Day 126: Day trip to Tangiers, Morocco, Africa - Mon 8 Sept
Yay – “Out Of Africa” day today! Taxi to Tarifa port. Caught fast ferry of 35mins (took
65mins!). Took off into Levant fog through Straits of Gibraltar, had passport
check and visa stamps in long queues on-board, then arrived Tangiers, Morocco,
our 16th country and most southerly point of GlobalTrek 2014!!
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| Goodbye Europe - Hello Africa! |
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| Lighthouse looming out of Levant fog |
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| Morocco's coastline appearing |
Walking out, were picked up by city guide with offer of 100€ for day of air-conditioned
car plus walking tour of old city. We agreed as we had no other option to make
the most of our one day in Africa, our 4th continent! Mejid (“Magic”)
was a very good guide, excellent English (learned in school exchange in
America), reasonable pace, places we wouldn't have dared wander by ourselves,
and he kept beggars and potentially harassing sellers at bay. With our driver Muhammad took us up into hills and new city, summer palace of
president, home of mayor, summer houses of celebrities (eg Barbara Hutton) and
wealthy expats (eg Omega), guards, gardeners, camels and eucalyptus trees.
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| Poor Mamma, ouchy knees.... |
Morning tea (hot refreshing local mint tea and sweet bread with honey and goats
cheese) at Gran Cafe de Paris, featuring in Bourne
Ultimatum as well as scenes running through nearby tenements, along rooftops, and
jumping over narrow alleyways.
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| Trees painted white to deter insects |
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| Tuareg/ Berber woman |
Followed
Mejid on foot down back streets and into tenements, to the
little souk. The Grand Socco is the entrance to the Medina old city, a large
palm-ringed plaza with a central fountain that stands before the keyhole gate
Bab Fass.
Looked at shopfront of marriage arranger with its photos of successful happy
couples (who were very very young…). Walked through Petit Socco.Tourists
not allowed into any mosque, including Grand Mosque, women's and men's are
segregated.
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| Grand Socco |
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| Grand Mosque |
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| Marriage Arranger shop |
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| No idea- and don't want to find out..... |
Walked
around outside of St Andrews Church (apparently the interior “is in Moorish style, with no graven
images, the Lord’s Prayer in Arabic, has a cleft that indicates the direction
of Mecca, and contains carved quotes from the Quran - an interfaith experience”…)
In the graveyard are wartime headstones, including a fighter pilot shot while
escaping (which reads ‘Good Hunting, Tim’) and entire downed aircrews,
headstones attached shoulder to shoulder.
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| Gravestones of aircrew killed together |
What a
vibrant, busy, crowded, smelly, dirty city it is - shops around every turn, bazaars
or goods spread on plastic on steps, in carts, on boards being carried (remote
devices, cigarettes, belts, jewellery, caftans, tissues). Food Markets had
fruit and vegetables mixed up with spices and live poultry and rabbits. Fish
market was much better with goods off street on high tables packed with ice.
Meat was already killed (spied a box of chicken feet and beaks on floor with
cat stalking them) or killed live while you watched to suit needs of halal.
Mejid said cats were so prolific because they were mentioned in Koran therefore
protected. Mejid is Muslim, and said everyone except Shi-ites get along well
with Christians and Jews in Africa compared to the fighting in other countries.
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| Hmm, no thanks.... |
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| Tuareg/ Berber woman |
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| Its a cat's life (in Morocco anyway) |
Back-to-back loom weavers making scarves, sarongs, rugs, some two-story workshops
in one boxy room. Heard of blue Indigo people, women who dye cloth blue, wear
blue and have tribal and family tattoos and symbols for weaving. Berbers
(Barbarian) free people Tuaregs were original people, women wear rafia hats with
bright fluffy baubles, maybe a head veil underneath, long skirts and no face veils.
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| 2-story workshop in 1-story room |
We were inveigled into an Ali Baba den-cum-carpet shop
with beautifully
patterned mosaic tiles
on ceilings and walls. It was full
of brass/silver jars, bowls, oil lamps, leadlights, chests, trinket boxes, vases, urns, figurines, jewellery and pottery. We were given delicious
traditional mint tea, shown impressive? oppressive? view from rooftops, and somehow we ended
up buying a beautiful Kilim ("women's diary")/flat tapestry woven rug
made by hand by Berbers, weaving technique weft and warp so tight no pile, largely
geometric patterns suggesting hills and desert. (Editors note: Given it was in Australia by the time we got home and livened up our room immeasurably, there were no eventual regrets about the cost....)
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| Ali Baba's treasure cave |
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| Yes, the choice is made! |
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| Get your eyes off our rug Boomers! |
Lunched
in small restaurant with no menu, served vegetable soup then delicious saffron
croquette with sweet flaky crust, then tangine of chicken and vegetables on
cous cous. Outside Medina we toured Kasbah museum in Dar el-Makhzen, the former
sultan’s palace and fortress. Its focus is on history, prehistoric to 19th
century; exhibits include pre-Roman tools; sculpture featuring a
bacchanalian feast; 16th-century jewellery; floor mosaic from Volubilis.
We concluded in the once-exotic Sultan’s
Garden, sad
that the country does not have money? inclination? to restore and maintain this
historical resource.before viewpoints over harbour.
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Such
intricate wall dressing
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| Trade routes past and present |
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| Floor mosaic |
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Intricate
carved ceiling detail
|
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| New breakwater under construction |
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| Ann was reminded of her twin granddaughters at home |
Final walk back to harbour through bazaar. Back on
ferry in dwindling light. Sagrado Corazon de Jesus statue at entrance to Tarifa port. We were tired but quite satisfied with our taste of Africa. Our
tour was cheaper and more personalized than the bus tours with similar
itinerary (if you forget the shopping!!). Took quite a while before anyone
realised our travel insurance hadn’t actually covered this continent though…
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