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Hi everyone
A little background about Morocco before I begin, it is a secular Muslim state that is the most Northwest country of Africa. It is roughly the same size of California & almost the same shape w/ if California was to be on its side. Coincidentally, it is also endowed w/ the same Mediterranean climate as California ....hot inland, temperate on the coast, dry summers & snow in the upper elevations; the time here is a 7 hour difference from West Coast time. The Moroccans are predominately Berbers, some ethnic tribes still live in the mountains. Arab, Jewish & a small minority of Europeans comprise the rest of the population. Arabic is widely spoken here than as is French and Spanish is also used especially in the Northern reaches of the country.
My husband and I arrived in Morocco on the 11th of May in Casablanca, situated on the coast; it was not extremely hot when we got off the plane. It was a long tiresome flight that lasted 8 hours from New York though. There where we were met by Hassan and the driver Bihi. We drove around Casablanca & ended the trek at the Mosque of Hassan II. A huge structure, situated along the Atlantic Ocean & this is only one of two Mosques that non-Muslims are aloud to go inside of in Morocco. Inside the Mosque, it was gorgeous, wonderful paintings, delicately carved wooden seats & huge domes that were also adorned with designs. On Fridays, the doors are all opened mechanically & the people from all over come to pray.
We then headed for the Capital city of Rabat, which is also placed on the Coast. We walked the markets, went through a cemetery & to the ramparts on the water. While we were walking through the city, we passed the Parliament House that wasn't very far from our Hotel & there was a protest going on. Hassan told us that the banners were for the severe unemployment that has stricken the country. You can tell this because all the people do whatever they can for work, watch your car when you park, help you back out & of course the thralls of people that sell any object they can to people in the street. We went to the roof top of our hotel & watched the protest as it became violent. The guards surrounded the people & closed in on them, the ones that stayed received blows from bully clubs & sticks. So sad because the people are asking for a way to earn a living, even college Grads can't find work to support themselves.
To switch gears, the food has been unbelievably awesome! The Tajine is a pyramid style pot that is cooked underneath & they place lamb, beef or chicken inside, all of which have been awesome. We also went to an extremely elegant dinner that Cal Poly paid for & I had a pigeon Pastillia (pigeons that are eaten here are grown, bred & farmed here, not wild like in the US), it was a sweet flakey crust filled circle that was full of pigeon meat, almonds & some sauce, this was garnished with some powder & cinnamon. This has been my favorite dish thus far, but the Bruchettes (kebabs) we had for lunch a few days were pretty darn good too.
We spent time in the Sahara Desert & a city called Merzouga, our 5 Star Hotel was in the middle of nowhere, Bihi`s 4x4 Jeep did well. Our room was a Villa next to the pool & we were 1 of only another couple staying there, the staff in there were awesome. I taught them some English slang & how to dance American style. We went through the sand dunes before sunrise on camels & watched the sun come up, what an amazing sight; the dunes change colors with the rising of the sun. There are so many more details, but not enough time or space.
We can not recommend Hassan's services enough. He is a real gem. Great knowledge of English and American expressions. Our initial emails were answered within hours and from then on booking the tour, The driver was excellent, smooth and the 4 x 4 was air conditioned, new and very comfy. To reach Hassan and get information about a trip check out http://www.undermoroccansun.com
Good luck.
Anxxx
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