Morockin' it Out: Fez

After a long drive north from the Sahara desert we made it to the final destination on our trip........the city of Fez - yeah, like the funny little hat that the Shriners wear. We had a jam-packed day of exploring the city with the help of a local guide who walked us through the bustling market and took us around a few artisan shops to check out the local handcrafts.  Fez is old.............like 789 AD old.  It was one of the former capitals of Morocco and the old walled part of the city ("medina") is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  If you want an authentic Moroccan experience, you can't go wrong in Fez.

Our riad in Fez - another beautiful courtyard with a calming atmosphere.

Let's see what's behind door number 7?!  Love all of the brass detailing on the doors below.

Aforementioned brass detail.  Metalworking is a very traditional trade in Morocco, and Fez is one of the most famous cities for it.

Door number 7

So this is what I pictured for a market in this part of the world.........sacks of beans, grains, and other dry goods.  I love taking pictures in the markets.

You can't go anywhere without running into dried figs and dates.  Before this trip the only fig I knew came in a Fig Newton, which is not a cookie by the way.......it's fruited cake!  Anyhoo the real figs look kind of gross (resembling shriveled up mushrooms or garlic or something), but they are delicious.

Like other Mediterranean cultures, there's no shortage of olives and other colorful vegetables.

If you saw a grocery store in the States selling horse meat you'd think that was weird right?  While it didn't seem to be very common, I did come across this camel meat butcher in the market.  I didn't include it in the picture, but there was even a camel head hanging in front of the stand.  After riding on a camel for 4 hours in the previous two days of the trip, I couldn't imagine eating my means of transportation.  On the other hand I suppose it would be a waste to not use it.

Cheesecakes, sort of.  Pretty sure this is goat cheese.

As mentioned before, the metal work is popular and we came across some jokers pounding out some copper cookware.  Needless to say it's noisy work and doesn't sound as nice as a Caribbean steel drum.

Light fixtures are very popular here as well.  They make the metal shapes by hand and fit them with clear or colored glass or just have neat metal detail with no glass.  With candles or electric bulbs these give a really nice effect.

We visited this ceramic shop where people come and work as apprentices in all areas of the trade.  It's very popular to learn a trade in addition to one's studies to keep the tradition alive and to supplement income.

Old school kiln.

Another apprentice works on painting the intricate designs that are featured on all of the ceramics.

Apparently these guys know all of the different patterns by name and just customize the color choice for each customer.  This guy is assembling small ceramic tiles for a table upside down entirely from memory.

The finished products are spectacular.  Of course they were disappointed that we weren't ready to purchase a fountain or a huge patio table - even after they promised great shipping rates to the U.S.

Leather goods are also a huge craft and this is the tanning area of the old medina.  They use all natural ingredients for the dyes.....including bird poo (the white vats in the upper left corner).

This has to be one of the toughest jobs on the planet as these guys are literally thigh-deep in the vats all day, working the leather.

After dyeing, the leather and other materials (this looks like wool) are laid out on rooftops to dry.

The courtyard of an old madrasa, or religious school.

One of my favorite views in Fez is through this "blue gate" where you can see the minaret from one of the mosques in the background.

     So Fez definitely didn't disappoint and neither did anywhere else we went in Morocco.  If you're thinking about north Africa for a trip, which most people aren't these days.........then Morocco is an excellent option.

--Justin

Morockin' it out: Sahara Desert

As many of you know I am easily excited by small things, but trekking on camels and a night under the stars in the Sahara desert was almost too much excitement. The only desert I have been to is Palm Desert in California and I hardly think those are even comparable.  It was not all fun and games but a memorable experience that I will never forget.

On our way. Don't see many of those signs in Germany or the US for that matter

I would say that is maximizing capacity

Todra Gorge

More nomadic people

Erfoud is known as the fossil town of the Sahara

Justin was loving this and couldn't help but think of his brother the geologist

Starting our two hour trek into the Sahara desert for a night under the stars

I am not totally sure about all this

Justin and I on our camels at sunset

Texture, I love the texture

Around 6am when the sun was just starting to come up over the desert

Good morning sun!

What an amazing event to witness, a sunrise over the Sahara desert. It was worth a freezing night in the desert

Our guide Addi was a trooper. He walked us 2 hours there and back.

The morning after and the camel and Justin are looking alright

My boy, Jimmie

I will tell you one thing they look cool but man do they smell 

Exactly what I picture when I think of the Sahara desert- Camels and Sand dunes

The overall experience of camel trekking two hours to our campsite and sleeping under the stars and watching the sunset and sunrise in the Sahara desert was really cool but I would probably not do it again. It was one of those life experiences you just cross off the list and appreciate it for what it was. For one, the camels smelled and weren't the most comfortable thing to ride. Secondly, it was really cold and my feet never got warm when I slept.  All that being said, I have never seen so many stars in my life and waking up to a shooting star was incredible. Watching the sun rise over the desert was an experience I will never forget. So if you have never done something like this I would say definitely give it a go. A trip to Morocco is not complete without a trip to the desert.

