Morocco

We are currently in the south of Spain so we decided to take a 1-day excursion to Tangier, Morocco. Quite by accident, we went on a Friday, a sacred day of Islamic prayers and time with family and friends. It was also Eid al Fitr (the end of Ramadan) on Wednesday and Thursday, so Friday was even more of a celebratory day. Whilst to begin with it seemed like it might have been a bad idea to go on a Friday, it actually turned out so perfectly as the morning was quiet and relatively deserted and then as the day went on, we watched the city come to life. It felt really joyous with families sharing time together and friends meeting up with each other – similar to the euphoria in places that celebrate Christmas.

We walked all over the “old city”, finding our way through the winding, cobbled streets and the kasbah (gates) of the fortress walls. Some of these streets were so narrow you couldn’t walk side-by-side, then suddenly they would open up to a green area, often with a beautiful view.

The streets were so clean and were dotted with cardboard boxes housing families of cats and kittens, who were clearly fed and cared for by the local cat lovers! The cats were the highlight for Zara and she could have easily spent all day playing with them.

The people of Morocco were so kind and friendly. To start with, it felt like everybody saying “Welcome to Tangier, where are you from?” wanted to sell you something, but it soon became apparent that even people with nothing to gain were just as enthusiastic to welcome you. Zara’s head was patted no less than 4 times  and a man on the street eagerly gave Logan his pastry when he commented it looked yummy! There is a system of good-natured haggling for the best price in the market stalls, and everybody seems to have a friend who owns a shop for the thing you most want. It was the kids’ first experience of this type of system, and they really enjoyed observing how it works.

The food was delicious – couscous, tagine, khobz bread, nougat, filo sweets, mint tea…and always sold with lovely customer service and a smile!

In the afternoon we hired a taxi driver to take us to the lighthouse at Morocco’s northern-most point, with a view of the Atlantic meeting the Strait of Gibraltar, the only natural link between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. We really enjoy this type of “tour” as it feels very personal and unique, and gives an insight into the ‘real’ people of a place.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day trip to Tangier!