Into the Atlas Mountains, Tour Day 2, WTRD 42 Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Into the Atlas Mountains, Discover Morocco Tour Day 2

The walls are so thick, we barely heard the call to prayer at 5:40 am. We were planning to get up at 6:00 am anyway, eat breakfast at 7:00, depart at 7:45. We have a long day ahead of us, driving over the and through the Atlas mountains.

This morning Fazia and Fatima have baked us more bread and melaqui, a small thin pancake (crepe). There was butter, apricot jam, honey with arragone oil, and fig jam along with both tea and coffee.

We said farewell and thank you to our hosts. We gave Muhammed and his family a California magnet and invited them to visit us if they come to California to visit family.

Here are a few facts Ali shared with us as we traveled away from the Berber Village:

Morocco is a monarchy, with a 2 house parliament and prime minister. It is the most liberal of all Muslim countries and the only one not invaded by the Ottoman Turks. It is the last Arab Muslim country to see the sunset.

Land of variety and contrast

Morocco is the land of tall mountains, Atlas mountains with ski resorts. It is also the land of deserts and camels. It is the second most varied country in the world, Turkey is first. Morocco is in the center of the world. There is another mountain range called the Rif mountains along th Mediterranean Sea. Morocco has two types of deserts, sand and stone.

Morocco is bordered by two seas, the Med and Atlantic and boasts the second highest mountain in Africa, Touekala 4,165 meters, 60 kilometers out of Marrakech. Morocco mining and holding 2/3 of the world's phosphate deposits, silver, bronze, zinc. The mining industry doesn't make a lot of money from phosphate because it is shipped raw out of the country and used as a component of fertilizer

Agriculture is the second biggest industry. Morocco prides itself in using non-phosphate natural fertilizer. There are 200 dams in Morocco that capture rain and snowmelt water from the Atlas Mountains. The main export in Morroco is oranges and orange juice. There are no taxes on farming. The rich farmers are able to buy more equipment and have larger farms. The poor subsistence farmers remain poor because even with no taxes they barely make enough to feed their families, There is some pollitical movement to help these farmers join together in co-ops so they become economically more viable.

One third of population is under the age of 15. This large youth population poses problems ahead as there are already not enough jobs. Seven to fifteen percent of men and women who want to work outside of the home are unemployed. The government doesn't pay if you don't work.

Large families help one another economically. Children go to work to help families. Parents are children's responsibilities. Three different Berber groups, thousands of tribes, many customs and traditions requires acceptance of each other as they are. Your religion and beliefs are an individual's business. You can see two women walking together who are good friends, one in modern and one in traditional dress. It does not matter to them, nor do they judge one another because it is their individual choice of expression of what they believe.

Women and men get jobs depending on their skills they have learned in school. If they drop out of school before acquiring skills, they must do some sort of physical labor. Men get the more physical jobs, women the less physical jobs. Today, there are still women predominantly as teachers and nurses, and doctors. Ali's wife is a judge in the court system. After having children, she decided not to work outside the home. It was her choice. Ali says if a woman is lazy and does not want to work, or chooses to stay at home, it is the husband, brother, father's, son's responsibility to support her.

Yesterday, we left Marrakech on the main road in one direction. Today we return through Marrakech in another direction into the Atlas mountains. We learn that no building in Marrakech can be higher than the minaret. Within the city of Marrakech builders must follow architectural design rules so that the buildings have a similarity and continuity of style. Unlike the Greeks, the buildings are purposely not white, but a warm sand color and easier on the eyes.

There are four main colors in Morocco, red for the red sand colored buildings, blue for the sky, green for the gardens, and white for the snow covered Atlas mountains. Russ has added to his collection of hat pins by buying a country's soccer jerseys. He now has one with the Moroccan colors. The locals love this and are always giving him a thumbs up and a big smile because he honors their team.

We begin to climb upwards through Berber villages and roadside stands through the Tichka pass. The road is new, but quite windy with hairpin turns and beautiful vistas.

Berber Village Tucked in the Hillside

We Reach the Summit

There's a donkey in there somewhere!

We arrive in Ouarzazat where we have the opportunity to visit one the world's most magnificent Kasbahs. When I was a kid, I loved the word Kasbah and used to say "Come into the Kasbah." I must have heard or seen this in a movie. A Kasbah is a Berber fortified city with tall walls and no windows. It has walkways and apartment type homes connected together.

This setting has been used for films more than any other location in Morocco: including Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazraeth, and the Gladiator. There are some false sets just outside the city walls used for these movies.

Movie Set Towers in Front of Kasbah

As this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, nothing artificial can be constructed on the inside of Kasbah walls.

