Morocco Moments—the final edition

More thoughts—

**Islam and Ramadan

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I recall being in a mosque here in the Lehigh Valley and I know that there’s a mosque across from Youngers wholesale where I buy my flowers. But beyond that, I’m embarrassed to say I really didn’t know much about Islam.

I knew even less about Ramadan.

So there we were in a Muslim country during Ramadan. What did that mean for us and what did that mean for most of the people we were in contact with?

On our very first day when we met Adnane, we were going to take a taxi to Rick’s Cafe. he advised us that the cost would be about 50 Dirhams, although the fare was only 30 Dirhams. But he said to give 50 because, “it’s Ramadan. “. Hmmm…..

As we would learn, Ramadan is a time that highlights generosity and kindness. I recall Adnane saying that the theory is that if you practice this kindness and generosity for a month, it will become a more integral part of your life and you’ll just naturally do it all the time.

I also didn’t fully understand the routine of fasting. During our first nights in Chefchaouen I heard drums banging in the wee hours, and I really was annoyed. But then we learned that this is a job that someone takes upon himself, to wake up the people who are going to prepare breakfast at 4 AM.

So the fasting day goes something like this: wake up to the banging drum at 3 AM to begin preparing breakfast, eat breakfast, which is heavy on carbs at 4 AM, then go back to sleep for as long as you possibly can during daylight hours. This means that Shop owners don’t open their shops, and even the doctor that we called when Don was sick was asleep and didn’t show up until 1 PM. Fasting —no food OR water—goes on all day long and then, depending on which town, city, or village we were in we would hear some kind of signal that fasting was over. In Fes it was a canon, And then it would be followed by the call to prayer from the local mosque. And then you would break the fast perhaps with soup and dates. Some hours later you might eat dinner say around midnight.

It was a bit disconcerting to me for Adnane to be arranging wonderful lunches for us, which he couldn’t eat!

So that was a real life experience in Ramadan. But I think the larger learning for me about Islam was its acceptance of Christianity and Judaism, and the honoring of Jesus, Abraham, and finally, Mohammed, all as prophets of God, and all with similar messages.

When I saw the crowd of 2500 people gather on Eid to pray, I was really moved, and when I further learned that crowds of up to 200,000 gather in Casablanca at the mosque on Eid, I was astounded.

I think of the many struggling faith communities that I know of, and here is just one country and one group of people, a similar mind, dedicated to peaceful wcoexistence, kindness, and generosity of spirit.

Islam has a lot to teach me.

Was the goat Shepherd content? His life’s work was that of a mason, and then he retired and got this flock of goats. He said that they were his retirement income.

This sweet auntie whose name I don’t even know, and whose daughter lives in Connecticut, gave me this knitted poncho when she knew I was cold.

Was the nomad shepherdess with 6 kids ok with her life or did she want “more”?



People seem content. Ok, so I know we had an “on-the-surface” intro and everyone put their best foot forward, but I got the sense that our interactions were genuine. Was there striving to get ahead financially? Was the guy who collects dried bread for 40 years satisfied with his life?

It seemed that Islam and a belief that “God provides” is inherent in the lifestyle.

I’m sure there’s a flipside to all of this, and Hassan in his explanation of the various classes alluded to such. Those who might be striving and not achieving goals, may contribute to the problem of drug addiction.

*******

Don and I are still “coming down” from all we’ve learned and experienced. We plan to keep in touch with some of the new friends we’ve made, and who shared the last 3 1/2 weeks with us. We look forward to more trips with Overseas Adventure Travel, and next up will probably be Egypt.

Creekside Lane is becoming more of our vacation home, as we travel frequently to North Carolina and around the world!

“Marhaba” awaits you! Selfless welcome! I’ll make you tagine!!

Morocco Moments

We’re home now after easy but middle-of-the-night flights! The laundry is piled up, and we’re unpacking our few souvenirs. The plants survived no water for 3.5 weeks!

It’s time to reflect and remember all the tidbits I didn’t write in blogs.

**”Your body is not your own in Morocco,” says Adnane. So what does that mean, I wondered? We recall that when we came in into Morocco it took us quite a long time to get through immigration. That is because everyone is assigned a number. Every person in Morocco has such an ID number and the government knows where you are pretty much at all times. As we traveled through the country, we noticed checkpoints coming into an out of villages and areas. Since ancient times, these checkpoints have existed. Now, it’s simply a method of keeping tabs on the comings and goings of citizens and for us, travel groups. Adnane had to collect all of our numbers, and at one early stop in our trip, our bus driver was questioned about who we were.

