We hopped on our bus to head north, closer to the
Mediterranean Sea and the UNESCO World Heritage city of Tetouan. Our tour was
supposed to include a stop at the Royal Palace there, but that had to be eliminated
because the king was in town. We visited the old city (medina), walking up and
down a number of narrow streets including the old Jewish Quarter. During the
Spanish Inquisition, Moors and Jews fled to this area of Morocco, which has a
lot of Spanish architecture. Very few Jews are still here since most chose to
emigrate to Israel after WWII, but streets are still named after famous
characters and at least a few Jewish
buildings are historically preserved.
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| Narrow lanes in the Jewish Quarter |
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| A charming young woman who talked to us about her unusual looking sandwich: Cheese, tuna, and mystery meat. |
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| One of the UNESCO buildings, a former synagogue |
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| Couldn't help but notice the Arabian version of Barbie... |
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| Some of the colorful birds we saw. |
The markets were largely reminiscent of markets anywhere,
with a variety of attire and foods. We saw several shops dedicated to threads
and Driss helped me buy a couple spools of a lovely turquoise. I had hoped to
use it for sewing, but it appears to be embroidery thread, so I’ll have to
create something to use it on. We also bought some nougat candy from a vendor
who gave us a sample that was delicious. There were live birds (pets) in
the market and we learned that Driss is into homing pigeons. There were finches
and love birds and cockatiels, just to name a few. One poor white finch was
apparently a total wimp because his tail and the back of his head and neck had
been defeathered, presumably by his cage mates.
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| Some of the quasi-legal vendors with non-local wares |
Just outside the medina, there were a large number of vendors in the
streets uncovering their wares as we walked through. Driss told us these were
usually unemployed people and that their sales were officially illegal – their
wares come from China and are totally unregulated – but that the officials turn
a blind eye because otherwise these folks might have no other source of income.
He commented though, that they hurt the Moroccan economy because of the Chinese
imports.
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| Samples of wood carving by students |
After the markets, we went to a school that trained
artisans. We saw displays about the types of work being done, then visited four different studios. Young people were
learning painting, wood carving, plaster carving, and iron work, all using
typical muslim intricate designs. The metal-working instructor was in the room
when we arrived and a couple casual questions got him going on a detailed
explanation of the process and the various types of work they taught people.
Next, we headed to the sea and had lunch at a seaside
restaurant that featured a kind of paella and a large platter of seafood: langostinos,
shrimp, calamari, sole, and tuna steaks. The first course of paella, veggies,
and bread had taken so long that I had
seconds thinking that was the whole deal. Just when I got full, the fish
platter turned up. I had room for a small sole, but Jim did better, chomping on
some of everything. We got up to go walk on the beach, and were brought back
for dessert! We did get about a half hour to walk along the seashore. In the
vicinity of the restaurant were several fishing boats, some repairing nets. As
we walked further east, there were fewer people and better shells, and we ended
up with a nice collection of shells, small rocks, and a baggie of sand.
On the way home, we took a different route through the
mountains and made a few stops to take pictures at spectacular views.
Back in
Chefchaouan, on the way to the hotel, I spied some interesting earrings, so
after catching up on email we went shopping. I decided the earrings were not to
die for, but found a light wool/cotton blend blanket in the colors of the city:
white, teal, and periwinkle. I bought it figuring I can make a nice lightweight
jacket out of it at home.
We joined our group for wine, olives, dates, cheese, and bread and skipped dinner again to catch up, pack for tomorrow, and collapse.
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