the Walkers in Norway

On our latest trip we ventured out beyond Europe to Morocco on the northwestern coast of Africa. It was definitely unlike any place we had ever been before!

On Tuesday we flew to Marrakech and were met at the airport by a van whose interior I can only describe as Arabian funkadelic as it had been reupholstered entirely in burnt orange crushed velvet and Moroccan rugs. We were thankful to have it though because without a driver who knew the way to our tiny riad (the Moroccan version of a bed and breakfast), we certainly never would have found it.

Our riad was right in the heart of the Medina, the old part of the city inside the kasbah. We drove down narrow streets packed with people, taxis, and several donkey-powered delivery carts before our driver pulled over to let us out and then led us through two tiny alleyways to the door of the riad.

We were welcomed by Mohammed (almost every guy we met there shared

his name actually) who treated us to mint tea and a variety of Moroccan pastries before showing us to our room. Though it was raining pretty hard, we decided to walk down to the main square in the center of town, Jemma el Fna, to find some dinner before settling in for the night.

The next morning we ate a delicious breakfast at the riad before heading back out to the square. This time we took a taxi---a process that requires a lot of haggling---we got pretty good at it by the end of our visit. We took a tour of the city in a horse drawn carriage and then headed for for one of the busiest main squares in the world, Jemaa el Fna.

We sampled all kinds of foods and enjoyed watching some street performers, including the tourist-must-see snake charmers:

Everything in Morocco is very inexpensive, but the best deal by far is a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (seriously, they pick the oranges right off the trees that are all over the city and then squeeze them to order right in front of you) from one of about 20 venders in the square for 3 dirham (about 40 cents).

orange juice stand

We made our way through the square to the souks, the maze of alleyways lined with markets of all kinds. There were people selling camel leather in the tannery area, stall after stall of gorgeous Moroccan lamps, shoemakers, handmade Berber carpets, giant piles of fresh spices, and even butchers, well, butchering. Some things were beautiful and others actually kind of gross, but there was always something to look at.

lamps galore

stray cats waiting for scraps from the butcher

camel leather for sale

spicy

All the Moroccan food we tried was fantastic, but my favorite is the "tajine." Named for the clay pot they are cooked in, a tajine is kind of like a Moroccan stew or pot roast where they cook vegetables or fruits together with any kind of meat you like. The best I had was lamb with apples, but I think Kelly preferred chicken and couscous.

tajine

We spent the next day visiting all of the major landmarks in Marrakesh including a couple of palaces, the ruins of an ancient Mosque, the tombs, a museum, and the Ben Yousef school. Our favorite place was the El Badi Palace. There were lots of the most gigantic birds I've ever seen in person outside of a zoo (someone told us they were storks). They had built huge nests all over the ruins of the palace. There were also tunnels to explore underneath (the boys' favorite place by far of course).

ruins of a palace (see the huge stork nest--brown lump on the chimney--in the top right)

exploring the tunnels beneath

Mosque

That night we did another tourist must... we went to see "Chez Ali," a very corny dinner show (like an Aladdin version of Medieval Times or something). Dinner was good and they had lots of performers come by to entertain us between courses (see the picture of Zach "enjoying" them below). Then we all headed outside to see the show complete with horses, guns, a belly dancer, camels, and fireworks... oh yeah, and Aladdin flying by on his magic carpet. It was super corny, but Zach loved every minute of it so we were glad we went.

I should mention that this was the first time we had been to a Muslim country. We were woken up early on a couple of different mornings to the sounds of the prayer leaders being broadcast by loudspeakers from the Mosques around town. Kind of annoying first thing in the morning, yes, but it was really interesting to witness the devotion and commitment of these people to their religion even though we do not subscribe to the same set of beliefs.

Anyway, after one of our early "wake up calls" on Friday we took a guided tour through the Atlas mountains about 2 hours outside the city to visit a Berber village. The people there still live without electricity or plumbing, grind their own grain for flour, and cook over fire. A family along the way invited us into their home for a tour. I was amazed to see that there was a hole in the bottom of the kitchen wall (bottom left in the picture below) where the family could get water from the stream outside for washing dishes and cooking and a duck kept peaking its head in.

We also passed a camel or two along the way and Zach and I got to go for a ride. There is no ladder for getting up on those animals---the handler actually makes them lay down while you get on and then you have to hold on for dear life while they stand up (camels are really tall and wobbly by the way and we were kind of on the edge of a cliff too).

We drove up and up and found a gorgeous spot for lunch outside overlooking the highest peak of the mountains. The food was awesome and the view was even better. Afterward a further drive, we took a walk across some very questionable footbridges for a harrowing hike through the mountains behind the village to see some waterfalls and were passed by a herd of goats on the way down.

The next morning we decided to take it easy and do some fun things for Zach to work off some energy before our flight, so we toured the Royal Gardins designed by Yves St. Laurent and then went to Kwakab Jeux, the Moroccan version of Chuck E. Cheese. He bounced, climbed, and just generally ran wild while Kelly and I rested up and enjoyed one last Moroccan meal (the food there is much better than CEC luckily!). Then it was off to the airport and back to snowy Oslo.

We really enjoyed soaking up the sun in Morocco and trying out everything it has to offer. It is a beautiful country full of some really nice people (except the cab drivers!), great food, and lots of history. It was an experience we will never forget!