Humbled by history

I have to giggle. People want to know what I have been up to on my travels. The question be: “What haven’t I been up to?” Hmmmmm.

After breakfast, our day started off with a walking tour of the Meknes Medina. Most of the souks (Arab marketplaces) were closed as our tour began at 9 a.m. The Medina (walled city) is old; founded roughly in the year 1060 AD. Life for the residents tends to be traditional in education, religion and home life. Females generally prepare the meals and do the shopping while males tend the souks. There are many beautiful examples of architecture within the Medina and here are some photos of it. 

After our Medina tour, we walked to the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, a sultan who ruled Morocco from the late 1600s to the early 1700s. In addition to the burial area, we toured the former mosque and a bit of the royal gardens. The burial place, gardens, mosque (and much more) are located in the grounds of the former royal palace. 

Truthfully, it’s a lot of history and pretty overwhelming but deeply fascinating. 

The local guide for our Meknes adventure was so amazing, so knowledgeable. It was a pleasure spending time in the rain with him. (Editor's note: Go, Cindy, Go!) After our departure from Meknes, we made our way to the Roman ruins of Volubilis. This city was founded in the third century BC and abandoned in the 11th century AD. It was once the capital of Mauritania and is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) heritage sight. It’s partially excavated and, of the many things it's famous for, its mosaics. We started our tour there with a local guide with a wicked sense of humour delivered in a totally deadpan manner. He constantly made me laugh, which was good because less than halfway into the tour it started to rain. Again.

Still, being able to roam freely among Roman ruins, to walk down a path that chariots used to drive down and to stand in the footprint of homes, shops and other buildings that were built before Christ walked the Earth is pretty humbling. And although is was raining and muddy, I appreciated the importance of the time I spent there.

From Volubilis, it was on to Chefchouen. The drive was roughly three hours and the scenery around us was beautiful. The rolling hills, the agriculture, the donkeys pulling small carts, the shepherds tending flocks of sheep — all of it is so different than the life we have at home. On the drive, we peppered our guide with many questions — everything from marriage, divorce, education and religion. We talked about female/male equality and marijuana. Oh, and the fact that if anyone offers us Moroccan chocolate, it’s not chocolate. It’s hash. We rolled into Chefchouen, the Blue City, soggy, tired, a little bit cold and ready to settle into our home for the next two nights. Sadly, there was a hotel mixup and we are now staying in what used to be a former nuns cloister. I did say, a few times, that I wanted to be a nun. No one in our group is happy with the move, primarily because we are traveling on the Premium tour, which is comprised of top-end hotels. The top end doesn’t mean chain hotels but interesting hotels are what we are expecting (like my recent riad stay). It might’ve been OK but we all went into the first hotel and fell in love with the gardens surrounding it. 

The upside to this hotel? It’s located less than a five minute walk to restaurants and shops. How do I know this? Well, supper wasn’t included tonight but most of the group opted to go back to the original accommodation and eat there. I wasn’t feeling it, though, and neither were my favourite travellers, so we went for a walk, a meal and great conversation a short distance from the hotel. And that was pretty cool. The last thing to mention is a quick revert back to women’s education in Morocco. I’m travelling with Intrepid Tours and they have the Intrepid Foundation, which puts money back into projects in the countries where they operate tours. One of the projects they sponsor is ensuring girls have access to quality education in Morocco. I think it’s pretty cool to be travelling with a company that believes in giving back. Now it’s time for this sleepy girl to close her eyes and get some sleep. Sweet dreams and much love from the Girl under the Chefchouen moon.