Travel Tuesday - The Man's 50th Birthday Trip - Morocco

 Our first port once on the ship was Casablanca. We were very excited about this port as it was our first entry to Africa. Sadly, we were a bit disappointed, mainly because we had a terrible guide. Instead of telling us anything, he was too busy talking to other tour guides and taking selfies. We learned more about Casablanca talking to Chris who did a hald day tour, then our full day tour to Casablanca and Rabat.  While we complain about our tour guide, we met an American man, it was his first time leaving the US, he was traveling alone (I am guessing he was in his late 50s, early 60s) and it was his guide who did the whole, pretend to put the money in your pocket but take it trick. So at least our guide didn't rob us! (Thankfully for him it was only $15). 

Now onto our tour.

A fake Rick's cafe built a few years ago by an American

Our first stop was to the Hassan II Mosque. We have never been to a mosque, and this was the only place our guide did his job! This is the 2nd largest mosque in Africa and 14th largest in the world. 25 000 people (only 5000 women) can pray inside and the square can hold another 80 000. The mosque was built over 7 years, with crews working 24 hours a day. 

The area above for women

Not pictured, the part of the roof that opens to help keep it cool when it is full

All my squats have paid of, I could still use this! 

To wash before prayers

Our next stop was Notre Dame De Lourdes Catholic Church, which is known for the stained glass.

This was my favourite one

We then took a short walk around a neighbourhood through a market that sold skins of endangered animals (not pictured for safety reasons).  We then went to learn about Moroccan rugs, which while a sales pitch, was also informative as we learned a lot about the process. Then we had a very delicious Moroccan buffet, which would have been better if they told us what we were eating. Don't worry, guide of the year was first in line and had at least 4ths.

Moroccan tea - it was soooooooooo good

After lunch I had a nap on the drive to Rabat, the capital of Morocco.

We stopped in the royal palace complex, where because the national band was playing, got even less attention from our guide.

The orchestra

A building in the palace

Then we had a stop at Mausoleum of  Mohammed V and the Hassan Tower.

People enjoying the old pillars of an old mosque

Our last stop before returning to the ship was the Kasbah of Udayas. When asked, our guide could tell us about this Kasbah, as my knowledge was limited to rocking it (if you know you know). This fort was built in the 10th century. Like all forts it has a long history. 

I rocked the Kasbah

It was full of cats so we called it the Cats-bah

Across from the Kasbah was a huge cemetery I would have liked to explore. 

That brings us to the end of our first visit to Africa. The Man and I are usually very generous with tour guides, but we didn't tip this one. Someone from shore excursions with the ship was on our tour, and when Man went to lodge the complaint, he said it had already been done. At any rate, it was an experience, we made the best of it, and thankfully it was all up hill from here! 

Next week we will stop by the Canary Islands, probably my favourite port this trip.