Marrakech, Sahara Desert, & Fez Morocco

The songs make Morocco sound so inviting. It’s been on my short list of places I want to visit for quite a while. Finally, my son, Daniel, and I made a plan and here we are! As I write this, I’m at a cafe on a hill overlooking the medina (old town) of Fez. It’s the 29th of November and cold and wet at home but here it’s about 75 degrees and sunny. I can’t tell you how glad I am to be here rather than in Black Friday madness back home.

We flew into Marrakesh, the cultural capitol of Morocco, last week. It truly is a magical place, just like the song describes.

“Take the train from Casablanca going south. Blowing smoke rings from the corners of my mouth. Colored cottons hang in the air, charming cobras in the square, striped djellabas we can wear at home.” Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Marrakesh Express

The souq (market) is one of the largest I’ve ever seen. There are hundreds of merchants eager to haggle over the price for beautiful fabrics, pottery, metals, spices, and leathers. 

Walking through the narrow alleys, making way for donkeys and scooters laden with packages, and taking in a multitude of aromas and sounds is my idea of entertainment of the highest level.

I was quite startled when I first spotted the snake charmers with cobras lying on the ground. Once I associated the flutes with the snakes, I was able to navigate around them at a more comfortable distance.

A woman grabbed Daniel’s hand and started painting a henna tattoo on it. He didn’t want it but there was no real choice once she started.

As a former French colony, the French influence abounds. My favorite example of this is the Yves St. Laurent Museum and beautiful Majorelle Garden where Yves’ ashes are entombed. 

While in Marrakech we stayed at one of many delightful riads (garden homes with the center open to the sky). From the outside it’s nothing more than an ordinary door in a narrow alley but inside it’s a warm mixture of comfort and culture.

There are more palaces than we have time to visit. Each is more beautiful than the one before with every inch of floor, walls, ceilings, and doors as its own work of art.

After a drive into the Atlas Mountains and an overnight stay in Skoura, the next few days were spent in the Sahara Desert. We signed up with a company called “Desert Luxury Tours” and opted for 2 nights glamping in canvas tents with comfortable beds, tables with linens, and all the comforts of home. But that’s not the good part. Life at the camp revolves around nature — sunrise viewing at 7:30 AM, sunset viewing at 6:30 PM, campfire after dinner, then star gazing at 10:00 PM. When the camp lights were turned off, the sky lit up like a planetarium! Then, as if on queue, a shooting star ignited and shot across the night sky! So many sand dunes everywhere called to Daniel to jump on a snowboard and head downhill. He said it was impossible to turn but also impossible to get hurt because the sand is so forgiving when you fall. One morning we rode camels over unspoiled desert sand hills for an hour, enjoyed nuts & raisins and hot tea made over a small open fire, walked around a while then slowly made our way back to camp.

Later that afternoon, we drove to town to rent an ATV buggy and enjoy the dunes at a much faster speed.

The next day we drove about 7 hours to arrive at Fez, the spiritual city. It’s up in the Rif Mountains and moves at a slower pace than Marrakech. The medina and souq are both older and considerably smaller than at Marrakech.Wherever you are, five times a day, the call to prayer over loud speakers reminds you that 99% of the Moroccan population is Muslim. The streets/alleys in the medina are ridiculously narrow and dark. I’m told it’s dangerous, even for the locals, to go out in the medina after dark.

The doors are so ornate they make the colored doors of Dublin seem plain. Many have a small door inside the larger door. The small door is used for people and the larger for horses and ceremonies. And many have two knockers–the smaller indicates a woman or father/husband/brother of the woman of the home is calling. The larger knocker lets the woman know that she should not open the door. The doors to the mosques, mausoleums, and church schools are decorated to excess.I wasn’t allowed to go into the mosques and holy places but I could stand at the door and look in.

Fez boasts the world’s oldest and continually operating college–the University of Karueein, founded in 859 AD. Previously, it taught sciences and languages as most universities but today it is limited to Muslim studies. The Blue Gate is the main entrance from the West. No cars or vehicles are allowed inside the medina. I get totally lost walking down the narrow streets but I noticed there are sections such as the spice street, the meat alley, and the fabric area. The beautiful fabrics are made from natural materials and natural dyes. The red dye in this picture is made with poppy flowers. This man is weaving with a combination of wool, cotton and other natural fibers. Perhaps, it’s good that I have just a small backpack. Otherwise, I’d be tempted to buy way too much. The tannery is the biggest trade in the Fez souq. I was told there are about a hundred families who have operated it for many generations, passing down the ancient methods and using only natural dyes. The animal skins are from camels, cows, goats and sheep. We held mint leaves to our noses to mask the animal odor. All animals are killed in the halal method of one quick strike with a super-sharp knife to minimize the pain to the animal. Every dinner is delicious. The Moroccan spices (cumin, saffron, cayenne, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, aniseed, and paprika) are so aromatic. Eating a vegetarian diet has not been difficult for me. Daniel enjoys the chicken and lamb.  Dinner isn’t served until 7:30 PM or later. Live music and belly dancers generally show up at 10 PM.

“Now you say Morocco and that makes me smile. I haven’t seen Morocco in a long, long while.” Jackson Browne, Something Fine