The Great Sahara--Morocco's mighty desert

camels resting on Erg Chebbi dunes

Way south of Fez, over the Middle and High Atlas Mountains, is Morocco's Erg Chebbi desert with golden sand dunes amidst a rocky landscape that looks like the remnants of a huge volcanic blast.  It is a land of camels, goats, sheep, dusty towns and Berber villages--and tourists enjoying the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets over the dunes.  

rocky desert where fossils abound

Macaque mom and newborn baby

It's a long drive from Fez to Merzouga, where we took 4 wheel drive vehicles over the dunes to our desert camp.  On the way, we passed a forest full of Macaque monkeys, playing in the trees and grabbing peanuts from the hands of tourists.  

fossil hunting

Our camp was set in the dunes, so we could ride camels from there up to the higher dunes to watch the sunset.  The wind was blowing, creating enough of a sandstorm to partially block the setting sun and to make the camels grumpy, but it also moved sheets of sand along the dunes in beautiful patterns.  We returned to our tents to wash off the layers of sand on our clothes and selves.  I got in the shower with all my clothes on, rubbed then down with soap and water, and then continued on to myself.  My clothes dried outside in less than an hour, gritty again from the blowing sand.

  

our desert camp in the dunes

fossils in rock

As all of Morocco was once under water, the desert is loaded with fossils.  Small fossils are all over the ground, but professional fossil hunters find huge slabs of them which they sell for furniture and art.  We visited one shop that finds, cuts and polishes the fossil slabs for sale to tourists and interior designers.

abandoned copper mine

 

We spent a day in 4 wheel drive vehicles hunting for fossils, examining a deep gash in the rock that was once a copper mine, and visiting a small Berber camp for tea and a discussion of Berber life, mostly as it used to be.  Most families now live in towns and villages, but Berber summer camps still dot the landscape.  The long drought has made their nomadic way of life very precarious. 

Berber camp

The woman who prepared our tea is one of 3 wives of a Berber herder who recently died, leaving his wives and 9 children.  One of the sons is 19 and now has responsibility for his extended family, with too few goats in the midst of a severe drought and limited education and options for work.  There is no safety net for families like this.  They make a little money setting up tea for tourists in one of their wool tents.

 

Berber children by their tent

In Merzouga, we walked through the large palm orchard in the oasis.  Families have small plots of palm trees.  Some plant crops under their palms--alfalfa, corn, vegetables--but most just have the date palms.  Water comes from a canal that runs into ditches serving the orchard.  Each family gets to use the water for 3 hours a week.  They guide the water to the appropriate place by closing off other ditches with dirt, allowing water to flow to their ditch.  At the end of the 3 hours, they block the water flowing into their channels with dirt and off it goes to someone else's patch.  Many villagers get water from the canal, which our guide assured us was clean, but the trash in the canal belied that claim. 

hay truck headed south

Overloaded hay trucks were bringing hay from the north to the dried-out south.  The entire area is overgrazed by sheep and goats.  I'm not sure what the camels find to eat, but assume their owners must buy feed for them right now.

Rabat, capital of Morocco

 

12th century Hassan Tower

Most tourists don’t take the time to see Rabat, preferring Fez, Marrakech and Chefchaouen, all worthy destinations.  But, Rabat is a beautiful city on the Atlantic Ocean and the capital of Morocco.  It’s also, obviously, home to the US Embassy in Morocco, which we visited for a briefing from two embassy officials to learn more about Morocco’s politics, economy and culture.

 

Atlantic Ocean from Kasbah

We visit US embassies and consulates when possible because we’ve found US Foreign Service officers to be well-informed, experienced and thoughtful about the countries where they serve.  Americans are fortunate to have such knowledgeable and committed people representing us around the world.  The embassy in Rabat has 300 employees, 100 of whom are Americans, and houses 12 government agencies.

