Rocking the Casbah!

Salaam Alekum from Morocco!

So much has happened recently!! Lets continue the story from where we left off in Amsterdam....

On my last day in the liberal capital I decided to go experience the Heneiken Experience! The experience is a museum slash interactive exhibition of the Heneiken story and is located at the original brewery on the edge of downtown Amsterdam. Even though today the beer itself is not brewed there, they do show and explain the fermentation process and you even get three beers included in the ticket! I left that afternoon a little tipsy! Good times!!

I also could not leave Amsterdam without seeing a windmill. So I went on a mission to find one - I managed to track down the only windmill in the city which has been converted into a brewery. Mission accomplished!

Finally that evening I had a quick glimpse at the Sex museum - I was just too curious not too! It had all sorts of interesting displays about different cultures attitudes to sex throughout the ages.

The next day it was time to move on to Paris. I jumped on a high speed train and made it down to Paris within a matter of hours! I was greeted by Michelle and Benoit who were my hosts in Paris. They live in one of the Jewish suburbs and as we wondered through the streets I saw many Kosher butchers and bakeries. That evening Michelle and Ben prepared a feast as we also had Daniel Harris over for dinner who coincidentally was travelling through the romantic capital.

I was only in Paris for 2 days before I head out to Morocco so I decided to have a quick look around the city and check out the Louvre. Although I have not seen much of the city, it did not strike me as this romantic haven as it is often described..... however I will give the city a chance on my return :)

The Louvre is a massive museum! Someone told me that if one was to view every exhibit in the museum they would be there for 9 months!! I spent 3 hours in the galleries which included a peek at the Mona Lisa of course. As expected it was a major anti-climax so I moved on quickly to view the more impressive works dotting the hallways of the seemingly endless galleries. The egypt section was also very impressive and unlike the Egypt museum in Cairo, you can actually take photos!

The Louvre complex itself is truly a work of art, both inside and out. By the end of my Louvre tour my neck hurt due to the fact that there is so much beauty on the ceilings throughout the museum.

That evening I caught up with Daniel Harris again and we ate at a Kosher Falafel place. It was not cheap, however the experience was like being transported to some kitchy Tel Aviv falafel bar. I later found out that this place is quite famous and the likes of Lenny Kravitz have eaten there!!

The next morning I had to get up at 4am so that I could taxi to a bus that would take me to an airport 1.5 hours out of Paris so that I could catch my flight to Fes, Morocco.

Flying into Fes was not what I expected at all. From the plane window I could see snowy rugged mountains and green fields! Turns out that much of Morocco is green with the only real deserts in the south as you approach the Sahara.

I arrived in Fes and took a taxi to the old city Medina where I met my host Ronch. Ronch is a great guy and loves to chillax and he really made me feel at home. He is from Australia and is currently in Fes studying Arabic. To get to his place is complex.... It is located in the heart of the Souk (market) and there is trully a maze of intertwining passageways to navigate in order to make it home! Yes I got lost!!!! Many times! Luckily for a little spare change, a local kid is more than happy to show you the way.

After I had settled into the place I was staying, I was off to explore the medina. Fes Moroccans are friendly and talkative people. The only problem is that they speak arabic and french and generally their english is pretty average. The souks seem to go on forever in Fes and I was invited into people's shops and houses and served mint tea (Now my favourite type of tea lol). Once I was even lucky enough to experience some local musical talent in the back of one small shop in the souk. A couple of Berber men (indigenous Moroccans) showed me a good time with Berber guitars and drums! Half the time the aim is to sell you something (including Hashish!) but the other half is genuine friendliness and I really met some interesting people!

The cannabis industry, though illegal, is a huge export in Morocco so expect a series of questioning when you walk through the souk something like this: "Where you from? New Zealand! Kiwi! Welcome! First time in Fes? Want to buy Hashish? Super Duper? ......."

The Medina has many sections, imperial walls and gates. The souks come in all types including leather markets, spice markets and food! You could spend days inside the old city and still have avenues to explore!

Morocco is famous for good food including Tagines (Couscous, vegetables and meat cooked in a special piece of crockery called a Tagine), Hariri (a vegetable soup that will cost about 20cents a bowl) and Moroccan donuts that are dripping in oil and served with cheese or honey.

The evening of the first night I was invited to meet some of the Arabic students (mostly americans) at a party in the new city aptly named Ville Nouvelle.

The next day Ronch gave me a quick tour of the old city showing me the important mosques (sadly I could not enter the mosque as only muslims can do so), and the tanneries. The tannery in fes is world famous and has been in operation for hundreds of years. Here skins are bleached with ammonia made from pigeon poo and then coloured using various natural dies. They are then dried, sewn into all sorts of garments, bags etc and then shipped all over the world. The process has pretty much remained the same since it started and is fascinating to watch.

