Morocco, Morocco

Hola a todos! Just got back from Tangier, Morocco late last night. What an experience!!! It was definitely a culture different from anything I have ever seen in my life before, but it was amazing to me how many things were similar to other places I've visited in the past.

When we arrived in Tangier (after a 12 hour journey by bus and ferry), we got a small tour of the city. Our guide took us down to the Kasbah and Medina market. One of the things Morocco is known for is its negotiation style of shopping. You never accept the first price, and you can usually talk the salesman way down. The market had anything from souvenirs to fresh meat to natural remedies. It was really cool to see, smell, and experience.

Saturday we headed out to Chaouen, a small city in the mountains outside of Tangier. On the way to the city, we got stuck in some really bad traffic near a sheep market. Apparently we arrived right before a big holiday in Morocco where they sacrifice sheep. It was cool to see the open market with thousands of Moroccans purchasing a sheep for the holiday, though.

Once we got past the traffic, we passed through the beautiful landscape to Chaouen. It's a beautiful blue and white city with small winding streets. We walked throughout the whole city and then had a chance to sample some great Moroccan food for lunch...YUM! Chaoen was definitely a cool place to see, and the weather was BEAUTIFUL. Although I'm pretty sure some guy hexed me on the way out for not donating money for Mohammed (he "gave me the black coin"...figuratively) I really enjoyed the time we had in the small city.

Sunday we got to sleep in before we headed out to ride camels!! Our guide took us to a place on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea where we got to ride on the animals for a little while. (at one point one of the guides even let me pull the camel!) It was a really good time. After the camel rides we headed over to the Caves of Hercules. I'm not exactly sure what the story behind these caves are, but there is an opening kind of in the shape of Africa where you can take pictures.


After the caves we headed over to Azilah...another blue and white seaside city. Here we had a couple of hours to roam around and eat before heading back to Tangier. It was a great little city, and all of the people were very kind.

I've never been to a Muslim country before, so Morocco was an interesting experience for me. Apart from the difference of religion, it was difficult for me to accept the role of women in their society. Although I tried to keep an open mind and accept their culture, I couldn't ignore the sideways glances from men and the absolute submission of women. Morocco has made some strides in this aspect, however. Our guide (who has two wives himself) informed us that recently a law was passed restricting men to only one wife instead of the four previously allowed. He also told us that women do not need the permission of their parents in order to marry anymore (I have heard it's still pretty difficult to do without it though). To me, coming from a society in which women are far more empowered, it was difficult to adapt to a culture that is so different. Far be it from me to say what is right or wrong or to judge their culture accordingly. But I did struggle with this throughout the weekend.

Another interesting thing I noted was how similar the country of Morocco was to other third world countries I've visited in Central America and even Mexico. A few other girls in the group also noted how similar some aspects were to part of Mexico. To me it was interesting how, even though the culture is 100% different, poverty is still the same all over the world. People face the same problems and solve them in much the same way.

All in all, it was a really great trip, and I am definitely glad I went. Now, less than two weeks left to enjoy Madrid before I head back to Chicago. I can't believe it's already coming to a close, but it's been the experience of a lifetime for sure. Only one more essay to write and about four finals to get through before I make it home. :)