Royal Palace

 First stop in Rabat was the enormous Royal Palace.   Right next door is the Prime Minister’s office, along   with other government offices inside the beautifully   landscaped palace compound.  The mausoleum of   Mohammed V is closed right now as a result of Covid, but I’ve been inside before to walk around the balcony gazing at the white tomb below.  It sits right next to the ruins of a twelfth century mosque and the Hassan Tower, with views over the river.

Mohammed V Mausoleim

One of the prettiest parts of Rabat is the Kasbah of the Udayas (pirates), whitewashed buildings lining narrow alleyways that lead to a point overlooking the Atlantic.  Here, pirates brought their booty, including slaves hauled off in chains from the ships the pirates  captured.  Foreign diplomats were forced to live in the Kasbah, where they could be persuaded to pay hefty ransoms to recover their enslaved countrymen.

artist's display in the souk

 
 The souk, the market in the old medina of Rabat, is   large, packed with shops and goods, and very busy   late into the night.  Our hotel was in the heart of the   medina, so a great place to begin a walk through the   crowded marketplace.

 Moroccans are proud to have been the first country   to recognize the fledgling United States in 1787   (though France also claims that honor).  It is the   longest diplomatic relationship the US has had in the   world.  Morocco is also an important military   partner and is the only country in Africa having a   free trade agreement with the US.  Whereas public approval of America is abysmal in most of Africa and the Middle East, thanks to the Iraq War, about 70% of Moroccans approve of the US.

Kasbah of the Udayas

The most important foreign policy issue for Morocco is the Western Sahara, which they claim and which also has a liberation movement, the Polisario Front.  Morocco is very willing to use its power against any country that steps out of line with regard to its claim to the Western Sahara, using its control of African migration to Europe as its cudgel.  When Spain let the leader of the Polisario into the country for medical treatment, Morocco removed its security protection from the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, on its northern coast, allowing 10,000 migrants to enter these cities.  Spain kicked out the Polisario leader immediately and fired its foreign minister.

blue door in the medina

 The king is very popular in Morocco.  People we talked to told us   that Moroccans trust the king much more than the government   headed by the Prime Minister.  The King is the ultimate authority   on everything, but particularly is the head of the military and the   supreme authority on religion.  He also controls foreign policy and   national security.  The monarchy does not like criticism, so there is   little freedom of the press and limited freedom of speech.   Most   journalists covering Morocco do so from outside the country since   journalists critical of the King can be jailed.

 Storks and cats fill the skies and streets of Rabat, and, in the case   of cats, all other Moroccan cities as well.  The storks build huge   nests on towers and minarets, some weighing 500 pounds.  Cats   reproduce with great regularity, so there are kittens, pregnant   females and unneutered males everywhere, all very friendly and   most looking reasonably well cared-for.  Though they don't   usually have families, they are looked after by the people in their   neighborhoods.

kitten waiting for its pet

Doors in Morocco are beautiful, painted and carved.  Homes are generally behind high walls in the medina, with a decorated door that opens into a courtyard, often with a fountain or pool and potted plants.  The riads, where we stayed, are charming hotels created from old palaces.

 

courtyard of our riad

 

 

 

 

The blue city of Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

                          

We haven’t visited Chefchaouen before, the blue mountain town that has become the most recent “go to” tourist destination in Morocco.  It is well worth a visit, with a charming central square and medina ranging up the steep mountainside in narrow, rocky alleys and long, curving stairsteps. 

plaza in Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen has a very interesting history.  It was first settled by Spanish Jews and Muslims in 1492 when both groups were expelled from Spain by Isabella and Ferdinand, after they conquered Spain and Portugal from the Moors who had ruled Spain for 800 years.  So, the townspeople speak Spanish, Arabic and Berber, unlike the majority of the Moroccan population who speak Arabic, Berber and French.  The central square is called the “zocalo” rather than “place”.  The Jews left Chefchaouen as well as the rest of Morocco starting in 1948, when Israel was founded, and continued migrating to Israel, Europe and the US for the next 30 years, so that now there are no Jews left in Chefchaouen. 

