When someone mentions "Africa" I immediately conjure up images of elephants, zebras and safari hats. In school I have always learned about South Africa, and we all just assumed the rest of Africa would be the same. It was a shock, to say the least, to pull into the Tangir port in Morocco to be welcomed by Muslim architecture and Arabic inscriptions everywhere. No elephants or zebras to be found. We learned that this cultural difference is due to the Muslims immigrating from Spain into Africa, by which their customs and ideas followed them. Being in Morocco, Africa is just like visiting any Middle-Eastern country in Asia; same language and same Arabic cultural feeling.
I will admit I suffered a greater culture shock in Morocco than I did upon my arrival to Sevilla. By comparison, Sevilla is much more similar to my United States ideals and traditions, whereas Morocco is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. People dress differently there; women are expected to wear head dresses and to be respectfully covered. Walking around the streets of Fez, we were stared at and commented on. It was probably a good thing I don't speak Arabic since I wouldn't want to know what they were saying to begin with. We were rudely awoken punctually at 5:15 in the morning during our first night to the Muslim morning prayer (The Fajr) being blared throughout the city over some sort of intercom system. I have never heard anything like it and I'll admit it scared me a little bit. It sounded almost like a war calling, so my first thought was "Oh dear, the people of Morocco just declared war on our American ISA group". Asking my directors about it the following day they told me this was the morning prayer, one of several prayers recited throughout the day. I did some research and found The Fajr in Arabic and translated a fragment of it:
In the name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the Merciful.
All praises belong to Allah the Cherisher, the Sustainer, Developer and Perfector of the worlds, the most Compassionate, the Merciful.
Master of the Day of Judgement. Thee only do we Worship, and Thee alone do we ask for help.
Keep us along the straight path, the path of those whom Thou has blessed,
Not of those whom Thou art angry, nor of those who go astray.
Our first full day in Fez was spent in The Medina, an "open market" with stores and small streets everywhere where people are always trying to sell you things you don't need. Our first stop was a rug shop where they have a team of hundreds of women who make hand-woven rugs; some of which take years to complete. The owner of the store sat us all down and offered us some mint tea. One of the major differences I noticed between business in Morocco and business in America is the emphasis on time. In Morocco, there is no hurry. When someone invites you into their store they're inviting you into their house. They emphasize the feeling of hospitality and comfortability, whereas American business is rushed and there is no desire for people to "take their time". We may have been in this store for half an hour watching the salesman lay out rug after rug in front of us explaining what a good investment they would be, and how great they'd look in our homes. He definitely suckered a great deal of people into buying rugs, but at some great prices. Another difference between Moroccan and American business is the fact that Moroccan prices can always be bargained down to a price the customer feels comfortable paying. If you are willing to walk away and you make it seem like you don't really desire what they are trying to sell, they will chase after you and offer you a better price. It's like a game, and I must admit I played it well. I got a great deal of souvenirs for myself and for my friends and family back home, all at great deals. I could do this for a living, I do declare. 
The same night we were granted the opportunity to attend a belly dancing show, which I said yes to immediately, of course. The event took place in a Muslim great room, with tables all around the sides and the stage set in the middle. I was sitting in one of the front rows around the stage so I got picked to volunteer many times throughout the show. At the beginning the "host" pulled me up on stage to dance with him while I was in the middle of enjoying one of their complimentary coconut macaroons. He pulled me on stage before I had the opportunity to set it down so I had to dance and eat at the same time. It was a little embarrassing but it gave my friends the opportunity for some high-quality photos. I was also volunteered by one of my friends to be a part of the closing act. I had no idea what this entailed, as four other students and I were guided into an upstairs dressing room as several islamic women put dresses and accessories on us. We kept looking around trying to figure out what was going on and what was expected of us but we couldn't figure it out. After we were all dressed and ready to go we were led downstairs onto the stage. Since all five of us were dressed as islamic royalty, pictures were flashing all around us and people were laughing hysterically. One by one, we were told to sit down in a box on center stage and hoisted into the air by four women. They danced around the stage with us for a few minutes while we sat awkwardly in the box not knowing what to do, so we just waved. After all of this was done we were led back upstairs where they changed us back into our normal clothes and sent back downstairs to our seats. My friends got some great pictures of me dressed up as an Islamic princess, and I was happy to give them such entertainment. It was definitely an experience.
