Pictures:
1. Hassan II mosque.
2. Old Portuguese city of Azemmour and the Oum Rabiaa River.
3. Diana and the school girls. The one in the white cap snuck into the boy's picture.
4. A window in El Jadida. I can't explain my fascination with windows and geraniums. Most of you have seen this type of shot from me before.
5. This is the light on the magazine basement floor.
April 2 – Casablanca, Morocco. Our tour starts at 8AM today so we were up and to breakfast at about 7AM. Casablanca was settled by Berbers before the 7th century and became a small independent kingdom in when Arab rule in West Africa began. It was taken over in 1068 and became part of Morocco. During the 14th century it was an important port but by the 15th century it was a safe harbor for pirates and privateers. Portugal came and destroyed it in 1468 to get rid of the problem. The Portuguese left in 1755 after an earthquake completely destroyed the town. Sultan Mohamed ben Abdallah rebuilt it and by the 19th century it was again a large port exporting wool to Britain. It is divided into two main parts, the Medina (the old walled city) and the New City. The Medina is inside ancient walls; the New City is anything outside those walls and that's a good definition as portions of the New City are quite old. Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco. It's a mix of Hispano-Moorish and Art Deco older buildings right next to very modern buildings.
In 1907 the French were building a railway near the port when local citizens attacked them. Riots followed and French troops were brought in to settle things down. In 1911 France took control of Morocco and gave a token part to Spain in the north. French Morocco did not become independent until 1956. Spanish Morocco is still governed by Spain.
I never thought I'd say this but, 'Thank God for the French.' If the signs were not in French as well as Arabic, I wouldn't have a clue about a lot of what I was seeing or where I was.
Author's Note: One should not construe that comment as a reflection on the excellence of our guide, but rather as a reflection on my traveling style. I have very good hearing and because many of my fellow travelers do not, I can hear the guide from great distances. My personal style is to wander around if the guide starts a long speech about history, politics or culture because I can still hear him. In the course of my roving I see and photograph many things the guide will never discuss because the group will not get there. If I can read the signs I know what I'm seeing and if I can't I don't know until I see a picture of the same thing in a book or on the Travel Channel.
Of course, as we move about the guide mentions anything we pass that's important but I like to follow my map as we go and I can read the French signs.
The Moroccan flag is all medium dark red with a medium green 5-pointed star in the center. The current king is a fairly young man and seems to be well liked. He's the first king to be married in a public ceremony. Previous king's wives names were not even know to the public. An interesting point of history is that Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States of America as an independent country. George Washington established a legation here that's still in operation.
Our first stop was at Rick's Cafe. An American woman owns it. Of course there never was a Rick's Café in Casablanca, the entire movie, except for the fountain square scene, was shot on the back lot. Even the fountain square used in some scenes is not in Casablanca but is in Morocco in the city of Tangiers.
From Rick's we drove to the Hassan II mosque. It's the third largest mosque after Mecca and Medina. It can hold 25-30,000 worshipers with another 80,000 praying on the outside courtyard. It's only about 15 years old and is built right on the seacoast. It's a pretty impressive building and does have the world's tallest minaret. Older tall minarets had ramps so the person doing the call to prayer would ride a horse to the top. This one has an elevator with ornately sculpted titanium doors. One other unique feature is the retractable roof. There are two large panels in the center of the roof that can be retracted like the ceilings over the lido pool on most of HAL's ships. These panels move as one piece however not in sections.
As usual the walls are either carved with geometric figures or covered in very small, colored tiles. An immense amount of human effort went into the construction. The ceiling, even the retractable panels appear to be wood that has been ornately carved.
As we were driving out of town we passed the American Consulate buildings. One was an older obviously very posh mansion. During the early years of WWII in Europe, Eisenhower brought all his generals, Patton, Clark, Montgomery and a Frenchman I don't' remember (it was not however DeGaulle, who contributed very little to the war effort) here for a meeting to plan the invasion of Europe. Beside the two-story mansion a newer five-story building has been erected. It is a large white structure bristling with antennas on the roof. There were at least nine satellite dishes and five tall poles covered with various types of antennae.
We are headed out of Casablanca to the Portuguese villages of Azemmour and El Jadida. The drive south was along the coast road so we had some great views of the Atlantic and some beach cities. Many had very nice looking hotels and a number of nightclubs and discothèques. Being French they still use that term. Our guide says that most of the condos and small homes here are vacation homes. There were some very grand villas along the beach also.
When we reached Azemmour we walked around the city wall to a plaza that overlooks the Oum Rabiaa River. Our ultimate destination is a very old Synagogue that is still open. This synagogue served the mellah (Jewish Quarter) here in Azemmour. The Jews and the Moors had a very close relationship because when the Moors invaded Spain the Jewish community actually aided them in defeating the Spanish. It's pretty easy to understand why they did this. The Visigoths did not treat them very well and isolated them in their own communities and restricted their right to meet and worship. I suppose they viewed the Moors as allies in the sense that 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'.
After the reorganized new Spanish leadership retook southern Iberia most of the Moors went to Morocco. Later, when the Jews were driven from Spain under the Edict of Expulsion, many settled in Morocco forming the first mellah in Fez. Others would follow, starting with Marrakech and then spreading to other cities.
