In August last year, DH and I had the privilege of going to Tangier with his Dad and partner. It was their wedding gift to us. I have wanted to go there for many years and was over the moon when they told us that they planned to take us there. My father-in-law lives in Malaga, Spain. We drove down the coast to Tarifa where we caught a ferry across to Tangier. The view from our hotel room was stunning. Golden sand, azure blue seas and white washed buildings. A truly beautiful sight.
Later that evening we caught a taxi into the old town and were dropped off at the Medina (market). There we saw piles of olives, fruit and vegetables. Also fresh meat, which wasn’t that pleasant when you are used to buying your meat pre packaged, especially the goats’ heads, legs and stomachs! There were beautifully laid out fresh fish and other seafood… a feast for the eyes!
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| The entrance to the Medina |
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| Yummo! |
After that we ventured into the narrow streets to explore and look in the many little shops. In one we looked at beautiful Tagine’s painted in delightful Moroccan colours and patterns and gorgeous framed mirrors with doors attached. In the shop next door there were hundreds of beautiful bags, most of which were leather. I haggled with the owner and bought one each for my daughters.
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| Gorgeous Tagine's |
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| Shoes anyone? |
While MIL and I were in this particular shop, DH and his Dad were being befriended by a local called Mohammed who offered to show us around the town and the Casbah (Palace/Fort). He was a real hoot and knew a lot about the town. He led us down the windy streets where we admired many beautiful doors, ate traditional Moroccan bread hot out of the oven and saw a lot of people living in the city.
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| Outer wall of Casbah |
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| Aren't the mosaics divine? |
Many of the houses don’t have running water or electricity, so we saw people preparing meals by the water source and cleaning their dishes and clothes.
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| Here a young man is making an evening meal with capsicums, onions and fish |
While we were in Morocco, many of the inhabitants were celebrating the month of Ramadan. During this time, they fast during daylight hours and feast late into the night.
So while we were in the Medina we witnessed some frayed tempers, probably brought on by hungry tummy’s and low blood sugar! This also seemed to affect Mohammed, who was quite agro when we offered him 10 Euro for his efforts. He wanted more! Much more!! In the end we gave him double and he went on his merry way…
