The Blue City - Chefchaouen, Morocco

Chefchaouen, Morocco

March 29, 2014

This morning breakfast was light, compared to the 7 breads from yesterday.  Today, we had Berber bread again (on request) and goat cheese and jam.  We also had rose buds to put in the mint tea.

Mohammad picked us up in his van, and we started driving south and east, into the mountains, in the pouring rain.  It took us about 2 hours to get to our destination, not because it was so far away, but because we got caught in a traffic jam near a small village when the king’s wife and her entourage drove through.  It seems that when the royal family is on the move, the rest of the world stops.

Waiting for the King's wife.  She is not a queen, just a wife.

The scenery increased in beauty as we continued south.  As we drove, we looked up into the mountains and saw one small village after another, all with their own minaret peeking through the landscape.  This reminded me of seeing white steeples tucked into the trees and hills of New England. On the hillside fields, we saw Berber women, dressed in the characteristic red and white skirts, working in the fields, and herding cows and goats.  

Later in the day, we saw these hard working women selling their cheese on the sides of the roads.  As both Aziz and Mohammad were fond of saying, “Berber women are very hard working.”  No kidding.  There was never a man to be seen.

This Berber woman was herding goats through this Muslim cemetery.

 Mohammad dropped us off on a hill above the town of Chefchaouen where we had a great view of the town, and of the two huts on the river where the Berber women do their laundry. 

The women in the shed on the right are washing clothes by hand in the river water which is running through the laundry tubs.  The men in the shed on the left, are sitting around and gossiping with one another.

 We paused on the hill to get instructions from Mohammad as to where to meet him later on, when suddenly, it was time for prayer.  The call to prayer started at one minaret, then another started and then another.  In the meantime the echos from the mountains chimed in.  It was a magical moment.  So peaceful, so beautiful.  We could see some minarets but the others blended in and were hard for us to detect.  Mohammad told us there were 8 of them tucked into this hill town.

This was our view while listening to the multiple calls to prayer.

We got our marching orders from Mohammad and set off on our own.  It turns out that yesterday’s “free time” was preparation for today.  In all reality, there is no way that Mohammad could drive his van through the Casbah, so we had to walk.  Fortunately we were prepared to go it alone thanks to our training in Asilah. Mohammad pointed to the Hotel Parador, in the distance, and told us if we walked downhill from where we were, we would get there to meet him in a few hours.

Since it was still raining, we didn’t start walking immediately.  Instead, we went into a café overlooking the laundry sheds and had some coffee to get warmed up. 

View from the cafe.

Since it was raining we were happy to sit inside while sipping our cafe au lait.

Then we  started walking through the beautiful blue Casbah of Chefchaouen.  Yes, the city is blue.  Mohammad told us that in the summer the sun is blinding on the normal whitewash that walled cities use, so Chefchouauen discovered that tinting the whitewash blue eases the glare of the sun.  

 

We walked, and walked.  We enjoyed our walk but started becoming concerned when we ended up at the very top of the city wall, instead of near the bottom, and we had lost sight of the Hotel Parador entirely.  

The view from the top of the Casbah was beautiful, but we lost sight of the Hotel Parador entirely.

We ambled through alley after alley.  We knew our time was up, and we should be meeting Mohammad, but it was if we were lost in a maze.  

We finally found the lower city wall only to find we were way below our destination.  We asked a woman where the Hotel Parador was, and she pointed uphill.  We slogged back uphill on the outside of the wall.  At last, the Hotel Parador!!! 

Mohammad was in a panic.  He had even called Aziz to tell him he had lost us.  We were only half an hour late, but that was small consolation for our guide who hated telling his boss that he lost those crazy Americans.

He led us back into the Casbah, for a late lunch, and then we drove back to Tangier.  The scenery was just as lovely coming down the mountain, but as we got closer into Tangier, the traffic became horrendous and it took us much longer to return than it did to get to Chefchaouen.  We felt badly that Mohammad probably had other plans for his evening than to be with us, but………………what could we do?

