Living in the United States, I never imagined living in Africa, yet here I am at the tail end of year three. When I’d imagined a life abroad, like most Americans, I suppose, I imagined European destinations. There was always something in the back of my mind, a sense of the unknown, that made the…
Tucked up into the Atlas Mountains near the Amazigh hotbeds of Goulmima and Tinjdad, is a remarkable little village called Aghbalou N’Kerdous. Situated near a year-long creek that provides ample water for crops, the town, despite the altitude, has been thriving for ages. The word “aghbalou,” pronounced with a slight ‘r’ after the ‘a’ so that…
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.
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.
It’s generally understood that white-skinned people smell like chicken.
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…
Reason 3,333 Why I Love Morocco: Previously neglected foods are now main staples. i have eaten, or drank, more dates, olives, watermelon, oranges, eggs, fish, okra, tea, wine, couscous, honey, mint, and mutton in the last 5 years here than I did the whole 45 years before coming.
My first tajine, which I made to mark the start of Ramadan 2015. It had potatoes, zucchini, onions, tomatoes and olives.
Reason 1,049 Why Love Morocco: The tajine. Not the meal, but the cookware. I’m so integrated at this point that I don’t know how I’ve live my adult years without one. I use it every day. It’s a pressure cooker, a crock-pot, a deep-fryer, popcorn maker, and “microwave” all in one. It’s truly a wonder.
Most people, me included, don’t seem to understand the extent of Phoenician, Greek, and Roman influence along the North African coast, but especially Tunisia. A Euro-centric bias makes us forget that the Mediterranean basin, symbolically “center of the Earth”, has a southern area that was, and remains, nearly as important and advanced as its northern…
