Here's Looking At You, Kid

Jan 20

Jan 20 Here's Looking At You, Kid

Land of iconic movies (hello Casablanca), impossible contradictions (snow capped mountains to endless sand dunes to wide beaches) and blended cultures (signs are almost all written in both Arabic and French and most people speak both). Morocco was both a trip to my roots (my maternal grandfather grew up in Casa) and the trip of a lifetime (I can now say I've visited 6/6 of the inhabited continents). We found the house where he most likely grew up in and watched the sun rise over the dunes of the Sahara.

After landing in Casablanca, all five of us strapped in for a two week road trip around the country, Along the way, we checked out old imperial capitals, fantastic natural sites and more leisurely vacation spots. We went from palm trees, to snow-covered mountains and snow monkeys, to Christmas in the desert with camels like a real Nativity scene, to lush oases, ringing in the new year in a small seaside town and galloping the beach. We slept in traditional riads, in tents under the stars, in caves, in UNESCO villages without electricity and a former 19th c. church. We ate fluffy cous-cous, sugar-coated pastillas, sticky honey and almond paste cookies, drank our weight in fresh-squeezed orange juice and always went for a second (or third) glass of "Berber whiskey" (Moroccan mint tea served with lots of sugar in ornamental little glasses).

Casablanca

A large residential building bordering the Park of the Arab League - the main park in Casablanca.

Colorful gates with the national flag bordering the old Jewish neighborhood.

The street was full of tiny stalls selling everything from soap to drums to delicate gold jewelry.

The Hassan II Mosque - the largest in the country and only one open to non-Muslims. The roof is retractable and the mosque seats 25,000.

Some of the intricate details of Hassan II, completed in 1993 and costing up to $700 million.

Colorful doors are a trademark of Morocco, especially in the old parts of the city and rural towns.

The horseshoe arch shape is common in Islamic architecture as seen here in the Quartier Habous near the palace.

Rabat

Quiet alleyway in the kasbah - or fortified old town - of Rabat, the current political capital.

The Kasbah des Oudaias (seen from the outside) was built in the 12th c. by the Almohad caliphate which controlled southern Spain as well.

The mausoleum of King Mohammed V, who negotiated independence from France in 1956. Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1956.

Art from the Museum of Contemporary Art Mohammed VI (the current king).

Roman ruins in the town of Volubilis which marked the western extent of the Roman empire in N. Africa.

Fes

More colorful doors and walls in the Jewish quarters of Fes.

Graffiti is international.

Narrow alleyways are a trademark of the medina - an older complex in each town full of stalls and food vendors.

The al Attarine madrasa, a scholarly complex where students lived, studied and prayed, arranged around a central courtyard with a fountain.

Fes is known for its artisanal goods, including leatherwork. Here the skins are treated and set to dry in the sun before being dyed and cut.

The interior of a riad, a guest house with rooms arranged around a central courtyard.

A park full of locals going for a stroll.

Atlas Mountains, Sahara Desert, Ourzazate

The Atlas Mountains traverse Morocco and are as tall as the Alps in places.

Camel-riding in the Sahara desert. Camels are still sometimes raised by nomadic people but are mostly used for tourists.

At sunset the light takes on an almost Surrealist quality. Much of the desert is flat and dusty with scrubby little plants.

Traditional Berber rugs made of wool and silk. The Berbers are a pre-Arab ethnic group of N. Africa.

Views overlooking Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO village along the caravan routes between the Sahara and Marrakech.

Donkeys are still used beasts of burden, pulling carts or carrying people, in the countryside and city alike.

The Dades oasis.

Marrakech, el-Jadida

Can you spot the snow-capped Atlas Mountains in the background?

Colorful ceramic ware is one of Morocco's most famous products.

The Jardins Majorelle in Marrakech where designer Yves Saint Laurent's ashes are spread. This blue is called bleu Majorelle.

The barriers were set up around the central square as the king was making a royal visit to the old Jewish neighborhood.

The Koutoubia Mosque, also known as the "Bookseller's Mosque" due to the booksellers in the nearby souk. It was rebuilt because it did not properly face Mecca.