Tangier, Tanger, Tanja (طنجة), whatever you call it, is a city full of intrigue and secret histories, or at least that’s what I’ve been told. Yet, despite our investigation and openness to experience, it was much like every other large city. To be fair, the mystique was surely exaggerated in the first place. As a…
On our way back from Spain, we stopped off to see some of northern Morocco. In part, this was to enable me to finally finish my self-appointed task of seeing every UNESCO heritage site in Morocco. We stopped in Tangier for a few days (that’ll be a post later), then headed to Chefchaouen, a small…
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…
Reason 1,843 Why I Love Morocco: No matter what you need, there’s always a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy.
Moroccan butcher in Agadir
Reason 933 Why I love Morocco: Despite the rapid move toward modernization, especially in the massive metropolis of Casablanca, there remains a culture of trust and goodwill that permeates informal relationships.
The latest of innumerable examples: My local butcher, who’s known me only a week or so, sent me away with my purchase, even though I’d forgotten my money, and told me I could pay when I able. Incha’Allah.
Just over the Portuguese border from Spain is a little village with a big castle called Castro Marim. Tourist season was over, so we missed the shows that they apparently put on, which include dramatizations of medieval life and fighting knights. Unlike other castles we have visited, this one does well to show what life might…
After spending a few days along the northeastern Spanish coastal region known as Costa Brava, we took the train to Barcelona for a couple days as a stopover on our way to Seville. The capital of the Catalonia region, much like elsewhere in the area, there were flags everywhere in support of seeking independence from…
While walking to lunch with Erika and our new friend Catherine in Selçuk, Turkey, there came behind us the sound of honking car horns and music. At first, I thought it was young people garnering attention like I see so often at home, but as the procession came closer, I saw a boy dressed all…
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.
This weekend, Nissrine and I joined a group teachers from the school on a safari into Quiçama National Park. The park is about an hour south of the Angolan capital, Luanda. It’s a massive game reserve. Within the center of the park is a group of what seemed like decent, air conditioned bungalows along with a…
