I know what I said about big tours, but this one was a must and well worth the time and money.

Seville, the capital of the Andalusia, is a beautiful city – rich in history and beautiful architecture. We spent the day touring a 14^th century palace, the cathedral, and wandering the streets with a fantastic tour guide – Herman. Herman is German and spends 5.5 months a year as a tour guide in Seville and 6 months as a nurse in Germany. He says the variety keeps him fresh. His enthusiasm was contagious.

We started out with a tour of the 14^th century palace of Peter the Cruel  which centuries later became the site of the 1927 World Expo. For the Expo each country had its own alcove and the mosaic work in each is unique, intricate and beautiful.  The grounds are peaceful and lovely and make you want to just sit and soak up the atmosphere.   

From there we went to the Cathedral of Seville built in the 15^th century and considered the third largest cathedral in the world.

We were told that you could put all of Notre Dame in this cathedral without touching the outer walls – it’s pretty huge. The treasure within those walls is immense.

The wealthiest families had their own chapels each with its own treasure trove of art.

Also housed in the cathedral is the final resting place of Christopher Columbus.

Next we wandered around the old Jewish quarter which we entered through an ancient Roman wall.

. There we came across an archeological site where they have discovered artifacts from as far back as the Stone Age. It was all very Indiana Jonesish and very cool.

After a walk through the picturesque Plaza de America

we boarded the bus to return to our floating home.

Adios Seville,

Charli

Our last and my favorite city in Morocco – Tangier.

We chose not to do the tour here but were going to wander around on our own. As soon as we got out of the gates of the port we were accosted by half a dozen men explaining vehemently that we reeeeealy needed a guide and could not find our way alone. We ignored, kept on walking, and most of them gave up. One man – Larry (he didn’t look like a Larry) – was very persistent and after a great deal of negotiating, we hired him to be our guide. That was a smart move. He was a delight and took us to many places in the narrow winding souks that were very interesting and that we would never have found on our own.

First he took us to his cousin’s rug store where we were served hot mint tea – delicious – and given a demonstration on Moroccan rugs (the top part of this picture is one example) and vases.

They were beautiful but wouldn’t fit in our suitcases. The proprietor was very gracious, and it was an interesting experience. Next Larry took us on a tour of the narrow back alleys and living areas of the small city.   We then went on to the souks. The people were friendly and not nearly as pushy as we had found in the bigger cities of Morocco. The experience was fun and educational.

It was raining and at one point we took shelter under a banyan tree. All of the trunks you see belong to the same tree. The branches grow out and send down shoots that take root when they reach the ground and become secondary trunks and supports for the branches.Pretty cool.

In the cities you can almost always find a taxi cab driver or tour guide who is willing to give an individual tour at a third of the price that they charge for the big tours.  I have come to the conclusion that that is the best way to go and that I like the small towns best.

Thanks you, Larry, for a lovely day and good bye Tangier,

Charli

November 4, 2012   Casablanca, Morocco, Africa

Today we toured the old city of Casablanca and before you ask, yes we saw the famous Rick’s Café from the Humphrey Bogart movie, Casablanca.

We also visited the incredibly grand Hassan II Mosque.  It is the world’s third largest mosque with a prayer room large enough to hold 25,000 worshipers. Here again, the architecture is magnificent and the mosaics beautiful.

Our guide was much better than the one in Marrakesh, more knowledgeable and better at explaining the history.  Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and a prime example of blending ancient history with modern technology. The city was in deep decline until it was taken over by the French who remodeled it with large streets, public parks, and imposing Moorish architecture. Though no longer controlled by the French, it is the most important port city in Morocco and a thriving example of past and present.

Our guides both days also talked repeatedly about how tolerant the Muslim religion and Moroccan cultures are. My feeling is that this is a region of great transition and struggling with the change. You still see coffee houses with dozens of men (no women) sitting at small tables in front and only men running the small shops in the souks. Some women still dress in full burkas – covered completely from head to toe in black robes with only a small slit for their eyes.  Women are not allowed to worship in the same room as men and are not allowed to pray at all during their periods. We heard on the news about a 15 year old girl who was killed by her parents for looking at a boy. The parents said that she brought shame to the family. However, you also see some younger women dressed in jeans with no scarves covering their heads and every kind of dress in-between. Modern music that you would hear in the US is on most of the radios in the souks and we saw music videos on the TV in several restaurants we went by in the more modern areas. Change is hard but inevitable.

Charli

November 3, 2012 Morocco, Africa

We spent today on a tour to Marrakesh, Morocco. That was an adventure.

The trip to Marrakesh was long, but gave us an interesting glimpse into the everyday lives of the people who live in the rural areas of Morocco.  The land was stark with little vegetation, but we saw many shepherds tending small flocks of sheep and goats, olive groves, and several small villages. 

After a 3 hour bus ride from the port we arrived in Marrakesh known as the Pink City.  

We were taken on a tour of a city park which consisted of lots of olive trees and a coy pond and a burial palace for the kings and their wives – lots of mosaic tile work in the ceilings, walls, and floors.

Next we had lunch at a local hotel in the old city. The architecture was very ornate and the food was very different and very good. During lunch we were entertained by musicians and a Moroccan dancer – a unique experience.

After lunch we were taken to the old medina – the area enclosed within the old city walls. It is a shopping area consisting of many souks – narrow alleyways lined with tiny shops and lots of men, who don’t like to take “no” for an answer, attempting to sell their wares – also an unique experience.

Our last trek was through the Kasbah – a huge open air market with row upon row of stalls and people selling everything you can imagine. The food stands were rampant and the smells delicious. There were also fortune tellers, tooth-pullers, acrobats, musicians, dancers, and snake charmers. Unfortunately we got to spend no time in this area but were rushed through to the bus. Although it was very dark, I did take a picture of the snake charmer and the two king cobras. It wasn’t until I got back and down loaded the pictures that I realized that the four large snakes were in front of the cobras and that I was very close to stepping on them. That raised my blood pressure just a bit.

Anyway, we can say that we have been to Marrakech and have learned a bit more about yet another culture and that is what traveling is all about.

Charli