The Land of the Atlas

Casa Aeroport station
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Most journeys are made with an intent to discover, to explore. Our travels to Morocco began to break a myth – that Africa was jungles, tribes and nothing more. And that’s how we discovered a land that has the winds of 2 seas, the cultures of 3 continents and the other side of African lore.

We (to introduce ourselves – me, Vikramaditya Maity, and my wife, Malini Roy-Maity) flew out from Bahrain just as the festivities of Eid were starting to fill the air. For anyone with the slightest interest in geography, the flight to Morocco is a fascinating journey along the upper reaches of Africa as you see the exact lines of the map of Africa being etched out on the land below – every turn of the coastline, every rivulet and all the small lakes in between. The mystique of the Sahara, the glory of the Nile – it all stretches out below in an endless vision of adventure, a land poised for discovery. So it is with surprise that you discover, when you step onto the tarmac at Mohammed V Airport, that it’s not Humphrey Bogart’s Casablanca of romance and intrigue anymore, but a city where the tajine goes down easily with the latte that beckons you through the door. You realize that you have entered a country that has embraced its legacies, not been torn apart by them.

the other side of Africa

Arch de Triumph
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We were greeted in Morocco by rainy skies, slightly chilly winds and a delicious nip in the air which was both bracing and refreshingly different. We took a train from the airport (the train station is just below the arrival lounge) to Casa Voyageurs, in the heart of the city. Accomodation wasn’t a problem at all. For any first-time traveler to Morocco, who isn’t keen on hunting down alleys and back-alleys for hotels, the Ibis Mousaffir chain of hotels are the best bet. To be found right outside every major train station in Morocco, they offer comfortable rooms, a good breakfast every morning and a luxurious swimming pool to laze by, whenever you need. So that’s where we decided to put our heads in, to sleep off 9 hours of jet-lag and ready ourselves for the journey into the land of the Maghreb.

Essaouira port
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Casablanca, with its myriad avenues, tall buildings and teeming traffic, quietly lives up to a “big city” reputation and dismisses all stereotypes of what Africa is like. The key here, which actually applies to the whole of Morocco, is knowing what you want to see, and then leaving time aside for any other places that are off the beaten track, where the hard-core tourists won’t be. The cream-coloured taxis will take you anywhere, astonishingly enough, without the worry of an inflated fare. The crowning glory of the city is the Hassan II Mosque, a vast edifice of delicate arches, exquisite patterns and a feeling of magnificence that is hardly known any more. It has a place in the record books : as the third largest religious structure in the world, and so has its own pride of place among the sights of the city. The square minarets are the most interesting feature here, completely different from the smoothly rounded Islamic minarets that are seen in most other parts of the world.

Malini in Marrakesh
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Marrakesh, down south from Casablanca, is the true showcase of what Morocco is all about. We took a train and spent the three-hour journey in animated conversation with a French couple about Herman Hess’ “Siddhartha”, Peter Brook’s “Mahabharata”, political conditions in Rabat and the unique system of the Roman bath. Marrakesh greeted us with roads lined by orange trees (something which had Malini jumping for quite some time), our first glance at what the medina (old city) looks like, and the famous Djemaa el Fnaa square. Situated at the north end of the medina, the Djemaa el Fnaa square is all of reality and yet, today’s fairytale. It’s a fair, of aromas, of people, of shows, of activity, of the art of craftmanship and the craft of salesmanship, of the glow of torches in the night sky, and the bustle of generations of families walking by. As in any open market, there are people shouting to catch your attention and herd you to their stall. What’s most remarkable is that this fair springs to life every single day of the year, summer or winter. People stream in and out till morning, with an expectation of merriment, all caught up in an invisible air of festivity.

The two adventurers
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The souq, right behind the square, is one of the biggest in Morocco. Walk around and you’ll find everything from silverware to prickly pear. It’s a bevy of activity, the air is busy with haggling voices and the lamps light up faces intent on picking up “something for the alcove back home.”

The small fishing town of Essaouira was our next port of arrival. If you had to describe Essaouira in one word, it would be - pretty. The doors of houses dressed in hues of blue, the fishing boats rocking in the harbour, the gulls soaring over the Portugese ramparts and the lazy sunshine bathing your shoulders – it’s just picture-perfect. We picked on the first place we found, to stay : Hotel Sahara, and found that thinking outside the Lonely Planet did prove worthwhile at times. The cozy rooms, with a medieval Spanish feel, were delightful, as was the terrace on top, from where you could see the Atlantic on one side, and the medina on the other. The pristine sense of life in Essaouira has to be imbibed slowly, with a quiet coffee, looking out over the ocean. Whether it’s the fishermen picking through their catch with the cats watching over them, the throngs lining up to see the sunset in all its glory or the shopkeepers in the souq who are more interested in you than what you are buying, the mantra in Essaouira is to take it easy.

Rabat,the capital, is a whole different way of life. Glittering and visibly cosmopolitan, the European influence is felt as soon as you step onto the palm-lined avenue in front of the station and suddenly, the Mediterranean seems so much closer. Apart from the museum which has some perfectly preserved bronze busts, and the sprawling royal palace, what makes Rabat a worthwhile stopover are the ruins at Chellah. Originally the site of a Jupiter temple, the vestiges of a series of Roman baths still remain, as do faint traces of the magnificent triple-arch that was the gateway to the temple. A necropolis stretches away from the temple towards the top of the hill. Once proud Doric columns are strewn around the crumbling remnants of a wide flagstone-lined avenue. An Islamic compound stands to one side of the area, signs of another era which left its mark on the land.

Next on the itinerary was Meknes and the magnificent ruins of Volubilis. It is difficult to understand today the grandeur that was once the Roman Empire, but Volubilis, like the Colosseum at Rome and the ruins at Pompeii, takes you a step towards understanding how progressive “Pax Romana” really was. The wide main street laid with flagstones, dividing the city between the patricians and the plebeians; the olive presses; the intricate mosaics depicting myriad themes; the shaded courtyards; the drainage system that’s a feat of engineering in itself and the triumphal arch looking out proudly over the hills beyond – the image of a civilization that was truly splendid in its mastery over culture and design stands up in front of us. It al makes you think whether we have anything to leave behind which will make us worth discovering, worth knowing about, for the archaeologists of the future.

We bid goodbye to Morocco at Fes, a small town that derives its fame from its souq. The souq at Fes is a vast network of alleys lined with shops, where each alley sells a different trade. Jewels sparkle in one alley, silk flows through another; artisans shape bronze at one corner, and a little way ahead, the blacksmiths gather. Each pocket has its own smells and sounds that give it a distinct feel. Terrace restaurants are spread throughout, from where you can look out over the tangle of alleys and soak up the atmosphere and the sun. What makes Fes different is an energy that can only be found in a market-place : where people are matching wits for bargains, where judgement is an art and worth is measured by feel, not brand names.

Morocco is a land that encourages you to dig deep, to immerse yourself in the smells and sounds. It changes you from a mere sight-seer to an adventure-seeker and adds to your bounty of experiences, rather than just to your photo-album. The land of the Maghreb is all about the infectious zest that is the other side of Africa, the part that a travel brochure will never show.