Morocco a colourful blend of the exotic
Marrakech a fantastic destination on its own, but also a great base from which to travel
Morocco is the western extremity of the Arab and Muslim world, a magic carpet flying between myth and reality.
Separated from Europe by only the 15-kilometre Strait of Gibraltar, it is worlds away from life as most of us know it.
Although flora and fauna are distinct and the architecture unique, it was the diversity of the people that fascinated me. Phoenicians, Romans and Bandals came here; then Andalusian refugees from Spain and slaves from the sub-Sahara. Once, there were many Moracccan Jews, expelled from Iberia during the Reconquista, but since the formation of Israel the population is 97 per cent Muslim.
The biodiversity in Morocco is the wildest in the Mediterranean — there are tuna, swordfish, tarpon and dolphin. Forests of holm oak, juniper, red cedar and Aleppo pines characterize the northern slopes. Bird life includes horned larks, vultures and golden eagles.
Home courtyards feature orchids, geraniums and scarlet dianthus. My intrepid wife, Carole, loves orchids, and was pleased to see a multitude of indigenous varieties.
For centuries, visitors have journeyed to Marrakech — a fantastic destination on its own — but it is also a great base from which to explore the Atlas Mountains or the Sahara. There is a marked dichotomy between the median (old town) and the Ville nouvelle. Observing the cacophonous mob of snake charmers, musicians, acrobats, dentists (believe me), preachers and assorted lunatics is like nothing I had ever seen.
Winston Churchill loved to stay at the luxurious La Mamounia Hotel. He invited Franklin D. Roosevelt to meet there and plan the conclusion of the Second World War. Today you can stay in the Churchill suite for $1,200 per night.
One evening, we attended Chez All near Marrakech for a fantasia. This included a sixcourse meal, musicians playing amzhads (a single string violin), drums and mars (an odd double clarinet). The meal featured a tajine, a delicious, slow-cooked stew of meat, vegetables and spices, named for the pot in which it is cooked.
Pastillia is a rich mixture of pigeon meat, lemon, eggs cinnamon and saffron in a pastry. A lamb entree followed with couscous, olives, hot peppers, garbzos and herb bread soaked in olive oil. The entertainment included a Berber cavalry charge, complete with discharging muskets.
While travelling through the High Atlas, we saw numerous groups of Berber nomads. Their tents, woven with wool and hair, were surprisingly wide-based, but families are large and multiple wives are the norm. The High Atlas is the only area in Africa that receives snow. The summit of Djebal Toubkal is North Africa’s highest peak (4,167 metres). With winter coming on, women were gathering firewood they heaped on donkeys.
In Fes, we entered the walled medina’s labyrinth of narrow streets and were assailed by hustlers selling all manners of goods. We suffered sensory overload as the scent of kebabs on open grills combined with whiffs of hashish, the stench of tanning vats and the sweet smell of cedar shavings.
The souks were incredibly small shops selling fish, meat (including camel), copperware and, of course, the leather and rug work for which Morocco is famous. The spice souk had massive sacks of saffron, cumin, ginger and orange flowers. Among the more unusual wares: goat hoofs for hair treatment, ground-up ferrets for depression and chameleon liver for sexual frustration.
If you go, be careful to adhere to local etiquette. Wear a money-belt, not a fanny pack. It is not polite for men or women to wear shorts and women must not bare their shoulders or, heavens, their cleavage.
There are few places in the world as colourful and exciting as Morocco. For those in search of the exotic and unfamiliar, Morocco will not disappoint.