Saturday 22 December 2012

Morocco - The land of beauty

Morocco is an exotic place. Fez is the best place to live the dream of Aladdin and flying carpets. Anything could be
possible.
We have really enjoyed learning about and experiencing Berber culture. At Fez, we were included in stage performances and
we had to dance with Berber women, dress up as bride and groom and demonstrate the wedding customs. I had to sit cross
legged and be lifted up in a padded container. The first girl was a Russian who weighed a lot less than me. When they
indicated it was my turn, I tried saying, "Too heavy!" but they wouldn't take no for an answer. At the end of the dance
two men helped the Berber women to lower me down. I came down with a sudden drop. Alan looked really good as a Moroccan
boy in a hooded cloak with a Fez hat. 


I was also asked to be the magician's assistant. He could produce a white dove from his hands. He could also pour water
into a folded up newspaper. He unfolded it to show it was dry, folded it again and poured the water into a glass then
drank it.
The trick he did with me wasn't that good. I think I gave the wrong answer when he asked what my favourite animal was. I
said a dog. He asked which colour. I said black and white. He produced a black and white scarf from his hand and the
violin player produced a meow sound. He then asked me to stuff the scarf a little bit down my jacket and he pulled out
the scarf and a bra. Ha ha!!

The landscape is amazing. The desert is harsh with black stones and dry red soil. The Atlas mountains rise up in the
background covered in snow that fell two weeks ago. After leaving Fez we travelled south to Medlet. Our evening walk
incuded a spectacular gorge and a Berber village made from mud and stones. Our guide talked to a sheppard who was looking
after some sheep. He had a few teeth left and brown eyes that were cloudy with cataracts. He had a great zest for life
and a happy smile. He explained that he can sleep each night in the village while herding his sheep on the surrounding
desert grasses. However his two brothers must cross the Atlas mountains before winter snow blocks the passes and they
must travel far to provide enough feed for their larger herds of sheep. Some Berber people still live the traditional
nomadic life.


In the village I took a video of a small donkey covered in fire wood and bushes. He made a very loud braying noise which
we enjoyed hearing many times when we travelled the country side. I also saw a donkey being used by a girl for carrying
an empty gas bottle and exchanging it for a full one.


We rode horses in a cedar forrest with golden monkeys. The saddles and bridles were beauifully decorated. It was fun!

The next evening we climbed aboard a train of camels and headed off to sleep in a traditional Berber camel wool tent in
the Sahara desert. We enjoyed the silence...... except for Alan's camel who burbed and grumbled.
At night we ate a Tajine feast and enjoyed the company of three Berber men by the camp fire. They sang, played castanets,
guitar and drums. We all told ridiculus riddles and laughed at our sillyness.
Alan and I slept on a thick blanket and covered ourselves with four more thick blankets. I kept all my clothes on which
include four jumpers, ski coat, gloves and beenie. My feet were still cold.

In the dark I heard Samir clapping his hands telling us to wake up. We climbed onto our camels and took off across the
dunes to find a good place to see the dawn. It was a very special moment.


That night we entered a spectacular gorge with red walls and a river that sprang to life from a hole it the rock. Our
hotel was at the base of the rock wall and we ate dinner in a room that looked like a camping tent described in Harry
Potter.

We walked the next morning along 1000foot cliffs. It is called Todra Gorge.
Samir took us for a walk off the track amongst the vegetable plots in an oasis. There were autumn trees, palms and olive
trees. Women washed clothes in the river and boys climbed the olive trees harvesting the olives. An old man rode a donkey
along the narrow pathway. Morocco is so magical when you are off the beaten track.
We visited Ait Benhaddou, a famous medieval mud-brick town that rises up a steep hill with a bank at the top. The bank is
just ruins now. In the sixteenth century it was an important destination for money exchange. It was fortified with a
surrounding wall and a look out for robbers. We sat and watched the sunset.




We travelled up a steep road that ziz-zagged up high Atlas mountains towards Tizi-'n-Tichka (2260m), the high pass. We
enjoyed sitting on a terrace overlooking the valley with a cup of hot mint tea. A mule was ploughing a small terraced
field with a wooden plough and a man walked behind while a woman threw handfuls of seed. Everyday there is a brilliant
blue sky and here it looks particularly good with patches of snow.
In Marrakesh we went for a tour of a palace and the market place. It was good to be with a guide who told a lot about the
history. In the market we followed him and in the square he said goodbye. We were left as a group to find our own way
about. We suddenly felt vulnerable. We found a nice place for lunch away from the main tourist square and later headed
back to see what we could. Paul found himself roped around the neck by a snake. He is from England and he had heard our
stories about snakes and spiders in Australia, and he decided then and there to be daring. A poisonous cobra was put
close to his face. Katie took pictures. Then the haggling began for a fee. These snake handlers were aggressive! Alan,
Greg and I pretended we weren't involved or interested.


