Travelogue
If I could go back in history and reach for the authentic traditional past of Turkey, where I live in, I could see suitcases carried by cart, rides in horse-drawn carriages, transport and transportation by camel and donkey, small retail shops and crafts with vaguely handwritten signboard. Here, Morocco can make you feel a few centuries of experience as a country. I regret to say that even though they seem poor and primitive, far from a humanist approach with their love of serving, they are so friendly and show respect and interest to the Turkish people who came from Turkey. I guess everyone knows two words of Turkish.
At first I was biased and went totally crazy to see the Sahara Desert, but it didn't turn out that way. As it is known, its architecture is magnificent, yes, but it does not end there. Children and women are valuable, like some other Muslim nations, women and children are definitely not secondary and their men are hardworking. Speaking of Islam, I was very surprised that the minarets of the mosques are angular, and I also felt that the central prayer of the prayer was something I missed. I don't remember how many different interpretations I listened to the adhan, they were all very nice.
This place has been very good for my mind, who loves the past and admires the old times.
As for what we do,
On the first day, we went to a few places to see outside of noon and took a tour by carriage. The city's architecture has adapted to classical Moroccan architecture, even hotels or other private businesses. I can say that there is not a single building that spoils the atmosphere.
On the second day, we went on a tour of the Atlas Mountains and visited the village of Ben Haddou, where Hollywood movies were shot. In the Game of Thrones castle, some of the famous scenes where the character Khaleesi frees the slaves whose dragons he saves were shot here. There are 5 families living in the castle. We were guests at the house of one of the families who lived in their simplest and most primitive form without electricity, and they offered us various aniseed cookies and mint teas. After that, we came to the rose valley and stayed at the hotel for the night. Afterwards, we went to Toudra valley in the morning and entered the settlement area, which is the first town of that region and where the nomads lived, through the back door like the locals. Children wave so warmly when they see tourists that I want to hug them. The towns in those regions are as if they were built inside the castle, so they made an entrance to the region. We went to a rug weaving workshop through narrow streets and listened to the story of the efforts of nomadic women in that region to educate their children. Then we set off for desert camp. We came to one of the desert side hotels where we would ride camels. We rode the camels of the hotel for 3 hours to the area where the Moroccan style tents are located, where we will camp at night. We had muscle pain in our legs after sports, when we landed, and then we had fun at night by playing and singing local music under the stars, accompanied by a fire and dinner. By the way, there are dozens of shops and agencies that do Desert Safari tours in the side streets of the Old Medina.
I can say that it is a unique experience for everything I have experienced so far in one breath. The color of the desert and the red sand were so enormous that I think I can understand why the little prince came to the Sahara Desert.
On the last day of our trip, we traveled all day with a 14-hour journey, crossing the Atlas Mountains and returning to Marrakech.
We were actually feeling very tired but still…
Having dreamed of swimming in the ocean for years, we got up early the next day and went to the train station and headed for Casablanca. The train was very comfortable and clean compared to the income situation of the city. After a two and a half hour journey, we got off from Casablanca Casa Voyage train station and started to look around. Although our purpose of coming here was not to see something, we only had 6-7 hours left for us. We found someone who spoke English and started asking. He introduced us to Yunus, the tourist taxi driver standing at the exit of the station. Yunus took us on a tour of all the places to visit in Casablanca for a total of 30 euros, and took our photos and left us at one of the public beaches on the coast, which they call "Corniche". The water was so cold and shallow that I had no desire to swim. Since the weather was cloudy and windy that day, it did not taste at all. Still, it was wonderful to lie on the sand of the beach and watch the ocean and listen to the waves.
After spending time there for a while, we remembered that we hadn't had a good meal for days and threw ourselves into the Mall. Since this place is a bit more cosmopolitan and more decent than Marrakech, we thought that we would find food from world cuisine more easily, so we ran to the food court. Because we tried all the traditional dishes of Moroccan cuisine for days and unfortunately it was against our own taste. Of course, there was some trouble when we expressed our opinion about the food. For example, when they mixed couscous, a meal made of semolina, and a meal they ate as rice, mixed with plums and boiled eggs, I was full without eating.
Even though spice has an intense effect in Turkish culture, there is a chicken skewer called Brusshetta, we thought we should try it.
All the spices that a chicken shouldn't have had, was bad. They cook every dish too spicy and sweet.
We gave the most famous dish Taji a chance because every place we go has these three dishes; meat tajine, egg tajine, chicken tajine… I think it was our most unpleasant gastro experience, and if you ask my opinion, I had the bottom of my taste in food. They have a different casserole with a funnel-like top. Tajine is “stew” in their language, but they put so much spice in it and cook it without oil with weirdly dried fruits that makes it taste worse.
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Local Guide
You can start your Casablanca city tour by touring the famous Mohammed 5th square. It was decorated with a statue and a fountain with a statue of a general made by a French architect.
The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is shown as the second largest mosque in the world, facing the Atlantic Ocean, where 25 thousand people can worship and its construction took 7 years.
The Old Medina is the place where you can get lost in the labyrinth-like narrow streets between the harbor and the 2nd Hasan Mosque. The bazaar around makes you have a full experience that belongs to old Morocco, and watch the performances of snakes and monkeys on the streets.
Casablanca beach, as Corniche Aid Diab, is a 2 km long place with nice restaurants preferred for relaxation, walking and the sea. It is pleasant to watch the romantic sunsets in the evening.
Majorel Garden, this oasis where plants and flowers from all over the world are enchanted by green, was meticulously created by the French painter Jacques Majorelle at the beginning of the 20th century. The garden has left its mark on Morocco with its colorful works of cobalt blue. The later owners of the garden, the famous French fashion designer Yves Saint Lourent and Pierre Berge, restored this place.
The village of Ben Haddou is a historical place on the UNESCO World Heritage list with the most fantastic examples of old clay architecture, located on the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marakesh. It is an authentic cultural venue where Game of Thrones series, Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jones, Gladiator and many more film buffs are filmed.
Rose Valley, in this drought, roses grow on the stream bed. The season is May.
Socializing with the Berbers by safari and camping with Berber-style camels in the desert
Try the Chicken Skewer Brushetta and the spicy Tajine, whichever you like: Meat, chicken or egg.
The Berbers ritual of aniseed cookies and mint tea may feel different.
Couscous is again a favorite dish here, it is made with a different type of rice and steamed broth. It is served with vegetables and meat.
If you have watched "Casablanca", the most touching movie of the 1941 war years, it is an excellent opportunity to get lost in the narrow streets of the city, dive into its markets and connect with its architecture and culture to feel closer to Morocco in the movie.
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