blue doorway along alley

The town is very picturesque, with gorgeous blue doors and blue squares, walls and alleys.  We kept coming upon pretty little plazas with cafes and tiny shops, selling everything from tourist trinkets to paint pigments

art gallery

paint pigments

Most of us hiked to a small mosque built by the Portuguese on the mountainside above Chefchaouen.  The townspeople don't use it because it looks like a church instead of a mosque.  I continued climbing to another mosque higher up and a small village with a few houses, goats and lots of children.  The schoolchildren were coming home from school in Chefchaouen as I walked down, a steep climb of about 2 miles each way, which they make every day.

 

mosque in village above Chefchaouen

On our 5 hour drive to Chefchaouen, we quickly encountered the first of many police traffic stops.  Our bus was pulled over and our driver forced to produce all the papers regarding the bus as well as his own credentials.  If a driver gets a ticket, he gets points against his license.  It doesn’t take many tickets to lose your driver’s license and, therefore, your livelihood.  So, police have tremendous power when they stop a car or bus.  As a result, drivers usually pay off the policeman in order to avoid a ticket.  As we drove hundreds of miles all over Morocco, we encountered many police roadblocks and were stopped multiple times. 

sharing trail with a kid

This part of Morocco is its breadbasket.  There are tens of thousands of acres of wheat, beautifully golden right now as the fields await the harvester.  Farmers contract with harvester owners to get their crops harvested.  We saw lots of big machines in the fields and on the roads.  Once the crop is harvested, the stubble is cut and baled into large hay bales.  If there is enough rain in the north for the grass to grow and feed the sheep, cattle and goats, the hay is sold in the south, where there is very little grass.  The south of Morocco sends dates and sheep north in return.  If there is a drought, the hay stays with the farmer to feed his animals.

last of the poppies

We’re a little late for the huge splashes of red poppies that cover the large meadows across Morocco in March and April.  But, some are still blooming to remind us that Morocco is a land of many colors in both cities and countryside.

Fez is my favorite city in Morocco

carved plaster window in the medrassa

Fez is my favorite city in Morocco.  We've been there several times and loved it.  Despite the crowds and chaos in the medina, it is free of cars, full of colorful carts, people selling and hauling goods, artisans making beautiful handicrafts in small squares, and donkeys and cats. The alleyways are narrow and shaded, very welcome on a hot day.  The souk is full of color and spices--and people.  

artisan painting pottery

We stayed at the Riad Fes, a beautiful amalgam of 5 old palaces put together to make a hotel.  The rooms are beautiful and the service is excellent.  And, it's in the medina, so you can walk out the front door into all the activity and get back to take a rest whenever you want. 

pottery pigments

On our first visit to Fez about 15 years ago, we could not walk out of our hotel without being swarmed by guides wanting to show us the medina (and the shops where they could get a commission).  It was so bad that we retreated to our hotel and asked the concierge to get us a guide so we could avoid the onslaught.  Our guide only spoke French, which we don't speak, and hauled us into every shop he could, but did keep the other guides at bay so we could visit the medina in relative peace.  Soon after, the government banned guides from the vicinity of hotels, so now you can go where you wish with only shopkeepers vying for your attention.  

Fez medina

As you look at the ancient medina from a viewpoint across the valley, you can see the old Jewish Quarter, now in disrepair, but still occupied by some (not Jewish) families.  Our guide told us that the Jewish descendants of the original owners, now scattered around the world, still legally own their family homes under Moroccan law.  But, no one seems to know who or where they are, making it very difficult to renovate or sell the properties.  

old house in the Jewish Quarter

During the French occupation of Morocco, the French governor, General Lyautey, decreed that no one but Muslims could enter mosques.  So, even though most Muslim countries let non-Muslims enter mosques, it is still forbidden in Morocco.  We looked at several of the more beautiful mosques from outside and, since our full day in Fez was on a Friday, watched the streams of men entering for Friday prayers.