There’s an advantage to this system. During Covid, the government knew where everyone was, and it was easy to immediately lockdown the country. One of the most efficient responses to Covid of anywhere in the world was in Morocco.

Even nomads have numbers, and it’s also a way of keeping track of their movement.

I guess it’s a little bit of a “big brother “system, but it seems to work in Morocco.

Another purpose for the checkpoints is speed traps. Road traffic accidents are the number one cause of death in Morocco, so everyone knows that there are checkpoints frequently.

By the way, we were warned not to take photos of police at any of these checkpoints, not because it was illegal, but because perhaps we would catch a policeman not looking his best, maybe slouching, maybe on his phone, etc.

**School

Under the “family code “of Morocco, schooling is required. A lot has changed in recent years. As education became required, the issue was how to get kids to school. There were no school buses.

The Association for sustainable development (I think that’s a close approximation of the name of the organization) which may be funded by the World Bank (??) provided funding for school buses throughout the country. So now even in rural areas kids can get to school. I recall that when we visited the nomad woman who had six children, she said that the bus picked them up for school right at the end of their road.

So education is required from the time the kids are six until 12. There are usually local elementary schools where they either walk to or or take the bus. Depending on where you are in the country you must leave home and go to a boarding school for junior high and high school. I don’t recall the cost but it might be around $50 a month.

What about nomad children? As I recall, Adnane said that the government is aware of children of nomads, and the fact that they might not receive any education and grow up illiterate. But if a school became available, even 10 miles away, parents would walk them to and from school every day.

The book the mother is holding is a record of when the children received medical care. There didn’t seem to be any books or preschool type materials in their home.

**Constititional Monarchy

Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. . Wikipedia

So, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy, and I picture it as having two separate but related forms of government. There’s a democratically elected government, and then there’s the king. The current king is Mohammed VI. I got the feeling he’s really a hands-on kind of ruler, and is very involved in trying to improve the lives of people. Adnane characterized him as pretty normal – – driving himself in his own car, being out and about with people, and physically aging before his current age of 60 years because he has worked very hard.

The king seems to have authority to make decrees. If he decides on something, then that’s the way it is. and this king seems to make decisions that are in the peoples’ best interests. I wish I could remember some examples!

Of course, he’s fabulously wealthy and has a collection of 600 classic cars which Don was really pining to see, but no one ever sees them. He has palaces around the country.

**CATS

The king might think he is the ruler, but the real rulers are the cats!

Cats are everywhere and seemed to be owned by everyone. In the grocery store, there’s a huge section for cat food, cat litter, etc. Everyone owns every cat! They are fed and taken care of.

We’ve heard a couple different stories: one story is that it’s illegal to have them neutered. But in Essaouira we were told that isn’t true, and they are neutered. The way that you can tell if the cat is neutered is if its ear is clipped.

Cats are native to Morocco. In Essaouira there is a seagull with a hooked beak that will swoop down and grab newborn kittens for food. So shopkeepers and others especially try to look out for the newborn kittens and keep them indoors until they are 6 to 7 weeks old.

I spied a few cats in the Casablanca airport, but honestly, at 5 AM I was simply too tired to drag out my phone and take photos!

**Tagine

So “Tagine” is both the cooking pot and it’s contents.

It’s supposed to blurble when you remove the lid. The meat should be fall-off-the-bone tender and the spices nicely balanced. When we were in the Sahara, we had a short cooking demo on how to make it, and it’s actually pretty simple. However, I did buy a cookbook which cost $16 in Morocco and anywhere between $35 and $100 in the US!

I currently have a tagine in my Amazon cart, but I’m thinking I will try to make one in my Dutch oven first, and see about those results, then decide really NEED a tagine!

A FEW PHOTOS WHICH DIDNT MAKE IT INTO OTHER BLOGS:

Figs

Iced mint lemonade

Essaouira door

Fabulous ceramics in Essaouira

All for now—the laundry is calling me.

I’m not yet complete with this adventure. ….

Casablanca—final look

One of the many good things about traveling with Overseas Adventure Travel is the expertise of the guides. Adnane, for the pre- and then main trip was beyond outstanding and now Hassan for the post-trip is filled with info, candor, and humor. We’re so glad that he can eat meals with us now that Ramadan is over. They’re each just 33 and we’re astounded at their depth of wisdom and ability. They’ve made a lasting impression on us and we hope to keep in touch with both!