In all, it was a glorious day.

Asilah, Morocco

Asilah, Morocco

March  28, 2014

We woke up at La Maison Blanche, in the Casbah in Tangier, and made our way down three flights of spiral stairs, heading for the main level with its lovely fountain. This guest house was originally a traditional Muslim home and our host, Aziz grew up here with his 3 other siblings.  He has recently transformed it into a guest house with all the modern conveniences, but the feel of tradition.

Notice the lovely carved woodwork.  This was all over the house. The key hole window in the back of the photo has a wooden grill over it. That's so passers by can't see the women inside the house.

This is a view of the fountain from above.

Aziz had set the table beautifully and was eager to show us all the wonders of a Moroccan breakfast.  

Aziz Begdouri

We had fresh squeezed orange juice, a choice of coffee or mint tea and seven kinds of bread!  We had warm Berber bread which was very rustic.  We also had Arab bread, a fried bread that looked like a doughnut, croissant, pain au chocolat and a loaf of whole wheat bread.  Aziz also offered argon oil mixed with ground almonds, peach jam and butter.  We both finished an entire chunk of the Berber bread.  I think it was cooked on a griddle, and was kind of like a thick chewy pancake.  It was very tasty and the almond/argon mix was delicious.

We each have a slab of Berber bread on our plates.  The orange juice was freshly squeezed. There are 4 more kinds of bread on the sideboard.

After this heavy meal, we met Mohammad for a drive to the small fishing village of Asilah.  Asilah  is a few hours south and west of Tangier, on the Atlantic Ocean. It was originally a Portuguese fort built in the 1400s. Like Tangier, it is a walled city. We spent most of our time in the Casbah.  It is also a beach town and is probably quite lively in the summer. We walked through the Casbah with Mohammad, and he explained about the traditional Muslim windows – the women can see out, but we can’t see in.  He showed us how people are restoring the homes and turning them into elegant second homes.  It was quite lovely.

The house on the left has been gutted and is in the process of being remodeled.

Typical view while walking down the Casbah lanes.

This house has two different styles of traditional windows.  Women can see out, and get some fresh air, but the general public can't see in.

Mohammad showed us the tomb of an important saint.

Stairs from the ocean to the saint's tomb.

The dome is over the tomb of the saint.  Other graves are on the area that looks like a patio.

Taylor and Mohammad.

The ocean meets the Casbah walls.

This man insisted I take his picture.

For a special treat, Mohammad informed us that we would now have free time!!! Free time?  What in the hell is free time?  Initially, we panicked.  What would we do by ourselves in a small town where no one speaks English, there were no visible women and we had no Moroccan money?  Mohammad traded us some MADs for some Euros, so we had some money in our pockets, in case we wanted to have coffee, etc.  We then soldiered up and started off on our own.

We re-toured the Casbah, since we already had a feel for it.  We walked along the sea wall and enjoyed looking back at the town and fishing boats.

We checked out the caravan park . It occurred to us that sometime in the future our friends Mary Lee and Gary could stay in this RV park, while we stay in a hotel nearby. 

Eventually, we went to a cafe, where we had enough money to have one cup of coffee each (without milk).

All in all, it was a lovely day.  We saw a small town in Africa, we were left to our own devices, and we survived!

Welcome to Tangier Gran Tour

After Aziz joined Mohammad, Taylor and me, the tour really began.  We drove through suburbs where the king of Morocco has a home, as well as other rich and famous people from the Arab world.  We drove along the coast looking at both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean beaches.  We went into the Cave of Hercules, which is opposite the Rock of Gibraltar in Spain.

Either the Atlantic, or the Mediterranean Oceans are behind us.  I'm holding mimosa flowers.

Looking out from the Cave of Hercules.  The shape resembles the outline of Africa, in reverse.

