Adventures of Beth and Dan: Casablanca, Marakesh Not to be Forgotten

How many of you have seen the movie Casablanca and felt those strong urges to someday visit and take in the romance and ambiance that Ricks Cafe provided. It has been on my bucket list and then knowing we were coming to Africa and we saw that from a Casablanca you could get to Marakesh it became one of the tours we signed up with from Tours Across Africa. As I may have said before we have NO tours with Holland. They are extremely overpriced. If any of you would like me to send you the link to their tours for this trip let me know. Typically we have gotten this printed package by mail. We did not. Then we usually could pick it all up on board or it was in our cabin. That didn’t happen. Grand Cruises typically gave us stationary with Grand whatever on it and a nice pen. Didn’t happen. The front of the ship was painted Grand Asia or Grand Africa… didn’t happen. Carpets and mats said Grand Asia or Grand Africa. Didn’t happen. So many things have changed. I still tell you although people have scolded me for it that many areas on the ship are too warm. The Lido can be very warm. When the theater fills it’s too warm. Anyway our thermostat is still on the lowest setting and we are never cold.

But on to our story. Casablanca is the largest city in the county and the most import port. It is the economic and cultural hub but not the capital. History was made here well before Roman settlements came. In the 1920’s it came into its’ own. An unusual fact is that the town was laid out by an aerial survey. The massans mosque is a distinctive trajectory and more modern. Art deco is found here in the old Messina along with new architecture. Coastline is full of beaches … you could easily spend a week here and not see it all. Small cafes are down every nook and cranny.

A major commercial port is where we dock. It requires a shuttle to get to downtown which is free of charge. Drop off is at the United Nations square. The largest Mosque here can hold up to 25,000 worshippers. It demonstrates the Best of Moroccan architecture. Along with being stunning it is the tallest of its kind and tallest in Morocco. A laser beam at night lights up the area and signifies the light always overcomes the dark. Maximum of 125,000 worshippers can gather at the Mosque using inside and outside areas.

It took 6 years to build this beautiful mosque whic was completed in 1993. 6000 master craftsman worked on this. It is open to non Muslims to visit. There is a dress code which means you are decently and respectfully dressed. No t shirts or pants above the knee. Head scarves are not required. Local tours are about 45 minutes.

Rick’s cafe is famous for the movie Casablanca and still operates. French/ Moroccan influence is felt here. As time goes by is played on the piano continually and the movie plays in the background. It is located in a grand mansion. It’s open only from 12-3. Then 6:30 till midnight. It is well priced.

The only museum devoted to Judaism in the world is here, Museum of Moroccan Judaism. Simon Levy was an activist and champion of human rights. He helped to get this established.

To get to Marakesh is at least 2 -3 hours by bus along desolate poor areas. The road is in good repair but there are not many places to get off or get fuel. Narrow alleyways are within Marakesh as were in 100’s of years ago. Olive oils, shoes, spices, and antiques are found here but you have to barter or negotiate. You will stroll by numerous outdoor cafes. Notre Dame Lourdes Church is here and holds 20,000 parishioners.

Palace is extravagant and the gem of Morocco. Not open to public without pre arranged visit.

New Medina has lots of merchants. They say they are v ery friendly. Streets are lined with Eateries and Moroccan treats.

Lots of landmark square areas. Lots of preservation going on. French influence tried to make their presence known. There is an are known for the pigeons or pigeon square. It even shows up on Google maps!!

The largest mosque and so exquisite.

The Medina which has everything you could want

The kings palace heavily guarded

Pigeon square found in google maps!

Marakesh at night in all it’s glory.

Now for the rest of the story …. There were four vans of us going. Town got ahead of us and the two stayed together. It’s a long drive as stated before. The van ahead of us lost their AC. We both pulled over and after a few minutes they seemed to get it working again. Then about another 19 miles down the road it completely quit. It was ghastly hot outside and no shade around. Only one of our guides spoke English. He began calling for more vans or taxis but the toll road to Marakesh has far and few places between that can provide assistance. We were at a nice shady gas station with snacks and clean restrooms. About 12 of us talked about our dilemma and decided at this late date we wanted to return to the ship and avoid another breakdown which might mean we wouldn’t see Marakesh or we might not make it back to the ship. 6 people wanted to go on. The held on to their seats in the van and spoke in an uncivil vile tongue to our guides. They pointed fingers and called them liars. They yelled and were the worst example of rude and uncontrollable passengers I’ve ever seen. Honestly I was mortified. I went up to one guide and hugged him. I told him we are not all like that from the US and Canada. Many of us tipped them. It was decided since they wouldn’t budge that all 17 would ride in a 15 passenger van with the guides. Several had to stand. The roads had few to no exits where we. Hold turn around and meet the next van. So to sum it up we never made it to Marakesh. We rode for almost 8 hours in a van with little more than a bottle of water and any snacks we brought. We write to our Across Africa Tour arranger Megan and profusely apologized. We also told our tour operator Mary Anne Moore how embarrassed and ashamed we were if those passengers. I told her I would not ride on another tour with them. It was a bit of excitement we could certainly have done without but the rest of our civil group have bonded and we have a good story to share now !!

Our last stop before getting to the ship was the huge mosque which holds over 1,000,000 people between the inside and outside areas. All faiths are welcome.