Last day in Marrakesh, Morocco (8/23/10)

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On August 23, our last day in Morocco, we decided to visit some final historical sites in Marrakesh. We saw the royal Saandian tomb...


...and a Koranic school. I thought the architecture was gorgeous.




We returned to the market square, where Daniela wanted to see the snake charmers. I surprised even myself when I did not protest the draping of this little guy across my shoulders. Maybe I thought that he was preferable to the other ones, especially the cobra!



We returned to the souks, which reminded me of every crazy, chaotic Asian market I've ever visited.


Daniela bought some mint tea and coffee at this spice shop, where the seller encouraged -- okay, pushed -- us to smell the mysterious, dessicated items in large glass jars.


As our last stop, we went to the local supermarket, which thankfully had air conditioning, to beat the heat. Little birds were flying in the produce section, which Rachid calmly said is normal. I bought a sandwich to eat on the plane with our final few dirhams.

At the end of the trip, I realized that I had never before been so sleep-deprived and yet so awake -- this experience was truly unlike any other I'd had before. Daniela and Rachid, thanks for a wonderful six days!


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Marrakesh, Morocco (8/22/10)

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On August 22, we visited one of the film studios in Ouarzazate where they filmed parts of The Gladiator, The Passion of the Christ, Kundun, Alexander, The Kingdom, and other Hollywood blockbusters. If the set below looks familiar, that's because it's where Maximus Decimus Meridius talked to Lucius in The Gladiator.


We hopped back into the car to finish our drive to Marrakesh, passing by a green valley nestled between barren hills of red rocks. I've never before been so aware of the existence of water.


And speaking of nestled, can I just say how impressed I am by the reaches of American culture? I couldn't believe my ears when I heard "Gold Digger" by Jamie Foxx and Kanye West on the radio in the middle of Moroccan desert.

Before dropping off our bags at our riad, we visited some sights in Marrakesh, including Menara (yes, the actual location after which Menara Moroccan Restaurant in San Jose, where I belly dance, is named)...


... and Yves Saint Laurent’s garden.


I think this picture of Rachid is hilarious: I offered to let Rachid borrow my hat because he has to cover his head when the A/C is on, or else he'll get sick. My hat is a good hat, no?


We freshened up at the riad -- I was sticky from the unrelenting heat, and water never tasted so good or felt so invigorating! Rachid picked us up at 6pm to take us to the souks; in particular, I was looking for some belly dancing costumes. Sadly, I didn't find anything of the quality I was looking for, so I abandoned that effort quickly. Daniela and I then watched Rachid break fast with a meal of dates, milk, soup, orange juice, eggs, honey pastries (which he didn't eat), and lots of water. I just can't imagine not being to drink anything from 3:30am to 7:15pm, especially in 120-degree heat!

Our day ended at a pre-set dinner and a show. This tourist trap felt acutely artificial in the Disneyland kind of way, and the belly dancer was unfortunately mediocre at best. But the acrobatics on horseback were impressive, and the lamb I had for dinner was very tender. Yeah, yeah, I love my food. But don't worry, I did not eat this entire plate!


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Anti Atlas, Morocco (8/21/10)

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In the early morning of August 21, we rode back to the village where ride started -- I decided to disembark and walk halfway through, though, partially because I found the camel's amble rather uncomfortable). I took a much-needed shower, and began to sweat again almost immediately. It was HOT! Later that day, the temperature soared even higher.


We visited some gnawa musicians in a village nearby with wonderful singing voices. I got pulled up to dance -- again. I must have a neon sign above my head that says "will dance under all circumstances"!

As we left, the cutest little boy wandered in, looking for his dad. He was exactly what his T-shirt said: cheeky, both literally and figuratively!


We then headed back to Rissani via another different road, and saw a massive valley (150 km) of date palm trees called Draa Valley.


Neither Daniela nor I had had fresh dates before, so we asked Rachid to help us buy some at the local market in Rissani. They were delicious.


We then passed by the town of Agdez on our way to traverse another part of the Atlas mountains called the Anti Atlas. Our last stop for the day was our hotel for the night. Rachid’s brother is the head cook at this riad, and Daniela and I were happy to meet another one of his family members. Dinner was great -- I thoroughly enjoyed the lamb because it had lots of nice, chewy tendon!


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Erg Chebbi, Morocco (8/20/10)

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The best day of the entire trip began with a memorably unique and decidedly untouristy visit to a nomad camp. The women and children had just returned with their donkeys to get some water -- they were hidden behind a large hill, and there's no way we could have found them without Rachid. I was really impressed with their ability to survive in such a hostile environment. They're obviously resourceful!



The grandmother, her daughter-in-law and her grandchildren were dressed very colorfully, which contrasted sharply with their intensely stark environment. They were very friendly, and were eager to show us everything in their camp from the earthen oven to the goatskin water container.




The donkeys were cute to me, but I know they were essential to the nomads -- I honestly don't know how else they'd transport water and supplies over the vast tracks of land. Don't the two donkeys in front look like they're sharing a juicy secret?


We then arrived at Rachid’s family’s house in Rissani to get henna done by his youngest sister. We also met his adorable nieces and nephews, who were very interested in the digital cameras and taking pictures. I was touched by his family's hospitality: even though Daniela and I demurred because we felt bad drinking and eating in front of them during Ramadan, they insisted that we drink the mint tea and sample the honeyed pastries. Everything tasted wonderful.




