مغامرات في المغرب : Adventures in Morocco: The first exploration- Or, If a man throws a monkey on you, he will ask for money

We’ll get to the monkey part eventually, but first we need some background. I arrived here on the 23^rd and we had orientation from the 25^th until the 27^th. (See orientation entry for exciting details! Lol). Classes did not start until the following Friday, so a group of us decided to take a trip and explore the city of Merrakesh.

Quick background on this group- Imagine picking seven people from four countries who have known each other less than 48 hours. Now have them travel for almost six days together. In theory it sounds like a recipe for disaster, but actually turned out to be amazing. We didn’t have a single disagreement, and now I feel like I have 6 close friends, even though I’ve only been here two weeks.

So a rundown of the trip: we took off from Ifrane Saturday evening in a taxi to Meknes, with the plan to catch the 3am train to Merrakesh. While waiting in Meknes we went to a restaurant that served Tajine de Cervelle, or Tajine with cow brains. (See photo!) This started a challenge to each as many unusual things as possible, which I hope will continue for the next nine months. (Cow utter anyone??)

After a rather chilly sleep on the train, we arrived in Merrakesh around 10am, and were met by Kamal, a language teacher from the city. Elliot, an exchange student from West Point travelling with us, had attended Kamals class at the intensive language school before coming to AUI. First thing we did upon arrival was go ou to eat an amazing Moroccan meal: tajine, brocetts, chicken, couscous, dates, olives… you name it. We spent the evening exploring the main square, or the Djamma el-fna. This square was like an all-day, every day, fifty-ring circus, with no ringmaster and every act happening at once.

And that’s when the monkeys happened. It’s not every day you see a man with a monkey on a leash, and being the greenhorn I was, I made the mistake I making eye contact. Next thing I know, there are two monkeys on my shoulder, my friend snaps a picture, and the monkey man asks for payment. I threw 10 dirhams on the ground and ran away. The snake charmers could also be like this, but I got smarter and made it very clear if they came near me with a snake they wouldn’t fare well.

Our next two days in Merrakesh involved seeing the sights in the morning, resting in the afternoon, and staying out late at night. (It was Ramadan, so that’s when the city comes alive). Our group saw the Saadian tombs, (a sultan made himself a pretty sweet resting place in 1603) and the Bahi palace (another sultan in the 16^th century needed a place to keep his 4 wives and 28 concubines, so they built some pretty fancy ceilings and 150 rooms). We also spent time in the market, where we ate snails, the cheek meat of a sheep, and drank delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. Kamal went with us everywhere, like a protective father, and even stayed out late with us even though it was a holiday for his family.

Tuesday morning was Essouria, which had an entirely different feel. Originally a fortress, the town is now the surf capital of Morocco. Everything there was so laid back. Shop keepers weren’t as pushy, the beach was nearby, and the whole place had a beautiful sea-breeze feel. We spent lots of time playing in the ocean and eating fresh seafood. Late Wednesday night we headed back to Merrakesh, spent the night, and traveled back to Ifrane Thrusday morning.

yes, that is brain tajine

A traditional Moroccan Meal

and those are snails

The main city gate

I thought it was a great idea to get a tattoo on the street--- Just kidding mom, it's henna

One of the many ceilings in the bahi palace

The market.. it was so colorful!

The contrast between the two cities I visited couldn’t be greater. One was a wild, almost human jungle, and the other was laid back and refreshing. I loved both places for different reasons, and cannot wait to see more of Morocco!