Today was an epic journey filled with excitement, nervousness, comfort, and exhaustion. John, Trevor, and I started off with a SAS trip for a Casablanca city orientation. It started at 8:30, which meant we had to be ready to leave at 8:15. However, John really wanted to see the sunrise so I agreed to wake up with him at 5:30 to watch it.
        The sunrise was exquisitely beautiful with the reflection in the water and a boat in the background. This whole time we were able to see the Morocco’s city lights but not any buildings except the large mosque that we were soon going to visit. After the sun rose completely, John and I went to work out, to kill some time before breakfast. I ran a whole mile today! It felt great! It has been so long since I ran that I couldn’t believe I made it that far. Running on a treadmill on a boat is difficult especially when it is a rocky voyage.
        As mentioned before, my first Moroccan experience was the city orientation. The tour and the guide were great. Our first stop was the central market. It was how I always thought it would be like. There were carts on the outside full of fruits, veggies, flowers, and herbs. The only thing missing were the monkeys like Abu! On the inside portion of the market, were the meats to keep them cool. Our tour guide gave an introduction and story about their famous Moroccan tea. Moroccan tea consists of peppermint herbs, green tea powder from China, and sugar for taste. They use a special kind of pot to make the tea; it has a large, wide base and a very stout spout. The story has to deal with the wedding proposal. When a guy says to a girl that he likes her and he wants to marry her, she prepares a tea for the response. When she comes back, the answer is in the pot she just brewed. A very sweet mint tea means that she will marry him. A semi sweet tea says that she needs a little time to think about it. And a tea without any sugar added addresses the fact that he should walk out the door as soon as possible. I loved hearing this story and stories similar to it.
        There are a lot of stray cats and dogs in Morocco. They seem to be like our rabbits and deer back in Ohio. Along with these wild pets, there was also a lot of trash everywhere. I could not believe my eyes when I saw how dirty it was. There were squares on the walkways that stood maybe a foot high that was full of trash, it could have been a trash can, but I was not too sure. It was disgusting to see and smelled awful. I wish there is something I can do to help them out with the situation, though there is very little I can do.
        There are also these “water men” who wear red dresses with yellow and green details and a pointed hat with yellow, red, green, and black fuzz balls dangling from the rim. Their purpose is to supply water for whatever cost you are willing to donate. The only problem with this is they use the same gold glasses for everyone, use dirty, old water, and act as they are begging for people to drink their water. It seems like such a health hazard.
        The bus then took us to the Great Mosque of Hassan II. OH MY GOSH! It was beautiful! I don’t remember how many km high the tower was, but it was remarkable. The guide said it took 6 years of continuous labor to build the first part alone and over $8,000,000 to build but they are not even done yet. Our first stop was the religious part of the mosque where we had to take our shoes off and women cover our heads if possible. We learned that there isn’t a significant meaning behind taking off the shoes except that it keeps the floors clean and somewhat sanitary for their prayer.
        There is so much detail in the profound building. The ceiling alone had some of the most beautiful detail imaginable. It was made of cedar wood dyed in several colorful dyes from natural plants. The ceiling also contains 14-karat gold leaves. There are also 6 chandeliers from Italy. As like everything else, the mosque is beautiful and technological. Part of the ceiling contains sliding doors to open the ceiling as a sunroof. The walls next to the beach also open as well to help with the air ventilation on nice days. To add to the technology, the mosque is broken into sections by a split that goes through the floor, walls, and ceiling. This is considered the expansion because it gives in when the ground shakes making the building earthquake proof. There are also speakers throughout the whole entire building that are practically invisible, we can only notice them when she pointed out where they are. Their technology is incredible.
        On the sides of the mosque are chairs presented on platforms. These are for the imams. They preach about what ever topic they prefer throughout the day. Then anyone can come and “join a circle” around the preacher to listen to his words and ask questions for him to answer.
        Muslims call themselves sunits: they believe they need to do the same as the prophets. Back then, the prophets washed themselves several times before starting religious prayer. That’s why they wash their head, hands, right foot, left foot, nose, and mouth several times. They had the choice to do the washing at home, or they could wash in the social areas of the mosque. Gosh, I wrote so much about this mosque already and there is still so much to tell! I cannot wait to tell everyone and show pictures when I get home.
