I didn't know what to expect in Morocco because I hadn't heard of it before going there. We flew into Casablanca and took two trains to reach Marrakech. When we got outside the train station many drivers grabbed our bags and took them in different directions because they all wanted our business. We finally settled on a large cab so we could all travel together to the place we were staying. It was inside the Medina, that is a walled medieval city and we stayed in a riad which is a really old house within the medina. We stayed with a great couple from England named Jackie and Luke. Jackie had arranged a Moroccan dinner for us when we arrived which was great because we were all starved. The riad had a large courtyard and all the rooms around it. It was really beautiful.
In Marrakech there is a main square, Djemaa el Fna, that has snake charmers and monkey trainers. A man put a monkey on my head and two other men put baby cobras around my neck and on my arm. It was really scary!! Beside the square were souks. That is what the local markets are called in Morocco. Marrakech has the largest area of souks in the world. There were colourful spices, shoes, meal works, lamps, and other trinkets. We rode a horse drawn carriage around the Medina to see all the sights. Dad and Jeffrey got haircuts on our first day by a very nice man who didn't speak any English. We passed him every day and he always waived and smiled. From Marrakech, Jackie arranged a driver to take us to the Atlas Mountains about 2 ½ hours from our riad. It was absolutely beautiful! When we arrived at the Atlas Mountains it was covered with snow and we climbed to a village about 2 hours away. It was so much fun except our feet got soaking wet and cold. When we reached the village I bought a cobalt rock found there and we discovered a bunch of kids skiing with really old equipment. They were all boys who were taking a break from studying the Koran. Only the boys seemed to be skiing.
After Marrakech we took a train to Fes. Train travel was difficult because they never announce anything in English so we had to guess where we were. In Fes we went to a medina built in the 8th century. It felt like we were in medieval times. We went to the tannery where men dyed hides in large vats to create leather goods. It was an experience I'll never forget. Men were literally in the huge vats of dye, all sorts of different colours. In the medina the people live like they did many years ago. There are no cars and large stuff was moved by donkeys pulling carts. The people living there baked their bread in a community bakery. The children brought the dough to the large oven and picked it up later for a small fee. I went to a primary school where the children were taught the Koran.
We enjoyed our stay in Morocco. It felt like we were living in a time from the past.
