Welcome to Morocco! We start with a trip to the south of the country, to go to the desert.
The trip over the Atlas mountains offers spectacular views.
On the way, we visit a Kazbah (old city) that is part of the UNESCO world heritage.
These ruins are not part of the UNESCO world heritage. It is the village where we stop for lunch.
The inside is more appealing.
We do the last mile on a camel. We have long-lasting memories of this ride (especially in the rear muscles).
The Sahara
We arrive in the Sahara in the late evening. The guy on the picture is our guide. He was the one who thought of bringing the matches.
After a night in the tent, we have breakfast...
...to see the sun rise over the Sahara. The sun actually rises gradually in the Sahara. This is different from Paris, where the sun is always right above me when I get up.
The Sahara is basically like a big beach...
...just that it takes considerably longer to get to the sea.
Marrakech
Welcome to Marrakech!
Our riad offers pleasant refuge...
..from the dusty streets of the city.
But Marrakech also has its charming corners.
This shop offers different remedies to cure (or provoke) all types of illnesses.
The new city of Marrakech appears like in European mediterranean countries (except for the palm tree maybe).
The King of Morocco is posted everywhere. He welcomes the death of Ghaddafi. He does not think further West than Tunisia...
Fez
This is the blue door of Fez, the medieval capital of Morocco.
The city is very conservative, and religious and cultural values are strictly observed.
That is: some of these values. Try to ask for directions and you get a misleading answer in 2/3 of the cases. Try to tell a person that you do not want him as a guide, and you get insulted with surprisingly eloquent foreign vocabulary.
We smile at the people who insult us. We know that we can get out of this place if we want to.
But we also met nice people, who showed us around for a few Dihars. The picture shows the tanneries, where leather is colored.
Fez has stunning examples of Arab artwork...
... but in general the love for detail seems to be unevenly distributed.
We leave Fez in the evening.
Rabat
Rabat is the capital of Morocco.
The Medina has some similarities to the Medinas of Fez and Marrakech.
A huge commercial center will rise behind these advertisement posters. Note that no woman wears a veil in the ad.
Rabat sports a brand-new tramway...
..and some more pittoresque corners.
This is the ministry for hygiene of the city. Its action radius has not yet reached the garbage pile in the right of the picture.
In Rabat, you can eat Crêpes that are as excuisite as the ones in Paris in everything except the price.
