Salam Morocco!

Salam my friends, Winslow here, and happy to say that the weather we escaped to in Morocco has followed us back to France! The sun has been just as rejuvenating as our offbeat journey to the northern corner of Africa was.

After the city-hopping of our Christmas break the young one succeeded in her mission to take us somewhere unlike anywhere we'd ever been. This post will be an overview of what we found traveling in Morocco to be like, even though we hardly skimmed the surface. Really what we had by the time we left were merely the tools used to scratch said surface. We met few visitors of the country who planned to be there for less than a couple months, which was not surprising seeing how overwhelmed the young one had been with possibilities when researching for the trip. Ultimately, we stationed ourselves in the far north of the country for the week.

We were in what is considered to be "the gateway to Africa". While this implies that we weren't actually in Africa, I can definitely say that it didn't feel anything like Europe. However, this title does give recognition to some of the European influences in that part of Africa, notably, in actual view of the Spanish coastline, the Spanish architecture and the Spanish language spoken. I also heard a good amount of French and the young one found it extremely useful. Morocco also bears much European tourism, which you can sense the locals are very well-equipped for given their expertise in pinpointing and

badgering foreigners.

Here in France the young one and I have become accustomed to the weekly outdoor markets, but in Morocco they take it to another level.

Moroccan Markets

The only grocery stores the two of us saw were on the way out of town, on the outskirts, if that. We deduced that the majority of Moroccans, especially those from small non-commercialized towns, do all of their shopping at the local market or at a number of the tiny corner stores (which are more like counters) which look like this:

Although the local markets, called "souks" seem to run in some capacity every day of the week, they are busiest on the two or three posted market days. It is then that the streets are overwhelmed with locals toting their rolling grocery bags, passersby, huge wooden carts heaped with clementines, the occasional donkey, Berber women selling fresh cheese wrapped in palm fronds, buckets of fish, blankets layed out with what looks like secondhand clothing, and still from time to time, a car. The market continues into a market hall, as well, on these days, where you find more of the same produce swelling from the counters, mounds of colorful spices, animal entrails, heads, and entire rabbits. Sometimes even live chickens.

 [All of these were taken at the souk in Tanger]

The young one tells me that she would love to have a local take her to the market, pick out the best ingredients, and cook her a meal with them. 

Nothing at the souks have prices on them, and as an obvious tourist you have to just trust that you will receive a fair price. No matter what, though, you will walk away spending close to nothing on food in Morocco.

Quinoa bread: 3 dirhams (30 cents)

Olives: 4 dirhams (40 cents)

Cheese: 12 dirhams (1.20€)

Fresh-squeezed orange juice: 5 dirhams (50 cents)

To-go cup: 5 dirhams (50 cents)

Food

I will let the young one take care of this part, since as much as I am able to observe, I am still incapable of eating. I was left behind on a number of occasions as the young one persued a Moroccan culinary experience.

Hi, Alexa here. Winslow gets a little upset when i want to talk about food; he feels left out. Sorry about that. Anyway, Morocco is the only place I've ever visited where it was practical to eat out. It would be more time consuming and stressful to try to buy ingredients you're familiar with cooking at the market, and return to the hostel to cook, than to just sit down at any one of the numerous cosy, traditional restaurants around the medina. A soup or salad may cost 7 dirhams (70 cents) with a main dish between 30 and 40 dirhams (3-4€). I did once, however, order a seafood platter that cost 80 dirhams (8€). 

The catch here is that I ended up eating the same foods every day, because every restaurant has almost the same menu with the same traditional foods and brings out the same types of bread beforehand. Even when I told myself that today is the day I don't eat tajine, I still ended up with tajine. 

Tajine is anything cooked in a tajine dish. Usually you can choose chicken, beef, sardine, or vegetable tajine.

[sardine tajine]

 [beef tajine, foggy because it was so bubbly and steamy]

 [the tajine is cooking in the middle vessel, called a "tajine"]

Couscous was my first meal in Morocco, because it happened to be Friday. Friday is the holy day, and on this day everyone eats couscous because of its cleansing powers. 

Moroccan soup is quite delicious. It is tomato-based, slightly spicy, with little noodles

and chickpeas. Another type of soup is lentil-based but not as flavorful. Fish soup is very common as well.

Seafood is the freshest you will ever have if you order it in a beach town. I don't know specifically which types of fish are the most consumed (besides sardines) but the kind I had was smaller than my hand with one ribbed bone down the middle. It seemed like the fish was scooped right out of the ocean, sliced long-ways, and thrown right into the fryer or pan, fins and all.

Bread is served before meals and at breakfast. One kind that I had all the time is a mix between a crepe and pita bread, called "m'smen". The other is a round loaf coated in cornmeal called "khobz".

 [khobz]

[m'smen]

At the hostel in Tanger, I ate my m'smen with a soft, wet, mild cheese, presumably the same type the berber women wrap in palm fronds, and apparently one of the only cheeses available.

Mint tea is a staple in Morocco. It is green tea freshened up with a thick sprig of mint and loaded up with sugar. When a Moroccan offered me tea (seemingly a mandatory welcome) mint tea is what I got. Everyone drinks it after their meal as well. 

