Back From Morocco

Happy New Year!!

We made it back from a great trip to North Africa just in time to ring in the new year. The 24-hour travel day was long and tiring with two cab rides, three flights, and only one delay (!). I particularly enjoyed the five minute stop our driver took at a highway rest stop for his first prayer of the day (Muslims pray five times a day). All in all we left our hotel in Rabat at 6am (midnight Chicago time) and hit the sack in Chicago at 11:30 pm on December 30th.

The trip went very well and if you want to cut to the chase and look at pretty pictures, here they are:

Round 1 - My pictures
Round 2 - Erica's

We were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to take great pictures. My guide book did say it was a photographer's paradise, but I think they undersold their potential. The colors and geometry of buildings, clothes and everything else makes simply walking down the street a photographic adventure. Anyway, on our final night my mother asked the appropriate question: what were the biggest surprises on the trip?

In no particular order, these are what we came up with:

• The diverse topography. I had no idea the Atlas mountains were right in the middle of the country and boast the highest mountain in North Africa. There were lush farmlands, beautiful ocean beaches, deserts and mountains. Erica was not alone expecting Africa to be mostly sand and dry air - we were pleasantly surprised. Luckily we had time to take a drive out to the mountains for some hiking and lunch.
• The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is absolutely amazing. It rivals the Taj Mahal and any other majestic building I have ever seen for beauty and splendor. I hope the pictures do it justice. It's also the third largest Mosque in the world.
• My mother was surprised in the lack of vegetarian meal options. I agreed, because everything I read suggested Morocco is a vegetarian paradise. Maybe we were going to the wrong places, but meat and chicken were far more prevalent than fish and vegetables (exception in Essaouira on the coast).
• Another food surprise were the amazing pizzas(!?!). We only had them a few times for lunch, but they were delicious thin crust pizzas. 
• Rose pedals, everywhere, especially in our bed rooms. We didn't realize Moroccans love roses. Perhaps it was a holiday thing? But they were in our bed, our bathroom, on the dinner table, you name it. Funny.
• Erica and I did a typical Moroccan experience - the Hammam Ritual. This is a spa treatment that involves a soak/steam, black soap oil, exfoliation mit and mud. It was fun and we had our own little room. 
• The recently renovated La Mamounia is something else. We only stopped in to walk around and take a look. It reminded me of a museum, not a hotel, and not in a particularly good way. If you sneezed someone might come running with a cloth to wipe down the floor - just in case. Maybe I'm being harsh, but it didn't take long to see that it was not an environment we would enjoy (and not to mention pay for). 
• Maybe it shouldn't be classified as a "surprise," but walking through the souqs in Marrakech is quite an experience. I know there are other shopping areas, towns, squares, markets, etc throughout the world, but Morocco's souqs are as unique as they come. The sellers are aggressive, negotiating price is required and getting lost is likely.
• Finally, I was most pleasantly surprised with how open and welcoming Morocco is to visiting foreigners while still maintaining its exotic charm. The close proximity to Europe (a 12 mile straight) and a history of French occupation suggests many years of practice and hospitality. Knowing some french phrases is also usefully as it is considered a second official language (sometimes those awful High School lessons actually have value).

I mentioned food a few times, but I wasn't really "surprised" with how well we ate because Morocco is well known for great cuisine. Almost every meal, especially dinner, was good and some were terrific. We had our fair share of traditional Moroccan dishes (think couscous, lamb tajine, etc), but also great Italian, French and even Indian/Asian.

That's not everything but a good sampling of what we remember as the most surprising and memorable aspects of our trip. We spent two nights in the beach town of Essaouira eating fresh fish and walking on the sand next to tourists riding camels. It was a very welcome respite after four nights of high intensity non-stop Marrakech action.

Morocco is a very nice place to visit and what I would call "accessible exotic." We only experienced a fraction of what there is to do and I recommend making Morocco an addition to your travel list (especially if you want to check out Africa).