14 Km. from Spain and 40 from the Polisario--a whirlwind tour of Al-Maghreb

Greetings readers and apologies for the nearly month-long absence. Things are getting still busier here in Morocco. Somehow, we're in November, and I would have sworn we just started October, but I'm sure most of you feel the same about your lives. Anyway, just to quickly catch up the happenings of October, I ended up going to Marrakech for the big 2-1 with friends, and had an amazing time; it's always convenient to have a birthday on the weekend. Ramadan ended with the Eid Al-Saghrir on October 13 (literally "little holiday," since Eid Al-Kabir, "big holiday," means eating even more food--if that is physically possible--and is celebrated this December). Eid at my house meant sleeping in and lazily starting the day with an enormous breakfast of sugar, sugar, and sugar water, also known as Moroccan mint tea (don't get me wrong, it all tastes great, but I think I may be at much higher risk for diabetes by the end of the program). Actually, an oft-asked question about the whole Ramadan experience is whether I gained a lot of weight. Well, I was technically eating less than I would in a normal day in the US, which would suggest lost weight, but I ate at such strange times of the day and went without water for so long that my metabolism was greviously confused, and I would have to say things probably just about evened out. I would normally use my clothing as an indicator of fluctuations, but they are a little past the point of stretched out now. Laundry-wise, the only place where conventional standards of "dirty" apply are underwear (and once my clothes are drying on the line after a wash, there is always the hazard of a fly-by pooping, something the cruel Rabati pigeons must find very amusing, since they do it every time to at least one article of clothing). It is really nice to be able to eat during the day again. Anyway, other than celebrations, October was busy with classes and travels. I had to laugh awhile back when I re-read a few blogs and realized I'd said almost nothing about study on a study abroad program--but I suppose the emphasis is always heavier on the abroad than on the study, huh? Anyhow, classes went pretty well. We officially graduated to the purple second level Arabic book the week before last, giving my beaten and trusty red first book a well-deserved rest. We will have our final Arabic class this Monday before beginning our Independent Study Projects (or ISPs). The Arabic is getting easier, but I still don't understand the majority of what I hear in Derija. Since we are learning pure FusHa in class, the rate of comprehension return on studying is discouragingly low. I find, however, that often when I'm watching tv or listening to a conversation, there are lots of words that pop up that I know; it's just that I'm not always at the point of putting those words together into a coherent concept. As the Moroccans have it though, "schweia b'schweia," almost exactly the same as "poco a poquito" in Spanish. As for the afternoon lectures here, they ended last week. My series topic was Migration. Moroccan migration can be, and often is, compared to Mexican migration to the United States (except to the EU instead). Migration is a fascinating topic here because it involves so many other facets of society: politics, development (social and economic), culture, etc. Moroccan migration also has an interesting dimension because it is a sending country and a receiving country for thousands and thousands of Sub-Saharan Africans. They use Morocco as an embarcation point to Europe as well, resulting in some of the tragic "boat people" deaths that recurringly make the news. One of the most interesting places to witness the migration demographic into Morocco is at church on Sunday mornings. I attend church here each Sunday that I am in town, and the services are always packed with migrants from all over Africa. Though language barriers persist, I've met a few people from Ghana, Togo, Gabon, and South Africa. It's an interesting Renaissance for the churches here, which obviously went into steep decline at Moroccan independence.

Anyway, going off into a tangent, when I really should stick to the point. So, October was my big travel month here in Morocco. I cannot say I made it to the extreme south (but that's disputed anyway due to Western Morocco), but I did make it to the very North, visited a lot of the coast, and was deep enough inland to be within reasonable camel-ride distance to Algeria (we considered, but better judgement prevailed). I thought I'd share some photos and just a bit about some of the cities we visited below. Enjoy!

Quick warning: I am having trouble with my camera card uploading all of my pictures now, so some cities will be without any visual description at the present time. I decided publishing a blog after such a long hiatus was more important than working out the kinks, and I'll add them to this post at a later date, "wakha" (ok)?

Some of the cities I mention below on are this map, hope you can find them.