We then headed to the desert of Erg Chebbi to arrive at a village near huge pink sand dunes. Rachid brought us to his cousin’s place so that we could change into comfortable clothing and drink mint tea in preparation for the trip into the desert, and then he helped us tie our turbans so that we'd not only look the part but also be protected from the sun and sand.


As soon as I hopped on my camel and we started on our slow procession into the desert, I gasped. The sand dunes, which were not only the expected shade of champagne but also a dusky shade of rose, took on an otherworldly beauty with the burnished glow of the setting sun, dramatic shadows cast by nearby ridges and transient beings, and unexpected splashes of green from the desert plants.




When we arrived at our campsite, we were served a delicious tagine of chicken and vegetables. I danced spontaneously to music off of Rachid and Daniela's cell phones, although I had to dance gently because of my full tummy! After dinner, we climbed to the top of a nearby dune, where simple beds had been prepared for us. At about 3am, Daniela gently woke me to point out the breathtaking canvas above us -- there seemed to be more stars than sky! When we got up at 5am to see the sun rise, everything was so still that I almost hesitated to exhale and disturb the perfect serenity.


I honestly can't remember a day filled with more "I have never before..." statements, and I loved it.

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Boumaln Dades, Morocco (8/19/10)

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Bright and early on August 19, we started our trip to the Erg Chebbi desert by heading towards the Boumaln Dades. We traversed the Atlas mountains via Tizi-N-Tishka, and arrived at a kasbah (fortress) called Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou. This kasbah is famous for the movies shot onsite, including The Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth, and Lawrence of Arabia.



Although people had once lived in the kasbah, it's now almost completely abandoned (except for the merchants hawing their wares to tourists). We did see an elderly lady combing through some raw wool with steel brushes through her doorway, and she invited us to see her dwelling -- for a fee, of course.


She was living in this mud building with none of the usual modern conveniences: her kitchen was a small, dark room with a tiny hole in the ceiling for the smoke to escape from the earthen oven; she had her sheep and chickens living with her in the next room; I saw only a few sticks of furniture, and I wasn't sure if she had electricity. Despite the tangle of questionably valuable stuff I saw crowding the corners, I walked up the steep and narrow stairs to her formal living room with the expectation that it would be beautiful. As I swept my eyes from left to right, I was not disappointed: clearly, a substantial amount of her resources had been dedicated to making this room as cheerful as possible. When I got to the head of the room, my eyes stopped and widened. Instead of the commonly seen Quran, on the wall was a framed picture of Russell Crowe in his gladiator outfit! That was the highlight of my day. :)


I spotted a really cute cat outside of her house. He was so tiny!


We continued through Ouarzazate and headed to Skoura, which is known for its massive oasis dotted by many kasbahs. We then drove through El Qalaa Mgouna ("the valley of roses") and along beautiful valley along the Dades river to a town called Tinghir, where we visited gorges of the high Atlas mountains.


We ended the day at Boumaln Dades, where we stayed in an beautiful hotel decorated with a mix of African and modern art. The rooftop lounge and pool area had a gorgeous view. Daniela got a massage and I took a swim before we headed to a scrumptious buffet dinner. I ordered a glass of orange juice to go with my supper, and it was surprisingly delicate in its sweetness with no trace of tartness -- probably the best I've ever had. Yum!


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Marrakesh, Morocco (8/18/10)

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If you're a planner like me, you plan everything. Trips to other countries, particularly continents to which you have never before visited, warrant special attention. And, for me, trips to countries with belly dancing command an extra build-up of excitement and anticipation over the preceding months.

I had no time for any of the above for my trip to Morocco, but I was more than willing to make an exception because I knew this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities: the direct roundtrip flight from Switzerland was dirt-cheap and only three hours in length, I found a perfect travel buddy in my co-worker Daniela, the tour guide highly recommended by friends was available and able to make all arrangements, and the timing of the trip fit perfectly into my remaining two weeks (yes, I booked this trip just over one week before departure)!

The trip began on August 18 when Rachid, the tour guide, picked up from the airport in Marrakesh. We went to see the mosque first, and I was immediately surprised by how green the country was -- I guess I expected pure desert.

We then made a quick trip to the square and finally stopped at our hotel to freshen up for dinner. The hostess seated us on the terrace, and even in the soft candlelight I could see that the vegetable couscous and chicken tagine were yummy.

I couldn't get over how beautiful the restaurant's lamps were. I had secretly scoffed when people told me that I'd want to bring one home with me, but as soon as I saw these gorgeous lace-like concoctions, I knew I just had to have one (I honestly wanted all of them).

The belly dancing was entertaining, although from a technical standpoint it was not as impressive as I had imagined it to be.

I somehow found myself pulled up to dance by the curvaceous woman balancing the tray of candles and a tea set, and I happily obliged. I'm not sure why no one else was pulled up to dance, but they insisted that I continue dancing after I motioned to sit down after one song. The restaurant owner, who spoke very good English (I later found out that he had lived in the U.S. for many years), said to me afterwards that he had a job for me in Morocco if I wanted it. He was probably being extremely generous, but I will pretend that I could actually have a second career in belly dancing if I wanted it!

I went to bed as quickly as I could after returning to our hotel -- Rachid asked us to meet him in the hotel lobby at 8am sharp. I had dreams of sparkly lamps and belly dancing costumes!

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