So today is the final day of the trip. Our flight tomorrow is at 8 am and we’ll leave the hotel at 4 am, which is really 3 am because Morocco starts daylight saving time TONIGHT of all inconvenient times for us. 🥴

Another thing about OAT is that you more than get excellent value for your dollar. The amount of ground we’ve covered, places we’ve seen, tough topics asked and discussed, unexpected opportunities, well, it all adds up to an experience we will need to digest for some months.

Today, our last day, was no exception. I really didn’t feel like a “city tour” of Casablanca—until I did. Walking, riding, walking, exploring.

Let’s go!!

First up, the market, which we had visited with Ad. But always something new to learn and today this was it:

Flowers and floral design is not really a “thing” in Morocco. If you want to take a gift to a person or you’re trying to impress someone, you take a cone of sugar. We had previously learned that this is the traditional wedding gift and newlyweds might end up with hundreds of cones, so they regift them!!

The cones weigh about 1kg. And BTW, there’s a significant diabetes problem in Morocco and tooth health—scary!!

We boarded our van to go to the mosque.

The Hassan II Mosque is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the second largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 14th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world’s second tallest minaret at 210 metres. Wikipedia

Do we in the US ever have that many peaceful people gathering?

We both agreed that this is one of the most imposing structures we’ve ever seen.

You really can’t get the immensity and grandeur of the place. During Ramadan the inside space can accommodate 25,000 worshipers and the outside 80,000. And sometimes they must close streets because there are up to 200,000 worshipers.

It’s the length of 2 football fields. The land outside is 18 acres with 2 acres built over the Atlantic Ocean.

The ablution rooms below with fountains are astounding!

The mosque was started in 1987 and completed in 6 years. How much did it cost and who paid for it?

Here are two versions, similar but you’ll see differences.

Our guide told us this: islamic law dictates that a certain percentage of each person’s income must be given to alms. (we had learned this a couple weeks ago. ) So when the king decided that he wanted to build a mosque he made a ruling that the alms donations would go toward the mosque. He himself donated a few hundred million dollars. The mosque was built to highlight the craftsmanship and art ability of Moroccan artisans so Moroccans were encouraged to donate. Also in the Islamic tradition, if you help to build a mosque, that helps to assure you a heavenly home for eternity.

Hassan told us: . The wages of government workers were garnished for five years and those funds went toward building the mosque. Also, in villages throughout the country, government workers went door-to-door, knocking and demanding that people pay something toward the mosque. If they refused, they would be reported to the king.

So where is the truth? Estimates of cost range from 500-900 million dollars.

The building is spectacular!!

Moving onward, we attempted to visit a Catholic Church, but it was preparing for a wedding so we weren’t allowed in. We explored the Medina, which in Casablanca is called the habous. (Haa-boush)

Also known as New Medina, Habbous is packed with open-air markets or souks where shoppers bargain for clothes, fabrics, and Moroccan staples like olives and dried fruits. Traditional patisseries sell almond pastries and stuffed dates. ( Google)

An open air lunch, a last van ride, supermarket shopping, a rooftop drink with friends, and it’s nearly—ALMOST—a wrap!

Hassan’s kids!

But wait, it’s not over til it’s over OR until I say it’s over because I’m the writer. It’s not over.

MOROCCO MOMENTS to follow—all the bits, pieces, and detritus that didn’t fit and that I don’t want to forget!

It’s 8:38 and I’m going to sleep.

Winding down….

Our trip is coming to an end. Today we’re enroute from Essaouira back to Casablanca. Along the way we discussed lots of topics with Hassan—birth control, abortion, class structure, drug addiction. There’s no banned topic when you’re on an OAT trip!

We stopped by an oyster farm, just for a taste!

Fresh, flavorful, delicious!!

Slurp it down!!

Lunch stop, then a walk on the Oualidia beach. It stretched for miles and I offered to just stay there and walk the sand!

We were nearly blown away by the wind!

Artwork of nature!

We arrived back at the Radisson Blu with an hour to spare before our reservation at Rick’s Cafe. We love that place!

Here’s lookin’ at ——-us!!

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea….🎶🎶🎶

We’re on the northwestern shore of Morocco.

Essaouira ( which I’ve been misspelling) is a resort town with a wide sandy beach, artisans, and fish.

Our hotel is right on the beach.

But let’s start at the beginning of today.

