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Morocco ISSUE #THREE

#03 Autumn 2015 | Luâ&#x201A;¬15 www.diariesofmagazine.com

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WELCOME

...welcome to Morocco... This issue will bring you a selection of stories we think will give you a glimpse of what you might find in Morocco, the land of a 1000 landscapes, or as our contributor, Marleen, put it, the land of a 1000 smiles, because this is how Moroccan hospitality expresses itself best.

Separated from Europe by a mere 13 kilometres, this photogenic country is both exotic - Morocco is afterall the door to Africa - and an extension of the European Mediterranean coast. There are the grilled sardines, and the Portuguese and Spanish fortresses along the coast to attest to this. The more inland and south one goes, the more authentically African the country gets and the more one gets out of one’s home element. A destination which is appropriate for all kind of travellers, no matter if one is travelling solo, in group or with children. Many have already discovered the pleasures of this country, be it its coasts, its souks, its spicy gastronomy, its traditional festivals, its imperial cities, its well preserved roman ruins, its mountain peaks covered in snow or its deserts. With so many desert possibilities in the Middle East becoming unavailable, Morocco is fast becoming one of the few places where desert lovers will find what they are looking for, be it the silence, a motorised race or just an escape from routine in the unique landscapes. We discovered that Moroccans love to travel and have a very wise saying about it. They say ‘travelling makes one healthier’ and we couldn’t agree more! For this reason we recommend, dear reader, be healthy, keep travelling!

Anabela and Jorge Valente

Cover Photo The Tbourida in El-Jadida (see page 128) Photography by Jorge Valente

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You will notice that Moroccans love a good chat, so don’t be shy. Speak to booksellers, to fishermen, to taxi drivers, ask for directions. They will always find the time to chat, to help, and even better, to give you an open smile and a genuine ‘welcome to Morocco’. Be attentive to the way Moroccans treat children and cats and you will discover a deep tenderness and good-hearted generosity from an entire people.

WHERE IN EUROPE...

admire n a former plant?

...can you go shopping in a former Bullring?

...do they eat caviar along with popcorn?

...can you work out on fitness machines connected to the cloud?

...do you find the “world’s best cinema”?

CULTURE

LEISURE

...can enjoy cou mozzarella

NIGHTLIFE

...do you get the best Gimlet Cocktail?

RESTAURANT

SHOPPING

IT’S THE ONES WHO LIVE THERE, WHO KNOW BEST! Travelling is not merely going from point A to point B.

endeavour to reveal to you. Through this blog, and

For us, travelling is also and above all the life you will

our many locally-based contributors, we will inspire

experience in the place you have decided to go to. Each

you, guide you along your way and help you discover

Luxair destination has a thousand secrets, which we

the best that Europe has to offer.

CONTENTS

contents

66 EXPLORE

Riding Along the Atlantic Coast

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n you uscous with a di bufala ?

CITY

Marrakesh City of a Thousand and One Smiles

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CONTENTS

156

contents FOOD

Enjoy Moroccan Food

3 EDITORIAL 14 FACTS&FIGURES 16 POSTCARDS 22 CITY

Marrakesh City Of A Thousand And One Smiles

144

INTERVIEW

32 In the Majorelle Garden with Quito Fierro

40 Naoufal Abanji, a Moroccan Painter

42 Listening to Morocco

TRAVEL STORY

NATURE

44 Under The Stars Of The Sahara

88 The Big Screen EXPLORE

56 A Nomadic Experience

Meeting The Berbers

66 Riding Along the Atlantic Coast ADVENTURE

150 SOCIAL

Life and Surf Teaching Surf and Values

80 Conquering The

Atlas Mountains

108 Ride Into The Desert 134 Rallying Through Morocco

A woman and Her Passions

116 PORTRAITS Face to Face

124 ESSENTIALS

Essentials of Morocco

156 FOOD

Enjoy Moroccan Food

NATURE

Under The Stars Of The Sahara

144 TRAVEL STORY Paradise for Cats and Cat Lovers

150 SOCIAL

Life and Surf Teaching Surf and Values

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with Assia Jarmouni

Paradise for Cats and Cat Lovers

Disponi ble dans tous les bure aux de p oste

Easy

POSTCHÈQUE

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CONTRIBUTORS

Natalie Deduck is a Brazilian journalist who fell in love with long term travelling, nomad marriage and adventurous life. She left everything behind, packed some clothes and with her husband started an epic journey around the world. So far they have crossed 36 countries and have got to know different cultures and met amazing people. You can follow her travel hacks and inspiring stories on www.loveandroad.com

Daniel Jesus Born in Portugal in 1973, Daniel is a conference interpreter and spends a lot of time working in a booth therefore, he regularly feels the need to spread his wings out in the great wide open. Back in 2000, he crossed Portugal north to south on a mountain bike and became addicted. He has since been doing bicycle expeditions and stage races in places like Patagonia, the Himalayas, South Africa, and Mongolia. Daniel lives in the Algarve, Portugal.

