Morocco was an interesting introduction to Arab traditions and Muslim rules. It was our glimpse of the African continent and turned out to be quite an adventure. It started when our Madrid taxi driver told us she was previously married to a Moroccan and had visited there often years ago. She said she’d be willing to take us there in her taxi and give us a personal tour and we decided to take a chance on it. Three days later, we left Madrid around noon for the long drive down to Morocco. On the drive we started noticing the eccentricities of our host, Ana.
After a night time ferry ride across the Straight of Gibraltar and a long wait at the Moroccan frontier (border) with three stops for a round of questions, we drove another hour to the beach town we were staying in. We arrived in Martil around 2am and the bustling streets were packed with Moroccan vacationers (including kids) enjoying the summer festivities. While many women were wearing traditional Muslim clothes that covered everything but their face and hands, many others were dressed in clothes you’d expect to see in any beach town in the US. Men and kids were wearing typical western clothes: shorts and t-shirts.
The next day, we drove to Tangier on the north-western coast to visit the famous market (Medina). The people in Tangier were also somewhat liberal in following Muslim traditions we’ve seen portrayed by western media. We were told that further south in Morocco, people were much more conservative and reserved. Aside from the less conservative clothes and erratic driving on the road that we saw, even northern Morocco seemed to be a very tightly controlled society where people don’t step out of line or cause any problems. Police were seen everywhere and everyone must respect the King – or be jailed. King Mohamed the 6th was visiting and there were flags, and police everywhere.
On the third day, we were going to go to the Medina in Tetouan. But soon after we got in the car with our host, Ana, she seemed completely out of sorts; appearing to be drunk or high – or very likely both. After getting her to turn around and return us to the apartment, we decided to spend the rest of the day without her. We walked around Martil, relaxed and spent some more time on the crowded beach. Ana joined us at the beach, but was still very erratic, emotional, and seemingly mentally unstable. We separated again and after dinner, we took Paxton to the kids areas on the beach, where he went on inflated slides, trampolines, and water balls.
The final morning, we were supposed to return to Spain with Ana, but while she appeared sober, she tried to evade us saying she had to “go make something” and would be back shortly. When she left the parking lot Bill saw her sneak around the apartment corner and put her keys on a ledge. Bill asked whats up and she said she would be back but that our bag that we had left in her car was with the parking tenant. We would have never known that and have been waiting for awhile if Bill did not see her. We ended up getting a different ride back to the border which was another adventure due to our Passports not being stamped before. Then onto the ferry and then to the hotel in Malaga, Spain. We’re just glad that we got to see Morocco.
Tanger (Tangier)
While we’ve always heard it called Tangier, all the signs in Morocco refer to it as Tanger, which is apparently the French spelling of the city.
The outskirts of the cityOne of many pictures of the King, Mohammed VI, posted throughout the country; they are celebrating his 20th anniversary as King. We were told by multiple people that anyone who speaks badly about the King is jailed. An old bull ring in Tanger; a reminder that Spain once colonized northern Morocco, where many speak both Arabic and Spanish. In the southern part of the country, many speak Arabic and French, as the southern half used to be a colony of France. Another billboard of the King in downtown Tanger. We’re told that he has a royal palace in every city in the country. In the places we went, we could easily see that the country is in the process of modernizing much of its infrastructure and buildings, while keeping its rich, historic past in tact. A bandstand along the waterfront boardwalk; they completely updated the port and waterfront in Tanger in recent years……While older buildings remain in tact. We saw cool palm tree cell towers through our visitA restored portion of the outer edge of the old Medina (market) in Tanger. Our adventure in the Medina begins…The Medina is a labyrinth of narrow, colorful corridors leading to endless shops and restaurants (with houses on top).This short wall in the Medina was the only place we ever saw “graffiti” in Morocco. Trying to fit a vehicle through tight corners took a lot of work.The decorative patterns above the door were all hand carved…as are many walls throughout the Medina.A close-up example of a hand-carved wall……which cover the upper walls in this long hallway to a residence above.We stopped for lunch at an intricately decorated restaurant serving traditional Moroccan food.One thing that stood out everywhere in Morocco was layers upon layers of brightly colored, intricate designs. Amazingly beautiful and full of dedicated artistry.Old guns decorated the next roomThe bread holderA delicious couscous with chicken, carrots, eggplant, chickpeas, and other spices.A savory pastry dish; the “M” is for MoroccoOutside the restaurant, they were selling cactus…something we saw everywhere we went in MoroccoThe bustling market included these two fellows singing and playing for tipsA view of the Medina from one of the shop’s rooftopsResidences occupy the tops of all the buildingsAn artisan making a rug by handWhile we saw some men in more traditional dress like this, most were in clothes you’d see on any street in the USMaking scarves on a loom in one of the shops Our time at the Medina endsCats are everywhere in MoroccoWe rarely saw darker-skinned Africans in Morocco; these two were at the train station
On the road in Morocco
More donkeys than horsesWe saw many onion stands along the road; as well as Moroccan flags – they were placed about every few milesMany pottery stands lined the road as wellA roadside market featuring hats common to indigenous northern MoroccansThe woman selling on the roadside is wearing indigenous northern Moroccan clothing……and these women too……and these tooDriving through the higher elevation between Tangier and MartilThe most common landscape along our journeyA goat-herderA roadside game of futbol in the countrysideThe outskirts of TetouanThe chimney of a ceramics factoryHouses as far as you can see covering the hillsidesMore futbolTetouan is nicknamed White Dove; this statue was in the middle of one of the roads through the cityA glimpse of one of their cemeteries. We were told they are buried facing Mecca, and that women are buried twice as deep as men.A wedding palace that people can rent for their nuptialsWe were told the King was in the area that day and we glimpsed his huge entourage of security in black cars; we didn’t get the camera out in time to capture it properlyAs the sun sets, an expansive display of celebratory lights adorn the roads; we think they’re all in celebration of the King’s anniversaryThe royal crest in lights
Martil
The busy beach in Martil; they have jumpy houses and activities for kids that start in the evening during the three months of summerThey kept everything super clean – including no sand on the streets – in preparation for the King’s 20-year anniversary celebrationStreet signs on the walls in ArabicThe view from our apartment balconyThe beach on the other side of the road from our apartmentPaxton enjoying a dip in the Mediterranean SeaWhile some women were in western bathing suits, most were going into the water covered as they are on the streets. Here’s a mom with her boys; she later went all the way in with them.In addition to renting jet skis and speed boats, many were renting these paddle boat slides that they’d take just off shore to slide into the water or jump the other direction off the top of the slideEnjoying some Moroccan mint tea before sunsetMartil’s kids fiesta at night; 10pm and kids were just getting started for the evening. After all, most people don’t start eating dinner in Morocco (and in Spain) until 9pm at the earliest. Paxton is enjoying the “Bob Esponja” slide on the night before we left Morocco.