--Marisa

Morockin' it out: Marrakesh and Atlas Mountains

     This Christmas break Marisa and I decided to go Katy Perry style and do a little "hot" and "cold".  For the "hot" portion we took a dreadful Ryan Air flight from Frankfurt down to Marrakesh, Morocco for a six-day tour of the Atlas mountains, the southern landscapes, the Sahara, and the cities of Marrakesh and Fez.  Going off of a tip we got from a co-worker who just came from a 3-year stint of teaching in Morocco, we decided to hire a personal guide/driver for the week and we couldn't have been happier. If you're looking into a trip to Morocco I can highly recommend our guide, Mohamed:  http://www.colours-of-morocco.com/ or his trip advisor reviews.  He can pretty much put together a customized tour of any length and to any destinations in Morocco.

     Our stay in Marrakesh was short as we groggily trekked around the city with a local guide and took in the sights of a place that was very foreign to most places that we've been.  On the one hand it felt like Aladdin with tight streets, colorful markets, beautiful tile everywhere, snake charmers and monkey handlers present in the main squares.  On the other hand it also seemed to resemble other developing countries: dusty streets, lots of mopeds, donkey-powered carts, lots of street food, hand-crafts being peddled, and harassing salesmen at markets.

     After arriving at our "riad" which is like a bed & breakfast in this part of the world, we were welcomed with a pot of mint tea (the national drink of this country) before heading out on foot to take in the sights of Marrakesh:

We never get tired of seeing the beautiful mosaic patterns found in different palaces, riads, kasbahs and mosques.  This was in the Bahia Palace in Marrakesh.

Bahia Palace - Even the cedar ceilings were beautifully recessed, carved, and adorned with this colorful mix of geometric shapes.  In Muslim architecture (probably not the technical style) you typically see continuous patterns of geometric shapes or beautiful Arabic calligraphy since representations of objects, people, or animals is forbidden in certain buildings.

Bahia Palace - Here we've got carved wall decorations that are usually out of cedar or plaster.

A glimpse of the crowded markets in Marrakesh.  Moroccan hand crafts include lots of leather goods and metal goods such as lanterns and copper cookware as well as beautifully painted pottery.

We only wish we had more time staying at this riad since the weather was so nice, the place so quiet, and the ambiance so perfect.  Riads are basically old homes in the city that are huge and tend to be open in the center.  It was amazing to come in off of the bustling streets into a real refuge.

We had a nice little private dinner in the riad that featured three courses and a bottle of wine.  We ordered in the morning, they did the shopping during the day and prepared it for whenever we wanted to eat at night.  Afterwards the night duty staff person even started a fire in the fireplace and put on some bluegrass music - not sure how he knew because I wasn't wearing one piece of camouflage.  Great start to the trip.

On day two Mohamed picked us up and took us by the Majorelle Gardens on the way out of town.

We drove south through the High Atlas mountains and stopped by a few interesting sites such as this kasbah of Pacha Glaoui.  FYI a "kasbah" is basically either the large and fortified home of a wealthy person or a fort in general.  This one is in serious disrepair, but it was really neat to walk through.

This gives you an idea of the windy roads that you go through while driving through the High Atlas mountains.

View from the kasbah of Pacha Glaoui near the village of Telouet.

I love seeing the stark contrast throughout the landscapes in Morocco.  Water is indeed necessary for life and it's amazing how clearly it can be seen.

We continued on towards the city of Ourzazate, but stopped for lunch near the famous kasbah Ait Benhaddou, which has been used in many films such as "Lawrence of Arabia", "Prince of Persia", and "Gladiator".  Our local guide, resembling Obi Wan Kenobi, made me feel like I was on a Star Wars set wearing his thick wool coat that is still in style here.  Hoods like these went out of style a long time ago in the U.S.

Ait Benhaddou kasbah

A man can only handle so much mint tea before he has to slam "the real thing".  Now's a great time to mention that Arabic is the official language in Morocco, followed by French due to its status as a colony until the 1950's.

Mohamed took us for a little 4-wheel driving to mix up the monotony of the Moroccan highways on Day three.  Lots of fun but apparently scary if it were to rain (flash floods).

As you can see, no rain in our forecast for the whole week.

We came across several "National Geographic" moments as we passed plenty of nomadic people with their sheep, goats, and camels in really remote locations.

I really enjoyed this trip because we got to see a lot more of nature than we typically get to in European cities.  This is a view from the Dades Gorge in the Atlas mountains.

Our "cave-like" hotel room in Dades.

After a few days of picturesque driving through the Atlas mountains we headed down towards the Sahara desert which is the topic of the next blog post!

--Justin

Eintracht Upgrade

As you know we have been fans of our local soccer team, Eintracht Frankfurt, since the beginning and we make it to a game or two every year. But this year we have more reason to be fans of the team...... one of our friends plays for the team now! One of my volleyball comrades from Orange County married a soccer player and they have been traveling around Germany for the past few years and he has been playing professionally. They recently moved to Frankfurt in August with two adorable babies in tow and we have had the pleasure of hanging out with them and caught the last game of the first half of the season before the Christmas holiday. They hooked us up with some player tickets and man were they an upgrade from our smoke-infested nose-bleed seats from before. 

Kick-off (the first one we have actually been on time for)

Our awesome upgraded seats right behind the team bench and on half field

Up in the action of post game interviews

Our boy, Rob #29. (Sorry not the best picture, but more action shots next time)

Thanks Rob and Mari and looking forward to cheering on #29 some more this season! Go Eintracht!

-Marisa