Morocco and Southern Portugal Trip – Day 1

Before I dive into Day 1, the first question I probably need to answer is why Morocco?  There are many reasons, but I will mention the top three – Hollywood, History, and Food.  

Hollywood – Morocco and the Sahara Dessert have been the centerpiece for many movies including Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia, both Best Picture winners. And movies that have been filmed here include Gladiator, Babel, Othello, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Black Hawk Down, American Sniper, among others. So, if Hollywood loves Morocco, maybe I will too.

History – In his Pulitzer Prize winning book, Army at Dawn, Rick Atkinson chronicles the daring amphibious invasion in November of 1942 of the American and British Armies as they fight the French in Morocco and Algeria.  That invasion, which centered on Morocco, setting the stage for the  Italian Invasion in 1943 and the Normandy invasion on June 6th, 1944, whetted my appetite to learn more about Morocco and its history.  Morocco also had one of the largest empires in the world during the 11th century, created by the Berbers, who were pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa.

Food – The couple who owns VEGAN restaurant in Philadelphia, maybe the best Vegan restaurant in the United States, have travelled and explored cuisines from around the world. They claim that Morocco, along with Japan, has the best food in the world. And so, I want to find out.

So, what did I do on day 1 in Morocco?  

After leaving Boston on Saturday with a layover in Lisbon, Portugal, I arrived at Marrakech Airport in Morocco at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, where I met Mohammed Zahidi, a self pro-claimed Berber, who would be my guide for my entire visit in Morocco. In fact, he said that if you scratch an Arab in Morocco, you will find a Berber. 

The Berbers of Morocco are the descendants of the prehistoric Caspian culture of North Africa. The de-Berberization of North Africa accelerated under Roman, Vandal, Byzantine and Arab rule. The Arab invasion of the seventh century brought about the Arabization and, eventually, the conversion of the Berbers in Morocco to Sunni Islam. 

But to Mohammed’s point, most Arab Moroccans would be better described as Arabized  Berbers. The process of assimilation began with the seventh century Arab invasion and took place mostly in the cities and costal regions. Berber speakers were then forced to retreat to the mountainous regions of Morocco and now live mostly in the Rif, Middle Atlas, High Atlas and Anti Atlas mountain regions. But assimilation and intermarriage continue to occur.

Despite their conversion to Islam, the Berbers resisted Arab and other foreign rule whenever possible, even until very recently. After the Moroccan Kingdom gained independence from the French in 1957, Berber discontent was formalized in 1958 with the establishment of an explicit Berber political party. Even though the party was a member of the ruling coalition in the Moroccan legislature, this is mitigated by the fact that for all practical purposes, the King’s authority is generally greater than that of the legislature. Morocco, after all, is still a Kingdom. And you never say anything negative about the king. 

After my plane landed, I hit the ground running. We left the airport for Villa des Oranges, my fancy home for the next two nights. After dropping off my luggage,  Mohammed and I sat down in an enclave in the riad courtyard of the hotel for some hot mint tea, fresh dates, and Moroccan Cookies. Mint tea is everywhere in Morocco and is offered to guests as a sign of hospitality. I loved mine, especially with the fresh dates.

Afterwards, we meandered the Kasbah within the Médina, the oldest section of Marrakesh. We visited the opulent Saadien Tombs, the mausoleum of a great dynasty which once ruled North Africa during the 1600’s. This dynasty was responsible for chasing the Portuguese out of Morocco, who Morocco for its rich trades routes, especially the gold routes through the Sahara Dessert  Purposefully buried for centuries by a succeeding Dynasty, it was excavated by French archeologists in 1917, exposing eye-popping mosaic work with beautifully carved cedar ceilings in many of the rooms. During our walk, we also visited a palace built during the 1800’s that even more impressive mosaic work. On our return to the hotel through the Medina, I stopped to play some music with a street performer. It was a highlight of the day for me.

I headed back to the hotel for a late lunch. Afterwards, I took a break in the late afternoon to relax at the pool and take a swim.  In the evening, we headed to the Djemaa el Fnaa, the main square at the heart of Marrakech’s medina. Originally set up by nomads who would come down from the Atlas Mountains to trade goods, the stalls now contain rows of escargot sellers, snake charmers, musicians and story tellers. After enjoying some people watching at the main square, I ended a long day with dinner at La Maison Arabe’s Trois Saveurs. With roots going back to the 1940’s the restaurant is a fixture on the Moroccan food scene. The cuisine was excellent. I had Orange Soup followed by  Chicken Tagine. Tagine is a traditional Moroccan dish.

The food on Day 1 did not disappoint. At lunch I may have experienced the freshest and most flavorful tomato salad ever. And the chicken Tagine at dinner was so flavorful, including plenty of saffron, that it reminded me of brisket. How so you might ask. Well, with brisket, people cannot decide what they like most – the wet and juicy inner portion or the charred and crispy edge. The chicken I had tonight was no different. In fact, it was so flavorful, I paired it with a very good Moroccan red wine. And it more than held it’s own. Now, that is a flavorful chicken dish!

And this is just Day 1……