Shopping

Winslow back again! My new mode of transportation since being in Morocco is a small smelly leather backpack. It could be camel or goat or cow, and the front is woven with died hairs that could be from either a camel, a goat, or a cow. 

It goes to show that the souvenirs you buy in Morocco may or may not be true to what the vendor says. I’m not quick to trust people like the young one is, but when it came to Morocco she was just as weary as I was. Be careful what you buy, and especially what you spend. The cost of things doesn’t effect me very much, but it seems to be an important factor in the everyday life of everyone else, and I tell you, I sure did get a headache from the back-and-forth between the young one and the vendors! Again, nothing has a price, and you can’t just ask how much something might go for without being expected to buy it. In an attempt to release herself from the grasp of a shop-owner she refused to state her price when the vendor pleaded with her to do so. It takes hustling away and being shouted after to break away. This haggling is worse in some places than in others. I was glad the young one settled relatively quickly on my new transport recepticle so we got that overwith, 18€ later. She tended to do most of her window shopping with her peripherals at shops with outdoor displays. 

It’s on the outskirts of the markets within the medina, and also the touristy places, where handcrafted goods and also mass-produced souvenirs are sold. The most common products are scarves (specifically Pashmina, a type of cashmire, which you can get for 5-10€), handwoven rugs and pillowcases and blankets, baskets, pottery, soaps, argan oil, leather bags, art, jewelry, traditional “djellaba” and other clothing, and berber hats. 

In regards to the hat, I didn't ask for it...the young one assumed it would be cute but it was just embarrassing. Those hats are like the sombreros of Morocco, except they are actually worn, in real life, by Berber women selling their goods at the market.

Transportation

I was under the impression that everyone rode camels everywhere in Morocco, since I have seen so many photos of desert nomads (and tourists) doing so. In fact we only saw camels once, laying in herds near a beach, and they actually can’t even walk uphill. We did notice people on donkeys, but those are mainly used to hitch carrier bags onto to carry supplies. 

The young one and I only used one mode of transport: grand taxis. Say you would like to get somewhere. You find the taxi hub, listen for the name of your destination to be shouted, and then wait for 4 or 5 more people to fill your taxi, and you’re off! Sadly, I didn’t count as a body in the taxi so the young one as a “solo traveler” always had to wait a bit. Good thing we were never in a hurry. 

Taxis are a lot cheaper than you would expect. Maybe a couple euro per person for an hour or two ride with a full car. They are also a great way to make friends, and to watch the beautiful landscape pass by! However you might get stuck listening to the Koran on the radio, whether the station is fully coming in or not.

There is a great train system in Morocco, and buses. Buses are cheaper but slow and unreliable. I’m just glad all I have to do is go where the young one goes! She is the most reliable transportation service. 

Religion

93% of Moroccans identify as religious Muslims. This is one of the biggest differences from Europe and I found that it influenced most of the other differences we experienced, as well as the overall feel of the place. 

The great majority of women cover their hair with scarves, while a small portion of men wear long woven robes with pointed hoods. If they aren’t, they are dressed in typical street clothes. 

Grand gothic cathedrals of Europe are replaced with the slender towers of mosques. We never visited one like we would a cathedral. As much as we would have liked to peek into the interior, it didn’t seem respectful. Cathedrals are like fossils, a mark of history and exquisite architecture now on display. Mosques are for the Islam religion. 

The first time we heard the call to prayer it was startling. It sounded like a siren, a cry for help, or declaration of emergency. Then it turned sullen and hypnotizing as an unknown all-powerful recorded voice recited in that wavering churchy voice, the words of the Koran. This happens 5 times a day working in time with the Earth’s rotation with the sun. In this way, some unknown all-powerful churchy voice is singing out the Koran every second of every day, somewhere in the world. 

I’m glad neither the young one nor I are big into night life, because it doesn’t exist so much in Morocco. Muslims don’t drink alcohol, pretty much only mint tea. They do smoke this stuff called “hashish”, though, usually out of these long and skinny wooden pipes. The medina was always so quiet at night, save for those still manning their shops until late, and the hushed bustle of remaining shoppers and those going to and from dinner. 

The People

When it comes to the people in Morocco I was glad to have my head tucked into a bag. I did, still, have to hear the jeers of Moroccan men and boys, the pestering to visit shops and restaurants, the resounding "Hola! Comment ca va? English? Do you speak English? Have a good day!" and was annoyed for the young one. That's exactly how I have heard her describe the people: annoying. We aren't saying that all Moroccan men are unbearable, nor did we feel particularly unsafe, it's just that the great lot of them in passing rendered it very difficult to maintain a positive attitude toward anyone. The young one quickly learned to ignore anyone following us, the "hola"s on the steet, and even those who seemed to just want to get to know her. I will make this more clear in my next post where I plan to go into detail about each place we visited: Tanger, Chefchaouen, and Asilah. 

Until then, shukraan!

Winslow and the young one

#morocco #travel #tanger #chefchaouen #asilah #moroccanmarkets #moroccotravelguide #moroccanfood #tajine