Thursday, November 26, 2015

Fez Not to Be Missed--- Did You Know We Were Riding on the Marrakesh Express?

Beautiful Train Station Marrakesh
Yes, we road on the Marrakesh Express.  It was actually a wonderful experience for 4 of the 8 hours we road on the train.  There is something definitely powerful about a train, and this one was efficient, we didn't have to think about busses, traffic, flight times or gate changes.  We got to see the country side, chat, read, meet people in our "cabin", and it was great (for about 4 hours).  Then it was a bit tiring.  We revived as we went through Casa Blanca, and I thought of course abut Humphrey Bogart.  I tried not to think about the return trip and how that one, too would take about 8 hours (it actually took nearly 10 because of train delays). The one downside was that the windows of the train were filthy with some terrible sticky mess on the outside.
First Class seat! ($60 round trip!)
Many squatter camps near the train stops.  This a smaller one
actually seeing Casa Blanca (look to the ocean)
Graffiti is ubiquitous

We also had two of the sentinel experiences on the train.  Two random men at different times (as we neared Fez) sat down in the one empty seat in our cabin, and started talking to our three new young German Friends and one sweet young Moroccan lady and of course, us.  The first began with a wonderful introduction to himself about how he knew US, because his sister had heart surgery in NYC, and that some Foundation of Hope had sponsored her, and that he worked in the capital for Peace Corps volunteers who came from the US to help the Moroccans.  He reminded us that Morocco was the first country to support the ratification of the Declaration of Independence (Morocco hated the British for their particular brand of colonial rule), and then proceeded on a thread of how lucky he was (as well as we) that he happened to have a cousin who lived in Fez and with whom he could introduce us just as we got off the train....He went on to ask us what we wanted to do in Fez and as we mumbled and tried to ignore him, he persisted and kept adding attributes to his cousin, a friend of his cousin's who had "Mercedes" to drive us etc etc.  This shall I say is almost verbatim out of the Lonely Planet "watch out for" guidebook.  When John just said something to the effect of us having a hotel and being met at the train station, he quickly got a cell phone call, got up and said, "  'Scuse, I am going for a coffee" and left our compartment.  At the very next stop, the same situation repeated itself. This gentleman was much less odoriferous and for that I am grateful, but he had the same spiel.  But, this time, he had a sister who came with her family from the US, and they traveled all over Morocco and how much she loved being back in her home country.  He described all the places in Fez that we should see, and other side trips that we and our German Friends had already taken. He reminded us that Morocco was the first country to support the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and that Moroccans are good friends to the US.  Then, he described the train station and how crazy it is and how he and his family had hired a great driver who was very knowledgeable and had a good car, and how he happened to have this man's business card.  He asked John where we were staying and John said, "I don't know, the reservations are up above in my case, but we have a driver picking us up from the hotel."  Our Germans at this point were beside themselves, one of whom pointedly had taken our his Lonely Planet guide and was apparently reading in German to his friends about the shysters who get on the trains and try to sell you not only fake things but fake guides at high prices.  The guy looked at John and at me, and suddenly got a call on his cell phone, and harrumphed and said.....have to take this.  We saw him striding up and down our car for the next 45 minutes and actually saw him on the way home getting on and off the train!  Perfect experience.


So, we arrived at the Fez station and had a wonderful young man with our name on the placard to pick us up.  He drove us quickly to the old city and proceeded to drop us off in a parking lot where we were picked up by a "Chocador" (not sure spelling but he is the guard of the house) who walked us up a long winding outdoor stone stair case past small shops that were open, selling mostly Caftans for both women anad men.  Darkness had settled in even at 5 as the winter is coming to Morocco as well.  We turned right to a small alley and entered a door with no name plate.  There we were in the Palais Amani.  WOW!
The garden (Riyad) from the top of the hotel

The Riyad (garden)



We were given an orientation and then shown to our room which was lovely.  We were encouraged to eat dinner at the hotel, which we did, and enjoyed the slow cooked lamb and chicken, and delicious wine. We started our day in Fez with a delicious traditional breakfast.
Amazing breakfast soup
Our guide Jalid, was a man of few words, but very efficient.  He was not the type of person to try to get us to buy things but took us to most places where he thought we would like to go.  My priority was to find some Moroccan pottery, and that is where we started.  And Oh my goodness.....

