Morocco, Day 7: Flat bread, Magic Carpets, and Haggling

The last day of our trip was spent outside of Spain. Our anxiousness to experience curry, camels, and flat bread led us to Tangier, Morocco. We actually almost missed the trip entirely. The bus was scheduled to arrive at the hotel at 6:50 am and Karen and I woke up to a knock on our door at 6:47 am. Our alarm was not turned on correctly--it's a good thing Will and Karen S. decided to join us. The day started with an hour bus ride to the port and another hour on the ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco. We caught a quick shot leaving Spain...

...and another approaching Morocco.

Karen and I were excited to step on the African continent.

Our first stop--the camel ride. Will hopped on first and showed us how it was done.

The girls were giddy.

Me and my noble steed.

Anyone recognize the next two pics? Hint: a popular action show, Matt Damon jumping from rooftops and in/out of windows.

Answer: Bourne Ultimatum. This was one of the locations in Tangier where the movie was filmed.

True to Arabic culture, we found women modestly covered by their kaftans and scarves. The men wore their djellaba with bright yellow sandals.

In Morocco, djellaba colors indicate marital status. Light colors mean they are married.

It was a good thing we had a guide. There are three languages spoken in Morocco and English is not one of them. Primary language is Arabic, followed by Spanish and French.

We made our way through the streets of "old town" Tangier to our highly anticipate lunch cuisine. Ol' Rick from our guidebook states that "most visitors develop some intestinal problems by the end of their visit." This was extremely encouraging. I still don't know the name of the place where we had lunch. We were greeted by some impressive musicians.

Karen and Will S. enjoyed reviewing their pictures with the background music.

Karen and I were getting anxious as to what was going to be served for lunch.

So far so good.

After our meal arrived, I had to go back to the guidebook to see if Rick meant the food actually looks like intestines.

Lunch was an interesting experience. The flat bread and soup tasted fine. The meat (of what type I don't know) was so-so. The main-course was about as good as it looked. Will S. said "When in Morocco..." and downed everything put in front of him. I was worried about his intestines all day.

What made it worse was later that day we were passed by a teenager transporting flat bread just like we ate for lunch. He had loads of flat bread neatly stacked in an open rusty basket on the front of his man-tricycle. Dust, rust, germs--no problem.

The next stop was the famous carpet store. As part of our guided tour we had to all stop and listen to a 15 minute sales pitch about Moroccan carpets and how they will ship anywhere in the world. I imagine shipping to Hawaii would have set them back a little. We didn't buy one after learning they don't sell magic carpets anymore.

Upon exiting the carpet store they were ready. Seriously the most intrusive hagglers I've ever experienced. Aladdin hats, lamps, jewelry, drums, trinkets, watches--they had it all.

I found that if I just started taking pictures of everyone they left me alone. Apparently they don't like to be in pictures.

This kid could not leave Will alone. He was convinced that Will needed a drum. We were followed by these guys for probably 10 minutes. "No" is not acceptable to them and they will keep haggling. One guy even tried to flatter me by commenting how nice my hair looked.

The next stop was the spice and herb shop. Here we learned how to lower our cholesterol, treat sleeping problems, and increase our productivity. My personal favorite was the green lipstick tester that turns red. The doc applied the green stick to the womens' wrists to measure how "hot" they were. Based on the color, he would recommend an all natural aphrodisiac. Dark red means you're hot, light pink means you need an aphrodisiac. Any guesses on color for Karen and Karen S.

All in all, the Morocco day trip was intriguing and slightly educational, but is a one time deal for me. The guided tour we signed up for was a bit of drag. We've heard that the guides get a cut of the sale--no wonder we were in shops for half the time. To my knowledge no one had intestinal problems.

Spain, Day 6: Big and Old, Italian in a Bathtub, and Don Juan

The next morning, we took off for our Day 6 in Sevilla. This city tied with Toledo for me--it was magic! I loved the feel--it was busy, big, and beautiful.

First stop, Sevilla's cathedral: the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world, and the 3rd largest church in Europe.

Before the reconquista, there was a mosque at this site. It was torn down and for 120 years, Christians worked to make this enormous, record-holding building. Seriously, it's in the Guinness Book of Records, and the certification is displayed in the church (tacky!).

Like most cathedrals, there is beautiful artwork displayed. In this case, it is by two artists from Sevilla--Bartolome Murillo (who died after falling from scaffolding while painting) and Francisco de Zurbaran. Throughout the church, we saw art depicting the patron saints of Sevilla--Justa and Rufina--who were martyred in Roman times, pictured with their pots (to represent them as pottery-makers) and palm branches (to represent their martyrdom).

Ah, in true Gothic-style, there were many stained glassed windows to admire. Almost every stained glass scene included the date, most of them dating from the 1600s.

