Fourth of July Weekend, Part I

So, I’m going to do this weekend’s post in at least two parts, so I don’t have to write a lot tonight but also so you don’t get overwhelmed by the amount that I write.

So, Friday night I moved down the hall into Olga’s double. It’s nice to have a roommate now, a lot less lonely. No more sleeping with the bathroom light on (yes, I’ll admit I did that. It was scary and lonely and dark). And Olga and I get along very well, so it’s perfect. But sadly, we don’t have a fridge or stove. I’m working on that.


Before I talk about my amazing weekend, I’d like to give a heartfelt THANK YOU!!!! to my parents for providing me with everything I needed for this trip and more, namely street smarts, a sense of direction, a sense of adventure, hand sanitizer, tissues, and a Lonely Planet guidebook. It made this weekend easy, fun, safe, clean, and awesome. It also made me the mother hen. You’d think, a group of 8 people ranging in age from 19-29 traveling in a foreign country, everyone would kind of be responsible for hirself. But no. Although I was the youngest one (albeit by 5 months), I was the one who got us places (thank you, Lonely Planet), who silently counted heads each time we stopped somewhere, who placated disgruntled group members…haha that’s not completely true, everyone did stuff. It was mainly that I was the one with the guidebook. So useful.

Anyway, Saturday morning we woke up at 6, got our stuff together (I took a backpack with a change of shirt and underwear, small toiletries, guidebook, and important documents), and met the other girls at 7. We took taxis to the train station and then met the guys. The group was: me, Olga, Elena, Kelly, Tifen, Geoff, Michael, Irish Patrick (as opposed to American Patrick), and William. We took the train for 2 hours to Meknes. The train was very modern, air conditioned, but there weren’t enough seats. I stood and sat on the floor for the two hour ride. When we got to Meknes, we took taxis to the medina, or old city. We sat and got some lunch (I got shawarma and fresh squeezed OJ…mmmmm), and then decided to split up and meet back at 1 to head to Volubilis.

First, I ran to the bathroom and had my first experience with the squat toilet. It was…interesting. A hole in the ground surrounded by porcelain or something, with two little places to put your feet and a spigot to use with your left hand instead of toilet paper (I carried tissues and used toilet paper- I’m not too adept at cleaning myself with a bucket of water while perched over sewage. But maybe that’s just me). There’s a guy that you pay 2 Moroccan dirhams (about 25 cents USD) who squeegees the floor after every use. It’s honestly pretty sanitary, considering there’s no seat to collect germs, but I just try not to think about all the people who clean themselves after bathroom use with that little bucket and then prepare my food and sell me my souvenirs.

After that fun experience, we walked around the market. Apparently we found the grocery store section: figs, olives, spices…and then as we got farther and farther in…pastries COVERED in bees….chickens, rabbits (all alive)…and the butchers, and then….the cow head.

Yes. A cow’s head. Just sitting there. Being shaved. By a man. There is no way on this earth I will EVER forget that. I really really really wish I had taken a picture of it, but I think I was just kind of in shock. The smell of blood, the cow’s eyes, the man shaving it with a bored expression on his face…we had to leave after that, it was too intense. We walked around the other part of the market, and then to the museum. Honestly, the architecture of the museum was much nicer than the stuff inside. It used to be the house of a rich family, while the stuff inside on display was really modern (1800-1900s). It was pretty, and it was really really nice to be out of the sun.

Then we caught two grand taxis to the ancient Roman city of Volubilis. We paid the taxis to take us there and back, and to wait for us for two hours. Honestly, I could have done with a little less time- ruins are nice and all, but there was absolutely no shade- but it was still nice. I didn’t make the connection that the Roman Empire stretched into Morocco, although I’m sure I must have known. The ruins are impressive- even having been around for over 2000 years, and having been exposed to the elements since the Lisbon earthquake decimated the city, many of the mosaics are still practically intact and still have color. It was very impressive. The site is huge, too, bigger than I expected, and the view of the countryside and neighboring cities is wonderful.

The taxi that I was in had a problem with hills, of which there were a lot- it would lose acceleration going up and just not get it back going down. So that was an adventure. Also, our driver felt the need to pass other cars around curves while our taxi couldn’t speed up. It was only by al-hamdulillah (the grace of Allah) that we made it there and back ok. Inshahallah (God willing).

The thing about countries that speak Arabic is that, because it is the language of Islam, everything uses the language of Islam as well. So even non-Muslims say inshahallah to mean hopefully, sort of. It’s interesting. I’ve gotten used to saying it. Along with other random Arabic phrases/words that I fully intend to keep using when I’m home, so it might do you well to learn them.
Mumkin: perhaps
Mumtaz: excellent
Leysa mushkil: not a problem
Leh shukran: no thank you
Maa salaam: good bye (literal=with peace)

After Volubilis we took the taxi to Meknes and the train to Fes. And now I will stop. Tomorrow I will tell you all about my wonderful 4th of July celebration (there were 5 Americans in the group), the singing fountain, the pigeon poop, the streets in the Fes medina, and the train back.

Here are pictures; I’ll put up the ones of Volubilis tomorrow. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=122239&id=725549275&l=ac2b2adc2a

Maa salaam,
Aisha