Getting Some Culture in Casablanca

Day 2 in Morocco, we head to Casablanca for the day. Casablanca is more of a commercial city than a touristy spot. I always assumed the movie Casablanca was filmed there but it wasn't. We did go by Rick's Cafe, which was designed to recreate Rick's Bar from the movie. Unfortunately the cafe was closed for the afternoon break when we stopped by so we couldn't go in. Of all the gin joints in all the world, this one had to be closed!

The highlight of the Casablanca visit for me was a tour of the Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993 after only 6 years of construction. King Hassan II commissioned it to be built to provide a landmark monument for Casablanca. It is one of the largest mosques in the world and has the highest religious minaret in the world. The minaret is the tower from which Muslims are called to prayer. The mosque is partly built over the waters of the Atlantic ocean.

Our group in front of Hassan II Mosque

Top of the minaret

Mosques are not typically open to non-Muslim visitors but this mosque seems to encourage visits by offering guided tours. It is a truly spectacular work of art and engineering. It is built from local materials such as marble, granite, and cedar from Morocco. Copper, titanium, and ornate mosaic tile are also used. It is a mixture of traditional and modern. The only imported materials are white marble for the columns and glass for the beautiful chandeliers from Venice, Italy. 10,000 artisans and craftsmen labored to produce the intricate embellishments of the building.

The mosque can accommodate 25,000 worshippers but it has never been completely filled. I am reminded of the saying: "If you build it they will come". But is "they" the worshippers or the tourists??

Interior of mosque

Detail of the beautiful tile

We watched the huge electronically-controlled doors silently close for prayer while we were there.

Large doors

The automated retractable roof slides open in 2 to 3 minutes when the weather is nice. The elaborate ceiling is made of cedar to withstand the damp salty air from the ocean.

Looking up at sliding ceiling

There are separate entrances and prayer areas for men and women. Muslims are called to prayer 5 times a day. Before praying, they must wash themselves. Abundant fountains are provided both outside and inside below the ground floor with water for cleansing.

Fountains for washing before prayer

I learned from our guide why shoes must be removed before entering a mosque. It is simply to keep the carpets clean, that's it. We were provided plastic bags to carry our shoes with us on the tour. If you ever go, wear socks as our bare feet were quite cold on the marble floor.

Proving that it is indeed a small world, the girls reunited with a local Moroccan boy that Monica had met when he was a foreign exchange student in her American high school two years ago. They had kept up through Facebook and it was one of those "if you're ever in Casablanca, look me up...." promises that actually got fulfilled. We also had lunch with Mustapha, Chris's Moroccan former work buddy who now lives in Casablanca. We all enjoyed hearing his insights into the local culture and customs.

Our day trip ended happily with a pleasant drive back to Marrakech. It wasn't the "Marrakesh Express" but our driver did a good job getting us back safely. Always pleasant when you leave the driving to someone else!

Morocco - Day 1, Arrival in Marrakech

February in England is cold and dark with short days. But the schools give a week off for what they call half-term. Time to head somewhere reasonably warm for the break. We looked at Sicily, Turkey, Greek islands, and Morocco and were told that Morocco in northeast Africa would be the warmest of those destinations in February. We didn't want to fly further than a few hours after just traveling eleven hours over Christmas to South Africa. The flight to Marrakech, Morocco was only 4 hours long.

Chris has a Moroccan friend he used to work with, Mustapha, who was eager to have us visit his country. Mustapha recommended an English-speaking guide to make things easier for us. We joined up with two other families from Lexi's school who also have 11th-grade daughters. The kids were happy to have buddies and the grown-ups were happy too. Our party of nine did not fit into a normal-size vehicle, however, and we did not want to split up into two cars. A 15-passenger bus with driver, Ahmed, was provided for us. He was on duty for us the entire time, from the pick-up at the airport, throughout the week, and then back to the airport. It was comforting to have a local contact to watch out for us and who spoke Arabic. With the "Arab Spring" uprisings going on in African countries such as Egypt and Libya, we wanted to feel safe and not be on our own. Another benefit was that the guide got us really good discounts on the hotels.

Upon arrival at our hotel, the Palmeraie Golf Palace, we were seated and given the traditional welcome of Moroccan mint tea. The tea was sweet and refreshing with fresh mint in the little glasses.