   

Kairouan mosque

One of the most beautiful buildings in the medina is a medrassa, with intricately carved plaster walls and doors.  Moorish architecture in Spain has the same magnificent craftsmanship, no surprise since those Moorish architects and artisans mostly came from Morocco.

Woodworking Museum

A happy surprise was the woodworking museum, a place we'd never visited, set in a beautifully renovated caravanserai in the heart of the medina.  Once the resting place for hordes of camels and itinerant merchants, the now-peaceful courtyard is cool and welcoming.  Upstairs, you can see woodworking tools, handmade furniture and carved friezes and doorways.

leather dying vats

A visit to the leather dying vats is a smelly must in Fez, but on Friday, there are no workers there to stomp the leather into the dye.  Nevertheless, it's an impressive sight to see the ancient vats where leather has been dyed for centuries.  

carved wood and plaster wall in medrassa

Fez is home to craftspeople of many kinds, but carpets are a staple of the medina economy, so we spent time shopping for (and buying) Berber carpets in a large and beautiful palace, much to the delight of the shopkeeper, not to mention our guide. 

wool dying street

mom and babies in box

Cats, of course, abound.  They prefer the alleys with food stalls, meat shops and restaurants where they are well fed.  As elsewhere, these cats love to be stroked by cat lovers from near and far.

 

Don in front of 2000 year old olive tree

A big surprise was our visit to Masseria Brancati, an olive farm that dates to pre-Roman times.  The spectacular trees are huge, hollowed out by bacteria (as are the oak trees in California), and still producing large quantities of excellent olives. 

pre-Roman olive tree--maybe 3000 years old

Some of the trees were planted by Greek farmers before the Roman era.  These could be as old as 3000 years.  They were planted randomly, while the Romans planted their trees in straight lines, so you can see which trees were planted by whom.  The Roman trees are 2000 years old.  They are gravely threatened by a new bacteria that has decimated olive orchards just south of Masseria Brancati.  It would be terrible to lose these ancient giants.

Beneath the modern olive press is the Roman mill.  It must have been pretty grim for man and beast.  Donkeys or cattle walked around and around in a small circle, pulling the huge grindstone until the olives had given up all their oil.  They reportedly knew to stop pulling when the pulling became easier because all the olives had been reduced to pulp.  The pulp was turned into oil for lamps. 

Roman olive grinding stone

The animals lived underground in a stable carved out of the limestone.  I hope they were able to go aboveground when the pressing season was over.  Otherwise, their lives would have been cruel and short.

ancient olive orchard

Even worse was the fate of the men who worked in the mill.  They spent all their time underground working the animals, dumping olives into the press, cleaning the channels that transferred the oil from the grinding area to stone vats, and pouring the finished oil into crockery for sale.  They had a limestone shelf about 10’ X 8’ where they slept, presumably with nothing like a blanket or pillow to provide any comfort.  These were probably slaves who lived short and brutish lives, overworked, underfed and cruelly treated.

Roman olive oil bins

The mill itself was ingenious, with vats and channels carved into the limestone and clay pipes for feeding olives into the underground mill.  Grindstones were huge and very heavy.  Later, giant screws of wood were used to press down smaller grindstones, presumably making it faster and easier to produce the oil.

Masseria Brancati makes 4 kinds of olive oil, ranging from extra virgin (the first crushing of the olives, immediately after they are harvested) to lemon-flavored.  According to our guide, there is no oil that is better than another.  It is all a matter of individual taste.

Our guide was the marketing director for the Masseria and was excellent.  She told us she had married young, had two sons, then divorced and moved to London with her little boys.  She worked as a global marketing director for American Express for 10 years until Brexit made her and her sons unwelcome in  Britain.  So, she came home, but is very anxious to emigrate to another European country or, better, the US or Canada, where she can work again in a global capacity.  She has found business in southern Italy slow to change and unenlightened in its practices.

