Morocco!

Morocco!

Yep, I went to Africa for a weekend. 

This excursion was probably one of my favorite memories while in Spain. It was amazing! Not only did I learn a lot, but I also had a lot of fun. It brought me a lot of appreciation for a completely different culture. Most of Europe is somewhat like American culture; as in, we can see similarities. But, the culture in Morocco is so different from our own, that some may think it is scary. It is an Islamic land, and some of the people are quite devout. It is a very peaceful area, at least the parts I went to. Warning: some of my comments might be controversial so do not get offended. However, talking about such things, the things that no one else wants to, has always been a hobby of mine. Let’s face it: America is guilty of racial profiling. In airports, in everyday life, we all do it. What I learned though, and most of what I already thought, is that in doing an action of that, one portrays the upmost of ignorance. What people do not understand is that sometimes a religion is a race; it is who these people are. It is their culture, their way of life, and defines them as a group. Like Catholicism in most of Europe, especially in Spain, it is simply what they call themselves. They may not go to church, but they are Catholic. They might not even believe what they are supposed to, but they still call themselves Catholic. To some, it means a devotion to religion. To others, it is the country’s history, and to others still it means celebrating all of the holidays. I guess in general, it means different things to different people. The same is true in Morocco, as well as other Islamic countries. Some people are devout, some are not. However, they all call themselves Muslims. Most of the women, as well as men, in the parts I visited did observe the traditional dress. I noticed that the younger crowd was a little bit more liberal with this, as in they only wore the hijab (the head covering). So, in some ways it is similar to how some call themselves “white”, even more specific, Christians. We know that there are MANY different sects of Christianity; the same is true of the Islamic religion. So, how would you like to be stopped in an airport because you were white, or they thought you were a Christian? In fact, maybe they thought all Christians were the same, and they had only knowledge of such sects such as the people of Westboro Baptist Church. For my Christian friends, I am sure you do not want to be considered under the same umbrella as those people. Therefore, why in the world do we all assume that every person that even looks Islamic is the same. It is an ignorant, uneducated, and a just mean assumption to make. It makes me very heated just thinking about that. Also, to go on another topic that is controversial: and that is the men. While I was there, the men did stare at me. This is a fear that some women have, and I can tell you first hand that it is true. Yes, you heard me right. Well, I do not blame them.

Yes, you did just read that sentence correctly. However, let’s take a step back and understand why this statement is true. These men, from a young age on, have only ever seen one type of woman, and that is of one that is fully clothed. By fully clothed I mean that they probably only ever saw the skin of their hands and face. That was normal to them, completely normal and the only way  they ever saw women. When they grow up, of course they see other women of different cultures and religions. However, the way they were brought up was that they never saw skin. So, when a young lady, such as myself, walks by with clothing that reveals skin (clothing considered modest for American standards, aka long skirt, shirt that covers shoulders, etc) of course they are going to stare. Growing up, they never saw this. It is odd to them. This is exactly the same as if I was just chillin in Florence and saw a man wearing a speedo just strollin down the street. Of course I would stare! Forget the fact that he might be good looking, but our eyes are simply drawn to foreign things, especially if someone is half naked. That is the equivalent of them seeing us. So, stop thinking how disgusting that is because you know you would totally stare too.  

In general, what I observed about the Muslim religion was that they were a very respectful people. They devote everything they do to their god. Their food, dress, and every day routines are all centered on their religion. In turn, they are very calmed, collected, and also very nice. The mosques are also very different from the religious centers in Europe. 

This is out guide going inside 

The mosque from the door opening. 

Everything is very specific, and nothing is of lavish expense. Since I am not Muslim, I was not allowed inside the mosque (which I think totally makes sense, especially since there are always people inside doing their prayers). But, I did see a little inside, as well as the outside. The outside might look like a regular building, or at least not look like a cathedral. However, the inside is very different. It is all very specific to accommodate the prayers that they do, and also in adoration to their god. Shoes of course must be removed, as washing ones feet is part of the collection of actions to pray. I found it very humbling, as they took so much time, and multiple times a day, to complete their prayers. Likewise, their eating is also in adoration to their god. All the meat is prepared in a certain way, as well as alcohol is never consumed. So, all our meals fit that restriction.

Speaking of food, I ate some of the most delicious food of my entire life. Seriously, every meal was like a five course heaven.

Inside the hotel, where we had dinner and breakfast everyday. 

Moroccan vegetable soup. 

Some meat on a stick, then couscous with medley including chicken. (This was amazing)

Desert, then tea

 To Hailey, I had real couscous. You should be so proud. I mean the real stuff; after all it doesn’t get better than eating couscous in Morocco. That’s like eating pasta in Italy. Anyways, I really liked it. I mean it was super delicious. We always had Moroccan soup before the meal, and the delicious Moroccan tea was always at the end of every meal. It was super good. It was sweet and oh so delicious.

Beautiful place were that meal was served (lunch in Tetuan) 

Our guides were awesome in each city. We visited Tanger, Tetuan, and Chef Chaouen. My favorite was Chef Chaouen. It was a city in blue.

I’m getting ahead of myself; I will save Chef Chaouen for last.

In each city, we visited the “medina” which normally was the oldest part of the town and was like an oversized market. It was super cool and nothing like I had ever seen before.

 I saw a chicken be decapitated right before my very eyes just strolling through the medina in Tetuan. It was also huge, and maze-like so I was very glad our guide new everything. It was super neat to visit these places, as I would never have done that on my own. Tetuan was our guides hometown and so he knew everybody and everything. That was cool, too though because I knew everything he was telling us about this place and how things really worked was accurate. He told at the beginning of the tour that he had three wives; he seemed serious so we all believed him. Even though we thought this was odd, we tried to be understanding as to not offend him. He told us at the end that this was a lie, but he wanted us to think it was true because polygamy is really a thing in his culture. Point made, well done dude. Anyways, he was super fun and his English was pretty good. He knew so many languages; I was super impressed. He could speak Arabic (obviously), as well as Spanish, French, English, and about two other ones that I can’t remember. He was super talented. We went back and forth between Spanish and English the whole time. At times, I could honestly understand his Spanish better than his English.

This is in Tanger, where the Atlantic meats the Mediterranean. 

On Sunday, we visited my new favorite place in the whole world: Chef Chaouen. It is literally the most beautiful little town I have ever seen. When I said the city was blue, I mean every building, the street, etc was some shade of white and blue. It looked like a small paradise. It was wedged between mountains and the view was spectacular. It was peaceful, beautiful, and the people were very friendly. If you cannot tell, I adored this place. It’s funny, because all the blue has a purpose. The town is blue, because the blue and white apparently repels the mosquitos, as well as other bugs. I didn’t notice, but when our guide told us that it definitely made sense. In the other cities, bugs were everywhere, as the meat, food, etc is all in the open and sanitary habits are not practiced. However, the color of this city was made to extract that problem altogether. Makes me want to paint my future kitchen that color, not to mention it is so beautiful.

I made new friends on this trip and we had the best conversations. They were super cool and had awesome life stories. As a whole, I have met so many cool and awesome people while away. I just love meeting new people.

Cool new friends 

I adored Morocco. I learned a lot about a culture completely foreign to my own, bought some really cool things, met some awesome people, and got fat from some of the most delicious food ever. It was an amazing trip. Oh, I also rode a camel too. 

We became besties.