First let me say that Don and I considered skipping any planned activity today and just walking on the beach. As Julia Roberts famously says in Pretty Woman—“Bad mistake.“

But we didn’t make that bad mistake and instead made the good choice to join in, digging deep beyond our tiredness.

I’m glad we did!

Meet Rashid, our local guide for the day. He’s a local and knows everything and everyone!

First stop was the fishing port.

The boats were all in the dock. Fishermen (only 3 allowed per boat) were still celebrating Eid.

So what do you do if you want to fish and your boat is blocked by others?

You have a “valet” who figures out how to nudge your boat out into open water. The valet is paid with part of the catch which he can either sell or eat.

Fishermen are needing to go further and further out for their catch. Climate change has definitely affected the availability of fish.

Today our lunch was going to be fish which Hassan chose.

A guy right there fileted the fish.

So how were these fish going to be cooked?? Stay tuned!!

We ambled on and decided to stop for an ice cream, cappuccino, espresso, Coke Zero, or whatever!

We browsed the streets of Essouiara—filled with artisan galleries.

I so wish I could bring home one of these amazing vases to create an amazing floral piece. Sigh….

Love this town! Don wants to come back for a vaca!

So back to a bit of seriousness…..

We visited a Jewish synagogue and here’s what I liked best. The Arabic and Hebrew greetings were interchanged on 2 separate pillars—

The Arabic greeting is Salam Alakyoum and the Hebrew is Shalom Lekoulam. But it in this Muslim country the two are interchanged and respected equally. We have been continually reminded how close the Jewish and Muslim communities are.

Next up a silver store where we nearly made a purchase but couldn’t find common ground on the price. We had to walk away.

And then there was the woodworking shop with amazing inlay work—

By now we were starving. What about all that fish?! Hassan “knew a guy” who had a restaurant where they’d cook the fish and he asked them to open up for us. They did !!

WE ARE….OAT!!

For $20 these guys grilled all of our fish—

Beyond amazing and FRESH!!

We are until we were stuffed!! The fresh fish cost $90. Grilling—$20. So $110 to feed 9 people.

So here’s this hunky handsome guy who was in the restaurant with us. I want his caftan!! I pointed him out to Hassan who said that this blue is associated with guides in the Sahara.

I want this caftan!!

Back to the hotel, a rest, and a walk on the beach. And yes, there were camel and horse rides available,

It was pretty windy!!

We ended the day with a snack on the terrace at our hotel.

It’s EID!!

Ramadan is over!! Our guide Hassan can eat with us!! He told me this is the first time he has not been at home for Eid, and it is also the first time that his new wife is in his house. Instead, he’s with us. (What a bummer for him.)

His mother is, understandably, sad. But he assured her that he is working, and he had told us previously that he and his other brothers are installing indoor plumbing in the house! So maybe this work thing will help with the plumbing bills.

The morning began at 7:30 AM with about 2500 worshipers attending the morning prayer service in a large gathering area right beside our hotel. Hassan and Rashid, our driver, joined them.

Even service workers who couldn’t stay for the entire service made time and space to come for prayers.

We boarded our van and set out to discover if we might find a shepherd with his goats. There are acres, and acres of argan trees in this area. It’s the only place in the entire world where these trees grow and bear fruit. There may be some argan trees in Mexico, but they do not grow pods.

Argan seeds are collected and ground into oil which is highly prized for cosmetic and culinary purposes. There’s an urban myth that goats climb the argan trees, eat the pods, poop out the seeds, and then they are collected for the oil. It’s a total fake lie!

However , goats DO climb the trees simply because goats like to climb! And they do eat the leaves because they’re tasty. Shepherds are not allowed to take goats near argan trees during the months of May, June, and July because that’s when the pods are harvested. 

We found a shepherd and his flock, so Hassan directed Rashid to pull off, and Hassan approached the shepherd to see if we could visit with the flock.

The seed is buried inside and looks like an almond.

I probably made a mistake by asking if I could take a selfie with him because then he wanted money. I had no money handy. Oops.

But I knew that Hassan, like Adnane, had already given him some cash, usually 100 dirhams, the equivalent of $10.

Onward to the women’s cooperative which produces argan oil products.

There was just one woman only working today, as all the rest are home for Eid with their families. These women painstakingly pound each argon pod separately to release the oily seed inside. This cooperative has 55 women working.

Yes, there are LOTS of products for sale!! 😉😉

We headed back to town for lunch. With a delightful rooftop view right over the Atlantic, we consumed great quantities of pizza and other delights. Mine was a salad of shrimp and avocado.

