I had my most fulfilling day yet in Morocco yesterday. We woke up early and we went to the old Kasbah in Ozzruarte. It was really beautiful, but it was also sad to see how degraded the historic site was. This is true with so many monuments in Morocco, they are not well preserved or restored, and in a few generations they will be destroyed. I’m glad that we are getting to see these things now because, odds are, that it is just a matter of time until they are entirely gone.
We were able to tour around in the Kasbah, then the surrounding village that has been there for hundreds of years. The architecture here in the desert is really beautiful because everything is that desert red terra cotta color that is contrasted by bright Moroccan blue shutters and doors. The color of the buildings is the same color as the earth, so sometimes you don’t notice them until you are fairly close when you are traveling on the road.
We were able to visit a Qu’ranic school for boys in the city, and one of the boys was sweet enough to let me take his picture. They live at the school from a very early age. The school is state-sponsored because many of the students will go on to be lawyers or Imams. They boys study using slate boards and indigo chalk. It is an archaic way to study, but when you think about the age of the texts in the Qu’ran that they are studying, it seems a little more appropriate, and nonetheless unique.
We went from the Qu’ranic school to a women’s cooperative. Women in the countryside of Morocco are stigmatized by the fact that they are feminine, although their female counterparts in the cities are enjoying more freedom due to the Personal Status Codes. Because work is not formalized in rural areas, women are not as directly effected by these new pieces of legislation and their gender is often a great obstacle to overcoming poverty. Different NGO’s have sprouted up in the form of Women’s Co-ops to help women sell their traditional handicrafts for fair prices. It must be said that I really doubt that these organizations are non-profit, but they do have a fairly legitimate system in place that makes me think that the women who work for the Co-op probably get more reasonable prices than elsewhere.
I have been thinking about what I want to bring home from Morocco as a memory from this trip. The problem was solved when they started bringing out beautiful Camel and Silk carpets in Saffron, Poppy, and Indigo. I couldn’t resist. Now, it must be said that the ongoing jokes about this whole trip have been pretty consistent. One, that I can’t for the life of me barter for anything, so I never buy anything. Two, that I’m the youngest and the most baby-ed by everyone. When I returned after having been gone for half an hour with exactly what I wanted for exactly what I wanted to pay for it, I was so proud of myself. I got this beautiful rug that is saffron with white and indigo embroidery… c’est parfait!
We left when everyone was getting antsy after waiting for an hour or so for a few of us to finish our transactions, and I was so excited about my new prize. I guess it’s true what they say about retail therapy.
After Shopping, we went off to the next Kasbah. This one is the one where the filmed Lawrence of Arabia and the North Africa Scene in Gladiator. It is very well kept up because of the movie industry. Again, the red mudbrick is the weapon of choice when building in this region.
We hiked down the valley, across a little river up to the top of the hill of the Kasbah overlooking the valley. It was really beautiful and it felt really good to be active for once this trip! After the walk, thank God it was overcast, we stopped and rested in the river for a while which was really, really nice.
After we regrouped we got back on the bus and continued through a series of villages leading to the Dandes Valley, which is where we are staying today. This hotel is truly amazing! I squealed when I found out they were going to let us stay another night. All my friends are emailing me from home… I am going to have to make the best of it here, even though I soooooo want to be there. This nice hotel is going to make that a little easier. ;)
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