ANDY’S TRAVELS & RANTS

went oveland to Fez, Morocco.  Great drive with many road side vedors selling food. bought some nuts and cocoa beans.  The area is much greener than i would have expected from Morocco. After arriving in Fez and checking in at the hotel, we went to the Medina. The streets are quite narrow and not ment for cars.  Seems you could find just about anything here. Enough English to do business. Many bazaars, cafes, shops and many many people. Great time with many interesting sights, sounds and smells.   As you walk though the medina, you have to watch for donkey traffic, which is the main way of moving goods in and out of the area.  The area is cleaner than I expected with many different types of stalls.  Be careful, it’s a maze and getting lost is quite easy. The crowd presses you in at every side, be careful watch you valuables here it is a moving sea of people.  Sometime you endup flowing with the waves of humanity and end up going in whatever direction the flow is moving!

on day 4 we went to the Roman Ruins at Volubilis it is on the way from Rabat to Fez. though it was worth a short stop. not some of the most impressive Roman ruins i’ve seen, but it also makes you think how far the Romans invaded, from the North of England to here in Morocco. Lots of great scenery in this area, again impressed with how green this part of Morocco is. Certainly not a land of just sand and deserts.

On day 3 we stayed in Rabat. Rabat’s sister town across the river is Sale. Saw the Andalusian gardens in tshe kasbah of Oudaya.  It amazing how green this part of Morocco is. The drive from Casablanca to Rabat was easy good roads and signs. Traffic in the city bad as any other. In Sale across the river there is an old Roman town with a Jewish quarter. I was amazed to see the two cultures living together with no outward sign of problems. Looking forward to driving to the town of Fez. will be driving along the way there are some Roman ruins to see in the countryside

Finished the pics of the Morocco trip. They are index and captioned for viewing.

We drove overland from Casablanca. It took most of the day since we kept stopping to see thedifferent sights (lots of roadside vendors). I think the drive is about 90 minutes if you go straight through.

The Cities of Rabat and Sale are across the river from each other. Rabat has a Royal palace (no longer used) thats interesting. We also made a stop at the large Hassan Tower, an unfinished minaret built in the 12th centrurty. Visited a Kasbah. The Roman gardens at Chellah a 14th century necropolis presented many picture oppportunities, the birds have turned the tops of mosts of the Roman columns into nests.

this day by day blog corresponds with the photos posted:

we arrived in Casablanca on day 1, saw the Hassan II Mosque. Very large and imrpressive. it the second largest mosque in the world after Mecca. after a stop we drove on to Rabat and to our hotel for a rest.

been in the desert for 5 days then made a drive though the high atlas mountains. the country is much greener near the coast than i expected. marrekech is a mixed city with african islamic and european influences. dress is of all types both east and west. women wear skirts or the traditioal dress. much shopping here plus a nice bazar, with snake charmers, henna painters and the like. rooms go from very cheap to very expensive. something for everyone. cant post pics because th internet is too slow. but in a few days on april 18 we are heading to germany and hope to pick up a better conntection to post some of the desert pics.
andy

cant make much of a post now, just finished 5 days in the moroccan desert. and the internet cafe is very crowded. when i get back to a faster connection i will post the rest of the info. desert was great. stayed in tents and experienced sand storms./ but more later\

andy

we arrived in morrocco today. after 3 flights and one delay. they are buiding on to the airport and cutstoms was a bit slow. casblanca is a very beautiful city. intersting beach area. weather is still a bit too cold to take advantange of the water. by the way we are using a morroccian key board and all the letters do not align withe the standard us board. so typing can be quite a challange. im going to see if i can start posting pictures on the site. not sure when i will find another computer to use. we, by the way have moved out of casablanca \9quite expensive\- to Rabat. found a great plance to stay on the water.,

ive seen some posts on the clothing styles it seems , just in the first day to be a mix a western and eastern \09islamic\- its not unusual to see a mother dressed traditional with her kids in jeans and baseball caps. i

we are going to marrakesh and then on to the atlas mountains with five days in tents in the desert. if you have any questions alonng the way let me know

anbdy