Morocco Photos, page 2

Rabat's pivotal place extends back to at least 8 BC through the predecessor settlement and prosperous Roman town of Chellah. Abandoned in 1154, it became a royal burial ground for the Almohads and the Merinids; now it is a place for storks by the dozen, beaks clattering in conversation, as well as cattle egrets, cats, and wandering tourists.

The dual Arabic-French signs really helped, although I personally took a miss on the pool of writhing eels purported to be a lucky trek for infertile women, preferring to listen to the clacking of storks and enjoy the blooming wildflowers and spyrea shrubs.

Outside the Chellah site's walls, groups of soldiers were taking a break from training exercises of some sort; we could hear a military band practicing as well. And near the gates, a couple of men were busking--with the long tassles on their hats twirling at an rpm any burlesque queen with pasties would surely envy. Unfortunately, taking any photos meant coming up with tips, and I'd left my purse on the bus.

Everywhere we looked--hotels, restaurants, museums, homes, shops--Mary and I found brass lamps to drool over, but firmly resisted trying to cart such home in our luggage. [sigh]

At our lunch stop in Khemisset, I did succumb to purchase of a thuya (a cedar wood of sorts) box inlaid with wood from one of citrus types. Having overpaid for the box, I thought it only fair that the seller gift me a photo op.

Mary and myself under a productive and oft-harvested corkwood tree enroute to Khemisset and Meknes. Nearby were thistles, fennel, and a little purple flower that one of group finally identified as a Mahomia littoria. Also saw a common bulbul on this day, but no photo. Sparrows are everywhere and we've seen several kestrels soaring as well.

Omar, our guide in Meknes.

Not every sight features the ancient, i.e., this very modernistic and puzzling sculpture in Meknes of a nearly skeletal person.

Bab al Khemis: The gateways in the old walls of so many of these cities--such as this one in the former imperial city of Meknes, heart of the Moroccan Sultanate period (1672-1772), were never built for modern vehicle sizes; our driver Driss masterfully maneuvered the coach to squeak through with nary a scratch. Sultan Moulay Ismail was a prolific builder, and Meknes once had 50 or more palaces.

The extensive granaries and stables in Meknes, contained a maze of storage rooms, wells and water wheels, and stabling with troop preparation and exercise areas for thousands of horses--reportedly 12,000 in fact. An 18th century earthquake tore down its roof, and greenery has invaded, but the aisles still show the meticulously geometric layout.

Guide Omar and Mary Snowman.

[My recollection is that this is a threshing wheel of some sort, but I may be wrong.]

The pile of muddy brown shows the leavings after olives have been run through presses to obtain oil. Family operations like this are tucked into tight spaces throughout Morocco, as olives and oil are a major agricultural component of local economies. The drab leavings from the pressing process are not tossed out, but used to make soap cleansers and even as fuel.

The present-day stables maintained for royal pleasure in Meknes held several Arabians (signified by green name boards), some Berber horses (signified by red name boards), some mixed (red-green signs) and a mule or two.

Onward toward Moulay Idriss, a holy city named after Morocco's most revered saint and founder of the Arab dynasty. The resident Awraba tribe welcomed the descendent of Ali (and thus the prophet Mohammed) with open arms in 788 and declared him imam shortly thereafter. Within three years Idriss I had consolidated his hold on much of the area, founded the first settlement at Fez, and started minting coins. He died in 791, leaving a wife and family to carry on. Muslims who cannot afford the huge undertaking of time and expense of a pilgrimmage (haj) to Mecca can make five pilgrimmages here as a substitute.

After climbing many steps through the hilly town, we were able to look down at the green-tiled roof (green, the color associated with Islam, indicating its sacred status) of the shrine. Although we could peek and walk the perimeter, as non-Muslims we could not enter.

As we walked, we saw many examples of the graffitti peculiar to the area--symbols and drawings created to mark someone as a visitor, but more importantly to convey a teaching of some sort (although we never did learn what was specifically meant by this one). Rashid, the local guide at Moulay Idriss was perhaps the only one through our trip whose limited (memorized and repetitive) English was a detriment.

In the town's market, we purchased picnic foods for our lunch. Vehicles can't manage the terrain of most centers of these medieval towns, so it is donkeys who provide essential transport through the narrow, steep, winding streets. Some of the loads, especially of construction materials, were gigantic.

The only round minaret in Morocco is in Moulay Idriss. Good photo chances are somewhat difficult and obscured--in this case by bits of electrical wiring into a nearby building...a scary looking concoction of connections (as are many of the visible wiring arrangementseverywhere in Morocco).