Marleen Thienpont was born in Belgium in 1961. She is a translator and proof reader for an airline. This allows her to travel frequently, and in the course of the past few years, travelling has become one of her passions. She likes to meet new people, especially the locals, in the places she travels to.

Franjo Bandelj Born in Slovenia in 1976, Franjo is a software architect and program developer, who started exploring the world more or less accidentally, in 2006, when one of his friends needed a travelling companion. He quickly discovered the joys of travelling and since then he has travelled to various parts of the world. He currently lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

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contributors

CONTRIBUTORS

Tim Longbotham strives to work hard and play hard making the most of his spare time by escaping normal life to less travelled destinations. He sees the world as too large to go to the same place twice and with mainstream destinations being so well documented, he seeks out places that are a little bit further out of the comfort zone for most, for a more rewarding getaway. He is passionate about photography and he takes great pleasure in capturing these adventures in his own way. www.inflowphotography.com fb.com/inflowphotography

Nathalie Doyen After growing up with three brothers Nathalie became more familiar with motors than dolls. Passionate about everything motorised, she has been driving motorbikes and four-wheel-drives since an early age. Being a spectator at the Dakar Rally ignited a passion for desert landscapes in her. She has discovered that she could combine both passions and is now often present as a pilot in Moroccan rallies.

Anabela Valente Born in Portugal in 1973, Anabela discovered her passion for travelling soon after finishing her language studies. As so often with passionate people she also transferred the travel bug to others. She feels she is lucky to have been to all the continents including Antarctica, but she knows that there is so much more to be seen and experienced with all the senses. She currently lives in Luxembourg. www.diariesofmagazine.com fb.com/diariesoftravel

Jorge Valente Born in Luxembourg in 1979, Jorge is a Webmaster and Graphic Designer. Jorge has always been an outdoor child and nowadays still chooses to be outdoors in his free time. A motorbike aficionado, Jorge has been out on the bike even when the thermometer shows -10Â° C. Naturally curious, he loves to explore new places and to meet new people. He currently lives in Luxembourg. www.diariesofmagazine.com fb.com/diariesoftravel

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contributors

Most

large mammals such as elephants and lions are extinct in Morocco. You may still find lizards, chameleons, geckos or snakes. You will certainly come across camels, sheep, goats, the Barbary monkeys, and wild boar.

Do not handle food with the left hand and do not refuse meat if you are offered it at a meal. Both are considered impolite.

13 600k 3 13 km separate Morocco from Spain, across the Strait of Gibraltar.

Around 600,000 tonnes of sardines are processed each year by the national canning industry, meaning that Morocco is the prime exporter of canned sardines in the world and the chief supplier to the European market.

Morocco has three capitals: Rabat is the administrative capital; Fez is the cultural and spiritual capital and Casablanca the economic capital.

4,165 Mount Toubkal is Morocco’s highest point (at 4,165 metres) and Sebkha Tah is the lowest point at -55 metres below sea level.

‘ One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs and gleams...’

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Aviator, writer

FACTS&FIGURES

facts & figures 40 800k 210 70 Moroccan widows wear white for 40 days, while mourning their deceased husbands. In Morocco white is the colour of mourning.

In Morocco, there is approximately one dentist for every 800,000 residents. The standard practice for treating a toothache is to extract the tooth. At souks, it is not uncommon to spot tooth-extractors who exhibit their pliers and teeth on top of a carpet.

The third largest mosque in the world is the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. It was finished in five years and it took 30,000 workers and craftsmen to complete it. Its minaret is also the world’s highest at 210 metres. It can hold 80,000 worshippers.

In 2003, 70% of the hashish consumed in Europe was produced in Morocco. Moroccan cannabis is also consumed locally, smoked in a long pipe or mixed with food.

