DAY 3: MARRAKECH - CASABLANCA - RABAT

05:45 in the morning, and we get our wake-up call.  What a short night!  Luckily, the drive from Marrakech to Casablanca, left us enough time to catch up on our sleep. 

For the biggest part of our journey, the landscape was not all too interesting.  As far as the eye could see, flat, colourless land. No trees, no bushes, no shrubs.  Here and there a little house or a herd of sheep.  What was interesting, though, was the way farmers stored food for their animals.  They stack the hay in pyramid-like structures, plaster it with clay, and leave the clay to dry.  That way, no moisture can reach the food, and it can be stored like that for a long time.

The nearer we got to Casablanca, the more buildings and people we started to see.  Buildings like these, were not uncommon on the outskirts of the city.  Also, there was a lot more traffic.  In the city, there were scooters everywhere!  I even saw a scooter with a father driving, mother on the backseat and their little son standing infront of his father race next to the bus!  Casablanca is Morocco's largest city.  Around 4 million people live there.  It is also much more modern, and compared to other Moroccan cities, you will see only few women wearing headscarves.

Being a modern city, Casablanca doesn't have many tourist attractions.  The only sight worth seeing, is the great mosque of Hassan II.  Completed in the 1990's, the mosque is the 3rd largest mosque in the world.  It has enough space to accomodate up to 25 000 people. The tower is 200m high. Two laser beams, pointing towards Mecca, shines their light 30 km over the ocean.

After our short stay in Casablanca, we went to Rabat, the capital of Morocco and main residence of the king. Our first stop:  the Royal Palace.  Unlike other official buildings, we were allowed to take some photos. The Royal grounds are very beautiful:  wide streets, green lawns and beautiful fountains.  Security, however, was very strict and we were only allowed up to a certain point.

2nd stop in Rabat, was the necropolis of Chellah. Chellah once was a Roman settlement, later was the site of a Koran school but now mainly consists out of ruins. Nowadays, the only residents there are cats and storks.  Chellah lies on the side of a hill and has a lovely view over the Wadi Bou Regneg and Rabat's twin city, Sale.

Interesting story about the last picture: Many pilgrims travel to Chellah, especially women who wish to become pregnant.  They buy a candle and an  hard-boiled egg from the old man sitting next to a pool.  The old man takes the egg, feeds the egg's yellow to the cats and the white part gets thrown in the pool, where a huge ale comes out to eat it.  After this ritual, the women's chances to become pregnant is much higher.  If this really works, our guide couldn't tell us.

We marched back to the bus and drove to the Hassan tower and the mouseleum of Mohammed V.  The Hassan tower was supposed to be part of a mosque that would have been a copy of the Koutoubia mosque in Marrakech.  Unfortunately, the tower and the mosque was never completed.  Opposite from the Hassan tower, is the mausoleum of Mohammed V.

In the late afternoon, we visited the Kasbah Oudaia. It was named after an Arabian tribe that settled there by order of Moulay Ismail.  The kasbah lies high on a hill overlooking the ocean and was built to protect the people from rebellious Berber tribes and the Spanish invaders.  We entered the kasbah through massive gates and walked through tranquil gardens before winding our way through the white and blue painted houses.  Apparently, blue paint acts as insect repellent.

After watching the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean, we finally headed towards the hotel.  The hotel we landed in was different from the one in the program, had rooms smelling of smoke and wasn't very organised, but still had good food and a comfortable bed to sleep in.

DAY 4: RABAT - MEKNES - VOLUBILIS - FEZ

Today, the moussin woke me up early again. I just can't seem to get used to the sound of it. The evening before, we were told to rather come early for breakfast, because there were two other tourgroups in the same hotel, and if we were too late, the restaurant would be too full. Much to our surprise this morning, it seemed as if everyone decided to come to breakfast early. The poor waitresses were overwhelmed and there was never enough eggs, coffee, cups, milk, or bread.After our breakfast, we boarded our bus. Soon, we were right in the middle of early morning rush hour.

Rush hour in Rabat

Mint tea, the traditional Moroccan way

On our coffee break, I drank my first mint tea. It is one of the most popular drinks in Morocco and can be enjoyed everywhere. It is made with fresh mint leaves, and is supposed to be extremely sweet. After a glass of tee, you feel refreshed and ready to go. And supposedly, it is good for digestion.

