NORTH STAR OF NORTH AFRICA (1)

MANDATORY WARNING:  GONNA BE A LENGTHY ONE- TWO EPISODES– DO NOT WANT TO PRUNE IT- I WANT EVERYONE TO ENJOY- “யாம் பெற்ற இன்பம், பெறுக இவ்வையகம்”

Monaco advertisement with the suggestions of varieties and varieties of cream, cheese and fruit toppings on the round biscuits that captured hearts of any ages- – can you recall those memories?  Why this gah gah about a product?  Well- this is what, I, as a student in the VIII grade geography class remembered a North African country as!!?!! To top it all, till date whenever I take my dessert after a meal- or even the topic of it crops up, I immediately teleport to Sahara Desert and travel across in a caravan drawn by camel… no effort is needed from my side to try and remember (?!!) these- it is so spontaneous!  {Yawn… Ram, you are so boring… Why all these prolongs in the first instance …can you not be brief in what you want to convey??…yawn}

Oh..Ok Ok… Please don’t already judge me as a nincompoop…I thought my narrative was interesting and would captivate the attention…hmmm… will come to the point. The next few pages are going to be a cluster of the alphabets arranged in a pattern to summarize my vacationing with family – the awesome kingdom of the West- “MOROCCO”.

I consider it as a blessing in disguise that Schengen visa to Iceland got delayed for me and Gowri, lest, the tour would have been a repetition for Pavithra and Sathish.  But they were already looking for alternate options in Africa. Gowri and I were exhilarated… a first time to that Continent. The three options short-listed by them were Kenya, Egypt and Morocco. I was a wet blanket in Pavithra’s enthusiasm of kicking it with Kenyan Safari. Egypt-due to certain compelling reasons we had to drop it out, and yes… Morocco- it was! Between the plan conceived and our actual travel date, it was hardly less than a fortnight. No Visa required for their American passports and e-visa for Indian passports processing took less than a day. Parallelly, the children did comprehensive study of the place and had identified the operator Moroccan Tours, who made a tailor-made itinerary. So, it was from North America to North Africa!

We set our foot in Casablanca on my daughter’s birthday!

Mr.Hamid of the Moroccan Tours, was going to drive us through the country for rest of the trip. He received us at the airport which was about an hour drive to the economical centre and the largest city of Morocco.  Despite the transcontinental flight, we set about going to places of interest the moment we set our foot outside the airport on a pleasant cold morning. Though the name Casablanca sounds very romantic, the city itself does not have too much to offer. We were right on dot for the guided tour of the Africa’s largest mosque- Hassan II. A mammoth structure built on a prominent mass of land that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, is the world’s third largest mosque and its minaret is the tallest in the world. Crossing the vast courtyard, which I came to know later, can fit eighty thousand people at a time, we arrived at a colossal gate to enter into the Mosque. Since it is a place of worship, footwear had to be removed and carried in a bag provided at the entrance. It was a gaping sight- the sprawling space- the enormousness of the pillars, the height of the roof, the laying of the colourful Moroccan ceramic tiles, intricate marble floors, the carvings, paintings and architecture- I am not able to justify the expressions in words what my eyes feasted in. The inside of the mosque can fit over twenty-five thousand people at a time. The roof is retractable for worshippers to see the stars at night. The whole place is centrally air-conditioned. The natural light pierces through the colourful glazed glasses on the doors and windows. At places, the floors are see-through, from where the numerous marble fountains for ablution can be seen. A separate enclosure in the upper deck is dedicated for the lady worshippers. The mosque is an impressive example of the Moroccan and Islamic artisanship with Moorish influences. All except the giant marble pillars and the huge ornamental chandeliers, the whole structure is built with the materials from across the country-right from Atlas Mountains to Sahara Desert. The whole place is powerfully and fascinatingly attractive. As we step out, chill breeze from the Atlantic engulfs us. Hassan II reflects a verse in the Quran-as quoted by the guide-which says, God’s throne was built in the water. It was a wonderful experience being in the mosque for over an hour. The Minarets in Morocco are not in the shape of dome which is seen commonly across the world, it is square-shaped from the base to tip- a typical North African style.

The first Moroccan-style lunch awaited us: a dry hard bread, vegetable tagine, couscous, salads, fruit juice and the delicious hot green tea decoction with generous quantity of mint leaves strewn over it.

After a quick shower, we hit the roads and rode across the city- it was as if we were travelling in Europe- the city resembled Estonia to some extent. “Oru paanai sotruku oru soru padham” is a tamil maxim- a nearer translation is ‘if you have seen one, you have seen them all’.  The roads are amazingly laid with broad sidewalks, dotted with greenery. This ‘wow’ expression of the quality of the roads and the layouts remained for the rest of the tour. The evening illumination of the mosque is a not to be missed. After a truly North Indian dinner – a first time for Mr.Hamid to taste such a cuisine, we retired to bed.

Despite the jetlag, we got ready early the next morning. After an American breakfast, we were off to our next destination, the northernmost point of our tour- Fes. The long drive was along the coast with panoramic sceneries. Both sides of the road are dotted with Olive, Orange trees.  Grape vines are seen aplenty- Moroccan wines are exported internationally, it seems. This belt is industrially developed too as it has access to sea port. I was overjoyed to see Unilever Office- the organisation I grew up with.