The highlight of my Morocco trip was staying in the Sahara Desert, hands down. The opportunity to stay in a desert camp for two nights was unnerving but exciting at the same time. I have never been considered much of an "outdoorsy" girl, so finding out that our camp was literally in the middle of the Sahara and the bathroom was the nearest sand dune, I got a little nervous. We slept in long tents with mattresses lined up next to each other and had an "eating tent" where we had all our meals; that was about it. Nothing to exciting but we considered it pretty luxurious for the desert.
We woke up at 5:30 in the morning our first day in order to watch the sunrise over the sand dunes. I have witnessed a lot of sunrises in my day but none can compare to the one in the Sahara; it was a real first-class experience. The same day, we got to participate in a camel caravan to the Grand Dune of the Sahara. Riding a camel was a little different than I remember; the first time I rode a camel was when I was much younger at the Renaissance festival with my parents. This camel had a little bit of an attitude problem and enjoyed jerking around randomly and sitting down without warning. I named him Fuzzy because, well, that's what he was. At one point during the caravan, the rope that tied him to the camel in front of us came untied and he literally halted and had no clue what to do next. He didn't keep following the first camel, he just stood there waiting for someone to come rescue him, like a camel in distress. He never lived up to the traditional camel stereotype of spitting or biting but he still tried to buck me off a few times. Nonetheless I still enjoyed my camel ride and will never forget Fuzzy as my favorite (and only) camel friend.
Staying in the Sahara desert was an experience I shall not soon forget. Laying and star-gazing on the dunes was incredible and I am so thrilled that I got to experience it all with good friends, some old and some new. I greatly enjoyed using the Google SkyMap application on my phone to navigate the planets and constellations in the African skies above us. Star-gazing can be somewhat difficult at home because Denver's city lights make it almost impossible to see the stars at night. Seeing the outline of the Milky Way and observing all my favorite constellations was a refreshing occurrence and made me realize just how lucky I was to be laying in the dunes of the Sahara desert, making sand angels and trading stories with local Moroccan people who come from the village to mingle with the tourists.
We woke up at 5:30 in the morning our first day in order to watch the sunrise over the sand dunes. I have witnessed a lot of sunrises in my day but none can compare to the one in the Sahara; it was a real first-class experience. The same day, we got to participate in a camel caravan to the Grand Dune of the Sahara. Riding a camel was a little different than I remember; the first time I rode a camel was when I was much younger at the Renaissance festival with my parents. This camel had a little bit of an attitude problem and enjoyed jerking around randomly and sitting down without warning. I named him Fuzzy because, well, that's what he was. At one point during the caravan, the rope that tied him to the camel in front of us came untied and he literally halted and had no clue what to do next. He didn't keep following the first camel, he just stood there waiting for someone to come rescue him, like a camel in distress. He never lived up to the traditional camel stereotype of spitting or biting but he still tried to buck me off a few times. Nonetheless I still enjoyed my camel ride and will never forget Fuzzy as my favorite (and only) camel friend. 
Staying in the Sahara desert was an experience I shall not soon forget. Laying and star-gazing on the dunes was incredible and I am so thrilled that I got to experience it all with good friends, some old and some new. I greatly enjoyed using the Google SkyMap application on my phone to navigate the planets and constellations in the African skies above us. Star-gazing can be somewhat difficult at home because Denver's city lights make it almost impossible to see the stars at night. Seeing the outline of the Milky Way and observing all my favorite constellations was a refreshing occurrence and made me realize just how lucky I was to be laying in the dunes of the Sahara desert, making sand angels and trading stories with local Moroccan people who come from the village to mingle with the tourists.
Our voyage to Morocco was a huge culture shock and made me further appreciate the other cultures and traditions of the world. Seeing first-hand the lives of Moroccan people made me envisage and give thanks to the American way of life; the way of life I grew up with and now miss terribly. Morocco was undoubtedly the trip of a lifetime and I know I will be telling my children and my children's children my stories about the desert, hoping that they will someday be granted the same opportunity.
No comments:
Post a Comment