*A note on the title: one member of our tour group was nicknamed Ali Baba countless times by people we had never met before. We think it was the beard. The story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (and Arabian Nights in general) became a running joke through our trip due to this.*
Time for a strong culture change.
It’s not often I do group travelling. I’m generally of a mind that solo travel is the best way to go, as you don’t have to conform to an itinerary or settle for plans suggested by a friend.
However, when it comes to a country like Morocco – where I had absolutely no idea what to expect – I thought it wise to look into the different companies that offer tours.
I settled for Intrepid Travel, who offer a wide range of tours all across the world. For Morocco, there were several to choose form. I went for Essential Morocco, mainly because of the price (it seemed the best for getting ‘bang for your buck’, as any dollar-dependent country would say).
The tour lasted for ten days and, as always, I am trying to write this blog from memory (with the help of both pictures and daily notes I made). Apologies if some locations do not match up with their pictures and so on and so forth.
I flew out to Casablanca, a city most well-known for the film of the same name. The tour didn’t spend much time in the city – it was more a base for us all to meet and establish the itinerary.
There were sixteen of us in the group and over half were Australian, and only two English (myself included). That surprised me. Perhaps I’m just used to being the dominant nationality.
Anyway, we all went for a meal together to break the ice, which was lovely.
The following morning we did our one activity in Casablanca: a visit to the Hassan II Mosque.
The mosque is the largest mosque in Africa, and the third largest in the world (after Mecca and Medina). It is a beautiful building. There has been a lot of fascinating architecture and patterns throughout this whole trip, and I’m not sure if it’s because this was the first piece I saw, but I’m still very much in awe of this place.
Sadly it was only a brief hour spent at the mosque, before we were herded on to a public train; taken to the holy town of Moulay Idriss.
It’s a strange town, built upon two hills with some great views. As a tourist it is interesting to see, but a large portion (the Mausoleum of Idriss I) of it is off-limits unless you are Muslim. Still, we had a guided tour of the rest of the town, full of winding, narrow streets that I have come realise is a staple of any Moroccan settlement.
We spent the night in Moulay Idriss, before heading on to the ruins of Volubilis, about five miles down the road.
The ruins themselves are very Roman in origin, yet it is believed to be the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Mauretania.
Now I do love my Roman/Greek mythology. The partly-excavated ruins are rife with references to it, in the architecture, the information gathered, even the few mosaics that remain legible.
The Twelve Labours of Hercules.
We had a good few hours exploring the ruins. I never really thought of Morocco as having strong connections to the Roman invasion but, I suppose, the invasion encompassed most of the world so it shouldn’t really be such a surprise.
We also spent the afternoon wandering around the town of Meknes, one of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco. It also used to be the capital of Morocco, back in the 16th century. The more you know, eh?
Again, we had a guided tour through its streets, being told about its history, the architecture, and all the rest.
It felt like a very traditional Moroccan town, complete with stunning mosaic architecture and plenty of history (that I cannot remember at the moment so cannot share any with you. Apologies).
Next came a rather stressful trip on the train towards Fes, with an over-crowded carriage and far too much luggage.
Fes itself, however, is for the next post. See you there (hopefully).
A Weary Traveller 