RABAT MEDINA & TUARGA WITH SOME RABATIYAS
If the title is any indication, Eid began two days ago, on Thursday, September 24th. I would love to have an incredible Eid story to tell you with lots of (literally) gory details about the slaughter of the sheep and the organization of the organs…but I had just two days prior come down with a mean case of drank-the-medina-water (by way of fresh produce) and was forced to miss this once a year event. Dommage. Therefore, as far as Eid al-adha goes, you’ll have to make do with secondhand photos snapped by my roommate, Lindsey, who in fact did have a great time with her previous host family at their Eid celebration. (I will post them when she sends them to me)
So today, I was finally able to trust my body again enough to go out in public for extended periods of time, and we went out with the two host sisters who belonged to the aforementioned host family. I should begin with an introduction.
Me and Aya in front of the palace
Lindsey & Kawtar
There is Aya, who is about 13 years of age and Kawtar, who is 15. Both of them have an incredible grasp of the English language, given that they have learned it via television and movies (they are not unique in this aspect - apparently a large portion of the Moroccan youth can claim this when you ask them how they learned English, which they do when I ask). They speak to each other and their family in Moroccan Dialect (Darija), and they don’t know much French (which is kind of rare for your average Moroccan), and they are incredibly silly and love to joke (which is, as I’m coming to realize, very common for your average Moroccan). (For example, when I asked if we could stop to have some lunch, Kawtar told me that she didn’t have any free time in her schedule as she is a very busy person (I find this hilarious every single time), as we headed to a restaurant.)
Now that you are acquainted with our informal guides, I can tell you about our day. On this particular one they decided to take Lindsey and I to Tuarga. Neither I nor Lindsey had any idea why we needed our passport and letters of attestation to visit a “town within a town” as they called it, and we couldn’t seem to even remember the name anyway. As it turns out, we were visiting the compound in which live the families of the people employed by the King, as well as his majesty himself. So we got to see the royal palace, and we took some pictures near the main gate. After this, we made our slow way out of Tuarga (stopping to visit the on-site Mosque). We walked all the way back through centre-ville to the old Medina.
When I say Medina, let me explain precisely what I mean. The “Medina al-qadima” or “old city” is a city within a city. Most Moroccan cities have them, and they are typically walled with a few gates to the outside. They are chock-full of winding streets that are usually too narrow for cars and easy to get lost in. There is shop after shop squeezed together in the medina, and you can find just about anything you can imagine if you know who to talk to. And did I mention the millions of stray cats?
Back to our walk-- We just arrived at the gates of the medina and Lindsey and I decided we needed to stop for food. We went to this slightly fancy moroccan restaurant and I ordered a brochette de viande (meat kebabs), fries and a coke. It was bnin (delicious)! In Morocco, it is common to eat with the thumb, index and middle fingers of your right hand, or with bread in lieu of utensils. That is how Lindsey, Kawtar and I ate. Aya, however insisted on using a fork with proper form.
“I like etiquette,” she says, while we all dig in. “Only at the dinner table,” jokes Kawtar.
All in all it was a really nice lunch out.
After our meal we walked down to the beach and dropped Aya off at her surf lessons. Then we walked to what I gathered was another water-sports club. We were served mint tea, offered more food (we were too stuffed, what a shame), and sat to have a chat with Kawtar’s friend Simu. After a Moroccan while (who keeps track of time on a Saturday afternoon at the beach?), we decided to jump in the water. The water was icy cold, but refreshing after our long walk under the blazing October sun (I actually got a little sunburnt on my neck!). The waves were strong enough for surfing, and lots of people were taking advantage of the great weather. After about four more hours of this, we decided to finally go home. We said farewell to Aya, Kawtar and Simu and we hopped in a taxi home.
The beach at Oudaya in Rabat
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