After driving through the areas surrounding Tangier, Aziz took us to a restaurant in the Grand Socco for lunch where we had our first Moroccan meal.  Afterwards we toured the market, which is held on Thursdays and Sundays.

These are sheep horns which will be turned into combs.

The same man who was selling the sheep horns was roasting cow legs.  Azziz told me they would be eaten.

 Berber women come from the surrounding countryside to sell the vegetables that they grow  Their clothing is distinctive as they always wear red and white skirts, and the hats which are adorned with braided yarn and pom poms. They do not like to have the pictures taken, hence the sneaky back views.

 Spices.

The seafood all looked so good I wished I had cooking facilities.

There are so many kinds of olives.

The vegetables were so appealing.

This is where men advertise that they are available for work.  The bucket on the left is for a painter, to the right of the paint bucket is for a plumber, and the display on the right is for an electrician.  If you need their services you find their little display and negotiate a price.

This man is working at the community oven.  You bring whatever you want baked to him and he slides it right into the oven.  When we were there he was roasting nuts, but everyone brings their daily bread to him as well.

Our tour of the market was one of many highlights in Morocco.

Our First Hour in Africa

I am writing this in a very beautiful, refurbished guesthouse at the top of the Casbah (old walled city) in Tangier, Morocco.  The last two days here have been quite amazing, and given some of the events, I'm surprised to find myself sitting on a red velvet sofa in front of a chimney (fireplace) with a green and white tile fountain bubbling away in the entrance hallway to my right.  Taylor is three floors up, relaxing in our gorgeously appointed room.  I can hear our host Aziz talking to the guy who is here to bring us tea, and I think he answers the phone, answers the door and cleans.  He also built the fire.

We arrived yesterday morning on the ferry from Tarifa, Spain.

Here's our ferry.  Notice the ominous sky.  When we got off the ferry in Tangier, it was raining!

I thought the inside of the ferry kind of looked like a casino.  This lady was knitting for most of the trip.

 We understood that Aziz would meet us at the dock with a sign with our name on it.  When we got off the ferry, we had to walk further than I expected to get to the ferry terminal.  This surprised me, as I thought we'd get off the boat, and there would be Aziz.  We wandered through streams of people, both locals and tour groups, and didn't see anyone with a sign for us.  We did see other guides greeting their people.  Finally a man from the tourist department asked if he could help.  I told him we were to meet Aziz.  The man replied, "Oh, Aziz," and walked outside the terminal.  We followed.

Eventually another man came up to me and said, "Are you looking for Aziz?  Are you Taylor Dennen?"  I said, "Yes," and told Taylor this was our man, and we began to follow.   Taylor hadn't heard my brief conversation and wasn't sure what we were doing.  I asked the man if he was Aziz and he said "No, I'm the driver."  "Where is Aziz?"  He replied "We'll see Aziz," and he led us to his mini van and we got in. By now, both Taylor and I were wondering if we had made a huge mistake by jumping in a vehicle with a stranger in a strange country, but we were stuck, with our luggage in the back.

This man started driving through town, giving us his tour speech and we just listened and observed.

He took us to a mosque, and told us about it and asked if we wanted to take pictures.  We didn't know what else to do so we got out and I snapped pictures, wondering if the car, with our worldly possessions would disappear.

I was as interested in the people as I was in the mosque.

 We eventually got back in the car and continued driving. About 45 minutes into his tour, our driver stopped the car on the side of the road and we just sat. This naturally made us a little nervous, but it was a nice neighborhood, so we held tight  Eventually, another man, wearing a bright blue sweater, opened the sliding door and stuck his hand in to shake ours, saying, "Welcome to Morocco.  I'm Aziz."  He then jumped into the front seat and asked if Mohammad had done a good job.  So now we knew:  Mohammad was our driver, and Aziz was finally with us.

I will write more about this amazing day later, but know, the day ended with Taylor and me sitting on the rooftop patio of La Maison Blanche at the top of the Casba, sipping Moroccan mint tea.

All is well with the world, for this day and moment.