The next morning we drive by a movie studio and tour the ancient village of Ait Ben Haddou. In the past many movies have been filmed in this area because of the ancient village atmosphere. However in the last ten years filming reduced because modern technology such as AI has replaced realistic looking sets. The good news is that recently movies are being filmed in the area again including one coming up with Matt Damon.
Aït Ben Haddou is a UNESCO site that is a former ksar (or village) that was a stop along the trader route for caravans. It is now primarily used for movies and tourism. It is a wet day from all the recent rain so we walk carefully to not submerge our shoes in puddles of mud in the dirt pathways of the old city as we slowly walk towards the top. It is at the top we have marvelous views of the city below. You really feel like you have stepped into the past from this view.
While in Ait Ben Haddou we watch an artist paint in saffron, indigo stone, tea, and sugar. The art is invisible until it is put over a fire. A secret message or painting will be activated by heat. This method was used during times of conflict to pass secret messages. I purchase one of these paintings as a keepsake of the day.
Before we leave we stop at a women’s cooperative to learn how moroccan women make and sell rugs for the area. We learn the different types of rugs that are made and the symbolic meaning of images weaved into the rugs. In the past I have so much anxiety with carpet sellers that I walk away flustered without purchasing a desired carpet from my travels, but these women make me feel right at home and I even purchase my first carpet ever while traveling. I am still deciding where to place my lovely carpet back home.
We next travel to Marrakech through the Tizi N’Tichka pass. We stop for lunch and pictures at the top and the high point.
We arrive at our lunch spot to ladies and children engaged in a snowball fight. An adorable little girl whacks me with multiple snowballs while she laughs. I play along like she’s hurting me with each hit.
We visit another women’s group to see how argan oil is made.
After a stop for pictures in the snow we start our descent out of the mountains. We watch excited kids sliding down snow hills in the process. We eventually arrive in Marrakech and spend our first evening in town on our own. More on that later.
We have a mostly uneventful flight to Morocco. Flight one is on time and as planned but I slept maybe fifteen minutes the whole time due to a fidgety neighbor that would change positions every couple minutes and startle me out of any sleep I managed. Our second flight was delayed but we were getting to Casablanca so late in the day that it wasn’t going to be a productive sightseeing day anyway.
We have a driver arranged from our tour company so it’s and easy ide to our hotel except he doesn’t have bills to break our larger bills acquired at the airport ATM so he gets a very good tip. We’ve heard it’s often difficult for people to make change for the larger bills (equivalent of a little over $20 USD) so we make it a mission to use grocery stores and such to pawn off big bills as much as possible during our travels.
We checked into our hotel but soon take the elevator to take a quick look at the loud dance club happening on the hotel rooftop. Thinking we’d have a nice view of the city and a nightcap before bed we instead have the elevator open to cigarette smoke, a bouncer, and very loud thumping. We take one look at the crowd and decide sleep is a better option tonight.
Both of us sleep completely through that first night, in fact we could have kept sleeping if we didn’t have a tour scheduled in the morning. That almost never happens. Everything is great about the room except the semi-opaque bathroom walls. I mean there is some privacy but when you are sharing a room with a friend there are bathroom walls that can give you more privacy.
Breakfast at the hotel is satisfying and a great way to start the day. Turns out it is the best breakfast spread of our travels.
We arrive a day early before our scheduled tour in Casablanca because we are so used to having flights delayed or worse that we wanted to make sure we make our official tour that starts in two days. In the morning we book a day tour since our upcoming tour does not include any sightseeing in Casablanca. Casablanca like every city in Morocco started as a nomad city along the trade route that has been governed by many different peoples but became the unique city it is because of the French occupation in the 1900’s. They set out Casablanca to be its crown jewel with all its ornate art deco architecture. It was also a key port city due to its location near the oceans.
Our first stop is at the Hassan II Mosque, a large mosque dedicated to the Moroccan King Hassan II. It is the second largest Mosque in Africa and was completed in 1993. So much detail is given to the interior including the painted parts using natural colorings and cedar wood from the Atlas Mountains. It is built over water as a floating island over the Atlantic Ocean. You can only tour this with a guide and we were luckily because it is quite empty when we toured.
After the tour we drive to Corniche, the waterfront region that usually is happening with poolside fun and outdoor cafes. It is off season so there is not much going on besides families walking along the water. We also stop to get a foggy view of the mosque and watch some fishermen during low tide.
We stop briefly at the Sacred Heart Cathedral which now serves as a function hall and is no longer open to the public.
We stop at the Arab League Park but I realize later we only see a small part of the park. This large oasis in the middle of town was inaugurated in 1919 while the French were still in power.
The we go to the Square of Mohammed V, the place also known as pigeon fountain. The square is surrounded by the opera house, and many French inspired buildings. It is here that I see the art deco post office which I will briefly visit the next day.
We stop at the Church of Notre Dame of Lourdes. There is a service going on so we only look inside quickly and decide to come back tomorrow during our self tour.
We visit the old Medina but we don’t actually shop today but just look around the area. We visit the surrounding neighborhood. Many of the buildings here are run down.
We view the large port under construction. The current king, Mohammed VI, is making an effort to expand the port for tourism and cruise ships and yachts.
Ricks Cafe, inspired by
Last on our tour we visit a spice place where we learn about spices and some of their other oils and natural remedies. I end up buying a thing or two there. It is before I learn the art of bargaining so I am sure I am getting ripped off.
Our tour is over and our guide recommends a restaurant near our hotel. It isn’t the most amazing meal but at least we are trying some new things. My friend who is mostly vegetarian is finding the vegetarian versions of dishes not as full of flavor as she likes. My chicken dish is bland as well. I am discovering that Moroccan dishes don’t add much salt and leave it to the individual to salt to taste. I am so used to everything everywhere being too salty for me so its definitely a change.
After lunch we visit the old souq. We walk down to the old Medina. We enter in a section that looks like it caters more to locals. Turns out there are very few tourists at all in the market, perhaps because there are no cruise ships in town today. We meet lots of cats along the way.
We stop briefly in an old riad converted into a nice restaurant in the heart of the Medina. It’s where we want to eat later but we never find our way back here on this trip.
We walk down a passage way that is decorated with random items. We watch some kids kick a ball around. It appears to be a pop up art installation in the middle of a residential street.
After our visit to the old Medina we walk under the United Nations Square and do an Art Deco tour of our own. When the French occupied Morocco they wanted to have Casablanca to be its showpiece. There are many cool Art Deco buildings that unfortunately are not all well maintained.
Street snails. I regret not trying them.Grocery Visit
We finish the evening with dinner and a visit to a couple of rooftop bars near our hotel where we have nice views of part of the city.
The next morning we only plan to be out for a little while to visit a couple places we missed the day before but we end up spending the entire day out before meeting our tour in the evening. More on that next.
Growing With Leala 