The next day I went to explore the Jewish areas of Fes. Prior to the establishment of Israel, Jews thrived in Morocco in great numbers and to this day are very well respected by the muslim population. Jews came to Morocco from Spain during the expulsion in 1492 but left mostly to Israel and the US fearing a backlash in Morocco. Today a small Jewish population remains and in Fes they all live in the new city.

Before Shabbat I explored the old Jewish ghetto known as the Mellah. Here was the true heart of Jewish life but sadly today only 1 synagogue remains open to the public and the cemetery can be seen on some days. I was shown around by a local Moroccan who pointed out the Rabbi's house. Today no Jews live in the Mellah. I went into the old synagogue and was amazed at its beauty. The design was a mixture of spanish and muslim influences and it contained an original Torah and a mikva.

After exploring the Mellah I went to visit the Jewish community centre in the new city and on Friday evening joined the new synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat. Their Sephardi minhag and Moroccan accents made it difficult for me to follow but it was certainly a unique experience.

On Saturday evening I travelled up to the Merined tombs situated on a hill overlooking the old city. Watching the sunset here was impressive as the deep reds of the sun bounced throughout the green hills and across the huge imperial cityscape of Fes.

At 2.30am Sunday morning I jumped onto the overnight train down south to the city of Marrakech. Falling asleep on the train was all good until I woke to find my bag stolen! Aaaaahhh! What do I do? Luckily I managed to get a friendly Moroccan guy to help me and we searched the train. We found the culprit hiding in the toilets and after a good telling off he returned all my stuff and broke down into tears. Note to self: next time I go to sleep on a train, have my bag somewhat attached to me! Lesson learnt!

Arriving in Marrakech I checked into a traditional Riad (a series of salons built around an open courtyard). It was a really nice place but unfortunately there were toilet and shower issues grrrr!

Marrakech is a million more times touristy than Fes. In Marrakech you do not experience the friendliness and home invites like you would in Fes. Fes has charm, Marrakech does not. As you can tell my experience in Marrakech was not 100% positive. I found it to be way too in your face, too intense and not friendly at all!

That being said, there are some cool things that I enjoyed. The main square in the Medina is fun during the day and night. During the day you can expect to see musicians, snake charmers with cobras, monkeys wearing dresses and other crazy antics. In the evening all sorts of drummers, guitarists, and dancers come out to play. The square is always packed with people, buskers, sellers and food stalls. Be careful though - the whole point of these acts is to solicit funds from tourists. The first day in Marrakech I had two monkey handlers plonk their animals on my head and demand 400 dirham (80$). I gave them 20 and convinced them to go away (not an easy task!). The photos are great! But I do feel sorry for the many tourists who forked out large amounts.

The next day I went to visit the Ben Youssef museum and Medrassa. The museum is housed inside a royal villa with beautiful intricate painting and woodwork. The medrassa is a Koranic school that was used to teach children in the ways of Islam. It is no longer used and is open to the public. Like the museum the interior is stunning.

The old city of Marrakech is similar to Fes as there are endless roads of souks. The city walls are distinctively red, the souq avenues are wider and easier to navigate and the city is surrounded by the snowy mountains of the high atlas. As in Fes, the streets are shared with donkeys, horse and cart and on the odd occasion camels.

The next day I went to explore the Mellah. Here a few synagogues remain. I visited a large shule that also housed a Jewish school. I was surprised to discover that a Muslim family lives inside the building as caretakers and they speak a little hebrew! The shule was really beautiful with blue magen davids covering the walls. There was also an old plan of the Mellah showing the extent of Jewish life in the early 1900s. There once was kosher butchers, schools, bakeries and yeshivot here. Today almost nothing remains and the few hundred Jews left live in the new city.

I also visited the Jewish cemetery which houses 400 years of Jewish graves. Oddly most are not marked but there are newer graves that clearly date as recently as the 1990s. There were a few large plots for the great rabbis and chassids of the community and even today people come out from around the world to pay tribute to these great men.

Also in the Mellah is the spice market, once almost exclusively run by Jews. Today you can see hundreds of different yummy spices and concoctions piled high in triangular fashion. A delight for the taste buds and the smells are divine!

Leaving Morocco was a mission. I had to catch another overnight train back to Fes which left at 5am and then jump on the plane to Paris. I spent a whole day travelling. I am now safely back in Paris - boy did I miss western culture (and western toilets). I will miss Morocco, especially Fes. I I hope to return there some day inshallah!