Sunday, while walking through the hills, we heard the commencement of the afternoon call to prayer from one of the mosques ringing through town. Soon, dogs and other animals joined in creating a lovely chorus of sound.
Reason 302 Why I Love Morocco: Sometimes, when you ask a policeman for directions, after buying you tea, he tells a passerby to drive you to your destination across town, who then invites you for dinner at his home.
Reason 584 Why I Love Morocco: The hot season and the watermelon season are in near perfect alignment.
It’s strange to be writing this so late, but somehow I neglected to write a post about my time in Ouarzazate and its environs a few months back. The whole area is quite lovely and peaceful. In fact, the word ‘Ouarzazate” means “without noise” or “peaceful” in the native Tamazight language. Known also as the Moroccan Hollywood,…
Reason 501 Why I Love Morocco: Unlike most of the West, where even eye contact is rare, you’re virtually guaranteed a salutary response, even from total strangers if you bother to make an attempt. Salamu walaykum.
Reason 333 Why I Love Morocco: While the government considers it official, many people do not observe the change in Daylight Saving Time, making effective scheduling an ongoing exercise in forgiveness and letting go of attachments, especially when, because of Ramadan, it reverts back to ‘old time’ during the month of fasting only to go forward again when it finishes. Thus, every meeting for the next few months must include the qualifier, “old time or new time?”
Reason 621 Why I Love Morocco: There is a patient acceptance to the less than desirable matters of life. Though I see the the flies as aggressive because their always in my face, my Moroccan friends smile and reframe this as, “They’re just curious.” or “They just want to kiss you.”
Admittedly, I knew very little about Gallipoli (Gelibolu in Turkish). The United States played a negligible role in that particular theater during World War I, so our history doesn’t pay it much mind. Most of what I know about its significance comes from the popular Australian ballad, And the band played Waltzing Matilda. The song is…
Reason 248 Why I Love Morocco: Sometimes, when you show up early for the bus, the bus drivers take you to breakfast.