Most businesses in Essouiara were closed, but Don managed to find one open to buy some bracelets.

We made her back way back to the hotel where we promptly fell asleep, and just puttered around the rest of the day, including a few cocktails, a hamburger, and a soccer game!!

On the Road to Essouiara

Ok, so we’re starting on the post-trip. OAT usually offers a main trip, and in this instance, the Morocco trip was 16 days, and then you usually have the option of a pre-and post trip. We chose both the pre- and the post- trips. So we will have three nights in Essouiara, then two nights in Casablanca, and then we board our plane for the flight home.

Adnane has left us and taken those not going on the post-trip to Casablanca for their flights home and our new trip leader is Hassan.



More on this event, but here’s Hassan on the left.

Honestly, I’m starting to run on empty. But then each day there’s some new and fun experience and my energy lifts.

Today that event occurred literally on the road to Essouiara. Hassan had been narrating different things that we were passing, and was also telling us his background, which is very different from Adnane’s. Hassan is from a small village in the High Atlas Mountains, grew up in a stone house which to this day does not have indoor plumbing, his mother recently learned to read and write. Adnane was educated in private American schools with highly literate parents. Both guys are now valued guides for OAT.

Anyhow, back to the story. As we were passing through the village of Sidi el moukhtar Hassan was telling us that the men of this town had figured out how to retrofit cars with propane tanks to reduce costs. Before we know it, our van was stopped and we all piled out to see one of these cars. Hassan “knew a guy” who brought his car for us to see.

And then Hassan says, “ Get in! Let’s go for a ride!”

OMG—I thought we might be taking our life in our hands? But—why not?!! we have insurance!

Not to worry—we drove on the side of the road just a few hundred feet, laughed, and jumped out! What an experience!

That’s OAT!!

We arrived in Essouiara, a seaside town, and checked into the Atlas Essouiara, a 5-star Moroccan hotel. It’s beautiful and our rooms are huge.

The lobby even had fresh flowers which were nicely displayed and well taken care of. (I notice these things.)

We are right on the beach which is very windy, and we did not go for the optional beach walk. Those who did got sand in places they didn’t know they had places!

Instead, we chilled out in our room, turned on the TV and discovered Nicole Kidman in “Queen of the Desert.” I thought I recognized Ait benhaddou, the village near Ouarzazate, and sure enough, I was right!!

Our plans for tomorrow are unsure because it’s not definite if tomorrow is the end of Ramadan. The royal meteorological department will observe the moon snd determine if it is a crescent. If it is, then Ramadan is over and tomorrow will be Eid al-Fitr. Families will celebrate together and most businesses will close. If no crescent moon, then one more day of Ramadan!

🌙❓❓❓

Water, Majorelle Blue, and Caleche

Who ever heard of a museum devoted to water?! Well, if you’re Moroccan and value water and its immense importance, you’ll find one in Marrakech.

Because Ad had taught us so much about water in Morocco over the past 3 weeks, we had a wonderful background to understand the many interactive displays.

Moving onward——through Marrakech—past the station of the Marrakech Express! And of course, we listened to the music, discussed hashish, and the “orgie”azation of that time.

The most visited spot in the entire country is Jardin Majorelle and the museum of Yves St. Laurent.

With a brief orientation from Ad, we were off to explore, admire, and exclaim. Many breathtaking specimens!

The blue has been trademarked by Jacques Majorelle who found the intense blue cobalt lapis in the gardens. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majorelle_Blue

(I treated myself to that pink woven purse!)

And I wore the purse and camel suede shawl for the farewell dinner.

Tonight was our farewell dinner and we were transported to a palace in OAT style!

A calache—a typical horse-drawn carriage.

A camel we passed along the way, just out for a stroll.

We listened to Ad recap the trip, shared our own reflections, our learnings, our surprises, and we even shed a few tears.

The trip is not over for us, however. We have 5 more days of the post-trip so will be meeting a new Trip Leader and moving on to Essouiara.

Djellaba and Hammam

Two Moroccan words that came alive today!

A djellaba is a garment with a hood and slits in the side worn over your clothes . There’s no religious significance, it’s simply a Moroccan garment. I had a hankering to get one. After trying a bunch at a high end shop I opted for a kiosks in the Medina.

I felt a little bit like a choir girl but just wanted something to put over summer nightgowns!

And post/dinner was the hammam, the public bath. The one we went to was a local, non-tourist hammam. It’s been in continuous use since 1562 except for Covid. There’s a fire that burns continually ; the ashes are used to cook pots of meat that are sold in the night market.