— Mohamed VI has been King of Morocco since July 30, 1999. He is very popular among Moroccans. —

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Souks for all tastesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Marrakesh One of the many colourful souks in Marrakesh selling local pottery, djellabas (long, traditional robes) and babouches (the typical leather shoes). Neil Churchard Cyclist, Adventurer, Fundraiser In 2012 Neil Churchard packed everything he needed to be able to live unsupported for the next few years into 5 tiny little bags on his bike, strapped a tent on top and off he pedalled with the goal of a complete circumnavigation of the world by bike. He is still biking and is doing so to raise money for UNICEF. neilchurchard.tumblr.com

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POSTCARDS Send your photos with a description to jorge.valente@diariesof.lu

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Palmeries, the oases made of palm treesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Driving through a palmery in a hot day is a refreshing experience, especially when one can sit or drive under its shade... Anabela Valente

‘The Romans in Morocco’ Volubilis The Roman empire made it all the way to the plains near Meknès at the bottom of the Middle Atlas. The Roman ruins of Volubilis are a very well preserved archaeological site. Besides the lovely capitol and basilica, there are many fine mosaics on display.

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Jorge Valente

‘Morocco from the sky’ Agadir ‘Morocco is quite an interesting country to go paragliding, at least for people who don’t need luxury facilities and appreciate to dive into a world away from the Western civilisation. When being hosted in the Atlas region, I didn’t have any hot water, electricity or cell-phone network. Nevertheless I had all I needed.’ Patrick Schu is an architect living in Luxembourg. He spent two weeks in Morocco paragliding and visited the Atlas Mountains, Marrakesh and Essaouira. Morocco was his first experience in an African and Arabic country. This experience left a deep impression on him, so much so that he plans to go back very soon. Insha’Allah!

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â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Line-drying clothes in the Kasbah Oulad Abdelhalimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Rissani The caravan route to the Sahara desert is filled with kasbahs. With the decline of this trade route, many of these citadels were abandoned. It was good to see that some of them are being beautifully restored and that there are still families living within these old citadels. Anabela Valente

CITY OF A THOUSAND AND ONE SMILES

Text by Marleen Thienpont Photography by Marleen Thienpont, Anabela Valente, Jorge Valente

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MARRA KESH

The souks (markets) are organised by trade themes, so one finds spice souks, smith souks, carpet souks and lively stock souks. This souk was filled with beautiful handmade lamps.

Marrakesh

Marrakesh, a city of colours, of second hand booksellers, of tastes, of labyrinths, of hope and of a thousand smiles. I first visited the city of Marrakesh during the month of December. I didn’t really know what to expect, although of course I had heard, and read, a lot about the splendour of its architecture and the effervescence of its souks. Little did I know that my encounters with the locals would be just as much a part of my journey as my visits to the tourist sites. A warm welcome. Because I had booked a room over the internet, I hadn’t realised the address would be impossible to find

without help… Of course I knew I would be staying in the medina - the old, walled part of the city – but I was completely unaware of the fact that it is actually just one huge labyrinth of streets. To my great surprise I got a phone call from my French host Cathy, saying she would be waiting for me outside the ramparts to take me to her house. After a few minutes’ walk through the maze of alleys, we arrived at a heaven of tranquillity where I was offered a nice cup of mint tea. Cathy turned out to be not only a most hospitable lady,

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CITY

During the day the Djemaa el-Fna square serves as a promenade. It is worth sitting somewhere and observing the women coming and going in their colourful djellabas.

but also a very interesting person who gave me many useful insider tips and through whom I got to know even more interesting people. Lost in the souks. The first evening, I set off to find the Koutoubia Mosque, looking over my shoulder every so often to remember what my path looked like, so I would be able to find my way back home later that night. It was useless, but delicious. My senses were immediately overwhelmed by the smell of spices; by the insistent ‘meep-meep’ of the scooters that rule the streets; by the hustle and bustle in the tiny shops; by the incredible beauty of ancient stone walls and wooden doors; the magnificent colours of kaftans and

djellabas. People were smiling everywhere. I didn’t feel lost at all, it felt rather like homecoming. Eventually I asked some helpful policemen for directions to get home. I did ask the locals, but they were a little bit too eager to propose marriage… A bookstall not like the others. The square in front of the Bab Doukkala gate is the place to be if you want to buy second hand books. It is also the place where Mohamed spends his days, not only as a bookseller, but also as a youth counsellor, event organizer and first aid helper for street children. He is a life raft for young beggars and a saviour of many a youngster in distress. I had the honour of drinking mint tea with him twice, and I felt deeply moved by what this one man

CITY

[left] The Koutoubia Mosque got its name from the kutubiyyin (booksellers) who used to sell their books around the mosque in the 12th century. The muezzin at its minaret calls for prayers five times a day.

[left bottom] In Marrakesh (and in Fez), rather than overnighting in a hotel, a stay in a riad offers a unique experience. Riads are former mansions with inner courtyards which usually have a fountain or pool in the centre for cooling down, and cosy roof terraces.

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[bottom] Marrakesh has several second hand booksellers. Their bookstalls are packed to the roof with books and one wonders how they manage to find a title when they need to.