Our tour guide Nor made the entire trip incredible. He was from Morocco and grew up in a very small mountain town. Specifically, he is a Berber and very proud of it. He speaks about 7 languages including Arabic, Berber, 3 dialects of Arabic, English, Spanish, French and is currently learning Dutch. He was truly and amazing person to meet, and his outlook on life was positive, refreshing,and moving. He loves his country and made me love it too.
So if you didn't know, Morocco is a monarchy. They have had bad kings, good kings and everything in between. Right now, Nor is pleased with the current king because many changes are occurring. For example, the king had an open air wedding and everyone knows his wife which is a drastic change from past times. In the past the people never even saw the king's wife...this is the first time in Moroccan history that this has happened. Each day women are gaining more rights and have the ability to seek a better place in their country, but they still do face the adversity and find it difficult to obtain all of their goals. Recently they have gained the right to divorce so that they do not have to stay with abusive husbands. Not only that, but they are not required to wear burqas anymore...that is simply a personal choice which many women still elect because if they are wearing a burqa they are not bothered by men whereas if they choose not to sometimes men take liberties with the women in the streets. Although circumstances are improving, there is still a long way to go.
Another thing that Nor talked a lot about was the fact that the king is one of the richest men in the world while his country for the vast majority is poor. This is because whatever business there is must pay a certain percent of their profits to the king. He gains in everything from supermarkets to the illegal drug trades. Nor didn't try to deny the fact that he believe it was likely that the king was directly profiting from the drug trade in the north, which is one of the largest in the world.
Although the country is progressing slightly, Nor was adamant that the king didn't truly support the development of his country because he was keeping one thing from his people: EDUCATION. Over 40% of the Moroccan population is illiterate and most of the time children don't even go to school. We witnessed it for ourselves as we travelled through the smaller towns. The children opt to sell trinkets or herbs on the side of the road. The parents also do not encourage their children to further their education because the schools are very far away and they do not want to send them to live in other cities. This is one of the worst problems according to Nor.
Finally, Nor talked a lot about the differences between Arabs and Berbers. In the history of Morocco the Berbers faced discrimination and extreme poverty and things have only slightly improved today. We drove by a long standing protest about working conditions and job opportunities and covering the landscape in the south are political messages stating "the Sahara is ours" or simply the Berber symbol. It was very interesting to learn about the history and current politics. Nor beat the odds growing up as a Berber in a small village. He was able to receive an education, avoid an arranged marriage, and no longer practices any religion. He even taught the Berber language to members of the peace corps when they visited his village when he was a boy.
Nor is an incredible person, and on the night that we spent in the Sahara he put into words what I had been thinking all along. He told us that in reality life is short and that is why he does what he does. He meets new people from around the world, learns new languages, and travels as much as possible. He sees the joy in the little things in life and can stop to appreciate every opportunity he is given. I completely agree. I am incredibly lucky. There are not many people in the world that have the opportunity to do everything I have been doing. Never in my life did I think I would be on a trip in Morocco with people from Australia, Argentina, Arizona, Nebraska, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Texas, Spain, and Morocco. Never did I think that we would all be able to communicate through a mix of Spanish, English, Arabic, and Berber. I have been lucky that on each trip I take I meet some incredible people, have incredible experiences, and take away more than just photos.
After being in Morocco it is definitely a place that I would want to go back to someday. I would like to help with the education situation that is a major concern there...but maybe I should learn one of their languages first. I always have wanted to learn Arabic!
Anyway, on to the things that we actually did which will probably interest you much more. Since I have already written so much how about a picture timeline? That way you can all look at the beauty of Morocco while I babble about my experience. Here we go:
We saw many small towns and houses built into the sides of mountains and sometimes tents pitched in the desert where the nomads stayed from time to time. I never thought that I would actually see nomads, but we did: both with camels and sheep.
This was the first small town we stayed at. It was about 2 or 3 hours more to the Sahara. In this town they filmed a few scenes from the Gladiator, so now the government is trying to preserve it. In fact, only 10 families live there now and just last year was a bridge built so they could cross the river when it rained because the government finally realized that the families were not moving no matter how hard they tried to make them.
This is the view from the top of the town...we hiked up it the day after we saw it.
Our next stop was the gorges for lunch...very cool! There were people everywhere relaxing in the sun and having family picnics.
We camped in the Sahara in traditional Berber tents. Enough said :)
Moroccan drumming! Our guide Nor and our bus driver were both excellent singers, dancers, and drummers as well.
We took a camel trek into the Sahara Desert for sunrise...those are members of our group on top of that dune! It was really incredible
The sun coming up over the dunes
Marissa with her camel! They had one for each of us!
After our camel trek and Sahara experience we went back to the busy city of Marrakesh and got to try our hand at bargaining for everything that we bought! Overall a very fun and enlightening experience! If you have the chance to go...do it!
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