From the East to the West… Morocco

I went from the eastern edge of the Arabic speaking world, Oman, to the western edge, Morocco.

If I took a poll, I think everyone is familiar with Morocco while Oman, maybe not. With easy access to Europe (ferry across Gibraltar or a quick flight), Morocco is a very accessible Arabic-speaking/Muslim as well as African country. I spent a little over 2 months here studying Arabic. I was with a private institute so it was much the same lifestyle I had in Oman in terms of studying except that this was a bit of a sprint–I tried to visit a new town or place every weekend while I was there as I only had two months (and lessons 5 days a week).

I lived about half my time in the Villa Nouvelle (new city) and about half in a riad in the old medina. Fes is famous for its Medina, which is the largest pedestrian only area in the world! I lived on the outskirts of the medina in a riad, which is a traditional Moroccan style house consisting of several floors and a courtyard/open air space in the middle.

I was able to go on lots of weekend trips as mentioned, including:

Tangier/Asilah

Tangier is right across the Gibaltrar from Spain and has a very different vibe from the more traditional, older feeling inland city of Fes. Asilah is a cute artsy seaside town that paints its walls white and then covers them with street art at a yearly festival. Morocco has an amazing train system so I was able to see this two cities on a solo trip one weekend.

Chefchaouen and Ifrane

Chefchaouen is famously known as The Blue City and I think rose to Instagram fame recently, so it’s usually on everyone’s to do list when they go. As it should be! It’s nestled in the mountains and there is some great hiking nearby. Plus, it’s a pretty small town and a nice break from the hum of Fez. Ifrane is also in the mountains, but closer to Fes. While France colonized Morocco, Ifrane was constructed to be a ski resort town and its architecture is like Swiss chalets. I don’t have pictures because we drove through on the way to the national park outside of the town, to hike and see the monkeys that live in the forest there!

Casablanca/Rabat

Rabat is the sleepy, seaside capital of Morocco and I only spent part of a weekend there. I really enjoyed it though–much less touristy vibe there and nice beaches! The same weekend, I went to Casablanca to see the Hassan II Mosque (one of the only non-Muslims can enter in Morocco) as well as eat at Rick’s Cafe! (from the movie Casablanca). The mosque was beautiful, jutting out into the sea and full of materials almost only sourced in Morocco. Rick’s Cafe was super fun. The cafe is completely fictional, but someone opened this awhile ago to re-enact how it looks in the movie. They did a great job for the decor and I would recommend any fans to skip dinner (boring and insanely pricey) and just get drinks and enjoy the ambience there!

Saharan Desert

My language institute organized a trip to the desert, which was great since it’s a 9-hour drive to the desert and we got to take a day off of school for it. A desert is a desert is a desert in my opinion, but at the same time I do love the peace and quiet of being in any desert, and the additional fact that it was the “Sahara”, the stuff of movies and novels and legends, that made it more special as well.

Marrakesh

Marrakesh is such a weird, manufactured (well the parts tourists go to), Disneyland-esque part of Morocco–but I couldn’t help liking it! It has what you might assume Morocco has– snake charmers, perfectly curated boutiques, Yves Saint Laurent’s house, and its nearby to the desert. Though some of the touristy aspects felt like too much after spending two months in Morocco at this point, Marrakesh is a vibrant place on its own right and actually my favorite place to speak Arabic! Apparently very few tourists make any effort to use it, because any time I even greeted or said thank you in Arabic I had the most responsive impromptu language partners than I’ve had anywhere else! Tons of movies are filmed in Morocco, and Marrakesh is the nearest big city to these sites that’s part of what makes it a hub.

FOOD

As always, highlights of travel is always the food! Moroccan food varies from harira soups to tagine stews the ubiquitous couscous. Moroccan food isn’t my favorite cuisine, but the dishes below show some of my favorite meals.

France

Outside of Morocco, I had a quick weekend trip to Bordeaux. I hadn’t been since the Camino, so it was quite the deja vu to see the Camino symbol of the shell across the city as well as seeing some landmarks I’d walked to almost five years ago now.

Senegal/The Gambia

During a 10-day holiday between sessions, a friend and I traveled to Senegal and The Gambia. It was my first time in West Africa and it did not disappoint! I loved Senegal, particularly the Casamance region, and though we didn’t stay long in The Gambia, it was fun exploring the mangroves and beaches of one of the smallest African countries.