Azrou:

Azrou is a small-ish and quaint town south of Fez. It is worth noting because it certainly didn't strike me as the stereotypical Moroccan town. First of all, it is located in the mountains near one of the world's two large cedar forests (the other being in Lebanon), and gets a lot of snow in the winter. The big skiing resort town (I know, going skiing in Morocco?), Ifrane, is only about 20 km. away, and is incidentally the home of Al-Akawayn University, the Moroccan and Saudi-funded English-speaking university. This means that Azrou gets a lot of English-speaking tourists, and the shopkeepers were only too happy to talk to us for hours. Azrou is also slighly notable because it is one of the few places in all of Morocco where I have actually been cold. Yes, even in November, I am wearing short sleeves and sandals during the day--wish you were here?


Merzouga:

Merzouga is an even tinier town than Azrou, really not so much a town as the starting point for tours into the dunes on the edge of the Sahara. As stereotypical tourist experiences go, there's not much better than riding a camel into the desert to watch the sunset, which is exactly what we did. Here are a couple of the pictures, though I didn't include any of the sunset, which was actually not spectactular since it was cloudy out (cloudy in the desert, I do have pretty bad timing):
The view atop my camel. Quite unfortunately, I discovered they are very gassy animals, and the camel in front of me wouldn't stop farting and pooing--quite romantic, huh?
My blurry artistic photo of other students on their camels. The blur was induced by the fact that camels are actually quite uncomfortable and bouncy seats, further reducing the romantic and exotic aspect of a camel ride through the Sahara.

Ouarzazate:

Ouarzazate may sound slightly familiar to those of you who closely follow films. This is the capital of Morocco's film industry, and many American films are shot here because of the cost and generally good weather (same reasons they initially choose Hollywood). Some recent films of note here were Gladiator, Alexander, The Bourne Ultimatum (also shot in Tangier), Babel, and Kingdom of Heaven. The walls of "Jerusalem," according to Kingdom of Heaven, are actually just outside the city limits, since the set hasn't been taken down. We've also had a movie shot right here in Rabat since I arrived, starring Leonardo DiCaprio--some of my friends waited on Mohammed V Blvd. for an hour to catch him one day, but to no avail. I'm not sure what the name of the film is, but it's supposed to be set in Jordan, I believe. (When it comes out in theaters, I'm warning you not to see it with me, because I will excitedly point and whisper everytime I recognize something "oh! I went to that café!" or "OMG, I know that building!") Unfortunately, I didn't see much of Ouarzazate because we had a really nice hotel, and I spent a long time just glorying in the pressurized hot-water shower.

Marrakech:

I think for a lot of visitors to Marrakech, it is a city that draws strong emotions, either very negative or very positive. For me it is the same, no other city in Morocco stirs such contradictory feelings, which is why I think I like it so much. Marrakech is undoubtedly the current tourist capital of Morocco, drawing more and more visitors each year. One of the reasons for this is a long history as an Imperial Capital of Morocco, which means lots of historic sites to visit, and an elaborate medina (though not as large as the one in Fez), as well as a huge square called the Djemaa el Fna, where snake charmers and storytellers and kabob vendors and henna artists abound. I think for most people it embodies the stereotypical and somewhat exotic Morocco experience, thus it's continuing popularity. I will be studying the tourist experience in Marrakech further for my ISP. Specifically, my topic is the interrelation of tourist development and water resources in Marrakech, but I'll be able to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about all that once I move there in a week or so to begin research. The only picture I'm going to leave you with of Marrakech right now is of the beautiful Majorelle Garden, originally a private home, but turned into one of the recommendended tourist sights in the city. (Don't worry, more Marrakech pictures will be forthcoming once I am living there).

Essaouira:

Hands down, this is my favorite city in all of Morocco. You know how some places just strike you? And then you want to stay forever? Well, it was a lot like that as we unloaded the bus upon arrival. Essaouira is a laid-back port town similar to El Jadida, except even more quaint and charming and enjoyable. The people here are so friendly, and we spent hours just talking and drinking Berber tea. Berber tea, or Amazigh tea, to go by the new politically conscious name for the indigenous people of Morocco is nothing like Mint Tea. It has 13 spices including saffron, juniper, rose petals, cinnamon, wintergreen, anise, and this Moroccan flower I didn't catch the name of (and NO sugar). Essaouira is also home to a huge music and arts scene. This is where Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley stayed in Morocco, and there are sculpture and painting galleries everywhere throughout the picturesque medina. I am sadly having unfortunate problems with my camera uploading my pictures onto the computer, but I'll include one of the sunset near the harbor. (Speaking of the harbor, do you remember watching that Bizarre Foods show, Dad? Where the guy was eating all the fish and such on the wharf? Well, that was in Essaouira)
Happily, Essouira is only 3 hours from Marrakech, meaning that I will be spending some time there during my research project.