 

Bari and Lecce, cities on the Aegean Coast

 

13th century church in Bari

In contrast to scruffy Naples, Bari is spotless.  Many of its Baroque buildings have been restored, though many more await someone’s enthusiasm and money.  We stayed in a wonderful B and B, Bari 102, in the heart of the university district, so there was lots going on, a myriad of restaurants, a pedestrian shopping street and students everywhere.  The historic center of Bari is a pleasant 10-minute walk away.  

ceiling of Basilica di San Nicola

Like most of this part of Italy, Bari goes back to Greek and Roman times.  During the Middle Ages, it became a major slave trading center, mostly for Slavic slaves sold into the Byzantine Empire and Muslim states.  It’s Basilica of St. Nicholas was established in the late 11^th century to hold the relics of Saint Nicholas, spirited away secretly to their new resting place from their earlier home in Byzantine lands. 

fresco from Basilica

The Basilica was built in Romanesque style, begun in 1087 and finally completed in 1197.  It is a place where Catholic and Orthodox churches come together to worship, so rather unusual.  It has a gorgeously painted ceiling along with beautiful capitals atop the columns and well-preserved frescoes.

The large Schwabian Castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times during its history as waves of conquerors came to sack Bari.  Finally, in the 17^th century, the daughter of the King of Naples restored the castle and made it her residence.  Right now, the  castle hosts a beautiful exhibition of ancient pottery found in Bari, from the plain ware that preceded the Greeks to the elaborately decorated Greek pots to Roman drinking vessels.

elephant on sarcophagus

Along what used to be the waterfront, families built tower houses, tall, skinny structures with watchtowers, in order to keep an eye out for a flotilla of invaders.  As elsewhere along this busy coast, the tower houses didn’t do much to protect the inhabitants from a determined aggressor.  It’s easy to picture family members standing in their tower, nervously searching the sea for threats and sounding the alarm when a ship was sighted.  It must have been a harrowing life. 

Schwabian castle

Bari vegetable market

There are lots of outdoor markets and shops in the historic center of Bari, so it is a fun place to wander.

South of Bari is the beautiful Baroque city of Lecce.  The entrance is the Punto di Napoli, an imposing gate leading to a large and busy city center, full of mostly crumbling, but still lovely, palaces, churches, convents and shops.  Just outside the Punto di Napoli is the university, with its rather                                                      decrepit buildings, so the center of the city is also a center of night life                                                      for all its young patrons.  

Porto di Napoli, Lecce

Baroque Basilica, Lecce

There is a fascinating Jewish museum, the Museo Ebraico, in the middle of the old city, probably right on top of the ruined synagogue in the former Jewish Quarter.  This Jewish Quarter was not a ghetto as people could move freely in and out of the Quarter.  That is rather unusual in medieval cities where Jews were often locked into their overcrowded quarters.  There was a Jewish community here in the late Middle Ages, but after World War II, no Jews remained and none have returned.  

Baroque palace needing repair

I had no idea that Jews rescued from the Nazi death camps had been housed in southern Italy after the Second World War, but we watched a very moving video about a displaced persons camp for Jews in the town of Santa Maria di Leuca, at the southern tip of Italy’s boot.  A rabbi in the camp urged the refugees to marry and have children, in order to start rebuilding the Jewish people after the ravages of the Nazis.  Three women born in the camp in Santa Maria di Leuca told their stories in the video, produced during a visit they made to the former displaced persons camp.  They carried photos of their mothers and themselves and talked about the incredible joy their mothers said they felt after giving birth to their first child.  The families later moved to Israel. 

renovated palace

Lecce has a beautiful Roman amphitheater, discovered when the city was trying to expand the main piazza.  There are music and theater performances there in the summer.  Our guide told us the locals bring their cushions and camp chairs and put them on the stone seats of the Roman era to enjoy a more comfortable experience. 

Lecce's Roman amphitheater