Ah! It has been so long since my last post and the weeks since have been so hectic; I have much to write about.
To begin, there was Morocco, oh sweet Morocco. I was in Morocco from February 26th until March 2nd. It was an intense week filled with lectures, visits to the Hamam, and an overindulgence of bread and couscous (before this trip I never thought such a thing as “too much couscous” existed- trust me, it does).
On February 26th we arrived in Casablanca and shortly after our arrival we loaded a bus and headed for our destination, Hotel Majestic in Rabat (the capitol of Morocco). We arrived at Hotel Majestic and split up into different rooms. Hotel Majestic lived up to its name in many ways except if you were one of the unlucky few who were stuck in a room with a Turkish toilet (see photo below for more information). I ended up sharing a room with my friend Emily and once we had dumped off our things we set out to explore the city.
Right by our hotel was the Medina, which is an enclosed market. The Medina was swarming with street vendors selling everything from raw meat and hand woven fabrics to Adidas sweat suits. During one of our lectures we learned that over 75% of all Moroccan businesses, like those in the Medina, are not registered and therefore illegal. Emily and I explored through the Medina for some time and then headed home for dinner.
The next few days were filled with lectures, a jazz concert, and considerable portions of Moroccan food, which inevitably lead to food comas on the subsequent bus tours. We stayed in Rabat until February 29th and then we left for Fez. Fez is a “tourist hotspot” and was approximately a two-hour bus ride from Rabat. The city is known for its labyrinthine Medina, which has over 9,000 streets and alleys and its leather-tanning factory. We spent an afternoon in Fez walking around the Medina and learning more about Moroccan culture.
The next morning we set off, yet again, for another bus ride, this time to a Berber village outside of Fez. The village was very poor and visiting it was a humbling experience. After walking around the village we at lunch at our tour guides house; it was delightful meal. After lunch we hopped on the bus and headed back to Fez and spent one more night there before heading back to Rabat. Once back in Rabat we suffered through a few more lectures (we were all beyond exhausted at this point) and then spent our final evening at the Hammam- it was a great end to the trip!
Morocco turned out to be a wonderful trip. Although I was unable to sun bathe at the beach like I had originally planned I was able to learn a lot from the lectures (i.e. the interplay between migration and gender) and experience things like the Medina and the Hammam; things that, otherwise, I would have never even dreamed of.
Photos taken from the Berber Village.
Outside of a Mosque in Rabat
The Leather Tannery
The Medina in Fez
The City of Rabat
The view
from our hotel
window
A
photo from the park which was
across the street from our hotel.
