Land of the Sunset

Land where the sun sets (The West)

My brother left me at Gatwick Airport and I took the flight to Marrakech sitting next to two missionaries. It was their first time in an Arab country and they were discussing what they might expect. I was still suffering from jetlag after traveling from Vancouver so I went to sleep and woke up 3 hours later, just as we landed in Marrakech. I was thinking about how I hated going through immigration as I always get hassled since 911 - apparently it's my name that is to blame. I thought maybe since it's Morocco, I shouldn't have anything to worry about.

As we disembarked from the aeroplane we walked along the tarmac directly to the immigration hall. As we were walking I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and heard a voice from behind,"Excuse me Sir!"... I could feel the adrenaline course through my veins as I turned around to see my good friend Adel smiling "Welcome to Marrakech!" When Adel had mentioned to me that he would meet me at the airport, I didn't realize he worked there, and he was planning to meet me the moment I stepped of the plane!

We went back to Adel's pad in the new part of town, rested for a while and then broke our fast at the local cafe before heading to the old town and Jamaa el Fna - The place of Perdition in the center of Marrakech. This was a massive market and meeting place rolled into one. There were various musicians and performers with throngs of people crowded around in a rich medley of human interaction. There were numerous alleyways branching off the main hub of the place, people selling artifacts, foods, spices and pretty much everything under the sun.

Jamaa el Fna - Place of Perdition

We walked around for 5 hours reacquainting with each other, sharing stories and jokes with Adel's articulate descriptions of Moroccan culture which he demonstrated in his interactions with the other local people. He explained to me that Morocco had many different cultural influences from Arab, Berber, French, Spanish and even Indian culture! I was surprised when two guys asked where I was from and I wasn't sure If I should say London, Vancouver or India. I told them I was a British Indian who now lives in Vancouver.They asked me if I knew Hindi, to which I replied I did and then they started chatting to me in Hindi! I asked them if they had ever been to India or if many Indians came to Morocco, they said I was the first that they had met, but they had picked Hindi up from all the bollywood movies that are very popular in Morocco! I figured that Moroccans must be good at languages since many of them spoke Arabic, Berber, Moroccan, French, Spanish and English.

We took the train from Adel's place in Marrakech to Rabat, sleeping much of the journey and arrived in Rabat to a glorious welcome from Adel's mother, sister and her husband. They had a feast laid out for us to break our fast, with Harira the traditional Ramadan meal, and there was much translation of conversations and much tea being drunk.

The first course of many!

The next day we toured around Rabat and visited the tower of Hassan the 2nd and walked amongst the many pillars that stand in this place, a veritable forest of pillars. 

 

We offered our prayers in the mosque which was one of the most beautiful and ornately designed buildings I have seen. On our return we passed through the market and Adel bought some pears and a couple of sheep heads- a delicacy here. In the evening, I found my dinner staring at me, I couldn't eat the eyes though, my gastronomic adventure stopped here, although Zacharia, Adel's Brother in law had 3 of them and claimed he could see better as a result!

The thing that struck me about Rabat was that the place was full of Jedi! I'm not kidding- I'm sure that this is where George Lucas got the idea of the jedi being dressed this way as we saw so many of them around and also I felt a disturbance in the force... or was that last nights dinner?

A Jedi takes a break from fighting the Dark Side

The following day we spent around Rabat, visited the old city and the Kasbah and the Smurf city overlooking the seafront. Every alleyway had a blue border and blueness was the order of the day, there were also many cats everywhere. 

Fountain at the Mosque

We then drove to the Plage du Sidi Abed, a beach near another sister of Adel's house. Adel prayed on the beach and got sand stuck on his face- testament to his devoted spirit.

We headed out of Rabat to Casablanca so called because of all the white painted houses. It was a very interesting city, life seemed to be at a slower pace here, and we chilled with a couple of Jedi friends of Adel's. 

Everyone I met was incredibly friendly and very open-minded, I think that was a feature of the culture here and they all would share stories and ask lots of questions, what we thought of everything that made you feel instantly a part of their community. In the evening we made it back to Marrakech and relaxed. On the way we passed a poster advertising a MacRamadan special, I was almost tempted to try it but opted for the traditional home cooking instead.

They're Loving it - (Macglobalization that is!)

The next morning we drove to Essouira, the windy city on the Atlantic coast. Back in the 60’s this was a big hippie hangout and favourite vacation spot. Jimi Hendrix spent time here in 1969, something the locals still remember fondly.

 It was an amazing road trip about 3 hours, but we saw so much desert, villages, towns and finally the ocean as we arrived. We even picked up a hitchhiker who was headed there and was so happy we stopped for him. He talked to Adel about places to stay in Essouira and directed us to an area that he assured us was quiet and yet close to the beach. When we arrived in this spot, Adel haggled with some locals and got a good price for the accommodation we stayed in, only a couple of minutes walk from the beach. As we walked down there we saw horses, camels, kite boarders, windsurfers- did I say windsurfers? In abundance! 

It was great with so many Moroccans into my favourite sport It was a dream come true. We walked around the old city, found the fountain and battlements where they had filmed 'Kingdom of Heaven' It was breathtaking, the scenery and the atmosphere of the place. It made you feel alive. The markets where overflowing with everything! Literally, I don't think there was anything that they didn't have. Every type of spice and food known to man or beast, every type of jewellery or ornament- they had it. 

Adel in the Kasbah

The next two days where spent down at the beach, windsurfing, chilling on the beach, eating couscous and wandering through the market stalls. The wind was so strong, I had never been out in this type of wind before and the first day I had to take out a kiddie size sail till I got used to it and then advanced to the full size sail and board. 

It was such an exhilarating feeling to windsurf at the highest speed I had experienced with a backdrop of medieval castles and gigantic waves the further I went out. The castles were still in good condition, the ravages of time had left much intact including cannons that lined the battlements. It was easy to imagine the thoughts of the medieval defenders of this coast as they watched the restless ocean and the bounty or danger it brought forth.

 View from the Battlements

After a meditative and relaxing time ,we drove back monday night to Marrakech and had a last wander in the marketplace. Early in the morning, Adel drove me to the airport to catch my flight, but not before imparting some words of wisdom you can see in the video in the link.

Epilogue:

I was so impressed with Maghreb (origin in Arabic is the West, or occident), that I will definitely return and would highly recommend it to everyone to check it out for themselves. The land itself is most beautiful with many different kinds of terrain, from the Atlas mountains in the East to the powerful and mesmerizing Atlantic ocean to the West. The people are the kindest and most hospitable, with a keen interest in other cultures and a genuine warmth that makes you feel at home immediately. 

The culture is very diverse with a mix of African, Berber, Arab, French and Spanish influence and varying levels of religious influence, but all very open-minded. I saw women with hijabs participating in public life as policewomen and officials, people wearing both traditional dress to modern designer labels, I talked to so many people in English, broken French and Hindi. The spirit of Ramadan was strong in the Moroccan culture and people saw it not as a chore, but as a spiritual celebration. An opportunity for group solidarity as the people fasted, prayed, meditated and ate together. A really great example of community. As anyone who has traveled can see, there is good and bad in all cultures and places, the more educated you are about a place the more enjoyment you will get out of it and will know where to go and what to see and what to avoid. I did not have any bad experiences here at all, this may have been due to the graciousness of my host and his family, though I suspect that Moroccan culture is generally quite tolerant and friendly towards tourists. If you would like to know more, please watch "Adel's Rough Guide to Morocco".

 

Adel in the Kasbah