Spring Colours in the Kingdom of the West (part 3)

Morocco is green - The Rif Mountains east of Tangier, with a length of around 300 km along the Mediterranean coast and limestone peaks surpassing 1,500 metres and rising to 2,456 metres at Jbel Tidirhine (jbel means "mount" in Arabic), are Morocco’s greenest range. In springtime, they are covered with gorgeous wildflowers. 

The green colour is present not only in the country’s meadows, hills, forests and mountains, but also, in various degrees, in all its cities since it is the colour of Islam. Ninety-nine per cent of the Moroccan population are considered to be Sunni Muslims, with the remaining one per cent being mainly Jews and Christians. You will quickly realise that religion is one of the main pillars of daily life. The mosques (or masjids meaning “places of prostration” in Arabic) are everywhere. 

There were five prayers per day, and it was amazing to watch how, immediately after each call for prayer from the muezzins echoing from the minarets, the devotees were heading in the direction of the closest mosque, or simply spreading their carpet on the street. The Quran does not stipulate how a mosque should look, but just that it needs to be a clean space, and the worshippers should face the qiblah - the direction towards the Kaaba - a cube-shaped building at the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, serving as the most holy site in Islam.

If you have seen or even visited mosques elsewhere before, you might realise that the architectural style of the Moroccan ones is different and quite unique. 

Contrary to most Turkish or Malaysian mosques featuring huge domes and slender cylindrical minarets, the mosques in the Kingdom of the West are characterised with minarets with a predominantly square form (similar to those in Andalusia), horseshoe-shaped arches, geometric zellige patterns and stucco calligraphy. Also, while Turkish or Malaysian mosques might have more than one minaret depending on their importance (the Blue Mosque in Istanbul is famous for having six minarets), those in Morocco have only one minaret, or sometimes, for the less important and older mosques in the cities, no minaret at all. 

Finally, while it might be possible for non-Muslims to visit the inside of some mosques in Turkey or Malaysia, they are not permitted to do so in Morocco, except the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca and only on paid guided tours at specific non-prayer time. The reason is actually a decree, issued during the French Protectorate to protect the mosques and their worshippers, which still remains in force today. 

As a general rule, we do not visit religious buildings of any religion which impose a mandatory fee as we believe in the voluntary contribution depending on everyone’s means. Therefore, we decided that admiring from the outside the thousands of mosques we saw during our trip, together with the visit of a few madrasas and mausoleums, was sufficient. Also, we thought (probably wrongly) that stopping in the very modern city of Casablanca only to visit the Hassan II Mosque was not really worth the hustle.

On top of it, you do not really need to visit a mosque to attend the prayers. The days are punctuated with the minarets' choir of calls for prayer and the chants of the prayers afterwards. Each call and prayer were different and beautiful, but the best ones we heard were in Essaouira and Chefchaouen. Also, if you are in Fez during Ramadan, you will hear every day in the early morning and before sunset the loud noise of a cannon, signaling the beginning and the end of the daily fasting and the call for prayer! Each of the five mandatory daily prayers had a prescribed time, which depended on the constantly moving position of the sun in the sky - the Fajr salah before sunrise, the Dhuhr and the Asr in the afternoon, the Maghrib directly after sunset, and the Isha salah during the night. Since we visited in springtime, the first prayer of the day started at around 6am and it was impossible to sleep after that. Even though we loved the beauty and the spirituality of the chants, we really enjoyed the days in the countryside or in the desert, away from any mosque, which were the only times we were able to sleep in (believe me, we could count these on the fingers of one hand…). Since the timing was moving later with each day, things became more bearable by the end of our trip.

Another tiny glitch related to religion that we encountered in the first two weeks of our road trip was the dawn-to-dust fasting month of Ramadan. Initially, we were seriously thinking of postponing our trip after the end of the holy month, but a friend of ours who used to live in Morocco convinced us that this was not necessary and it was actually a great idea to see the country both during and after the end of Ramadan. According to him, the only hiccups were going to be that some cafés and restaurants might be closed during the day (but there would definitely be a few open places at the touristic spots), and we had to eat our lunches discreetly and far away from the fasting locals out of respect for them. Well, I must admit that since we did not hang out at the most touristic places, there were days when we fed on sweets, dates or whatever we could get our hands on… 

Also, there was not a single shop selling alcohol during Ramadan - if you are used to having a beer or two from time to time, you will have to get over it and, after a month, might even have forgotten how it actually tasted! The only "alcohol" you will be able to taste is the "Moroccan whisky" - the nickname of the Moroccan tea! But I promise that your first beer or glass of wine after the end of Ramadan will definitely feel special!