That night we celebrated Alan's birthday. We went to a great restaurant (there are so many!) and had a feast. Alan and I
were surprised with a delicious chocolate cake. All the lights went out in the restaurant and the birthday song was
played in Arabic. The candle was lit and Alan made a wish as he blew it out. Samir was so kind to organise this surprise
for us!


We said goodbye to Paul and headed off to Essaouira with Greg. There we found a lovely seaside town, more beautiful
weather and a slower pace of life compared to Marrakesh. The streets are paved and meant for pedestians. The people make
wooden articles and paint pictures to sell. The fishermen use small blue boats or bigger trawlers to catch loads of fish.
The cats are fat and sit in the sun. We saw one cat sit comfortably with a sardine in front of him and he just watched
it.




Shopping here was fun. We had plenty of time and we bought quite a few things.
The food here is great. We just had once incident at a restaurant run by a German women. Jessica ordered mussels. She
couldn't eat them because of the strong stench. Katie smelt them and agreed. I smelt them and the stink lingered in my
nostrils. We sent them back and asked to reorder. The waiter misinterpreted and came up the stairs with oysters. Alan met
him halfway and explained that Jessica would like to order the calamarri. Soon the irrate German women told Jessica the
mussels were fine for her to eat. She had eaten some and would eat all of them if we refused them. Jessica did her best
to explain that they smelt and she couldn't attempt them. The woman continued. I stated Jessica was not going to eat them
because Australians have a different stomach and she would end up with vommitting and diarrhea. The woman finally
listened to Alan who said it was a misunderstanding with the waiter and we had not refused the oysters. Finally Jessica
enjoyed her calamari rings. On a positive note the musician was awesome and we enjoyed the night.
Now we are back at Marrakesh having a rest day. We are very relaxed and happy. Our next adventure starts tomorrow when we
fly to Lisbon in Portugal. I hope you have enjoyed reading the blog so far! Here is a photo of Jessica awith Samir, our trusted and wonderful Gecko's tour leader.

Morocco the land of beauty

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Morocco is a most impressive country to visit. At first in Casablanca, I felt disapointed. The streets were littered with rubbish and the men gathered in groups and looked hostile. I didn't want to explore this city.
We visited the Mosque of Hassan II which was very imposing. No expense was spared on building with the best marble and creating a huge room inside for prayer. The building of this mosque is a statement which impresses upon people the power of Islamic religion in this region.
 

Our group led by Samir our guide, caught a train to Meknes. I met Celia, a girl travelling for a year around the world based in the UK. She was an Aussie from Canberra. We also had Linda from Adelaide, Greg from Perth and Paul from England.

At Meknes, we visited a medina that was built in the 9th century. A medina is a walled city that was once the capital of Morocco and it housed the royal palace. The king at the time had 20000 arabic horses and an uncountable number of concubines.





We went to a market and saw handmade cookies that were tiny and beautiful. On the flipside we walked past the butchers with all kinds of bits and pieces, including a cows head with the tongue hanging out. The butcher was digging around inside.


 


We took the train to Fez to visit another medina called Fes - El  Bali. This one was built in the eighth century. We learnt "Baleck" which means, "Get out of the way!" Often a fully loaded donkey or a man with a cart would plod by. The narrow alleys twisted and turned so we relied on our guide to show us the way.





                                                                                               


 
 


The highlight was the feast. In the alley way, there was a huge door with two door knockers. One up high for letting the donkey in and one down low for letting the people. There is a smaller door inside a larger door.
Upstairs we ate so much. Goats cheese with thyme, sweet potato with sultanas and spice, chicken with eggplant and something else. Everything was delicious. My description doesn't begin to describe it.
We drove out of Fez into the hills and walked through the hilltops to another small town called Bhalil. We visited a cave dweller. Her house was built into the hill and the owner was called Aicha. She treated us to a hot drink of mint tea with sugar. She showed us how she gets water from the spring 200metres away by carring the bucket on her head. It was so heavy. She said she was 85 years old.
I was given a handmade button by a local burber women who was sewing with other women beside the bakery. All locals make their own bread and have it cooked in a community oven by a baker.
The people here are generous and friendly.                                        

Sunday 9 December 2012

Paris is a wonderful city to visit. There are lots of surprises such a buskers on the train, great food and awesome buildings. We visited the Louvre, the Chateau de Versailles, and shopped at Galerie Lafayette. Here are some pictures!
 This building at the Louvre was huge and hundreds of years old. Alan could not compare it with anything he has ever known and said he could not begin to join the dots.
 
