I am in Morocco right now, and this is my first trip to Africa. Well, technically that’s not totally true—in the year 2000, I climbed Mt. Sinai as part of a tour to Israel, so I was in a corner of Egypt for a day. But I think that the Sinai Peninsula hardly counts as having been to Africa, properly speaking; so really, this feels like my first time in Africa. I’m doing some research for a class on world history & Christianity that I’m teaching this Fall, and I only have time to visit two African countries, so I chose Morocco (and Kenya which I will visit next week) for the sake of diversity—one is northern Africa, the other is Sub-Saharan Africa; one is West, the other is East; one is Muslim, the other is Christian; one is Francophone, the other is Anglophone.
The Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, the third-largest mosque in the world
I’m here with my good friend Dr. Sean Doyle (my frequent travel partner, who is a professor of non-Western history at Geneva College near Pittsburgh). Sean is one of my friends who I’ve traveled with to multiple countries—at last count: the U.K., Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, China, India, and now Morocco and Kenya. I have a few other friends (let’s see… Nelson, Sandi, Chris, Mark, and Doug, did I miss anyone else?) who I’ve likewise met with in a multitude of countries.
Sean and I flew into Marrakesh in central Morocco, then made our way northward to Casablanca, to Tangier, crossed the Straits of Gibraltar via ferry, and then tomorrow we are flying out from the island of Gibraltar (a British colony off the south coast of Spain also known as “The Rock”). This is a recounting of our experiences in this past week.
[But before we begin, a few words of essential vocabulary with regard to Morocco: a “souk” is a part of the city with winding alleyways; a “medina” is the section within the old city walls; a “kasbah” is the fort/royal part of the city; and “Maghrib” is another name for the Kingdom of Morocco, or more generally, the NW region of Africa]
Marrakesh:
This was probably the most “authentically” Moroccan of the three cities we visited. It is deep enough south so that European influence was at a minimum. Although I’ve never been to Morocco before, it still felt familiar, because of other countries I’ve visited. It reminded me of Petra (Jordan), Andalusia (the southern province of Spain which contains the Alhambra), the streets of New Delhi (India), the old city of Jerusalem, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and the Muslim quarter of Xi’an (China), all rolled into one! The central square, the Djemaa el-Fna, is the highlight of the city, especially at night. The hustle and bustle of the place was energizing, exotic, sensual, and disorientating. Marrakesh has interesting city walls that enclose the medina. Within the souk, where our hostel was located, you have to keep a close watch on your path otherwise it is very easy to get lost. Getting lost is part of the fun, though—but just be sure not to lose yourself at night, or on a side alley where no one else is present! Vendors in the souks sell all manners of things and it is fun to browse (but be prepared to haggle for the right price!). Another highlight of the city, besides the main square, is the mosque. The Koutoubia Mosque is the tallest building in town (you can’t miss it!) and quite beautiful. Unfortunately it is closed to non-Muslims. There are also a couple of palaces worth visiting: the Badii Palace (“The Incomparable”) and the Bahia Palace (“The Brilliant”). My absolute favorite thing in the city, however, was the Majorelle Gardens—beautifully cultivated gardens in the northwestern part of the city, so peaceful, quiet, and cool.
Casablanca:
This was the most European of the three cities we visited. A major port, there is not much to see here, except the beaches (which were kind of disappointing—none too clean), Rick’s Café (yep, a modern-day re-creation of the movie set; surprisingly beautiful and charming despite it being a replica), and the Hassan II Mosque. The mosque is the third-largest in the world (after ones in Mecca and Medina), has the tallest minaret in the world (200m), is built right on the beach, and is the only mosque in the entire country of Morocco that non-Muslims can visit! It’s absolutely huge—it can fit St. Peter’s Basilica (the Vatican) inside its walls, but very beautiful inside. The mosque alone is enough reason to visit Casablanca.
Tangier:
On the other side of the Rif mountains, Tangier has variously been owned by the Romans, the Carthaginians, the Berbers (the indigenous people of Morocco), the Portuguese, the Spanish, the English, the French, and of course by Morocco itself. The tangerine was named after this city. It is a mixed-up border city, in some ways very un-Moroccan, kind of like how Tijuana is not very Mexican because it is a transit city. Still, it has its fair share of interesting parts and is very international in scope. The kasbah has the former Sultan’s palace which is now a museum, and sits atop a hill. In 1777, Morocco was the first nation to recognize the independence of the United States, so Tangier has the very first U.S. Embassy in the world which is now a Legation museum. Geographically, Tangier sits on African side of the Straits of Gibraltar, so we went to Cap Spartel, the northernmost tip of the African continent, marked by a lighthouse. (As a nice parallel, I’ve also been to Sentosa Island in Singapore, which is the southernmost tip of the Asian continent). Just under Cap Spartel are some great caves in which you can go spelunking!
A few notes about our experiences:
-I’ve never been accosted by so many faux guides (false guides) as here in Morocco. It’s actually really unbelievable! It felt like at least once every 30 minutes for five straight days, somebody came up to us asking to guide us or help us find something or try to sell us something or demanding money from us or following us around. I highly recommend that women don’t come here alone, or unless they’re in a fairly large group! Even though Sean and I are two relatively healthy young men, we still were pestered unrelentlingly, sometimes to the point of physical contact (grabbing our arm to detain us, etc.)—I can’t imagine what it must be like for a small group of women! I think it would feel really unsafe.
-All that being said, Morocco is an easy getaway for budget-minded travelers who want to experience the exotic without going too far away to find it. There are enough Westerners here to not feel completely out of place. And most Westerners don’t even need a visa to visit (one of the few Muslim countries for which that’s true)!
-The quintessential Moroccan foods to try are tajine (a slow-cooked stew in a clay pot, usually with lamb or beef), couscous (a grain which resembles a fine pasta or rice), and of course the famous Moroccan mint tea (not the kind you’re used to getting in the US! This kind is chock-full of real mint leaves that fill up your entire glass, with lots of sugar to sweeten, and is absolutely heavenly tasting).
-Be prepared for the Call to Prayer five times a day. The mosque’s loudspeakers will blare out messages (in Arabic) for the majority-Muslim population.
-A lot of people have (subsequently) told me that we should have visited the city of Fes, which is the most impressive city in Morocco, because it has the most perfectly-preserved medieval Islamic medina in the world. Ah well, too late for that now, but that’ll give me something to do next time I’m in this country!
-I’m looking forward to crossing the Straits of Gibraltar via ferry. I’ve done the English Channel crossing multiple times, both via ferry and via the “Chunnel” (Channel Tunnel), but the crossing from Morocco to Spain should be interesting. The two sides are marked by the so-called “Pillars of Hercules,” two giant rocks which frame the transit point between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.