Finally, it goes without saying that during Ramadan foreigners need to cover themselves and behave even more respectfully than usual - we were slightly ashamed when we saw a group of foreigners walking in shorts in the center of Fez during Ramadan, and cannot even imagine what the locals might have thought…

Despite the few glitches, travelling around Morocco for two weeks during Ramadan and for a month after the end of it was the best decision ever. Both the country and the people are completely different during each period. For example, during Ramadan we were able to find huge piles of sweets everywhere as the locals needed lots of sugar after the break of the fast, but they completely disappeared after the end of the holy month. We also witnessed and experienced ourselves the local tradition of eating for iftar (the fast-breaking evening meal) a bowl of harira - a hearty and slightly thick soup with vegetables, rice or noodles and sometimes meat, accompanied with dates and sweets. At one of the hotels in the desert we were even offered a bowl of harira in the evening!

Another difference was that there were much less international tourists during the fasting month, and we had most of the tourist places to ourselves. We were literally struck by the number of open cafés and restaurants, as well as the famous mobile cafés that started popping up along the road after the end of Ramadan - they were a great sight!

Finally, on the final day of Ramadan, called Eid al-Fitr, we saw many men dressed in white djellabas (long, loose-fitting and sometimes embroidered outer robes, with full sleeves and hooks that made their wearers look a little bit like Free-Massons) and yellow or green babouches (traditional heelless leather slippers), as well as women shining in gorgeous colourful caftans, all ready for the feasts and celebrations!

While the green colour is present in all cities, some of them can rightfully be called the "Green Cities". One of them is another "imperial city", which is often overlooked by tourists but we absolutely loved - Meknes. 

We stayed there for two days but should have stayed even longer - there was so much to do, and the city felt incredibly authentic and quiet as compared to its other "imperial" cousins. Meknes is also known as the "City of Ismail" and the "Moroccan Versailles", because during his reign in the 17th century the Alawi sultan Moulay Ismail built there enormous fortifications, impressive palaces, vast gardens, and colossal stables, transforming it from a modest city into a magnificent imperial capital.

The historic city - a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996 - is surrounded by more than 40 meters of rammed earth and lime walls. 

It was a real joy to wander around the tiny lanes with gorgeous fountains covered with colourful zelliges and wooden covers over the doors. There were also tons of mosques, and the interesting part was that this was the only place in the whole of Morocco where we were able to discreetly peek inside some of them. 

The best moment we had in Meknes was watching the sunset and listening to the calls for prayer from the rooftop of our first riad in Morocco - Riad Royal, a spectacular building where we felt like we were in a fairytale!

Most of the minarets were green, but the light of the setting sun made them shine like they were covered with pure gold! It was simply magical!

Meknes is also the place where you will be able to visit a religious building even if you are not a Muslim (and on top of it, for free) - the mausoleum of the father of the city, Moulay Ismail, and some of his family members and successors. 

It is located in the former kasbah and the interior is magnificent. 

It consists of various chambers, courtyards and patios with fountains, zelliges, horseshoe arches, arabesques and even mihrabs (niches indicating the direction of prayer, usually in a mosque). 

Another landmark, also built by Moulay Ismail, is the majestic gate Bab el-Mansour located on the south side of El Hedim Square in the old city, which was originally the main ceremonial entrance to the sultan’s kasbah.

On the other side of the square is another must-visit building - Dar Jamaï. 

This late 19th-century palace was built by Mokhtar ben Larbi Jamai, who served as Grand Vizier under the Alawi sultan Moulay Hassan, and today houses the spectacular and incredibly interesting museum of musical instruments. 

It is decorated with sculpted and painted wood, carved stucco, and colourful zelliges. 

The complex also contains a gorgeous courtyard garden with a menzeh (an observation pavilion). 

After the visit to the museum, you can continue exploring the traditional crafts in the medina and the different souqs of the city. 

The silver damascene is a decorative metalworking craft unique to Meknes, where intricate silver, golden or copper thread is embedded into the etched patterns of metal objects. You can enjoy a demonstration and find some special gifts, from earrings to plates and vases, in the small workshop of Abdellah Ezzouak "Le Coin des Artisans" - I promise that you will not see the same items anywhere else in Morocco. On top of that, they are almost indestructible!

In addition to its beautiful architecture and crafts, Meknes is also one of the cities where we enjoyed the most delicious food in Morocco. We were the only customers for lunch at the family restaurant Dar Baraka during Ramadan - the owner refused to serve a group of six, the reason (which made perfect sense) being that the chef was his wife and since they were both fasting, they had to take it easy. He also kindly offered us to taste a popular and extremely delicious dish the locals were having for breakfast before sunrise every day during Ramadan, which helped them holding on for a whole day without eating or drinking - sellou, a nutritious and energy-boosting sweet made from a blend of roasted flour, butter, honey, almonds, sesame seeds, and various spices. 

This was one of our favourite restaurants and the place where we had the best taktouka (a dish made from tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, toasted paprika and olive oil) and kefta tagine ever! 

Another restaurant that we absolutely loved was Asma, where we tasted another specialty - the rfissa (a dish served during various traditional celebrations and usually including chicken, lentils, fenugreek seeds, flatbread and Ras el hanout). Both restaurants were decorated with lovely Moroccan carpets, tapestries and other traditional items, and we had a delightful chat with each of their friendly owners!