Our group arriving at hotel

 There was a photo-op area set up in the lobby which of course I couldn't resist:

Enjoying my Moroccan mint tea welcome

After getting settled in our luxurious rooms, we lunched poolside in the warm sun and marveled at how we had left 16 F degree weather at the airport that morning.

We made the obligatory trip to the square and market place in the old city portion of Marrakech. It is popular with both the locals and the tourists. There were snake charmers and men with monkeys available for photos. Even if you don't ask for a monkey on your head, the men will just plop one on you and of course photos must be taken and then the men expect money. We were told to pay 20 Dirhams, (about $2) no more. The monkey men weren't having any of that and started demanding 200 Dirhams! Unfortunately, Chris had pulled all his cash from his pocket and the men could see what he had. Here is Chris enjoying the up-close encounter with the monkeys while I am not so thrilled to have the creature thrust upon my head!

At Chez Ali, warming up at a fire pit. Got cold when sun went down.

Dinner and a show that night was at Chez Ali, a touristy place, but well worth the visit to experience the traditional vibes of Morocco. Chez Ali is a huge compound with tents and buildings set around an open air arena. Our bus dropped us off in the parking lot which was dominated by other tour buses. That set the tourist tone right away. Oh well. As you walk in, you are taken past various groups in traditional garb representing the different tribes of the area. Many were playing music. We were seated in a large tent and typical Moroccan food was brought out, no need to try to figure out what to order from a menu! The soup was good, next was a huge platter of couscous with vegetables for the table to share. Then a roasted lamb on a platter with body parts still attached was presented. That raised some eyebrows from us Westerners. The table next to us was digging in with their hands, which we were told is common. We did the best we could to find the meat with our knives and forks. Dessert was a platter of fresh fruit. The tangerines were delicious!

What remained of our lamb on a platter

Dessert

During dinner, various musical groups rotated past our table to perform their chant or dance or whatever their tribe does best. In an effort to get us to participate (I suppose) one woman leaned right in Chris's ear and made a tongue-clicking noise. I guess we didn't look interested enough because after a while the groups just barely stopped at our table then quickly moved on along. Fine with us!

After dinner, we sat outside on stands around the arena for the show. Riders on Arabian horses performed tricks. A lone belly dancer performed on a stage in the center so far away we could hardly see her. We kept imagining how cold she must have been in her skimpy outfit. Once the sun went down, it got cold. It was February after all. In a sort of war ceremony, riders on horses charged out and shot off their rifles, several times. All the tribal performers processed out in a final parade. The finale was fireworks and a "floating" magic carpet pulled across a cable between two buildings. All in all, fun stuff.

At the end of the day we marveled at how much we did in just our first day in Morocco.

South Africa

We took a 2-week trip to South Africa over the Christmas holidays. We've been on a lot of trips but I would say this rates as one of the really special ones. For one thing, we travelled from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, a first for me. We went from the dead of winter to sunny summertime in just the eleven hours it took to fly from London to Johannesburg.

It was the first time we were not at home on Christmas Day. We had a very simple gift exchange around a very small fake Christmas tree in our rented house with gifts we had purchased just the day before in Cape Town. We were able to walk to a Catholic church on Christmas morning and celebrate Christmas Mass and sing carols while wearing sundresses and short sleeves. Later we soaked up some sun on the beach. It was a mixture of tradition and new experiences.

Our self-lighted mini Christmas tree

We  had a lovely Christmas dinner at a nice restaurant called Salt. Our table overlooked the ocean and we dined alongside an awesome sunset view.

Usually we are gone about a week on our trips. So to be gone a solid two weeks was special. Europeans generally go "on holiday" for at least two weeks at a time, often longer. Only the Americans feel the need to take fast trips as opposed to the leisurely European way. Even the passport control officer checking us back into England said something about how unusual that we Americans had been away for two whole weeks.

Sunset on Christmas Day

It was also special that Ryan got to travel with us. As he is at University back in the States, he doesn't get to accompany us on many of our trips over on this side of the pond. The days of all four of us taking a vacation together will at some point draw to a close when he starts a career and Lexi starts college. We cherish our time together as a family.

Christmas in summer at the V&A Waterfront,  Cape Town

The highlight of the trip was the 3-day safari adventure. Again, it was like nothing I had ever experienced or probably ever will again. I'll save the details of that for another posting.