After climbing up and down stairs and pathways in the Kasbah and photographing from every angle,

This part of Kasbah used in the Gladiator

we return to the van and head towards our accommodations at the Riad Salam. We passed by two very large movie studios. This is the Hollywood of Morocco, maybe of Africa.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's in Ouarzazate, Morocco

FFI Conference Ends - Morocco Tour Begins Day 1, WTRD 40-41, Sunday September 18 -- Monday, September 19

Doors Open to the Power of Friendship

FFI Conference Ends - Sunday, September 19

This morning, members of Friendship Force Clubs of continental Africa presented about their country, language, non-profit organizations (SOAR), and their clubs.

Project SOAR helps girls rise and soar in Morocco

We heard from Morocco, South Africa, Uganda and Ghana.

Frederick from Uganda

One of the speakers was a Moroccan Woman who told her story. She is a modern Muslim woman with a PhD. Her parents who had limited education were very encouraging to her and told her she should never have to depend on a man to support her. She is married to a nice man who also supports her work.

I asked her after her talk if her parents and in particular her father were exceptionally supportive or was this the norm? After hearing a previous talk by the founders of soar, child brides under the age of fifteen have doubled in the last two years in Morocco.

She replied that it is not that poor father's have less affection or concern for their daughters than her father did, but they have fewer options. Muslims do not practice birth control and it is difficult to feed and care for large families. It has been particularly difficult for subsistence farmers with the drought of the last few years.

Out of concern for their daughters' well being and those of the younger children, eligible daughters are married off to men who can afford to feed and care for them better than the father. Generally these girls have already had to drop out of school because the parents needed them to work to help support the family, but girls with little schooling do not contribute much to the family's income. There is so much to learn. It was fascinating.

Our afternoon was free to shop, pack, hangout at the pool, or go on additional tours. Russ and I chose to pack and hang out at the pool. We attended the gala dinner in the evening where we began to say goodbye to our FFI Sacramento friends, and the new friends we made.

Discover Morocco Tour Begins Day 1 - Berber Life - Monday, September 20

Today ends the Friendship Force International Conference. Our first plenary session carried over the theme of learning about Africa and an invitation to the 40th anniversary of Friendship Force at the Manchester, England World Conference in late August 2017.

The second part of the plenary session was on the strides forward the FFI staff is making in communications with a new website that will be released this fall. The conference was closed by our CEO reading a poem by Maya Angelou and with all of the members singing the song, Let there be peace in the world and let it start with me. It was an inspirational song at a time when the news around the world is not peaceful. We have a lot of work to do!

Having packed our bags prior to the plenary session, when the conference ended we rolled out the door and boarded our Discover Morocco Tour Bus. On our trip, in addition to Russ and I, there is a couple from Germany, two women from Pennsylvania, two women from Australia, and a man from New Zealand. There are nine of us on a bus capable of seating 20, so we each have a window seat with room to spare, very nice indeed. I had spoken to one member who had gone on the pre-conference tour, and she hoped we would get the same guide, Ali, that their group had. She spoke highly of him.

We are lucky, Ali is our guide.

He has prepared for each of us luggage tags, small coin purses with small denomination of coins for toilets, a personalized guide book (our names on the front in English, Arabic, and Berber). The guide book includes common phrases, maps, history, culture. We each have our own large water bottle with our names. We may not drink any other water or brush our teeth from any other source unless it has been boiled first for tea and coffee.

Best of all, Ali speaks excellent, understandable English. We are heading out of Marrakech west where we will be spending the night in a Berber Village and experience making our own dinner, tajine and bread.

There is a striking contrast between metropolitan Marrakech and the rural villages we drive through in Morocco. The city is modern, tidy, paved with the old Medina in the middle. It is reminiscent of a French Colonial era. The country side is poor, run down, with dirt store fronts and tattered awnings, and scattered with litter. There is a higher prevalence of donkey carts and traditionally dressed women.

The Berber Village and cultural center where we will spend the night is in the rolling hills of rock and dust desert with green patches of olive trees and prickly pears. Our riad is on the outskirts of the village on a dirt road. It is very plain looking on the outside,

but very comfortable and traditional on the inside. It is certainly more rustic than the accommodations we have had in Marrakech. There is no wifi here.

We enter into a lovely central courtyard with areas to relax and lounge.

The bed rooms are situated upstairs and downstairs around the courtyard. The rooms upstairs have private bathrooms. We are downstairs where we share a rustic bathroom.

There is one hand towel for us to share. Our room is blue with twin beds and thick thermal walls of adobe, no windows to the outside so it is very dark unless we turn on the light or open the door for light and some fresh air.

When we arrive, we are greeted by our host Mohammed who speaks good English and is very welcoming. Mohammed and his wife Fazia who speaks some English are the owners the house and operate the cultural center/rabat have two children, 4 year old Lena, and 1 year old Azia (both cute little girls).

There mother is Fazia. There are other members of the family (two of Fazia's Aunts) and close friends who help with running the center and caring for the guests.

