Images

From Fes to Erfoud

This day was a loooong bus ride. We left Fes and stopped first in a beautiful little town built by the French in 1929. It is near a ski area and looked more like a Swiss village that anything French or Moroccan. Just outside the city that was a band of Moroccan monkeys wandering along side the road. The bus driver stopped and the monkeys met us with their paws out just like the little boys we saw in the medina yesterday. They wanted peanuts that the vendors conveniently had available for us to buy. Both vendors and monkeys benefitted from the stop. Men with beautifully saddled and groomed horses posed for us and as they use to say a good time was had by all.

We traveled through a rough countryside much like west Texas while crossing the Middle Atlas Mountains. The entire area was dotted with sheep herds and goats. The sheep provide income and the goats provide food. Donkeys herd the sheep and provide transportation for the families living there. There was a nomad camp near a spring and they will stay there for a few weeks before moving on to another area. After driving through some scary mountain passes the terrain changed dramatically. It literally became an oasis with date palms, green pastures and running water. The geography of this country is very varied and the people have learned to adapt over the many years it has existed. What was interesting to us is that the king likes to drive himself through the country and see what needs his people have and how he can help them meet their needs.

Our hotel tonight is very exotic. It is call a Kashba and that is perfect. Tiled floors, eastern style lanterns, date palms and flowers everywhere. It is hard to believe that Bogart and Bergmann are not lurking around somewhere. Tomorrow we ride a camel at sunset. Can hardly wait.

The Old Quarters of Fes

A medina is a walled city designed to protect its citizens and the Medina of Fes is both walled and covered making its narrow streets dark and crowded. The light that reaches the street comes from openings above shops and houses that creeps into the streets themselves. We arrived in time to see the donkeys and their owners going about the medina picking up last night’s refuse. So much of what we saw goes back to the middle ages. Butchers cutting meat to be consumed in today’s couscous, herb and vegetable vendors have the potatoes, carrots, and onions ready to place on the tagine and it will be served with papa comes home from the mosque. Friday is not a holiday from school, but it is a shortened work day for the bread winners. Cats snatched meat scraps and vendors hawked trinkets to visitors. We visited the site of the oldest university in the Moslem world, visited their tiny dormitory rooms and learned a lot about the symbolism tied to the tile work. We teach so much of European culture and history but fail to spends equal times on the Middle East. Of course we could not leave with out visiting the rug and leather shop. A side visit to a small apartment in the medina revealed a jewel box of a home completely different to the rough edges of the alleyways we had been walking on. The visit to the second medina also known as the Jewish quarter gave us a chance to see how Jews and Muslims lived together for years. Many European Jews fled the continent and came to Africa. The King of Morocco gave then a safe place to live and would not give them up to Nazi officials. The King has a palace in Fes and is in residence there now. Important looking guards and Moroccan flags announce his presence and we could take some hurried pictures of the palace. We leave this history and return to a modern city with shopping malls, fast food chains and a Marriot hotel where we are staying. Tomorrow we head for the desert.

Rabat to Fes

We left Rabat which is the capital of Morocco and drove to Fes which is the cultural and educational center of the country. Everywhere the influence of foreign cultures abound in this little country and Fes is no different. Some of the first foreign entities to the area were the Romans. They established an outpost near the town of Meknes in 25BC and stayed there until about 275 AD. They established a city with beautiful villas, a sophisticated economy and all of the luxuries of Roman life. It quickly became obvious to me that no one on the trip had had Annette Parker’s world history class, because they could not grasp how sophisticated Roman life could be. The excavated site is much smaller than Pompeii but has similar characteristics. Beautiful mosaics, a bathhouse, public latrines and houses for the rich and the poor. There was a stork nest on one of the columns and one sweet lady thought it had been there since the Romans. There is evidence of an arena, a hippodrome and a many more houses. Time and money will be needed to finish that project.

We left there and drove on to Fes. Students were everywhere. Elementary students were being picked up by parents, high schoolers were hanging out and university students were all over the various campuses. This evening were had a couscous dinners in a sumptuous riad. The food was simple. Couscous with vegetable and meat. The setting was hard to believe. Carved and painted doors, tile work that started the eye, a roof that could be opened, hand made table linens and centerpieces fit for a wedding. We were allowed to explore two floors of the house and each floor was more elaborate. The city was even more beautiful after dark. Red and green lights decorate the tree trunks, and lighted garlands hang across broad boulevards. One would think the city was planning an early Christmas celebration except of course there is no such thing in this country. People are out walking about, visiting with friends, drinking tea or coffee and pleasantly spending the evening together. There is something enviable about their life style. Tomorrow we shall see more of the city and learn more of their history.

Trouble with site publishing photographs – will publish later.

