Jummah and Marriage?

 Hi guys! 

Today was definitely a strange one. We started the morning touring our hotel because it was sort of an art museum and a hotel in one. Each floor had probably around 20-30 paintings, some mix media, some Dali-esq pieces, others more traditional African art. We think the owner must have been a collector of sorts, very modern and eclectic. I mean he had a ‘98 Oldsmobile parked outside for show! It was a pretty cute car, I wanted to try and “trade” our rental car for this ride but Auntie Sureia said no, such a spoilsport haha.

After, we packed our bags and hit the road to see the last bits of Rabat before staring our 4 hour drive to Chefchaouen, the blue city.

We went to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, a former Moroccan king, the and the Hassan Tower, the minaret of an unfinished mosque.

This was the Mausoleum. It’s kind of weird when you think about it because it’s just a fancy pants grave site. But the building were too pretty not to take pictures there! Interestingly enough, the architect was Vietnamese man and the green roof was actually important from Pakistan.

Here is the tower across the way!

Oh and I was the happiest gal ever because the space is guarded by horses at the entrance! Which I really, really wanted to pet but refrained since they were “working.” Not an easy job being the flag bearing horse for a dead king.

While we were exploring the area and just about to leave, Marwan, a tourism policeman, came over and talked to Auntie Sureia saying he wanted to show us a palace after jummah prayer (the Friday prayer in mosque with a sermon). Honestly I thought it was a scam, and Auntie Sureia explained as much, but we seriously offended him! Oops. I guess I’m just a skeptical person and it’s very strange having random people wanting to take you around their hometown. I guess you can chalk it up to Moroccan nationalism and hospitality? I’m curious as to why all these strangers have so much free time lol. Either way, Auntie Sureia thought it was a great idea, and decided we should join him at the very least for prayer. So that’s how we ended up in the Old Market again and our blue city agenda completely thrown to the wind. If anything you can’t say we weren’t opportunist travelers! 

The nice thing about Islam is the prayers are the same across the world so even though I don’t speak any Moroccan or Egyptian Arabic, I know enough Quranic Arabic to follow along. Even Susan knew what to do since she had been to mosques in Thailand! It was nice to find some familiarity in town. Also, we realized that the reason half the Old Market was closed last night was because it was fresh food vendors! It was pretty cool to walk through during the day and the space had an entirely different vibe from the night vendors. 

It was here in the Old Market that Marwan decided to propose to me. But since I speak no Arabic and he doesn’t speak any English, Auntie Sureia got to translate it all. She and Susan were having a merry laugh while I was flabbergasted. Mind you, Susan and I were in our own little world and conversation, just following along. But there’s nothing like a marriage proposal to boost your ego haha. Marwan let Auntie Sureia know he has a good job, he already bought a house, and that I could live comfortably in Morocco since he had enough money to take care of me. He also invited us to iftar to meet his family. I swear I’m not making this up! Our language barrier was apparently not an issue because he assured me he’d speak English better than me in three months!! Alas, I had to break poor Marwan’s heart when I turned him down instead left for the city of Chefchaouen. I told you my day was strange! 

The drive did not disappoint at all! We drove through the most beautiful green hills and countryside, you would never believe Morocco had a huge desert! There were small towns and many farms with crops, sunflowers, and a few sheep or cows. Also, it was not unusual to have a horse and buggy with goods riding alongside our cars! Unfortunately the pictures didn’t do any of it justice but I’ll show you one anyways. 

The four hours flew by and before we knew it we were in Chefchaouen. Unfortunately, the sun was going down and iftar time was near, so we hurried to our hotel and then out the door to find a place before Ramadan siesta started. I did manage to snap a few photos along the way just for you! 

I can’t wait to explore more tomorrow! We are staying in the cutest bed and breakfast right in the heart of town. Tomorrow is definitely going to be one big photoshoot and I don’t even mind looking like a tourist because this whole city is so cute! Anyways, stay tuned for the next update tomorrow! 

Love you all,

Aisha