We are served a wonderful couscous vegetarian lunch with fresh fruit for desert.

and time afterward to relax, then we carefully observe the multistep, Moroccan mint tea making ritual as there will be a tea making contest this evening.

After our tea, it is time to start preparing dinner! Four of our group takes the donkeys and containers to the community well a 45 minute walk from the house. Five of us head to the indoor/outdoor kitchen area. Russ is in the bread making group of three, and Phyllis and I are making the tangine with Fazia.

Fazia has already started the charcoal burners on which each container will sit.

There are four tajine containers. Fazia prepares the ingredients for two containers, and we each prepare one by following her step by step example. There a rough chunks of fatty beef in each (perhaps 1 lb or half a kilo). On top of the beef we lay on onions, garlic, oil, tumeric, ginger, salt, and pepper.

We cover the container with its conical top and place them on the burner. We can hear the fat sizzling as the meat is seared and browned. After 10 minutes we turn the meat, in another 10 minutes we turn the meat again. In another 10 minutes, we turn the meat and vegetables one more time add some water, and lay sliced onions, tomatoes, green olives, and salt and pepper to the tangine, recover it and let it cook for 1 hour.

Russ is following Fatima's (Fazia's Aunt) instructions on how to make bread. First he sifts, adds......, mixes it with water. It looks gooey, and his hands are covered in sticky dough. They knead the bread. Fatima has worked her bread hard and it looks light and fluffy. Russ still has goo on his fingers.

They let the dough rest for a bit, then make round balls and begin to flatten the balls into thick flat cakes. In the time it takes Russ, Beth and Jennifer to make one flat cake, Fatima has made at least a dozen more.

The cakes are left to rest under a covered cloth while the tajine stews and Fatima builds a fire in the outdoor oven for the bread.

 While the bread rises and is baked, and the tajine stews, we go for a walk around the village. Lena and her Uncle or family friend? Lead the way.

The sun is going down and people are sitting and relaxing outside of their homes. We take a few photos, asking permission as we go. The people are smiling, generous, and no one asked me for money, which was quite common in Marrakech.

I had a sweet experience, as I passed one household. A little girl 3 or 4 was peaking out the door way from a raised open porch. A woman was also standing in the door way. I waved at the little girl and the woman smiled at me. I asked if I could take a photo and she happily said yes. When I had photographed her and the little girl.  As Friendship Force Ambassadors we bring culture and experience to people eager to learn about the world, and in return we learn much about the world, people, and cultures we often misunderstand from our western perspective.

She encouraged the little girl to come forward and greet me. I extended by hand upward to her, saying "bonjour". Instead of taking my hand, she leaned down, placed her hands on both of my shoulders, kissed me once on the left cheek, and then on the right which is the traditional way Berber/Moroccan women and girls greet one another. I was quite touched. She then giggled and ran back into the house, suddenly becoming quite shy.

We returned to our riad and enjoyed our tajine meal along with potato salad, flat bread, and water, with fruit for desert (apples, grapes, bananas) It was delicious. Now it was time for the tea making contest.

Seven tea making stations were set up (two of our group did not wish to participate) with a low table and chair, with a tray that had a teapot, two glasses, one with green tea, one with peppermint, and a small dish with huge chunks of sugar. We were each given a number. The judges sat at a table across from us with a notepad and paper. One of the judges, came around and offered us boiling water for the tea. He watched quite closely as water was added to the pot. I tried to remember the steps.

Step one: rinse out the teapot with boiling water. Add the tea. Pour a 1/4 cup of boiling water into the pot on top of the dry leaves. Wait long enough, 1 minute for the tea leaves to thicken into a slurry. Pour off the water into the little cup (cleans dust and debris from the tea leaves).

Step two: add stems of fresh peppermint and chunks of sugar ( I do not use all of the sugar even though I know the Berbers like it very sweet). Fill teapot with boiling water and let it sit for a few seconds for the sugar to dissolve.

Step three: Swirl the pot, and pour a glass of tea raising the teapot high above the so that it creates a long drop to the glass, aerating the tea and creating a bubbly foam layer at the top of the glass. Pour the tea back in the pot. Repeat the process two more times for sweet tea, and only one more time for unsweetened tea.

Serve tea by the long drop method so there is foam on the top.

Once everyone had completed the tea making, the glasses of tea were brought to the judges table in numerical order. Fatima was one of the tasting judges, as were two men, the uncle and perhaps a cousin. Each sipped the tea and gave the recording judges a number between 1 an 5.

The final scores were given. They ranged from 9-13 points. It was like Dancing with the Stars for mirror ball. And I got the high score! Yes. You are all invited over for Moroccan mint tea when we return home. I will serve you award winning mint tea. I received an award certificate, and a Moroccan teapot. Lovely! Such fun.

By the time the tea party was over, it was 9:30 and I was beat, and the children were very tired. Fatima would get up the following morning to make more bread, and everyone turned in.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's in the Berber Village, Morocco.

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