Morocco is amazing! First of all, visiting there gave me the chance to practice my rarely-used French........wow it's tough to converse in a language you barely speak anymore after living in Australia for so many years but I managed. Friendly people, a little guarded yes, but lovely to chat with. There are so many different areas to Morocco: I started in Casablanca: chaotic souks (markets), yummy food, and people-watching. I went to Fes (or Fez) - this is the image below with all the houses, it's a rabbit-warren full of people and markets that are separated into sections: iron mongering, fabric and leather dying, butchers (camel heads hanging from hooks), and so on. I was lucky enough to be guided around by a local, who showed us his little house (prized possession; a television!) and luckily he saved me from getting totally lost, never to be seen again.
I rode a camel (I named him MoMo as the cameleers don't give them names) and he had the longest eyelashes I have ever seen. I slept out under the stars in the Sahara Desert, and was thankful I didn't have to trudge up the sand dunes, down the sand dunes, up again......I took a cooking class in Essaouira and made the most delicious chicken pastille, and later wandered around the fishing town (kite surfing, hippies, and plenty of blue paint). I had a little chat with an old fisherman, who drew pictures on his little notepad as we had trouble conversing (his boat. the fish he catches). I sat in the Jemaa el Fna (town square) in Marrakech, sipping mint tea (without sugar! yikes so much sugar!) from a silver pot and people-watching. Mainly the men sit around sipping tea, and the women do the work (at least that's how it looked to me). There were snake charmers, tooth-pullers and yummy nuts and fruit for sale. What a crazy place to hang out.
I went to Aït Benhaddou, where it looks like sandcastles are built to giant sizes - Gladiator (the movie) was filmed here.
I loved the daily calls to prayer - five of them, spaced out. Every day. The soothing wailing is impossible to miss, as it is played on speakers around the city. The lamb tajines were delicious to eat too. Really interesting culture: stunning mosques, wonderful people and a joy to visit.
