Shukran Morocco!

Couldn't of ended Morocco any better than in the hash capital of the hash capital of the world.

Chefchaouen was like what Cinque Terre was; a breath of fresh air, a place where we finally got to relax and god was it good (except of course after the taxi driver took us to some random entrance to the medina after dropping off some local guy and babbling on in Arabic probably about how he was going to drop us off at some obscure location where we'd be forced to ask someone who'd demand a tip at where we later found out was the actual Bab el Liane gate).

Here are some views from the rooftop terrace of our Riad in the morning, late afternoon and at night. Oh and a glimpse of the rooftop terrace itself. Pure bliss!

Funny story: Chels got stalked down by some creepy ass guy that said he was studying massage in Barcelona who repeatedly showed up at the door of our Riad. Creepy at the time, funny when you look back on it.

Another (not so funny) story: While leaving, a guy outside brandished a knife, Chels had just stepped out the door and I was about to but she ushered me back in before I could see what was going on. He ended up disarmed and on the ground thanks to Trevor; one of the owners of our Riad.

Why blue? From extensive googling I've gathered that Jewish refugees painted the town blue back in the 1930s but for what reason I'm not sure cause yeah blue is significant to their religion i.e. I've seen incredible synagogues tiled in white and blue, and dying one thread of their tallit's blue and it representing sky and therefore heaven, but why the walls and floor and stairs and roofs of this one small city? Oh well, beats me. Oh, it may also repel mosquitoes, don't ask why.

I think winding along Morocco's squiggly roads craning my neck to get my first glimpse of the blue and white-washed houses of Chaouen was one of the most (of many) exciting things to happen during my trip. Before I'd left, Chels and I had only planned on visiting Marrakech but after a friend of mine found out, he'd insisted on us going to at least Fes and Chefchaouen and man am I glad we did. And now I have to visit the Essaouira on the Moroccan coast when I get back to this side of the world (thanks to the two awesome guys we met in Marrakesh).

Views from another Riad:

Nice little plant they got there hey?:

And some more cats for your viewing pleasure:

These my friend, are semolina biscuits filled with dates; crumbly but soft and not too sweet, seriously could not stop eating them. I think they're called ma'amoul, my mouth is watering at the thought of them.

CATS (and Fes)

I think now is a good time to mention the cat population of Morocco. The number of cats in Morocco is probably comparable with the number of cigarette butts strewn through the sand at the beach in Barcelona, or in the gutters in Paris, or the number of people on pills at a music festival, say, Stereo, back home. They're not like domestic cats either, they're lean, small and don't tend to be as conceited. However, some were too scary looking - missing an eye/ear or mangled from a fight with the possibility of having rabies - to pat. With the number of photos I've collected of the cutest kitties I think I'm well on my way on to being that future single crazy cat lady that lives next door... and seriously, watch the video.

1. Busing it through Morocco.
2. Standard.
3. Pastilla, a pie-like pastry traditionally made with pigeon but here with chicken, as well as sultanas, nuts, an incomprehensible amount of spices (as usual) encased in phyllo-like pastry and then sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon.

4. 5. Fes' medina is literally a maze. We took our hostel's advice and got a private guide and we were more than thankful for her. She mentioned most visitors only see the two main streets; Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghir that are filled with mostly uninteresting touristy stores selling fakes, and it's understandable because the second you venture off either of them, you end up in a unnavigable maze of narrow alleys shadowed by tall walls and structures that bridge low over your head.

6. 7. 8. 9. Before it was a wood museum, the Fondouk el-Nejjarine provided food and shelter for travelling traders. There's a cute little cafe on the rooftop, though not so pleasant when the sun is beating down mercilessly...

10. Trying on Morocco's latest threads.
11. 12. 13. 14. Al-Attarine Madrasa was built in the early 14th century, can't get over Arabic architecture, just look at all those hand-carved walls, and this was seven hundred years ago!!!!! Why does this stuff not have a greater influence on what is built now??

15. The closest we got to getting into a mosque. The Al-Karaouine University was built buy a rich woman called Fatima (sadly I don't remember anything else about her...) and is HUGE.
16. The famed Chouara tannery. We just stood there watching the men work like they've been doing for the last nine centuries or so. Just casually. Also it's important to note that it smelt like death. Probably from the hides and also pigeon shit (they soak the leather in it to soften it up). One cool thing though is that the whole process uses natural methods, things like saffron, poppies and henna are used to dye the leather.

17. View from a museum filled with random crap that didn't seem to be really on display...
18. 19. View of the Fez medina from the five star hotel Les Merinides just before sunset and at night.
20. Mohammed at Dar El Yasmine teaching us how to make berber whisky the right way.

Salem aleikum

And then we were in Africa.

When we first arrived in Marrakesh to say we were glad that we'd booked a driver to take us to our Riad is definitely an understatement. Without stepping outside the airport you could tell this place was different to anywhere else we'd ever been. We'd known that there'd be a culture shock but it's an entirely different experience being there and being so wary pretty much every minute of your day.

We both took care to cover up wearing long skirts and scarves over our shoulders and still attracted an uncomfortable amount of unwanted attention. However, we met two girls from Adelaide while in Barcelona who had visited Marrakesh over Ramadam during the peak of summer and decided to YOLO and wear singlets and shorts rather than try put up with the scorching 50 degree heat. In turn they got ass-brushed by creepy men in open spaces and constantly harrassed by locals so I think we can only count ourselves lucky in that sense.

Incredibly, at dinner on our first night we befriend the two most genuine local guys whose names I don't know because neither Chelsea nor I could understand what they had said when they introduced themselves, and were too embarrassed to ask them to clarify. And then, like in Rome, they then went out of their way to show us around over the next few days we had in Marrakesh.

I don't know who'll watch this, I think I love it more for memory's sake. Basically, we ran into one of the boys on our way out to get dinner, were escorted to a rooftop restaurant where they had live Arabic music, then were waited on while we were given free mint tea and gorged ourselves on couscous by candlelight while cats weaved between the tables (more on the cats later) and then hung out with both incredible human beings and listened to them jam. And after all that we were left, dumb, asking, how the hell did this happen?



I was too chicken to take out my Canon the entire 4 days we were in Marrakesh so all these are thanks to the miracle invention of the camera phone.

1. Our first meal; vegetarian couscous smothered in sultanas and nuts and a mindblowingly awesome explosion of spices.
2. 3. 4. In the famed souks!
5. 6. 7. 8. Dye markets.We were led here by some guy and surprisingly weren't pushed into paying him/buying anything.
9. In front of the minaret tower of the Koutoubia Mosque.
10. Dinner in Jemaa el-Fnaa (the souks surround the square); filled with monkey and snake handlers, orange juice stalls and veiled women sitting on little stools under the shade of umbrellas during the day, and storytellers and a hectic food market by night. Tangia (a Marrakesh specialty) and harira (the soup that I fell in love with and craved for the next 2 weeks), and an example of a traditional Moroccan spoon made out of wood.
11. Our favourite oj vendor! Note: 4 dirhams is about 50 Australian cents.
12. 13. Henna before all the brown stuff fell off. How eloquent of me, I think a year of not studying has taken a toll on my ability to spreken ze english..