Of course, men and women are separate.

None of us were quite sure what came next.

We were each given a “ticket” to enter.

So here’s the story:

We each put on our bathing suit, modest Puritans that we are—or WERE!

We entered a room with small yoga mats on the floor and we’re beckoned to sit down. There were buckets of water around us. Before we knew what was happening and attendant came over, put on a scrubbing mitt, and told us to remove the top part of our bathing suits. One person in our group refused, and one strip down immediately! (Not me, BTW!)

The scrubbing/exfoliating commenced. We were scrubbed on every inch of our bodies. My attendant nudged down the bottom part of my bathing suit, and at that point I realize that it was useless to keep it on, so I just took it off. After the scrubbing, she applied a blackened oily gritty soap everywhere. And then she left.

I think none of us knew what to do. At that point, we were all naked, trying not to look at each other, and then deciding that at this point, we were friends for life! There were other local more experienced women so we sort of were watching what they were doing which was – – nothing. It was a time to let the oily soap just melt and soften our skin.

After a while, more buckets of water appeared, and then the attendant came back. She washed my hair and then ladled warm water all over me.

A different person appeared with a huge beach towel and wrapped me in it. I thought there might be a steam bath next, but that was the end of it. I was led back to the changing room where we were served tea. I guess at that point, we were supposed to get dressed, drink tea, and gossip. But we didn’t bother with the gossip and left. We found Ad waiting in the hall for us.

During experience, I kept thinking of the book “The Red Tent” which really holds up the idea of women taking care of women. To me that that’s what this was all about.



The Marrakech March

At the end of the day , Don dubbed today the “forced march.” My phone said we walked nearly 8 miles. The Palais Bahia with its astounding ceilings, courtyards, gardens, and mosaics started off the day.

Well, actually what started the day was the sight of new life being created!! With a voyeur to be sure it was done correctly.

From the website:

The Bahia Palace is a 19th century building, consisting of rooms decorated with stunning stuccos, paintings and mosaics palace and a set of gardens located in Marrakech, Morocco. The Bahia Palace was intended to be the greatest palace of its time. The name of the Bahia Palace means in Arabic “brilliance”. As in other buildings of the period in other countries, it was intended to capture the essence of the Islamic and Moroccan style. There is a 2-acre (8,000 m²) garden with rooms opening onto courtyards in the Bahia Palace.

The Bahia Palace was Set up at the end of the 19th century by Si Moussa, grand vizir of the sultan, for his personal use, the Bahia palace would bear the name of one of his wives. Here, the harem, which includes a vast court decorated with a central basin and surrounded by rooms intended for the concubines. As the black slave Abu Ahmed rose to power and wealth towards the end of the 19th century, he had the Bahia palace built by bringing in craftsmen from Fez.

Amazing mosaic ceilings

Beautiful cool courtyards

A door with a hole for the cat!!

Next stop on the Marrakech March was the Berber carpet factory. Chosen by OAT for its integrity and quality, we were welcomed with tea and given a warm welcome with a display of many varieties of rugs.

Honestly, I have a difference of approach with their business. Bunyaad Rugs ( from Pakistan) where we purchased our beautiful rugs employs and pays families up front for materials and labor. This company only pays when the rug is finished and expects the women to purchase their own materials out of their own pocket. It just seems to me like a big up front investment with the hope that they’ll get paid 4-6 months later.

In speaking with one salesman I got the distinct feeling that they were looking at this process as a relaxing hobby for women, something they might do for a few hours after other work was finished. I frankly would not consider purchasing a rug based on the “ pat-on-the-head” patriarchy.

Anyhow—onward through the clogged streets of the Medina to the Secret Garden.

From the website-

Le Jardin Secret

Le Jardin Secret is opening its doors to the public for the first time in its history. The origins of the complex date back to the Saadian Dynasty, more than four hundred years ago.
Rebuilt in the mid-Nineteenth century at the behest of an influential kaid of the Atlas Mountains, Le Jardin Secret has been the home of some of Morocco and Marrakech’s most important political figures.
Today you are able to fully appreciate it, thanks to the recent renovation; Le Jardin Secret is part of the great tradition of stately Arab-Andalusian and Moroccan palaces. As a result visitors can discover its gardens and buildings, which are outstanding examples of Islamic art and architecture.

Honestly, by this time we were wearing out and decided to just sit and enjoy.

Trudging on through the Medina—

The day was only half over….