500 wives and 12,000 horses

There was no good estimate of the number of children the Sultan Moulay Ismail had, but it is clear that he owned a lot of property.  He made Meknes his capital and built a fortress city in the 17^th Century that remains impressive today. 

Our drive from Rabat to Meknes took us away from the coast through beautiful farmland.  The road was well developed and maintained, and the farms were small family operations.  As we passed through them, everywhere, we saw men working, a site that would not be as common later in the trip.

It was a brilliant day that made the green grasses glow and the pink houses seemed warm and welcoming.  Meknes was also a glowing city that day.  The gate of El Mansour, Bab el Mansour, is a beautiful and intricate, but no longer an entrance.

We went to the entrance of Sultan Moulay’s city and toured the vast compound he had built.  It was of a magnitude that astonished, but then he was a man of great appetites.  It took a lot of stores to support a family the size of his, and 12,000 horses take up a lot of room, then of course you have to keep your prisoners somewhere.  The granary was cool and dry, but the stables were what drew me.  Their size and symmetry was beautiful, almost joyous in the bright afternoon sun. Of course, the prison where the European slaves (who built the complex) was not as cheerful.

We went next to the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail.  Although he was a brutal leader who enslaved many and killed thousands of his own subjects, he is revered and his mausoleum is a shrine.  The tile work was beautiful and it is a serene place.  We took off our shoes to enter the mosque joined a collection of tourists and people seeking baraka (blessings) by touching spots designated as holy.  The tile work glowed when it was caught in the sunlight.

Heading to lunch we saw a man flogging wool to prepare it for spinning.  Then we had a nice tagine of chicken for lunch.

It has been a busy day, but not over yet.  On to Volubilis.  Hope you are enjoying the trip.

Link to Shutterfly album on Meknes:

http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=4e54130fcec644c56cbbd47cbb382743#1354290187187

A Morocco state of mind

Casablanca to Marrakesh, a trek complete with camels and camping in the desert and hikes in the Atlas Mountains.  The image is there in your mind as the plane lands.  The song keeps playing on my head:  “Da dai de dai de dai..”.  The reality of Casablanca as an urban industrialized city clears that mirage, but the romance of the place is still indelibly imprinted in my heart.  Not being fools, the Casablancans built the elaborate Hassan II Mosque to draw tourists.  It is the only reason (other than the romance of it) to start a trek there.  As one of the newest, most expensive mosques in the world, smaller only that the mosques in Mecca and Medina, it is worth a few pictures:

The finest materials were used, local stone, mosaics from Fes, and cedar wood from the Atlas.  It used the best concepts from older mosques throughout Morocco and craft techniques preserved through the centuries.  Built in 1992, it has succeeded in its mission to give tourist and Moroccans a reason to stop in Casablanca.  Enough said, let’s go look for the old, beautiful, romantic Morocco of my imagination.  On to Rabat.

Driving to Rabat gave us our first glimpse of the countryside.  We stopped just outside The medina (old walled city) for lunch overlooking the Atlantic, near where the Phoenicians and Carthaginians first settled in 300 BC.  Then we walked along the beach to the old fortress walls.  From the entrance we had a view of the city, including the Hassan II Tower, an incomplete mosque abandoned in 1199 when the sultan died.  Near it is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, a modern king. Below are pictures of the walk to and through the medina finally arriving at our hotel for the night:

After a night in Rabat, we visited the unfinished Hassan II Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, then headed out of town.

So far, Morocco has been a beautiful country with a long history and exotic sites, but it has not yet hit the mark of my expectations.  It is early in our trip, however, with much ahead.  We are heading out of town to our next destination, in sha'Allah (Arabic for God willing, and always said about plans for the future). 

For some reason, we keep seeing people, both here and in Casablanca, with live sheep.

[Note:  My blog is in the form of a travel log, taking you through my Morocco trek.  Bear with me as I discover my impressions of what was for me a journey of many dimensions.  In a later post, I will include a link to a web site with many pictures from this trip.}

Here is a shutterfly link to more Pictures from Casablanca:

http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=4e54130fcec644c56cbbd47cbb382743

And to pictures from Rabat:

http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=4e54130fcec644c56cbbd47cbb382743#1354289880115
If you want more pictures, click on the link

Via Madrid

It's not my final destination, I'm just passing through. Funny how that changes your perspective on a place. Maybe it's also because I will have another shot at this city on my way back. This visit seemed like a collage, a collection of images.

I am staying near the heart of the old town, in easy walking distance of most everything. I took one of those hop and ride tour buses and saw an overview of the key vistas. It had earphones with narration for the things we passed.

Madrid is a city of beautiful buildings and that is no accident. The voice in my ear told me the history of each. Not just why it was built, but who designed lit. The designer was often described as a sculpture or artist. Sometimes the building that used to be there before it burned was also lovingly described.

I began to see that in Madrid, they see their city as a canvas, and the attention to every detail shows. You have to look up to truly appreciate the carvings and frescoes. A sunny day would have made the warm colors glow. I have not yet been to the great museums here (on my return in a few weeks), but I found myself appreciating the art that is Madrid.

During my travels, I will be blogging on my iPad.  My pictures will show up at the bottom, and I won't be able to embed them in text... So, I will publish my blogs in parts when I think I need to.

Madrid is a good via.