The awesome landscape and adjoining mountains in the horizon and not too sunny weather with the Afro-Arabic music played in the car gliding along the silky road made the journey extremely pleasant. In this context, I wish to express more about the land transport and the infrastructure as I am too overwhelmed with the Country’s visionary King Mohammed VI. Any developing country requires manufacturing and exporting units, which can be possible only with road networks and directness of links. It requires to develop tourism and of course, marketing themselves to the world. In what I saw throughout the tour across the country, I observed that the roads are perfect, rules followed to the T, parking lots for vehicles well defined, law enforcers aplenty on the roads, law abiding drivers. And yet another pride I could sense with whom all I interacted during all those days, they know the history of the place- I felt each one is an ambassador of their country by themselves. Opinions may differ, but I am overwhelmed with what I experienced in the country. 

We were nearing Fes- the hilly terrain is a scenic beauty. For miles together, in the medians between either side of the road, fruit bearing orange trees are grown. Bunches and bunches of the fruit hangs from the trees. The city comprises of two parts- the new town of the modern world entirely, comprised of wide boulevards, posh villas- malls & modern shops and of course, busy traffic. The old historic town is a preserved UNESCO world heritage site of the fourteenth century. The whole town is enclosed by tall walls- a gated community of the by-gone era(!) referred to as the Medina. We enter it from the uphill through what is referred the Blue Gate. Within its myriad medieval streets, a wonderland of vibrant colours of the tiles, artefacts, hand-hammered intricate brass lamps, the styled footwear babouches, colourful pottery, varied smells from the perfume souks, sweetmeat, dry fruits, traditional food shops, the ubiquitous Moroccan tea, leather products, local artisans and painters at work, the rhythmic noise from the blacksmith-all in an endless maze of dozens and dozens of narrow streets. We saw a street -the narrowest ever seen so far -beating down any other one in comparison (our good old triplicane streets are poor cousins of this one !!). The width is hardly two feet. It was built in such a way to desist enemies entering. Every house here has numerous windows and all structures are tall. Whenever attacked and enemies try to sneak in, windows will be opened in synchronisation to affect their movement and hot oil poured over them from the terrace. The amazing thing is that, people still dwell there – the house inside will be unassumingly palatial- they call it a Riad. It is one of the world’s largest pedestrian zones. Donkey carts alone are allowed to ply in some alleys for transporting goods. We came across few architectural landmarks like the ancient Quaraouin mosque, the ancient Islamic University and madrassa. Unfortunately, it was closed the time we went there, but had a glimpse of the grandeur from outside- its magic remains undimmed by the passage of time. The roof of the souk where we shopped for hand-woven scarf and kaftan offered beautiful birds-eye views of the green-tiled roof of the mosque, the beautiful minaret, the maze of streets and the old structures adorning it as a necklace. Hundreds of cats roam in the streets-Islam views cats as a holy animal- treats it as ritually clean. It took us over four hours of walking through the lanes and by lanes, we reached one of the gates that brought us out of the Medina. To this day I wonder how I did not get lost- I had ample scope for that- I disappointed my family – a showdown averted!! 

We drove to a fortress situated on a hill top to have a panoramic view of the Medina and the old and new city of Fes. Enroute, we visited a pottery where the splendid Moroccan tiles are made- had the opportunity of seeing how it is manufactured from the special clay. The chiselling of the stones and sticking them in a tile is effortlessly done by the artisans.

Our stay was arranged at a Riad – means, a palace (home of an affluent) turned into a boutique hotel. From the outside, it looks like a very ordinary place- once we get inside, the grandeur unfolds. Huge courtyard that opens to the sky with a see-through retractable roof, magnificently laid tiles on the walls and brightly coloured traditional mosaics on the floor- a master piece of Moroccan tile work, massive chandeliers, very high roofs is a typical Riad. After a simple Italian dinner, we were set to see the stars after a splendid day.

Through Switzerland (?) we were to reach our day’s destination Sahara- rephrasing it as blow hot blow cold! Ifrane in the Atlas range of mountains was a French colony. The town is immaculately neat and is considered as cleanest place in Africa. It is a snow skiing resort and obviously attracts tourists from world over. The place is straight lift from any West European countries. While snowy, it looks like the city mostly just hovers around freezing during the winters. We had a refreshing hot chocolate before we embarked on our journey through the cedar forests, where we spotted Barbary monkeys. The travel is through the mountains. As we pass through, we can notice the landscape changing into a rocky scrubland, geographically indicating the beginning of the desert.

We pass through the biggest oasis in the Ziz valley- the view is something very spectacular. From the edge of the road, when we see below, it only has greenery of the date palm trees, river and brown mud brick houses. It seems in a raging fire last year, many trees were burnt and the barks turned black. To the utter surprise, the yield of dates did not drop. We halted at a typical, traditional joint for lunch. The piping hot pepper soup, roasted jalapeno, the boiled potato, cauliflower, the tagine with egg plants, zucchini and carrot were pleasant tasting. From there, our next stop is Merzouga, our Hamid’s home town- the tip of the Sahara Desert.

Even from miles away we could see mountains of sand dunes glittering in the afternoon sun. For one reason, I hoped that we just do not get to the base camp in daylight or a desert sand storm with thunderclaps should sweep across the Sahara till dusk. And then…???

Continues in Episode 2… I still haven’t unlaced!

J.Ram