Ochre and Blue In MoroccoPosted by Stout Frazier on May 29th, 2021 Ochre and Blue In Morocco I went to Morocco full of fear and prejudice. The new culture, the language, the traditions, the different religion and the distance, they all frighten me. I arrived at the airport of Marrakesh prepared to expect the worst. Following my fears I had ordered a taxi long in advance and a person dressed properly was waiting for us. It was hot and muggy. The first thing which I noticed was the colors that surrounded me -- ochre slightly transforming into pink. The car was comfortable and the driver ready to talk with us. During the whole time we were speaking about the place where the royal family of Morocco spends its ski vacation. We were so obsessed by the theme that we didn't understand how we get to the enormous parking from where we had to go on our own way to the Old City of Marrakesh or so-called "Medina". We were not expecting that this part of the city is forbidden for cars and soon after our luggage was put in a two-wheeled carriage dragged by a man dresses in long black robe. He just nodded and literally "sank" in the maze of small lanes so it was hard for me to reach him. There were a lot of people walking, some of them slow, some of them fast, there were people cycling and others riding motorbikes and all this was combined with a great amount of noise. All this seemed a little bit strange to me and I wanted to stop the man running in front of me and have a look at this amazing world but instead of this I kept on running after him. He was disappearing unexpected in the mystical streets. Other people were pushing me away from the rushing motorbikes and shouted at me "Attention" in French. After a few minutes I realized that all this chaos has its own order. There were pedestrian zones and zones for vehicles, as well as a large amount of cats crossing both of them. Soon we reached the small hotel which I have chosen for my accommodation. The owner, French, meet me polite in typical French style. The last 15 minutes looked like a dream to me. "Do you like Marrakesh?" she asked. Without wanting to know my answer she started to show me the house. The small family run hotels in the Medina are in fact houses in traditional Moroccan architecture. They all are closed from outside but in the inside, there is a back yard where you can find a beautiful fountain and all the rooms are looking over it. The French woman and her husband, who were the owners of the hotel where I stayed were from Nice. One day they just decided to go away, sold all their properties and settle down here in the Old Marrakesh. Here they found a lot of people from France and there was also a French school for their children. I spent several days in strolling around the Medina. Visit the museum and meet the children of my neighbors, as well as the man who was selling fish and the security guard of the nearby hotel. Day after day I understand the logic of the initial chaos that surrounded me. Then I felt why all this remained unrealizable for the Europeans with their illusory orientation. I felt the rhythm of this amazing place. A few days in the "souk" - this is the market area in Arabian countries gave me the chance to learn much about Marrakesh. Songs, shouts and the air full of different smells. This is one of the clearest my memories for this place. I was sure that I have learned enough for this remarkable city so it was time to go. I took the interurban bus and started for my next point -- Agadir. The bus was clean and pleasant and we reached the city in six instead of the announced in the schedule four hours. This city was quite different than Marrakesh. It had the smell of sea and the sounds sounded in quite different way. This city is a popular sea center and it fascinates the tourists with its unique atmosphere. The hill of the city overlooking the beaches is popular with the name of the city written in it with white stones, the same way as Hollywood. Here in this summer resort the people were polite and had their own unusual style of communication. They sat for a couple of minutes in a condition close to meditation and soon after they said "goodbye" and left. The third night we met the son of the small restaurant located in the end of the street. The boy has finished his education in Bordo and he had a master degree in Business Administration. All this he made for a pleasure because he intended to work in the restaurant. He was the reason we visited their restaurant every evening for our dinner because the music he has chosen was great. We discreetly asked him do they serve alcohol, as you know that Morocco is Islam country and the lows don't allow the consummation of alcoholic drinks. He told us that he can serve his clients alcohol although it is not allowed, and the authorities won't make him any problems while there is no a serious problem with some of the clients. As soon as this happens he will be responsible. With his European type of communication he became one of our most favorite collocutors. There was a small road in the south and the north of the city following the sea coast. Moroccans follow strictly the driving rules, especially the speed limit. This is of course not difficult. If you are a stranger there, no one will confuse you additionally. This road can lead you to Africa but I turned left in one of the first turn-offs and after a few turns I was able to see the beautiful village of Tiznit. The houses were so beautiful and looked like small cubes colored in ochre or blue. Others colored in grey were put together close to the rocks. The contrast of the scenery was strong -- the sky, the sea, the dunes, the rocks. The road finished suddenly, it just stopped in the sand. The only thing which I could do was to keep walking to my next destination. When I arrived there I understand that you can order a mule which you can use as a taxi. Fishermen were going out of the water pushing their boats, their faces were brown but the eyes of most of them were surprisingly blue. A thin old man met us and told us that he was the owner of the only restaurant in the village. Then we saw it. It has only one table occupied by two gentlemen from Hamburg. When they saw us, they exclaimed "This is the paradise". We started talking with them and they told us that they liked the place so much that they even bought a flat in the nearby Agadir. I asked them why they decided on Agadir and the answer was that some of the reasons were that people here spoke French and the beer were the same as in their country. At this moment a fisherman passed holding in his hands the fish which we were going to have for lunch. At first I was distinguished when I was told that there is no water and electricity in the village. I was afraid of what I was going to eat but when I overcame this feeling, I was sure that this was the tastiest lunch I have ever had. offre d'emploiLike it? Share it! |