We started with 7am breakfast at the hotel and on the bus at 8am. “Yellah!” Let’s go!
Our tour guide, Abdulwahab, along with our bus driver, Kahlid, started us with a driving tour of Casablanca, pointing out the highlights of the city. We stopped at the huge Hassan II Mosque which is the largest in the country. The mosque took five years to build and was completed in 1995. The minaret is 220 meters tall and there is space for 100,000 people to come and worship here!
In Casablanca alone there are 18 McDonalds and because Ramadan has started, it was a coffee stop for our group.
We also stopped along La Corniche, the waterfront promenade in Casablanca. There was a large picture of the royal family. They are loved by the people and known to send their children to the public schools and seen in the streets. King Mohammad VI is the man in the center on the top row. He is 51 years old!
We continued on to the political capital, Rabat. Our stop there was at ornate Mausoleum of King Mohammed V. We saw the changing of the guard on horseback, then inside to see the mausoleum.
The guards were happy to let us pose with them for pictures.
The architecture and carving, as well as the mosaics were incredible.
Continuing through the city, it was amazing to see much construction and renovations. This “casbah”” is being restored and turned into an outdoor theatre.
In Meknes we stopped a the medina to get a small glimpse of the shopping area of the old city. These were the gates into the medina.
Across the street was the large market square and through a small entry, we passed into the large market.
It was filled with wonderful sights, sounds, and smells.
There were sweets made of pastries and nuts, covered in honey. Bees were everywhere!
Tables of olives filled some of the stalls.
Spices of every kind were fun to see.
Our stop was short, because we had miles to go before arriving in Fes. We passed fields of every kind. Vineyards, wheat fields, olive trees, beautiful jacaranda trees, and cork trees.
In Fes we checked into our hotel and relaxed a while before going to the Restaurant Fassia for a traditional Moroccan dinner with entertainment. Several courses were served – soup, dates and sweets, pastilla (a pastry pie with chicken), tajin (chicken cooked with onions, olives, saffron), followed by melon, coconut cookies and Moroccan tea.
Our entertainment included musicians, a magician, and belly dancers.
It was definitely a full day and was difficult to narrow down the pictures! Tomorrow we have another busy day here in Fes, so stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment