A fairly typical entry changing area
Reason 1,037 Why I Love Morocco: For $8 I can have a day at the spa (hammam) complete with a man who washes me, scrubs me, then gives me a soap massage.
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Culture
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Reason 517 Why I Love Morocco: Rules are flexible.
Even though the restaurant closed 15 minutes ago, we’ll make you something to go without annoyance.
You’re the only one going through this baggage scanner late at night? You look honest, go ahead looks you’ve got a train to catch.
Culture, Europe, History, Travel
Rupea Citadel
by Thomas Stanley • • 2 Comments
There are trigger words on brown road signs that always spark my interest. Foremost among them is “fortification.” Anything big and old, I find fascinating. Yesterday, while driving from Sighișoara back to Brașov (this time via the highway) we past brown sign after brown sign that said “fortificata,” but we were on a timeline, so without a…
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Reason 604 Why I Love Morocco: A man can look definitively masculine despite wearing what the West might see as a dress.
Culture, History, Life, Nature, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel
Ksar El Kebir
by Thomas Stanley • • 1 Comment
In Northern Morocco, within the peninsula that juts north toward Spain, is a small city called Ksar el Kebir, Arabic (القصر الكبير) for “large fortress.” It is located among the rolling hills that lie before foothills of the Rif Mountains. Being inland, away from the sea, the city does not experience the same tourist traffic…
Culture, Life, Nature, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel
Seaside
by Thomas Stanley • • 1 Comment
It’s been nice to have a break and hangout by the seaside in Rabat this week. While I love my town and its people, escaping the heat for a bit is helping to renew my spirit. As volunteers, in order to better assimilate, we were prohibited from leaving our site for three months. Near the…
Culture, Food, History, Life, Nature, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel
Essaouira
by Thomas Stanley • • 4 Comments
After three months in site, it was nice to head out for some away time. The three months of mandatory integration was fascinating and fulfilling. We met innumerable amazing people who brought us into their homes and offered us friendship. But, Morocco is a large and diverse country, so I’ve been chomping at the bit…
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Reason 601 Why I Love Morocco: When, after meals, people ask if you want to lay down and take a nap, they are totally serious. Every meal is like Thanksgiving at grandma’s.
Africa, Culture, History, Travel
Amazigh Agadirs
by Thomas Stanley • • 1 Comment
Not to be confused with the city of Agadir that was destroyed by an earthquake and later rebuilt into a tourist destination, but rather, the traditional buildings that gave the city its name. Throughout southern Morocco are the remnants of what was once a thriving Amazigh (Berber) culture that extended over most of North Africa. Before the arrival…
Awareness, Culture, History, Life, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel
Am I A Tourist?
by Thomas Stanley • • 2 Comments
Am I a tourist? What makes a tourist a tourist? How long must one live in a place to not be a tourist? Is it merely a state of mind, or something more substantial? If I wasn’t born in a particular place, will I forever be a tourist there? I have done my fair share of…
