Casablanca – Morocco
Okay – I have to start out by saying I was slightly freaked out to go into Casablanca – From what I read it made me a little apprehensive – stories of snake charmers who put their snakes on your shoulder and won’t take them off until you pay money! David told me that if that happed to just walk away with their snake and they will come to retrieve it quickly. So with that being said – I booked a quiet tour. We happened to be there on a Sunday so much of the city was very quiet. Our day began with a trip to the central market –The fruits and vegetables looked absolutely picture perfect. A mound of dark maroon olives were on a large clay platter – glistening with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh herbs and spices, crowned with a whole lemon. I wanted a photo, so I nodded to the women who were selling the olives and I held up my camera – they nodded back as if saying “of course, take a photo”. We smiled at each other. The next area was inside – I’ve been to markets in foreign countries before - but this was defiantly third world – fish and seafood were out on display – it smelled foul inside because nothing was on ice – inside of a shallow box were live turtles, each one was about 4 inches across – They were for cooking – not pets. There were bags filled with dried beans, nuts, sliced olives and bundles of spices tied together.
Next we went to a Princes castle, drove through neighborhoods and stopped at a store with Moroccan art items for sale. There were rugs, brass plates, ceramic bowls, leather bags, jewelry and cute embroidered slippers with pointy toes. It was warm and muggy in the shop, we thought it was slightly overpriced so we went outside to a café` bar and got the national drink of hot mint tea. I took one small sip – it was very sweet and surprisingly enough it came with a large packet of sugar – just in case.
Our last stop was at a massive temple. It sat right next to the ocean – the temple can hold 25,000 people and another 75,000 in the courtyard, it was enormous with a high tower. As we got closer you could see the intricate tile mosaic work all in the fountains, over the doorways and on the ground. You could tell that each tile was painstakingly placed with artistic precision. Men enter the temple through a different door than the women, and they pray in separate areas. Most of the women had their heads covered with scarfs and wore skirts. One woman who walked past me was dressed in an all black burka. The only opening in her clothing was two slits for her eyes – it looked mysterious and it took me by surprise. I have seen photos of women dressed like that in magazines and on the TV – but when you see it in real life it just shocked me in a way I can’t explain except it was mystifying and fascinating but also a little chilling all at the same time. We were told to cover our shoulders and legs, most of the women on my tour wore pants. I wore pants and a long sleeve blouse; I also had a head scarf in case I needed it.
Casablanca was very foreign – I knew I was far from California. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all mystical and foreign – there were high rise apartments and streets lined with palm trees, modern busses and cars but it is still nothing like home. We will be back there in a month and I will find my embroidered Moroccan slippers!
Okay – I have to start out by saying I was slightly freaked out to go into Casablanca – From what I read it made me a little apprehensive – stories of snake charmers who put their snakes on your shoulder and won’t take them off until you pay money! David told me that if that happed to just walk away with their snake and they will come to retrieve it quickly. So with that being said – I booked a quiet tour. We happened to be there on a Sunday so much of the city was very quiet. Our day began with a trip to the central market –The fruits and vegetables looked absolutely picture perfect. A mound of dark maroon olives were on a large clay platter – glistening with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh herbs and spices, crowned with a whole lemon. I wanted a photo, so I nodded to the women who were selling the olives and I held up my camera – they nodded back as if saying “of course, take a photo”. We smiled at each other. The next area was inside – I’ve been to markets in foreign countries before - but this was defiantly third world – fish and seafood were out on display – it smelled foul inside because nothing was on ice – inside of a shallow box were live turtles, each one was about 4 inches across – They were for cooking – not pets. There were bags filled with dried beans, nuts, sliced olives and bundles of spices tied together.
Next we went to a Princes castle, drove through neighborhoods and stopped at a store with Moroccan art items for sale. There were rugs, brass plates, ceramic bowls, leather bags, jewelry and cute embroidered slippers with pointy toes. It was warm and muggy in the shop, we thought it was slightly overpriced so we went outside to a café` bar and got the national drink of hot mint tea. I took one small sip – it was very sweet and surprisingly enough it came with a large packet of sugar – just in case.
Our last stop was at a massive temple. It sat right next to the ocean – the temple can hold 25,000 people and another 75,000 in the courtyard, it was enormous with a high tower. As we got closer you could see the intricate tile mosaic work all in the fountains, over the doorways and on the ground. You could tell that each tile was painstakingly placed with artistic precision. Men enter the temple through a different door than the women, and they pray in separate areas. Most of the women had their heads covered with scarfs and wore skirts. One woman who walked past me was dressed in an all black burka. The only opening in her clothing was two slits for her eyes – it looked mysterious and it took me by surprise. I have seen photos of women dressed like that in magazines and on the TV – but when you see it in real life it just shocked me in a way I can’t explain except it was mystifying and fascinating but also a little chilling all at the same time. We were told to cover our shoulders and legs, most of the women on my tour wore pants. I wore pants and a long sleeve blouse; I also had a head scarf in case I needed it.
Casablanca was very foreign – I knew I was far from California. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all mystical and foreign – there were high rise apartments and streets lined with palm trees, modern busses and cars but it is still nothing like home. We will be back there in a month and I will find my embroidered Moroccan slippers!
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