Historical (Nothing is as simple as it seems) Note: Perhaps a little more information would be helpful for those who are willing to read my italic notes. When the Moors invaded Iberia in 711 they received assistance and support from the Jewish communities in the area, probably because of the harsh treatment Jews suffered under Visigoth rule. Because Jews were viewed as monotheists (People of the Book or dhimmis) by Muslims, they were well treated and flourished during the Moorish era. Fundamental Muslims did not, and still do not, view Christians as monotheists because they believe in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Devout Muslims reject the trinity concept and view Christians as polytheists worshiping three gods and therefore infidels, not dhimmis. This position is not universal but it is widespread. While Islam looks down on dhimmis they occupy a status much higher than that of infidels. The association of the Jews with Muslims caused bad feelings to fester between the Christian rulers of Spain and the Jewish community after the reconquesta (the Spanish term for driving the Moors out of Iberia) in the 1300s. By the 1400s this enmity had worsened to the point of open hostility resulting in the Edict of Expulsion in 1492. The transplanted Jews formed the Mellah in Fez. A Mellah is the Jewish section of a city, always walled and fortified and usually near the Royal Palace for protection during times of unrest. In rural areas the Mellah will be a separate city occupied only by Jews.
When we reached the plaza where the synagogue is located we found that it was locked but we were sharing the square with a class of 10-12 year old school children. While the guide went around trying to find out who had the keys I participated in one of my favorite travel experiences, mixing it up with the locals. Kids everywhere are curious and if approached with some tact and style they will accept you in a heartbeat. They stood around in small groups looking at us but trying to be low key about it. I don't speak any Arabic or Berber but I do have some French so I got Diana and approached a small group of kids to ask if we could take her picture with them. Two boys said ok, actually 'oui' and I got them to turn so the light would be good. While we were doing that the rest of the boys started to move away, I think because I had been looking at these two when I asked about the photo. I signaled gather around with my hands and the three boys jumped back into the group with large smiles on their faces. I noticed one girl moving into the background so I waited until she was positioned slightly behind and to the left of Diana before I took the picture.
I thanked all the boys and was surprised when they wanted to fist bump. I guess they watch American sports or maybe that form of handshake started with soccer. I never really got the high-5 business but I do like the fist bump. After thanking the boys I turned to the girl and thanked her too. I don't think she thought I noticed her in the background, up to this point the girls had not participated in any of the conversations. When I looked at the photo I noticed that another girl was making her way into the background so I asked those two girls and their friend to pose with Diana for a picture of their own. They are just too cute for words. Well not to be outdone, the kids pulled out their cell phones and started taking our picture. I tell you, you open a little crack in the dyke and you never know what will come rushing out. We were taking pictures, they were taking pictures, it became a major photo shoot. Both the visitors and the kids were having a great time. After we broke the ice I discovered that several of them spoke some English so we happily chatted and snapped until the lady with the key showed up.
From the look of the interior of synagogue it is mainly a historical structure. I'd be very surprised to discover that services are ever held here. Judging from its size and the fact that on several holidays all practicing Jews are required to attend the congregation was not very large. It would not have been over 50 people and the configuration would have made it very hard to separate the men and women.
I'm very glad the kids were here. It made this stop worthwhile.
We drove further down the coast to El Jadida another Portuguese village. Here the Portuguese influence is much more pronounced. Part of the old fort still remains and a section of it that was an ammunition magazine is now a museum with interpretive displays about the city's history. A large section of the storehouse is still standing and can be entered. The basement of the magazine is empty and partly underwater but you could walk around the edges. There's an intentional hole in the ceiling over what appears to be a well inside the structure. Sunlight was coming through the hole and shining on the floor right next to the well area. The reflection of the ceiling was also visible on the standing water. It made an interesting picture. Unfortunately they have installed spotlights around the walls that shine directly into your camera's lens every time you reach a good spot to try to capture the scene.
We turned down the street to head further into the fortress. Some of the old buildings are partly standing. They made a great backdrop for a group of boys playing some sort of game. It looked something like marbles but after each 'shot' they would all stand up and talk. In other circumstances I would have said they were shooting craps but there were not dice in evidence.
A little further on we came to the ramps where we could climb the fort's outer wall. From the top we had a great view of the old harbor, still used by some small fishing boats. Some fishermen were untangling and cleaning their nets, others were gathered in small groups talking and a group of 4 boys was using a rusted out, grounded fishing boat as a diving platform. It was an interesting place, lots of things going on.
The walk down the wall was tricky for some of the older people with us. The ramps were a little steep and sandy in spots and that made the footing a little slippery if you took too long a stride.
Then it was back to the bus and our return trip to the ship.
This evening is exotic apparel night. All the waiters are dressed in Arabic style and many of the passengers participated as well. It made for a colorful sight in the dining room.
Our entertainer was Judy Carmichael. She's a stride jazz pianist. (Stride gets its name from the motion of the bass hand while playing. It tends to go right-left, right-left on the keyboard in this style of jazz.) Two of the Prinsendam Orchestra members, the saxophone and the drummer, played with her. It's a tribute to the talent and flexibility of the orchestra's members that they can get charts one day, have a run through and then play that evening like they've been playing the arrangement for weeks. (The sax man is usually one of the strongest musicians in the group. I should probably say woodwind man because they usually play clarinet as well. Since HAL eliminated any sort of brass from the orchestras they poor sax guy usually has to play the brass charts if they are an integral part of the performers act. The sax is a beautiful instrument, very expressive, but to try to get one to have the immediacy that you want in a brass line is not easy. I'd actually say it's impossible. They always do a credible job under the toughest circumstances.) Judy is very high energy and seems to have a very good time playing. She did some Hoagie Carmichael (no relation), Fats Waller, Bing Crosby (he was a jazz singer before his successful reincarnation as a crooner.) and others. It was a great show.
Tomorrow a day at sea after 5 days in port. I'm really ready for it.
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