You cannot visit Meknes and not make a stop at the nearby Moulay Idriss and Volubilis. 

Moulay Idriss is a holy town named for Morocco’s most revered saint - Idris I, the first ruler of the Idrisid dynasty (the first Muslim dynasty in the Maghreb) and the founder of Morocco, and contains his mausoleum . While you can see the building with its distinctive green-tiled roof from a distance, you cannot visit it unless you are a Muslim. 

A good reason to visit Moulay Idriss though is to walk around its steep lanes with walls painted in white and green, and admire the breathtaking views of the city and the surrounding mountains from the two outdoor terraces. 

Do not miss Morocco’s only cylindrical (and also green!) minaret of the Sentissi Mosque either. 

Finally, you should stop at the local souq for some fresh bread, orange juice and fruits (it was still Ramadan when we visited and this was going to be our lunch). 

If you pay attention, you will notice that the surrounding shops house some old presses that still continue to produce olive oil in the same way the Romans did it in the nearby Roman city of Volubilis!

If you are a Roman ruins fan, Volubilis is definitely for you, but even if you are not, it is still worth the stop if you have already made it to Meknes and Moulay Idriss. 

The setting of these ruins in the green countryside just north of the Middle Atlas is simply stunning.

Volubilis, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built on top of a Carthaginian city, and served as a central Roman administrative city in the 3d century BC. 

Unlike most Roman outposts, it was not abandoned after the Romans lost North Africa to the Arabs. It remained inhabited until the 18th century, when it was largely demolished to provide building materials for the palaces of Sultan Moulay Ismail in nearby Meknes.

The site stretches across 40 hectares (100 acres)! The ruins include a Victory Arch built in honour of the emperor Caracalla in the 3d century AD, as well as a Capitol, a basilica, an olive oil press, a forum and many palaces and houses with around 30 beautiful and well-preserved mosaics. 

The spring flowers, the blue sky and the gorgeous views of the city of Moulay Idriss in the distance will be just the icing on the cake!

You will find lots of green not only in the Rif Mountains and the "Green Cities", but also further south in the Middle Atlas. 

It is the beginning of the Atlas Mountains - Morocco’s backbone, stretching from the Atlantic to the Sahara Desert and boasting Berber villages, deserts, oases, valleys, forests and hills. 

They are divided into three primary ranges - the southernmost range of the Anti-Atlas, which forms a barrier with the Sahara and has a lower elevation; the most elevated range of the High Atlas - home to North Africa's highest peak, Jbel Toubkal; and the Middle Atlas, located north of the High Atlas and characterized by a milder climate and forested landscapes. 

The Middle Atlas is without any doubt the greenest of them all with its rivers, lakes (which are actually dry unless it has rained a lot recently!), cedar and oak forests, extinct volcanoes and terraces with various crops. 

Since the weathercast announced some snow when we were visiting at the end of March, we decided to hang out for a week in the city of Ifrane. And it snowed indeed! During our March-to-May trip we actually experienced all four seasons - from the snow in the Atlas and the rain in the Rif Mountains to the warm weather and spring flowers along the Atlantic and the heat wave in the Sahara!

Because of its European alpine architecture, cool climate and surrounding forests, Ifrane has been nicknamed the "Moroccan Switzerland", and will indeed make you feel like you were in the Alps! 

The area around is famous for its ski slopes (well, do not expect much - this is not the Alps after all!), but also the cute and endangered Barbary macaques and the towering cedar trees, some of which are hundreds of years old, in the Cedar Forest - the largest cedar forest in the world!

Do not miss the "Cèdre Gouraud" - the imposing candlestick-shaped skeleton of a large 35m-high cedar tree with a trunk circumference of 10 m. It was considered the oldest individual Atlas cedar  - it had lived for about 900 years before it died in 2003 - and still remains standing.

In springtime, the cute villages and towns in the area around Ifrane are immersed in all the nuances of green.

Azrou (translating into "rock" from the Berber language because of the large rock in its centre) is an incredibly quaint Berber town. 

It boasts a lively souq, delightful architecture and beautiful parks, especially in spring.

We drove for hours around the area between Ifrane, Azrou, Ain Leuh and Mischliffen, coming across sheep with their babies, donkeys, cute villages with intricate carpets hanging in front of the pastel-coloured houses, women filling their bottles from the local fountains, and so many green terraces with crops and meadows with wild flowers and blooming trees! 

It was so peaceful and felt like we had jumped into a parallel universe a couple of centuries back in time!

After this delightful and restful week in the greenery of the Middle Atlas, we headed south towards what had been high on our bucket list - the High Atlas, the Sahara Desert and the Anti-Atlas. 

They all boast one of the most predominant colours you will see in Morocco - orange and its variations of ochre and brown…