Change In Plans

This short post is the beginning of a summary of our time in Morocco. As with Spain, we had a family vote on the most-spectacular things that we saw while we were there. Here are the results, with a few photos:

#1 - Erg Chebbi sand dunes in the Sahara: this was the hands-down winner. Seeing how the colors and shapes of the dunes change at sunrise, at sunset, and throughout the course of the day, was truly spectacular. Riding camels back to our desert camp in the bright moonlight was one of the most memorable events of our trip thus far.

#2 - Magic Carpet Room at Riad Anayela in Marrakech: sitting on the cushions on the roof of our hotel, we watched the medina come to life after the Ramadan fast was broken at sunset, and we listened to the calls to prayer echoing from minarets all around us. The most special was watching the moon rise over the old city.

#3 - Lobby (and rooftop) of Riad Fes in Fes: we cheated a little by lumping these together. The lobby was a spectacular example of zillij

tile mosaics in colorful geographic patterns, ornate wet-plaster carving, and wood carving on doors and lintels. The artisanship is like nothing we have seen outside of a few mosques/medersas and cathedrals. It is a feast for the eyes. The rooftop is somewhat similar to the Magic Carpet Room in Marrakech, except that the medina in Fes was so surreally quiet (no motor vehicles, and streets too narrow to see people and donkeys 50 feet below), and we could see the entire old city from our perch. Where Marrakech felt vibrant, even from the roof, Fes felt serene and mystical.

#4 (tied) - Moonrise over the Dar Ahlam Casbah:

on two nights, we watched the moon rise from the garden at Dar Ahlam, perching over the four towers of the old fortified home (Casbah) which had been converted into our small hotel. It has looked more or less the same from that spot for five centuries.

Are you getting the sense that we watched a lot of moonrises in Morocco?

#4 (tied) - High Atlas Mountains: unfortunately, we drove through the mountains quickly, en route from Ouarzazate to Marrakech. We would have liked to stay a few days, hiked, and really tried to appreciate the rugged, scenic beauty. Even just driving through, however, the views are truly spectacular. It is easy to see why the external powers who conquered the plains and coastline of Morocco ran into real difficulties in subduing the Berbers of mountains. The mountains and the sea are the places we will focus on when we visit Morocco again.