This is the airport in Casablanca. Absolutely beautiful.
We arrived in Casablanca from Spain and flew on to Fes. We were really jumping in at the deep end. This is a 17th-century Jewish cemetary in Fez Al-Jdid, which we found while we were lost, because we didn't hire a guide.
We'd love to tell you where this was, but we were lost.
Still lost.
Hey - we recognized this from our guidebook! The entrance to the Medina, the Bab Boujeloud.
Donkeys are still the main way to get goods in and out of the Medina. ASPCA really doesn't have much of a presence here.
We bought a nice chess set here. A lot of the goods being sold were made right in front of our eyes.
Hauling empty coke bottles.
We escaped to the Dar Batha museum. We were primarily interested in some peace and quiet to have a picnic in the garden.
We made our way back to the tourist information office and hired an official guide for the rest of the day.
Our first stop with our guide was a pottery souk.
Just outside the souk, we saw them drying pots.
The furnace, where they fired the pots.
Ok, this is the last pottery souk picture, I promise.
This was at the entry to a madrasa in the medina.
Inside the madrasa.
Next stop was the tannery souk. We saw them drying skins, dunked in pigeon crap, and saturated in dye. The smell was bad, but fortunately it wasn't that hot.
This shot is only interesting because you can see our guide, in the long robe in front of Ian. Ok maybe it's not that interesting. Anyways...
This is the Bou Inania madrasa.
The spice souk
This is the Ville Nouvelle (new town) part of Fez, where we were staying.
And of course, some under-aged carpet weavers to finish off the slideshow!
On our way out of Morocco, we stopped in Casablanca to visit the Hassan II Mosque. It is the third-largest Mosque in existence. It was built from 1980 to 1994.
On our way out of Morocco, we stopped in Casablanca to visit the Hassan II Mosque. It is the third-largest Mosque in existence. It was built from 1980 to 1994.
It cost over 1 billion dollars US to build - much of it funded by Moroccans through "universal voluntary conscription".
It is the only Mosque in Morocco to allow non-Arabs inside. (for a steep price!)
25,000 people can fit inside, and outside in the courtyard, another 80,000.
The craftmanship is incredible.
The floor is heated, the hall has a huge retractable roof, and a 20 mile long laser beam shoots from the minaret toward Mecca.
We visited the Dades and Todra gorges, on the way from the Sahara to Ouazarzate. We stayed in Tinerhir, in Hotel Tomboktou. It is a restored kasbah. To this day it remains one of the coolest hotels we've ever stayed in.
We visited the Dades and Todra gorges, on the way from the Sahara to Ouazarzate. We stayed in Tinerhir, in Hotel Tomboktou. It is a restored kasbah. To this day it remains one of the coolest hotels we've ever stayed in.
This was our room. Pretty chic.
Of course, there's always a minaret just outside our bedroom window.
Looking towards the town.
On the way out to one of the Gorges. The kasbahs just melt into the scenery.
Washing laundry on the banks of the river. Sure beats hanging around at a laundromat...
The road between Ouazarzzate and Marrakech was nothing short of spectacular as we descended from the High Atlas mountains in another Grand Taxi.
As we got closer to Marrakech, the scenery flattened out pretty fast.
This picture was taken as we walked from our hotel to the medina / old city.
Psst - we got a picture of a water seller, and didn't pay for it! He's on the left hand side in red.
Walking through the alleys of the medina
The medina here was much more calm then we've seen elsewhere. We heard they've really cleaned it up - there used to be a big problem with faux guides and beggars, but once they started slapping them with fines...
This is the Djema'a Al-Fna (the Assembly of the Dead). Our guidebook says it is "one of the world's most frantically exotic squares" and we have to agree. Sultans used to behead criminals and display their remains here. Notice the cluster of people on the left hand side of the photo, gathered around a story teller. There are thousands of people swarming the square anytime in the afternoon/evening. We saw snakecharmers, 'dentists', musicians, gymnasts...
In the evening, the Djema'a Al-Fna square into a food fair. Stalls are set up everywhere - it's truly a sight to behold.
After Fes, we took the train to the quieter Meknes. The medina here is less touristy. In this section of the market, the streets were filled with more modern items.
After Fes, we took the train to the quieter Meknes. The medina here is less touristy. In this section of the market, the streets were filled with more modern items.
A madrasa inside the medina.
We climbed the roof of this madrasa for a great view over the medina. The call to prayer came from the minaret beside us, and we could see all the minarets sticking up around us with the simultaneous call, while below us lay the hustle and bustle of the medina. Quite an experience!
Peeking inside a mosque. A child spotted me and was beginning to warn me not to go inside, but I explained that yes, I knew this was a place for him, and not for me. Even at a young age the children's level of French was excellent.
The ramparts of the Dar al-Kebira (Imperial City) testify to Meknes' former glory. This is the Bab al-Mansour.
Just ouside the medina was the tomb of Moulay Ismail. We crossed under this gate on the way in.
Looking at the ruins of the old city.
This is entrance to the tomb of Moulay Ismail.
The Tomb is one of the only two religious buildings in Morocco open to non-Muslims.
After Meknes we headed south towards the Sahara and the dunes. The next few pictures were taken out of the grand taxi we hired (6 hour drive and chauffeur for $50, I love Morocco!)
After Meknes we headed south towards the Sahara and the dunes. The next few pictures were taken out of the grand taxi we hired (6 hour drive and chauffeur for $50, I love Morocco!)
Driving through the Ziz gorges.
We stayed in Erfoud. No no, this is not where we stayed, this is a Berber tent we saw on our tour of the dunes.
From our base in Erfoud we explored the dunes of Merzouga. The al-Chebbi dunes here are some of the largest in the world.
They rise up to 125 m tall. There are no roads, just "pistes" across the sand.
We were told that a sunset is a magnificent sight to see. Well, not really when there was a sand storm the previous day.
Right next to Meknes is the ruins of Volubilis. It is best preserved Roman site in Morocco. This is a view from the ruins.
The mosaics are some of the best we've ever seen and are the main reason for going.
When US General George Patton visited the ruins, he declined an offer of a guided tour - he believed he had been stationed here as a Roman centurion in his previous life and thus knew his way around. We used our guidebook.
The site is thankfully fairly tourist-free. There were no souvenir stands or snack bars. In fact, the only locals were, well, using donkeys to haul grass!
On our way back, here is a view of the city of Moulay Idriss, right next to the ruins.
