My general thoughts on Morocco are a lot more than most countries as, as you can imagine, it is a very different country.
At the beginning i was shocked at the culture and lifestyle that the Moroccons have but i have discovered alot about them after only being here for such a short time, that I love, especially the men as i really didn’t get to have many dealings with the women!
I couldn’t get my head around the fact that it is all the men that seem to be standing around b-s-ing with each other and you see the women working in the fields, working the land and hauling the produce and at night they are nowhere to be seen.
I got shown into a Hammam, a bath house, where about 50 women were bathing, it was a bit of a shock cause i didn’t understand that is what i was going in there for, but none the less, it just seemed like a coffee morning was being had, except no one had clothes on. Big ladies, small ladies and lots of little girls too, they seemed very content at having time to socialize with each other. These bath houses are a different times for men and for women.
In the cafes you will see the men only again sitting having coffee with their friends, no women, it made me think how different this is to at home. This is just their culture, the way that they have learnt from their elders, is it wrong or just different from us? hmmm i wouldnt like it but!
What i do think is great is that men have that kind of relationships with each other, something i think is missing in our culture, at that kind of scale anyway, they are not afraid to be affectionate with another man. They seem to have such a nice way of treating each other and when they greet they do so with a kiss from side to side on each cheek every time. I saw a lot of men holding hands, laughing with each other and genuinely kind to each other and it was really nice to see. At first i thought they didn’t want to talk to me but it just wasn’t so, as time went on they were attentive and polite and I felt safe here and respected as a women.
They have a very strong faith, Muslim of course - The Koran, their bible, it is said that to follow the Koran you must do five things – believe in one true God – pray five times a day, fast during Ramadan, be kind and charitable to the poor and the fifth obligation of every Muslim is a pilgrimage, they are obliged at least once in their lives to visit the holy city of Mecca.
Knowing this about their faith helped me understand them a little better, it is said that Morocco is not tolerant of extremeists and you definitely get the feeling that they have a relaxed way about them, its not that they are relaxed about their faith, no because when looking in the mosque doorways they were full, its just that they follow the Koran and thats what i saw in the way they treated people and each other, it was nice, i must say of the men i met anyway they were very gracious and kind.
The Koran is still being taught in the schools here so the strength of their faith is still going strong. I know i still know very little about this wonderful country and its people but im happy that i got to spend time with them for just a little while anyway. One thing i will never forget is my night in the Sahara sitting on that sand dunes watching the stars and remembering how so very quiet it was out there.
There are so many things that are different in this culture, they don’t drink, how do you get a whole country not to drink – wow.
I got the feeling with the women that they are strong, smart, kind and very hard workers and major observers, the men will wave back at you where as the women and young girls will not.
“ It is the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men(women) are able to understand them!”
Our Route: Tangiers via fast cat to Fes, stay in the Medina, thru the Riff mountain range, we missed Chefouan but don’t it is very pretty and a cool place to stay so go there too, then after Fes we stayed one night in Errichida at crappy hotel no real need to go there, and then to the Sahara for two nights, a must and onto Dades gorges and Marrakesh for 2 nights and then Essaouira and back to Tangiers.
Accomodation: 4 star hotels in Morocco are like our 2 star at home so stay in a 5 star hotel or even better just stay in one of the Riads, they are way better. We stayed in the Medina in Fes for two nights at Maison Mostakim the owners name is Hash he speaks French and is a lovely man and made us feel very welcome, make sure you get a guide too, a must in the Medina. In the Sahara desert we stayed at the Kasbah Tombouktou it was fab from there we did our camel ride into the desert for $35ea for the night in the desert,dinner and camel ride, see Mr. Barry and he will treat you very well, nice guy. The hotel night only cost us $90 includes breakfast and dinner and the nights stay, great pool a must if you go to Morocco. Other than that we mostly stayed in the Ibis hotels they are really cheap like $39 euros and nice and clean and good safe parking for the moto.
Salem!
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