Marrakech at Ramadan

Here in Marrakech, reputed to be pretty wild, everyone was a bit subdued today because of Ramadan. We took a walk through the souks today, and the vendors were all working, but were not aggressive at all. By mid afternoon, it was quiet, with most laying down taking naps. We did see one seller lose his temper and complain loudly (likely a smoker suffering from nicotine withdrawal), and Zak commented that if you can't maintain a good attitude, it's better to smoke and eat. Walking past the drowsy sellers, I spotted a guy watching Ramadan porn on his phone: a video of meat sizzling on a grill. In the souks,…
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Fes

Yesterday, the group rode our bus to the city of Fez, maybe 120 miles east of Rabat. A beautiful superhighway took us through the green region of Morocco. The world's second largest forest of cork trees (largest is in Portugal), wheat fields, olive groves on a gently rolling landscape. Eventually, the city of Fez came into view. We exited the highway and drove into the town. Fez has one of the world's largest vehicle-free zones, the medina, a warren of 9000+ tiny streets and alleys dating from the 9th century. Here is the oldest university in the world, operating since 859. In the late 15th century, Morocco had a big…
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Marrakech at Ramadan

Here in Marrakech, reputed to be pretty wild, everyone was a bit subdued today because of Ramadan. We took a walk through the souks today, and the vendors were all working, but were not aggressive at all. By mid afternoon, it was quiet, with most laying down taking naps. We did see one seller lose his temper and complain loudly (likely a smoker suffering from nicotine withdrawal), and Zak commented that if you can't maintain a good attitude, it's better to smoke and eat. Walking past the drowsy sellers, I spotted a guy watching Ramadan porn on his phone: a video of meat sizzling on a grill. In the souks,…
More

Fes

Yesterday, the group rode our bus to the city of Fez, maybe 120 miles east of Rabat. A beautiful superhighway took us through the green region of Morocco. The world's second largest forest of cork trees (largest is in Portugal), wheat fields, olive groves on a gently rolling landscape. Eventually, the city of Fez came into view. We exited the highway and drove into the town. Fez has one of the world's largest vehicle-free zones, the medina, a warren of 9000+ tiny streets and alleys dating from the 9th century. Here is the oldest university in the world, operating since 859. In the late 15th century, Morocco had a big…
More