 
Alan and I are at the top of the Eiffel Tower viewing Paris at night. It is about 340metres high.

 
The metro is so easy to use and it covers Paris like a rabbit warren. There were tunnel entry points at each end of our street and sometime you would hear music. Around the corner would be a jazz band or a cello musician. There were fruit stalls and travelators - moving footpaths so you could walk at twice the speed. We could easily go where ever we wanted, though peak hours was a squash!
 
  
Onion soup is lovely in freezing cold temperatures. On Thursday morning we woke up and saw snow on the cars parked below our apartment.
 
Dining with my sister's family, Sally next to Alan, Jeremy, Annabelle and Tony next to me.
They love living in France. I am so impressed with my the kids and how well they converse in French after only six months.
 
 Napoleon the thirds palace at the Louvre. We lost count of how many extravagant rooms with beautiful furniture, architecture and ornaments there were.
 
 
 
 
At the Louvre and the Chateau de Versailles we learnt a lot about the history of France. It was amazing to learn about the aristocracy and the revolution. In the gardens of Versailles palace it got extremely cold. Ice formed on the pond surface.
 
The next day we had fun shopping at Galleries Lafayette. It is so grand and huge compared to  Chadstone. We, meaning us girls, loved it. Alan got bored and hot. It's so well heated, all the layers for zero degrees have to come off and you are comfortable in a T-shirt.
 
 
 
 
We also went on a boat cruise on the river Seine. The lady tour leader could speak at least four different languages without pausing for a breath! She was so fast and fluent.
 
Now I am in Morocco and there is a french element - a nice bakery with croissants, some old French looking buildings with Moroccan decorations inside and street names that begin with Rue de ... or Avenue... However the comparison stops there. We are in Casablanca and the smell, the litter, the men, the traffic, the pollution. It is very different to Paris. We are in a nice enough hotel and having a rest day before out Gecko Tour begins tomorrow.


Friday 7 December 2012

Alan said how amazing it was that everything had gone to plan. We had arrived in Paris and met up with Katie who arrived from Denmark and Sally, Tony, Annabelle and Jeremey who arrived from their home in southern France. Then we had a disaster! We stood outside our apartment address and rang the number to get the key. I was told there was no booking for Celia Hamilton and all apartments were full. The girl then hung up. We went to the nearest hotel and asked for help. Susan, the receptionist sighed and said, "It happens often on a Sunday." She rang on my behalf and was told the same thing even though I had all the correct paperwork. Bridgestreet serviced apartments refused to help us find somewhere to stay. Susan was wonderful. She organised three rooms for the eight of us and discounted the price. Sally and Tony's room was large and there was a balcony that looked out over the city. We could view the Eiffel Tower lit up at night while we lay on the bed watching TV. 


The next morning we received an email to say we could pick up the key to an apartment that was located a long way from our current address. We walked and walked. Hours later we found the key in a safety deposit box. Then we returned to Wilson Hotel where they had kindly looked after our luggage. We needed a maxi cab to get to the final destination. Our new apartment had been upgraded to a two bedroom spacious apartment, ideal for the extra family that were bunking in with us.
That night we decided to view the Eiffel Tower at night and walk the four km to get there. It was a thrill. No ques, clear sky, Paris lit up and discounted price to the summit. We spent a lot of time enjoying Paris on top of the Eiffel Tower all lit up with golden and sometimes flashing lights.



On Wednesday, Alan and I took to the subway to pick up our Paris Pass from Hard Rock Cafe'. We found the french people so kind and friendly. We heard some beautiful music and saw a busker playing the trombone in the train. Apparently they need to pass a test to busk on the trains. We met the others at the Louvre and discovered it was closed on Tuesdays. So we walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Nice stain glass, but I didn't like the atmosphere of the catholic church. Too serious. Next we went to the river Senne and a french man gave the Annabelle, Jeremy, Kate and Jess crumbs of bread and encouraged them to feed the sparrows and pigeons. It was a pretty scene standing on the bridge with birds swirling around our heads.






The next stop was the Saint Chapelle. This was a pretty little church with lavish, ancient decorations, a narrow spiral staircase leading to the main room with spectacular stain glass windows. The picture told the story of King Louis the 4th buying the 'crown of thorns' from another king that was in financial trouble. He returned to France with the crown, some nails and wood from the cross that Jesus died on. With these symbols of Christian religion in his possesion he elevated the status of France and his power. He built the saint Chapelle in his palace grounds rather than use the Catholic Notre Dame Cathedral.





That night while everyone else explored the shops, Alan and I searched for ages for groceries and then cooked a baked pasta dish. We had a lovely night together drinking wine, eating home cooked food and celebrating Katies final year of school and Jessica's High Distinction marks for all of her final subjects for her Science degree.