Tangier:
(or "Tan-ja" in Arabic, which is much more fun to say)

Tangier was an independent trip I made with a couple of friends the last weekend of October. Like Marrakech, this city has a strong character that makes for an enjoyable visit. I guess to explain the idea of a city's character, I should contrast a city like Rabat with Tangier. Rabat is, in a word, a pleasant city, but given it's rather undistinguished history and only-recent importance, it still lacks a lot of character, like a new apartment without wall hangings. A city like Tangier, however, has a long and interesting past, from it's time as a Roman province to its International Zone status in the first half of the 20th century. It is like a long-lived-in apartment with lots of intriguing things on the walls. Sorry for the silly analogy, but I felt I had to make some distinction as to why I like some cities so much better than others. (Not that I don't like Rabat; you can never hate your home completely). Anyway, Tangier is the northernmost big city in the country, and it's only 14 km. from Spain. Everyday, dozens of ferries run back in forth between Algeciras, Spain and Tangier--in 35 minutes or so you can be on a new continent (trust me, we spent even longer contemplating this than the camel ride to Algeria, but since it would have messed up our visas to leave the country, we left off at longingly staring from park benches across the Straight. Hundreds of Moroccans and Sub-Saharan Africans do the same thing.) So, with so many ferries each day, hundreds of visitors can successfully say they've been to Africa just by passing a day in Tangier. Many students do it just for the heck of it, and do little research beforehand. We were eating lunch in the Medina when a girl came up to us and said, "Americans?" We nodded yes, and told her we were study abroad students in Morocco in Rabat. "In what?" she asked. "In Rabat," we replied. "What's that?" came the response. "Oh, well you know, it's the capital..." Hmmm, I suppose I might not know it either if I wasn't a geography dork...(by the way, if you are curious, the word "Ribat" or "Rabat" actually means a fortified monastery, kind of like what the Knights Templar had in Europe. A "rabat" was founded on the site of present day "Rabat" in the 8th century).

Casablanca:

Casablanca currently tops the list of the most sketchy cities I've ever visited in my life. Quite simply, I can't seem to go to that city without sighting something strange. For example, I'm walking with friends one day when I notice a ragged-looking man in front of me who is in desparate need of a belt for his pants. What's more, he is not wearing anything under said pants. So, he goes walking down the street, mooning the world, when a sleek, black Mercedes pulls up next to us at the light. Not only does the half-naked man go up and rap on the window, but the two richly dressed women inside roll it down, and evenutally let him in the back seat. I guess it is so suspicious because so much weath and so much poverty live right next to one another, and sometimes you can't tell when you are seeing what. Oh, and the "Rick's Café" in Casablanca, based upon the fictional "Rick's Café Americain" of Casablanca fame, is a sorry reproduction of the movie. One, it looks nothing like the one in the movie, two, has only decent food, three, is ridiculously overpriced, four, is not owned by a gorgeous Humphrey Bogard look-alike, and five, won't even let you watch the movie there with the sound on. They say the "soundtrack of the movie intereferes with the soundtrack of the restaurant." I'm sorry, I guess I did come to the restaurant and overpay because I loved the soundtrack to the restaurant so much, not the movie. Sigh. I don't know, I suppose I'm a pretty harsh critic because I've only seen the movie, oh, about 75 times. People who love the movie too much shouldn't go, but if you are looking for an interesting experience (or a place that will stay open during Ramadan), you could check it out.

Ok, so that's somewhat of an update on what I've been up to of late. I will add the rest of the pictures once my chip stops acting up, "insha'allah." Thanks for reading, and I'll update you again really soon (as in tomorrow or Monday), on our rural village visit this past week. Have a lovely day!

Oh, and one more thing, the "Polisario" are the Algerian-backed Saharawi freedom fighters for the Western Sahara. Morocco claims and currently administers the Western Sahara, but this has caused very tense relations between it and neighbors Mauritania and Algeria (particularly with Algeria); Morocco even left the African Union because of it. Polisario camps exist all along the Morocco-Algeria border, particularly in the South.