Because I had a few extra days after my week of traveling,
and because my brother Seth said I would be crazy if I didn’t, I bought a
ticket for a one-day tour to Tangiers in Morocco.
The bus left
Torremolinos at 6:00am, so Tara graciously got up at the un-godly hour of 5:30
to drive me down there. Because it was a tour we had to pick passengers up all
along the route. By mid-morning we arrived in Tarifa where we boarded a ferry
to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. It was a beautiful morning and we could clearly
see both Europe and Africa as we sailed.
We were met
on the other side by Moroccan tour guides, who herded us into mini-vans,
English-speaking and other languages.
This was the beginning of a short tour around the city, including a stop
for camel rides J I
haven’t been on a camel since visiting the Karachi beach in 2006, and it
brought back fun memories.
 |
| Camel ride!! |
 |
I totally still remember the awkwardness of
getting up and down on a camel :P |
After
driving by the cities monuments and different areas, we were dropped off at the
entrance of the historical Medina, or old city. Our guide, Mohammed (who would
have guessed!), led us through the narrow twisting streets lined with tiny
shops and painted doorways.
 |
| Part of the old city walls |
 |
| Snake charmer!... but no, I didn't hold it |
 |
| Metal worker's shop |
 |
Moroccan bread bakery. Women bring their
dough here to be baked. |
So many
things, from veiled women, to shops selling spices or fruit in piles to meat
hanging in the open in butcher shops reminded me of Pakistan. The mixture of
smells and sounds was so familiar and brought back a flood of memories.
 |
| Just like Pakistan! |
 |
| mmmm! smells and colors |
 |
| Happy Cow Cheese!! |
 |
The biggest Banyan tree in the world...
according to Mohammed the guide |
 |
| The mosque of Tangiers |
Our tour
through the Medina brought us to the restaurant for lunch. We were escorted
upstairs to a room lined with carpet wall-hangings and furnished with low
tables and couches. The meal was traditional Moroccan, a simple soup served
with thick bread, followed by kebabs and then the Tajine: couscous with chicken
and vegetables. Delicious!
 |
| Tajine! |
While we ate
we were entertained by musicians playing Moroccan instruments. They were very obviously wearing jeans
and T-shirts under their Moroccan garb, so I wonder how authentic the music
really was. I thought I distinctly recognized one of the tunes from a cartoon I
watched as a kid. Huh…
 |
I asked if I could take a picture of the musicians, and
they promptly sat me down and pushed the
instrument into my hands :P |
To top of
the meal experience, a belly dancer made her entrance while we were sipping
mint tea and nibbling the rich cookies for dessert. I was a bit shocked and slightly embarrassed and forgot to
take any pictures. Needless to say, that is one experience I don’t want to have
again.
After lunch
we continued through the maze of the Medina, hounded all the while by vendors
trying to sell all manner of trinkets at ridiculous prices. Our first stop was
a carpet and hand-craft market. The items for sale were very beautiful, but it
was very obviously geared toward rich tourists, so I had to decline the offer
of a beautiful knotted silk carpet for $500. Much to the disappointment of the
salesman.
 |
Carpet knotting frame,
just like the ones in the shop that was next to our house in Quetta |
The next stop was a Moroccan apothecary shop. A tall thin man with exceedingly
serious demeanor graciously welcomed us into his domain. We sat in rows on
wooden benches, while he proceeded to propound to us, his captive audience, the
wonders of natural remedies that only exist in Morocco or are the cheapest at
his particular shop. I cannot replicate his accent on paper, but I felt like I
had been transported back in time and was listening to a quack doctor sing the
praises of his Wonder Elexir. At the end he summoned two young men, who had
been waiting attentively, to hand the products around so we had the opportunity
to pick the ones we wanted to buy. I have no doubt that many of the products
were reliable, but the whole presentation was ridiculously amusing. I sat in
the back, trying hard not to laugh, and disappointed the sales-boys by not
taking a single item.
 |
"dis prroduct exist only in Morrrocco! Is verry
good for de skin and completely naturral!" |
 |
| "who needs lotion of rrrose leaves?" |
After the
natural remedy show we continued on our way, coming out of the old city at a
place overlooking the harbor of Tangiers. It would have been a lovely place to
take pictures and enjoy the scenery, but alas, the street vendors appeared
again and as a group we had to either make haste to the bus or be overcome by
the insistence of the peddlers.
 |
| "only 2 Euros! very good prrice! You buy? Where you from mister?" |
Although it
was just a taste, and a rather touristy one at that, I thoroughly enjoyed my
Moroccan experience and if I had the opportunity would go back for longer some
day.
