Moroccan afterthoughts

Beautiful Morocco is now behind me. Looking back, I think the country can best be described as one in transition between past and future.

Although the country is technically secular, and influenced a great deal by its European neighbours, Islam is still very much the cornerstone of the population's collective psyche. Drinking is legal, but still quasi-taboo; as Namir explained to us (and to paraphrase) 'drinking in public is the same as going to the toilet in public'. And yet on my second night in Marrakesh, we managed to find and patronize several 'Western' night clubs where the women dressed provocatively and booze consumption was excessive. The call to prayer was repeated like clockwork 5 times daily, and yet while this was happening I never witnessed a single person drop what they were doing to head to a Mosque.

The country's politics was particularly interesting for me. Monarchys are not really covered in a 4 year political science degree, so it was fascinating to see one functioning up close, especially one that has managed to survive in a fairly developed country! Litereally every Moroccan I asked had nothing but praise for the King. And it is not hard to see why - the man really seems to have the country's best interests at heart. Morocco is developing at a rapid pace. In my two weeks I saw numerous road projects in the works, a major hydroelectric dam/artificial lake, power lines everywhere and upgrades to bus and train stations. And not only in urban centres, but remote rural areas as well. The fact that internet cafes exist in Saharan border towns says a lot.

Unfortunately I do have some negative things to report. The cities are filthy, crowded, polluted (I don't believe there are any vehicle emission standards), congested and stressful. After Marrakesh I spent some time in Casablanca. I won't waste my breath on this except to say that it is a shithole - don't go. Although I really did grow to like Marrakesh a lot after spending an extra day exploring it. Morocco has massive tourist potential beyond what is already established; the challenge will be to avoid becoming a disneyland destination, and to maintain its arabic, medieval mystique (that, and to avoid destroying its pristine natural beauty of the countryside.) Finally, I can't leave this without complaining about the hustlers. Persistent would be the precursor to a word that does not yet exist, but which would describe how irritating those bastards can be. They give the country a really bad name, and although the police have apparently cracked down on the 'faux guides' and drug peddlers, there is a long way to go in my humble opinion.

The best part of Morocco for me was the time exploring the mountains and the Sahara. I will never forget the feel of that red sand in my shoes. Unlike the coarse stuff most of us hate to have in our sandals after a day at the beach, this fine powder felt like slipping your foot into a warm blanket. Amazing. For those of you that I know will ask, the women were actually quite beautiful and exotic. That's to say, at least the ones that were not covered up. My whole time there I saw at least 15 that could have been supermodels... I think it's their big, dark eyes.

Seeing sheep with their shepherds everywhere was an interesting sight. Seeing traditional nomads camped out in a field was amazing. Seeing a woman wandering in the mountains without a settlement visible for miles was almost disturbing. I forgot to mention, but at our second night in the mountains we stayed at a hotel that Namir described as '2 star'. The place had a pool, pristine rooms, air conditioning (not that we needed it) and great food. The defining moment of that experience was when this frail old man sitting in a corner of the hotel restaurant pulled out an instrument that looked like a sitar played like a violin, and played a few tunes in a style of music I've never heard.

Finally, I would like to give a shout out to Gustavo for coining a new term to describe Moroccan cuisine: it's all "Hand Made" (as in, they stick their fingers all over everything).
What a great experience!!!