The high altar is another record-holder. This is the biggest altarpiece ever--65 feet tall! It has 44 individual scenes from Christ's life, and took 83 years to create. The entire piece is carved from walnut and chesnut, and covered in gold. It is staggering!
A scene towards the top of the altarpiece:
The choir has a huge, spinnable book holder for extra large hymnals--not everyone had their own music back in the day. I think all churches should "go green" and introduce this idea.

4 kings representing the regions of Castile, Aragon, Leon, and Navarre are holding the tomb of Columbus. Although Columbus died in 1506, it took some time to get a final resting spot: he was buried in Spain, then in the Dominican Republic, then Cuba, and then back to Sevilla. DNA evidence gives confidence in the Sevillans claim that this really is Columbus.

We gazed through the treasury, at the 110 pound silver piece that is paraded through Sevilla during Corpus Christi, the "room of ornaments" that has hundreds of holy body parts (kind of strange to stare at bones through glass), and--as seen below--Spain's VIP crown. It is called the "Corona de la Virgen de los Reyes," and includes 11,000 precious stones and the world's largest pearl.

The 7,000 pipes on this baby gave me a craving to play again:

Not pictured: a gigantic candlestick dating from 1560, as well as a protest from local workers--fighting for better jobs/pay.

After walking through the church, we hopped up 330 feet to the Giralda Bell Tower--just in time for it to shock us with chimes. Along with crowds, we got views of Sevilla from four angles.

We walked out through the "Court of the Orange Trees." In the 12th century, Muslims would stop here to wash their hands, face, and feet before praying.

See all the lanes between the blocks of sidewalk? There's a sign warning you not to fall in the cracks (of course, in true Spanish signage, it showed someone actually snapping their ankle). One of us fell in the crack anyway...

Orange trees are everywhere in the city, but I read that they are inedible, so I restrained myself from picking them. They only use them for making vitamins, perfume, and cat food.

Our next stop was for lunch at a restaurant--formerly a MOORISH BATH! Yeah, we were really that excited. We ate yummy Italian while listening to the sounds of running water and enjoying the ambience with cheesy grins on our faces. (Where are the pictures of this event???)
With full pasta bellies, we took off for the oldest functioning palace in Europe. The Alcazar was originally built in the 10th century for the Moorish govenors, but was mostly rebuilt in the 14th century by Moorish workmen for the Christian king, Pedro I. There are Moorish elements throughout, but it is intented for a Christian leader.

Here we are in the courtyard:
Throughout the trip, we had good laughs at Will and Karen's expense, as they went into their pants to get money from their moneybelts. Karen kept getting busted with the belt hanging outside her pants.
The palace includes where Queen Isabel spoke with Columbus after his New World adventures. She created an entire wing for administering the New World finds in 1503. Also inside is a painting that shows the first Native Americans ever painted in Europe.

King Pedro I left his wife and came to live here with his mistress. He wanted the Muslim workers--called Mudejar--to recreate the Alhambra for him. The Mudejar style represents the work of Muslims who stayed within Christian territory but did not convert. It also refers to a style of architecture generally found between the 12th and 16th centuries. This palace is supposed to be the best example of Mudejar architecture.

Unlike the Alhambra, Rick told us that we could find "peacocks, castles, and kings" in this palace that you wouldn't normally see in Muslim architecture. We spent probably 10 minutes craning our necks until we found some examples. It was much easier to find the cursive W (see Alhambra post).

Beautiful, geometric gardens:

We spent the afternoon shopping in Sevilla for souveniers, and purchased a beautiful, decorative pitcher as well as Zac's stuffed bull. (He asks for his "buwl" every night, and somehow it makes me feel less guilty about our trip.) We enjoyed a last Gilato before heading over for a long-awaited adventure: experiencing a FLAMENCO show! After seeing a cheesy flamenco performance at our hotel, we were nervous about this venture. We didn't need to be: it was fabulous!

The couple that took this picture is from Australia. We asked them if they wanted a picture, the wife replied, "Oh no, we are fat and old. We don't want pictures. It's all up here," pointing to her head.
The setting was perfect--loud, live music, dark setting, and an Asian man that kept standing up in front of us.

This lady was flamenco: fierce, intimidating, and even at times graceful. I loved her the most of all the dancers.

There was an audible gasp from the female members of the audience when this fella came out on stage--we'll just call him Don Juan. Whew! He was outstanding--aggressive and powerful.  Did I just say the lady was my favorite???

It's a great feeling to walk out of a live performance and want more! It was an adrenaline rush. I would never pass up an opportunity to see a good flamenco show.

We walked back to our car, enjoying our opportunity to people watch, and say goodbye to yet another favorite city. Seriously, I feel so sad thinking about leaving this city even while sitting at my computer. I hope we come back: we'll take the horse-drawn carriage, stay inside the city, and get pictures on Sevilla's bridge.