Rabat

Rabat is located on the Atlantic Ocean which has historically made it ripe to be picked to add to the wealth of many European countries. The influence of the Spanish and Portuguese is in the architecture and the influence of the French is in their language. The people of Rabat greet their visitors with a love Bon Jour and appreciate it if you respond with a French greeting. Troy and I began our morning with a typical Moroccan breakfast. A vegetable soup, soft and hard cheeses, olives, dates and figs Wonderful bread which any Frenchman would appreciate, sweet milky coffee and a variety of preserves and honey. This feast reminded us of the breakfasts we enjoyed in Turkey.

We were on our own today and went to the Tower of Hussan and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. We were not allowed to enter the complex, but the construction of these buildings which are more than six hundred years old points the sophistication of this nation. Mounted guards dressed in white billowing pants, a traditional fez sit astride their white horses and protect the history of Rabat. Following a glass of sweet mint tea, we entered the Medina and saw homes constructed in the 12th century that are still in habited. The majority of the inhabitants are Muslem, but Europeans and even two American families live in that Medina. It self contained with a mosque, a school and nearby shops. The children play in the narrow streets, because there are no vehicles. The dozens of cats are fed and cared far by the residents and live a lazy cat life. The views of the Atlantic are spectacular and it was fun to watch the fishing boats go in and out. I cannot image living in a world that protected and having a door way that is seven hundred years old. Troy loves to photograph doorways and this was his chance. By tradition the buildings are always blue and white, but the doors are customized. Most had dates on them and some had symbols that told us the occupation of the original owner.

Next to this medina is the Spanish Medina Not so old, but still very beautiful and in use today for both residences and commerce. We had lunch in what was once a Spanish home. We each had a tajine. Food that Moroccans have been eating from the beginning of their culture. The food was Arabic, but the house was a mixture of Spanish and Muslim architecture. Two beautiful young women dressed in caftans served us and made us feel at home. If every other city is as fascinating as Rabat we will bring home many treasured memories.

Images will be added later tonight. We must meet our guide for the remainder of the trip now.

IAH, PARIS, CASABLANCA

We departed Houston this morning and are now in the Paris waiting for a flight to Casablanca. Uneventful so far just many lines and gates. Air France is a great airline. On to the next adventure. Paris is 7 hours ahead of Houston so it is 10 in Paris and 3 am in Houston.

Oaxaca, The Colonial City

This city was worth exploring. The zocola is the heart of the city and is always full of people shopping, dancing, playing their musical instruments and selling their wares. In the evening Troy and I found the best seats of the house were on a restaurant balcony enjoying good food and watching the evening show. Equally as much fun, but calmer is the area around Santo Domingo de Guzman Temple. It was first a Spanish Church with all of the gold trappings and glorious altar. Then it became a military station and finally it is a beautiful cultural center. Behind the church is an ethnobiological garden that has specimen of the plants that represent the various biocultural areas of the state of Oaxaca. One of the most interesting are the rows of maize that show the changes over the centuries. Maize and so many of the other plants have evolved to meet the needs of the people. The restaurants of the city feature many of the food that were eaten centuries ago. Our lunch that day was a maize tamal and a squash blossom salad. Art is everywhere in the city. IN museums, in galleries and painted on the walls. There is nothing subtle about the pieces that we saw. Bold colors, and shapes frightening dreams and wildly clad individuals. There is no holding back. Although these were the last days of Lent there was nothing quiet about the city. Even during an outdoor Mass children played with their balloons and pan flute music blocked out any attempt the choir made to sing. Saturday was more exploration and Sunday we will take a trip to Mitla and visit some of the smaller towns and churches.

MONTE ALBAN

We left Oaxaca City for Monte Alban one of the first planned urban areas in the Americas. The drove out of the city was a riot of color. Purple jackaranda trees competed with the beautiful orange of the Poinciana and the bubenbilla to use the Spanish spelling. We would never think of putting those colors so close together in our yard, but they work beautifully here. Monte Alban was a large complex with temples; residences, an observatory and all that was required of a bustling civilization. There is evidence of trading with far away places and the walls tell the story of battles and conquests. Smaller carving show people suffering from various diseases and it is believed that these were used as medical texts. It is easy to imagine this place full of life, waiting for life or death messages from the priests. Scholars studying the skies for the next eclipse or comet. I shared this site previously with my granddaughter, Laura and got to share it finally with Troy. Just when I think I do not want to see another ancient ruin I realize that there is always something new to learn. Returning to the city we had lunch and

watched the country folk walking around the zocola or standing in their stalls selling products to helps ends meet. There are beautiful dresses and shawls, shirts and bags most hand made We were tempted by small carved spoons for serving dips and salsas. Tonight we will go back for more adventures around the zocola.