Notes from Morocco and Italy, June, 2019

The following is the first in a series of blogs based on recent travel to Morocco and the island of Ischia, Italy.

Royal Palace Gate, Rabat, Morocco

     Morocco sits at the rounded northwest corner of Africa, between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. We flew from Boston to Paris overnight and waited five hours before continuing to Casablanca on Morocco’s western coast. After another three-hour flight, our guide (Rasheed) and driver (“Bob”) met us to drive north along the coast to Rabat. We had arranged Rasheed’s and “Bob’s” services through our travel agent in the States, who had contacted a well-known agency in Morocco which she'd used previously. Rasheed was in his fifties and spoke perfect English. Both men lived in Marrakesh.

Our guide, Rasheed, with hostess at our Riad in Fez

Our driver, "Bob," pouring tea at lunch. We couldn't pronounce his Moroccan name.

     It would have been almost impossible to tour Morocco without a guide, since the country is Arabic-, Berber-, and French-speaking, and road signs and customs are often indecipherable. Both men were with us during our eight days, as we followed a circular route from Casablanca and Rabat on the northwest coast inland to Meknes, Fez, and south to Marrakesh, coastal Essaouira, and back to Casablanca. For a day trip we would enter the mid-Atlas Mountains between the northern Rifs and the southern High Atlas. We did not enter the desert to the south because of the heat in June.

     Morocco has five cities of importance: Rabat, the diplomatic and administrative capital; Casablanca, the economic capital; Fez, the intellectual, historic, and spiritual center; and Marrakesh, the tourist capital. Tangier, on the northern coast below Spain, is the shipping capital.

Walls surrounding city of Rabat and man-made lake outside King's palace

     Before leaving Rabat, we walked around government buildings and outside the primary residence of the king, King Mohammed VI, who owns thirty palaces. We continued northeast to Meknes and the Roman ruins of Volubilis in the Middle Atlas Mountains. 

Charley posing with water seller, Meknes 

Acrobat, Meknes

     Everywhere, in cities, on mountain roads, and in villages, there was construction. The following week in Casablanca we counted eight cranes in our line of vision. Apartment buildings and golf resorts were going up in areas surrounding Fez, Casablanca, and Marrakesh. Rasheed explained, “King Hassan II, our present king’s father, declared Morocco must be green and must have electricity, water, and education for its population.” I wondered how the cranes fit into the “green” mandate.

     “We pay no taxes on property here until we’ve owned for five years, so we can use the home for vacations till then but it must be unfinished. After five years, we will be taxed, so we sell.”

     Meknes is the Berber capital of Morocco (more on the Berbers in a subsequent blog). With 850,000 inhabitants, the city offered a chance to experience all the sights, sounds, and smells of Fez on a more manageable, provincial scale. The central highlands between Meknes and Fez in the Middle Atlas Mountains contain Berber villages, secret valleys, scenic woods, barren landscapes, and hilly plains blanketed with olive groves. The region can be covered in heavy snow in mid-winter.

     After touring Meknes, a guide met us outside the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the capital of the Roman province of Mauritania 2000 years ago. At its height, the capital boasted 20,000 inhabitants on twenty-eight acres. The entire city was visible on surrounding hillsides and walkable without crowds, probably because the temperature hovered around 90 F in June. Foundations of homes, ceramic tile work, and the marketplace were easily accessible, though we couldn’t step on the mosaics of private homes. We could lean backwards into the public baths and imagine Romans clearing their heads after overindulging. Wood storks nested on the remains of pillars, a hint of the hundreds we would see around the country perched on anything resembling a telephone pole.

Our guide, Aamir, in Roman ruins of Volubilis

Wood stork nest in Volubilis

   

Our guide demonstrates how Romans cleared their heads after overindulging

Mosaics on the floor of a private home, Volubilis

  

Street where our Riad Myra was located in Fez

     From Volubilis we drove northwest to Fez, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (along with Meknes). A city of 1,000,000 inhabitants, Fez is the Arab capital of Morocco, divided into two parts:  the 8^th Century labyrinth of the Medina behind its stone walls with two historic sections, Fez el-Bali (Old) and Fez el-Djedid  (New); and Ville Nouvelle, the “New Town.” Morocco declared independence from the French in 1956 after forty-four years, but remnants of the French language and architecture are still evident. We walked through a winding alley (street) with multiple closed doorways announcing commercial establishments, finally arriving at the Riad Myra (restored 16th -century palace built around a courtyard with flora, fountains, and hammam – ritual steam bath). We stepped through the wooden framework of an over-sized door into a structure that filled almost an entire block. In the center was a two-story covered atrium. Guest rooms ran around the perimeter of each floor, surrounded by pierced plaster and laser-cut metal fretwork. 

Our room (left) on 2nd floor of Riad Myra in Fez

Mint tea or lemonade at Riad Myra

The door to our room

Detail of tile and fretwork on the wall of our room, Riad Myra, Fez

     We got settled in our room (“La Favorite”) on the second floor and went down to relax on sofas in the central courtyard for drinks. For dinner the hotel staff served us chicken shish kebabs on skewers and slow-cooked vegetables from circus-tented terrines. An apple tarte tatin appeared for dessert, along with delicious mint tea that followed every meal. Even Charley switched from Coke Zero to tea!

View of four square miles of Medina (Old City) of Fez 

Medina of Fez below, with Ville Nouvelle on upper plateau

Read about our adventures in the medieval Medina of Fez in my next blog.