Artisans hand working on tiles

Where the dried Olive pits are used for baking the pottery

Some tables and fountains

John watching pot spinning

John in pottery heaven

tables are made by placing individual pieces upside down


Our pottery purchases

Our tile hanging
So, once we had spent all our money on the beautiful pottery, we set off for the tour of the city.
Map of Fez Medina
Fez Entrance to the Medina

Old wall around the city (big university in middle)

brass souq

candles for sacred mosque souq

"guaranteed antique" shop

John's favorite doors

Fez Independence Square (Independence day Nov. 18th)

John walking down "main street!" in the old town

cute small shop

The Madrassa (where Islamic school and Mosque used to be located)

The sacred Mosque

Silver souq

The two big towers
At the end of the day, we were exhausted, but happy to have at least seen the main sights of the city.  We did go to the tannery, but since leather is not our main interest, we just appreciated the tons of leather items for sale in this area!  I will not comment on the meat souq for the sake of my vegetarian children, but there was a lot of it.  As our guide said, "we Moroccans are not vegetarian".  I am sure that some are, but we did not witness this.  And, as I could see, every single part of the animal was used, from anything edible, to anything to make into something utilitarian, or beautiful.  At least, no wasted parts.
dinner Palais Amani


sunset from the hotel top

sunset crosses the old town
So from Fez, we returned to Marrakesh on the train, spent a cold night in a fancy hotel (that was really cold), ate food that gave me food poisoning for the flight back to Amsterdam, trudged to our hotel from the airport in freezing rain and wind, I immediately passed out while John sought food, and we returned to RDU just in time for Thanksgiving.  While food poisoning is horrible, it was at the end of the trip, and this trip was amazing.  Cheers to Africa!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Marrakesh in pictures

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John and I in a traditional Berber home having tea

John’s and my trip to Morocco has been an amazing experience so far.  As usual, John had a meeting and unfortunately for him, missed out on two days of excursions around the city of Marrakesh; however, he and I spent our first day exploring, being picked up by a city guide whom we used for the rest of the trip, and also being able to take a trip to the Mid Atlas mountains and the valleys near the city.  We were privileged to be invited into a Berber house in the mountains (I’m sure that all the other people who were brought to the same house felt the same, and that the family benefitted from our “tips”.  We did see the devastation that occurred in the 1990’s when a huge flood killed thousands of persons who lived near the river, and learned that at least three members of this family were swept away. 

River with rocks from floods

Pots for sale everywhere
Beautiful Mid Atlas Valley

Camel Ride Possibilities were everywhere...We said "no"
We thought about Chrissy and Katrina and the ride to the tomb of the Aga Khan back in 1995.  Our guide Rashid said...oh those camels must have been anxious.  Hmmmmm.  Not interested.
Carpets for sale everywhere
I have never seen so many carpet possibilities.  Carpets are in all the taxis, covering wood piles, on all the floors, on the ground even.  Every inch of space can have carpets.  Every single kind of carpet.
Beautiful day for a drive in the mountains

Berber Traditional Bedroom

Flour Making "machine"

Another tea shot

Adorable children playing in the Berber House

Very Cute Bed and Breakfast and gift shop

Every gift you can buy

View of the Alladin B&B from a distance

Herb Garden for all sorts of cures

Hyatt and Trish outside the shop

Hyatt welcoming people to the shop
making the Argon oil for cosmetics and for cooking

In addition to that trip, perhaps another unique part of our Marrakesh trip was being taken to an olive oil factory, the likes of which I simply cannot describe.  OSHA beware.  Let’s hope that our litre of olive oil, which is stored in a dishwashing soap container, is taped strongly enough to withstand the airplane pressure coming home, or our suitcase will be a disaster. 
My favorite shot.  Happy olive oil workers

oops John and Rashid at the Berber house

John and Rashid at the olive oil factory

olive oil heaven in Marrakesh

Olives for oil

Olives for restaurants

But the rest of the Marrakesh trip was pure tourist; the souq’s with all their shops and bargaining and hustling and bustling.  Our guide certainly had his favorite shops, the first of which was a carpet souq and definitely Rashid had John’s number when it came to this.  We must have spent an hour sitting, drinking tea, and finally coming away with a small Berber carpet.  We also went to a “chemist” but did not buy the Argon oil that could cure everything, as the buying of the oil happened when we went to the mountains. 
In The Souq

Monkey in the square

Snake charmer gets client to put snake on neck

Central Square
Old synagogue from 15th century
Old Mosque Al Ben Youssef where moderate Islam is taught
fabulous central souq
John's carpet downfall
Main Minaret and mosque
El Meridien Hotel
Patricia in Gardens
Patricia by the grave of Yves St. Laurent
Royal theatre
Graves in Hebrew Cemetery Stones provide memories...especially of children
 So many more photos of Marrakesh, but here were the highlights. The central square has its charm, the historical sites their beauty.  But, what seems to me most memorable are the very friendly people and their desire to let everyone know that they are peaceful and want to show off a country they love very much.
Central Square