        One fact that I must write down is about the hand of Fatima. It is a symbol of a hand that is located on entranceways, door handles, and jewelry. It is supposed to bring good luck and keep one out of the bad eye. There is also a tattoo of the tribe that parents either tattoo their children and/or on jewelry that is worn. The tattoo symbolizes which tribe they came from and what generation they are of that tribe.
        We were also taken to the building called Hassan II Palace of Casablanca while on this tour. It is the third largest in Morocco and is where the prince stays when he visits. Right how they are in their 6th dynasty. The building was huge and had a courtyard. In the courtyard the city has a ceremony of alliance where the people come and give their appreciation for being their king. We spent a very short time here, but it was interesting none-the-less.
        We were then out to explore and shop for 20 minutes. Trevor, John, and I didn’t get too far before someone tried to help us but told us complicated directions. We decided to act like we knew what he was talking about and move on. He was really nice and told us which way to go. He also said he had a brother who lives in America. He said he liked the US government and loved that we stopped to converse with him for the little while we had.
        Soon we got back to the port and ate some lunch before heading out again. We went to the train station closest to the port to figure out how to get to Marrakech the next day. Once we found it and got there, Trevor decided to go with a group to Rabat. So John and I were left alone at the train station completely lost and confused. Finally, a French lady asked if we needed help. She was super nice and directed us in the right direction to find what we were looking for.
        Since we finally figured out that part of the puzzle, John and I headed towards the Catholic Church called ANFA, Chapelle des soeurs Franciscaines. Our plan was to find the church and then get to a cyber café to spend some of the time before mass. Along the way, however, we experienced a few detours and learned a lot. For starters, we ran into a medina that sold a lot of different items. It was very overwhelming because people kept offering us stuff and kept following us until we responded. It was pretty freaky. But again, someone reached out to help us in the “right” direction until we ran into someone else who told us to go the opposite way or we found our way around. Did I mention that there aren’t many street signs in Morocco? So you pretty much know the city or don’t know where you are at all.
        We felt completely lost and decided to take a taxi. The taxi probably drove for 6 minutes before it stopped again. It didn’t cost anything much, it was just not necessary because we found out he dropped us off at the wrong square. John and I had some time to kill before getting to the church and were a little shaken up, so we decided to stop and get something to drink. John immediately recognized a drink called, something along the lines of, Oranjio. It was just like carbonated orange juice and tasted delicious after everything that happened. We then asked for more directions from 2 different people. Of course, both gave opposite directions, which, I must add was different than the taxi driver’s directions.
        Soon after approximately 4 hours of searching for the church with wrong directions and frustration, we found the church 15 minutes before mass. When we got there, we started talking to the sister that spoke English. She was very friendly and welcomed us warmly. She told us we’re allowed to come as often as we can and that we are always welcomed in their church; she even offered to help us find a safe place to stay the night! We were very grateful but declined the offer because we needed to sleep on the ship.
        Even though we couldn’t understand a word of mass, we both agreed we felt relieved and calm for the first time all day. It was so nice to just sit there and feel a sense of belonging and thoughtfulness. After mass, we talked to the sisters some more and learned a lot of interesting information. One being that they are not allowed to preach in Morocco. No one is allowed to preach a religion of any sort. The one sister said she saw a group of people from Southern Africa preaching and the next day she watched them being taken away to leave the country. These ladies were so nice and I was so glad we had the chance to meet them. Unfortunately, it was time to get back to the real world in Morocco.
        Our next mission was to find wi-fi somewhere so we can see if we can Skype anyone and update photos and such. We found a nice restaurant that had free wi-fi (they pronounce it wiffy) and had great food. I ordered some type of chicken dish that was delicious and John had kabobs that also looked great! John immediately started Skyping his girlfriend. It was so cute how happy he was to see her! I was able to Skype a few friends and I was glad I did so to keep a little bit of home around. I was really hoping for family, but maybe next time. :]
        After all this adventuring and time spent at the café, it was time to head back and catch up on sleep I most needed. We took the taxi to make it simple because there was no way we wanted to walk back and get lost again, especially not at night.
        It was a grand adventure. Learned a lot about myself and about Morocco. Independent traveling isn’t the greatest idea if you haven’t the slightest clue what to do in a situation. Now that we experienced those situations, I feel more prepared to tackle the next adventure to Marrakech. Time to rest up for the match tomorrow! Sweet dreams! <3