Rural life on the way to Meknes

Our first stop of the day was just outside Meknes. We stopped on a hill opposite of the medina and got out to take some pictures. Compared to what we have seen so far, Meknes didn't leave much of an impression. It didn't seem like anything special, not at all like the 'Versailles of Morocco', the travel guides described it. Meknes was originally founded by a Berber tribe in the 8th century AD but only reached its golden age under the rule of Moulay Ismail, who ruled from 1672 to 1727. It was his goal to make Meknes the most magnificent city in Morocco and to achieve it, he plundered buildings (such as the el-Badi palace in Marrakech) and the nearby Roman city of Volubilis. Moulay Ismail was said to be one of the most gruesome rulers of Marocco. He supposedly had 25 000 slaves, many of them white Europeans who were used as bargaining counters with the European rulers who had to buy them free with huge sums or money or expensive gifts to the king. It is also said that Moulay Ismail had a harem of 500 women and had fathered around 800 children. Whether this is true, no one will ever know.

Before going into Meknes, we drove further to Volubilis, the ancient ruins of the capital of the Roman province Mauretania Tingitana.



Some of the mosaics in the ruins of the villas are still very well-reserved. They are almost 2000 years old, but almost completely intact. At the moment, the original mosaics are still under outside in their original positions. It is feared however, that soon, they will be damaged by rain, sun and wind, so, to protect them, a museum is being built nearby. Once the museum is completed, the mosaics will be removed from their original positions and placed in glass cases in the museum. Replicas will be then put in the originals' places outside.

Next, we drove back to Meknes. On our way, we passed Moulay Idriss, the 'holy city' of Morocco. It was named after a Moroccan saint, who lived there for about 5 years. Non-muslims are not allowed to enter the town.

Hotel in Meknes - Lunch

After our lunch of couscous and cake, we drove into Meknes. Our first stop: the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. Although it is the last resting place of Molay Ismail, nowadays it also serves as a mosque, one of the only 3 mosques in Morocco that may be visited by non-muslims.

Before we could go in, we had to take off our shoes.

The beautiful interior

Driving through Meknes

During his rule, Moulay Ismail built silos to store grain during times of drought. From the outside, the silos are not too impressive, but once inside, you realise how massive they really are. Inside, it was dark and cool, much better than outside, where it was over 30°C. It was quiet and peaceful and sunlight filtered through the openings in the roof.

The stables of Moulay Ismail were situated right next to the silos. It is said, that Moulay Ismail loved horses and kept around 12 000 horses in these stables. Although the stable complex is huge, it is still impossible that so many horses could have stayed there. Our guide explained to us, that is is more likely a printing mistake in the guide books, and that 'only' 1 200 were stabled here. The stable complex was nearly completely destroyed in the earthquake of Lissabon in 1755.

After viewing the silos and stables, we drove to the biggest, and probably most magnificent gate in North Africa, the Bab Mansour. The gate was designed by a Portuguese architect who was kept prisoner by Moulay Ismail. He hoped that, by designing the gate, the king would be impressed and would give him back his freedom. The gates are truly impressive: huge wooden doors, bright mosaics and thick walls. People looked dwarfed when standing in front of the gate.

Opposite Bab Mansour is the Place el-Hedim. Like the Place Jemma el-Fna in Marrakesh, it full of activity, but not quite as large. Place el-Hedim used to be the elegant entrance to the city, today it is showplace for storytellers and tricksters.

Fishing for softdrink bottles seems to be a popular game in Morrocco. On both Place Jemma el-Fna and on Place el-Heddim, groups of people were standing in a large circle, and were trying to get a rubber ring around a bottle of softdrink's neck. I'm not sure, however, what the rules of the game was, how many times one had to catch the bottle, or what the prize was (or if there even was a prize).

We were given 30 minutes free time to do whatever we liked. It was the first time since we arrived in Morrocco we were given the chance to get close to the local people and see what life was like in Morrocco. A group of us crossed Place el-Heddim and followed narrow street away from the square. In the street, people were bustling around, trying to sell all kinds of things and trying to bargain prices. They paid little attention to us as we stared open-mouthed at all the activity around us.

One of my favourite photos of my trip: an old man sitting at a drinking fountain.

After our trip down the street, we returned to our bus and made our way to our hotel where we would spend the next two nights. The following day, was going to be very interesting...