Morocco

When my friend Lindsey announced she was planning a trip to Morocco and asked if anyone wanted to come, I didn’t hesitate for even a second. It’s a place I knew I wanted to experience and I knew that traveling with her would mean experiencing the people and culture beyond a typical tourist adventure. I am so glad I went!

Our group ended up being 14 women — some of her friends who flew in all the way from Utah, and the rest of us from our community here in Germany. It was fun! And exhausting (early mornings and late nights), filled with sites, smells and tastes far outside the norm for all of us. I savored the time I had to really connect with my heart and mind away from the day-to-day distractions at home, and had moments where I truly felt close to God.

Morocco is a place to fall in love with, a place to experience a different culture that is beautiful and unique, and a place to return to. I have a feeling I will be going back, not just to share this beautiful country with my family, but to serve and help the people there.

Our itinerary began in Fes where we had a tour of the city, the Medina and market, a music and pottery factory and the tannery.

Morocco is known for its fine leather. They make much of it here in Fes. These vats are ancient and have been producing leather for a very long time. The smell is overpowering. The lighter colored vats are where the process starts. They are made of limestone and filled with water and pigeon droppings. The animal hides are put in and the liquid dissolves all the fur and softens the leather. From there they are further processed to soften and color them.

They gave us mint leaves to help with the smell. Yes, it did help and yes, I really needed it!

I bought one of these leather “poofs” to bring home.

The smells of the market were overpowering! Lots of stray cats and flies everywhere. Raw meat, baskets of dates, olives, rose petals and spices. This is one thing I tried. It was like shredded wheat with a bit of simple syrup and pistachios. Not bad, but also really messy to eat! Lindsey also bought a bunch of breads filled with grilled meats for us to try. Those were delicious too.

Camel meat! I sent this picture to the kids back at home and they were fascinated by the real camel head hanging here. It was dripping and fresh.

One of the king’s palaces. Inside are many other buildings and a full golf course.

At the pottery factory. These tagines were going to be beautifully painted.

I loved seeing it all in its natural state.

There are 185 mosques in Fes. I loved hearing the call to prayer and seeing people go. The only mosque that non-muslims are allowed to see in Morocco is in Casablanca.

Our beautiful hotel that first night. The mosaic tile was all so beautiful in every space.

Green Tea with fresh mint is such a big part of their culture. It’s how they show hospitality.

Birdseye view of our dinner that night at 10pm. We ate lunch each day at about 3 or 4pm, and dinners were always late. It was an adjustment for all of us!

The next day we drove to Merzouga, stopping at points of interest and learning all about the country and culture along the way.

Feeding monkeys in the Atlas Mountains. They were sweet, and sneaky, and love peanuts.

This place was right at the edge of the Sahara and so stunning. While waiting in the lobby I met a German woman named Edith who has been a travel writer on Morocco for the last 40 years. She told me that this place was her favorite and that the real Morocco is everything south of Marrakech…I’ll remember that for next time.

The next morning some of us got up early to hike the highest sand dune to see the sunrise and it is something I am so glad that I did. I couldn’t stop smiling. It was so beautiful to be there in that moment.

We could see the camel caravans by 7am taking those who had camped in the desert overnight back to town.

On day three we had wild rides in 4x4s through the desert, stopping to see fields of fossils, see mines, and water systems, visit bedouins and deliver school supplies to children there, and listen to African musicians share their music with us.

This was much more of a spiritual experience for me than I had anticipated. It felt close to the Creation in a way I hadn’t felt before.

These musicians are from Sudan and sang about things of their life there.

This is our guide Yessin and driver for the trip, Aitaly.

I think we had the most adventurous driver, Mubarak, in our 4x4 through the desert on this day. He was racing over dunes and taking the bumpiest paths. We all loved it.

We had the best lunch at our guide’s new family Riad, Jouba, named after his mother here. She is an amazing cook. These flat breads are filled with onions and vegetables with the best spices. It’s called Berber pizza. So good!

I don’t want to forget their Moroccan Salad. Tomatoes, green pepper, cucumber, apples, twist of orange and olives. It was delicious.

And Hawaii soda! This is only made and sold in Morocco. I brought some back for the kids and they loved it.

This is Jouba, Yassin’s (our guide) family Riad. It was really beautiful.

After lunch we learned about their canal system that brings the water from the Atlas Mountains. There are access points all along the way to clear out the sand that gets in. While the town has running water in all the houses and businesses, the locals prefer the way this ground water tastes, so they will bring their jugs and bottles to fill each day.

Then it was time for the camels and our one-hour ride to our Sahara desert camp.

Riding a camel is not comfortable at all. I’m guessing you get used to it, but my sit bones were really sore.

I had a good one.

These guys welcomed us, cooked for us, performed music for us around a fire that night in the desert. Our guide sat with us and shared riddles, what he called “question blague”. Telling jokes when you speak different languages doesn’t always work, but riddles do.

Day 4 took us to Rissani to see the markets that the locals use, to Toudra gorge, ending with a visit to rug makers who shared with us how they make the famous Moroccan rugs and the meanings behind the symbols.

For pictures, they will say “Couscous!”, “Tagine”, “Africa”, and give a thumbs up.

Toudra Gorge.

Our last day we drove back to Fes, stopping along the way to see more sites before our evening flight back to Germany. We finally got home about 5am, completely tired out but with full hearts. I am forever grateful I have a family that supports me going on adventures like this. It means the world!