at a very quaint place, that turns out to be a 350 year old family-owned establishment, that also serves as a hotel. Lunch was fantastic cracked wheat bread, with mild olive oil, green olives, a quartet of cooked veggies (carrots, cabbage, eggplant, and something green....); all okay,but they didn't jump out at me. The main dish was a beef tagine, with green beans, artichokes, and green bell pepper. Extremely tender beef, obviously stewed for a long time. It had a faint clove taste, and of course in my opinion, it could have used more spice! But very tasty. A very caramelized flan for dessert with our not very sweetened mint tea, a nice change not to have the added sugar.

Ahmed took us to one or two more places, and then we were on our own. Mom, Peggy and I wandered around the streets for a while more, and then by late afternoon retreated to the hotel, just a hair from the plaza and activity. Dinner was here at the hotel, a harirah soup (I think that's how it's spelled) which is typicallly had at Eid, to break the Ramamdan fast, and another beef tagine, this one with prunes and hard boiled eggs. This one was good, and the prunes gave the beef a nice sweet flavor contrast, but it wasn't outta this world good. Picky, picky.... Onto Fes tomorrow!