My kiwsahili vocabulary has tripled in size with my learning three rather essential words: asanti (thanks), karibu (you are welcome) and jombo (hello).  Meanwhile, some of our team visited a giraffe park and conducted interviews (I am not at liberty to go into the topics covered). 

On the road to Marrakesh...

I spent February 16-18, a three day weekend, in Marrakesh.  The train ride from Rabat took 4.5 hours, and we passed through Casablanca along the coast.  Marrakesh lies just to the east and  north of the High Atlas.  It is an interesting mixture of the traditional and modern, Berber and Arab and European (tourists and expats), desert and mountains.  The central market, where we ate twice, has street artists performing until the wee hours of the morning.

This is a photo of the square just before 7am, largely empty, but with some water remaining after the end of evening washdown. 

This is the alley from our hotel that leads to the Djeema el-Fna, the city's main square.

From the street the Hotel des Jardins de la Koutoubia is not impressive, but once inside the place is like an oasis. 

The rooftop pool with the Koutoubia Mosque's minaret in the background.

Here is a view from the roof looking down at the courtyard and pool.

A view from the hotel entrance of the Koutoubia minaret through palms in the early morning.

 After buying a carpet  in an old Saadian palace, we were escorted around the city by one of the carpet cooperative's employees (Towfiq).  We visited the old Medersa, the old religious school.  That's me in the doorway.   

Casablanca's Mosque and Rick's Cafe

The U.S. Embassy organized a community outing to Casablanca on Saturday, Feb 9.  It was a one-hour drive from Rabat, and we traveled by van.  The day consisted of a guided tour of the King Hassan II Mosque, which our guide proudly noted is the third largest in the world.  It is the length of more than two football fields, with lots of granite, marble and a hand-carved cedar wood ceiling.  With the notable exception of the chandeliers (made in Murano/Venice, Italy), the materials are largely from Morocco.  It took six years to build and opened in 1994.  Very few mosques are open to non-believers; this one is an exception. Including overflow, upwards of 100,000 persons have attended services there.

 Main Hall of King Hassan II Mosque

Below ground, the mosque has an ablution area, where Muslims perform purification by washing their hands, feet, eyes, nose, and ears.  The fountain is in the shape of a lotus.

Our team and Embassy staff by the lotus flower fountain

 
In adjoining rooms there was a large pool and also separate Roman- and Turkish-style hot rooms.

 Me standing by underground pool, King Hassan II Mosque

Outside we took some team photos.

 OIG Team and Karen Davison (next to Pam Slutz)

Just above us was the minaret, which is the tallest in the world at approx 200 meters.

 Minaret of King Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

After touring the mosque, we visited Rick's Cafe, which takes its theme from the famous cafe in the movie Casablanca.  Upon retiring, an enterprising Foreign Commercial Officer opened the restaurant in 2004.  The real Rick's Cafe, however, was in a studio in Hollywood, and none of the scenes in the movie actually were filmed in Casablanca.  Perceptions and myths, of course, have their own powerful dynamics, and many of us kept asking for Sam, who was absent from the piano.  

Play it again, Sam

The plaque outside Rick's - no longer a place of gambling

After returning from Casablanca, I and a colleague walked around the souk in the old medina (historic city center).  There I purchased an all-wool hooded robe, which many men wear in the evenings to stay warm.  Mine is all black, and makes the wearer look a bit like a capuchin monk from the Middle Ages. I also picked up a few red fez caps.  If I put it on the hotel, however, I will probably be mistaken for an employee, as the doormen wear them.

If this cape were white, it would be politically incorrect.