Today has been an eventful and amazing day! We got up early to take a ‘grand taxi’ to the valley where we will be working. A ‘grand taxi’ as they call them is a crumpled old Merc which they cram 6 passengers into, 2 on the passenger seat in the front and 4 in the back. So there were 4 of us crammed in the back - me, Stacey, Mostapha and Hassan (an engineer from the DPA) – as the taxi wound its way along a single track road through the mountains occasionally passing men on donkeys or women with baskets hung from their heads, for 3 hours! Needless to say we were glad when we finally reached Tafrout, the largest town in the area, 10km away from our village. After a quick stop in Tafrout we carried on further into the valley to a village called Imallen. The Ammeln Valley is breathtaking. Barren granite mountains tower over small oases, containing clusters of pink houses and palm trees, dotted along the valley.
Today we thought we were going to Imin’Tizght, the village where we will be living and working, but it seems the plan has changed overnight. Instead we will be staying with a family near Imallen this week so that we can do a study of that village before we move onto Imin’Tizght next week. So we arrived in Imallen and carried out a GPS survey of the fields there. The village is in the process of sinking a well to increase the amount of water available and we have been given the task of assessing the current situation and proposing ways of improving and maximising the land use. Surveying the fields in the midday sun was hot work but it was really interesting to talk to the people who live there and to see the site where the well was being sunk.
After lunch which was beef tagine followed my mint tea, we headed to Imin’Tizght to see Mostapha’s summer house where we will be living and to meet the other members of AIDECO in the community centre. After that Mostapha and Hassan left to go back to Tiznit, leaving us to settle into our new lodgings.
We’ve just got back from a walk along the valley with Mohammed (the son in the family we are staying with). It truly was amazing with the sun setting behind the mountains and now that it’s dark there are so many stars!
The only bad thing about the valley is the amount of bugs, huge bugs, and the prospect of coming across a scorpion or a wild boar but hopefully that won’t happen!
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Down to work
Today Mostapha took us to the DPA (Delegation Provinciale d’Agriculture) office in Tiznit to meet Abdallah Houch, the director of agriculture for Tiznit. He was a very nice man, interested in our project and agreed that we could use the offices and resources at the DPA whenever we like. Tiznit is about 100km from the village where we will be living and the idea is that we will work some of the time in the village with a team of people based there, and some of the time at the DPA office.
We also met a technician called Hassan who had worked with Clare and Steve on the project last year and who we will again be working with this year. He told us all about the valley and the work that is going on there at the moment. We were pleasantly surprised that a lot of work has been done since last year when the project was started. Work is being carried out in 7 or 8 villages at the moment to repair the irrigation channels, Khettaras (the tunnel system that taps into the water table) and the holding tanks. In our village all 3 sections of the irrigation system have been repaired and the open irrigation channels have been replaced with UPVC pipes. One of our tasks will be to map the access points in the system and to develop a maintenance program for the channels. We will also be looking at the impact that the works have had on the valley as a whole and translating parts of last year’s report into French so that funding can be obtained for the various packages of work.
It was great to meet people who are so enthusiastic about the work going on the valley and who have huge amounts of local knowledge which will be very useful to us. I think we will be heading down to the village at the weekend. The journey apparently takes 3 hours and is on a very windy mountainous road! We’re really forward to seeing where we will be living for the next 3 months.
We’re really enjoying living with Mostapha’s family and seeing how family life in Morocco is different to in the UK. He has made us very welcome and set up a little office for us to work in. His daughters are keeping us entertained but we have had to resort to looking the door to our study occasionally so that we can get some work done without having to play tea parties or schools at the same time. Meal times are an important event in a Moroccan house hold. Lunchtime is the most interesting meal of the day where we all gather round a steaming pot of Tajine or cous cous and eat from the pot with bread and our hands.
I have a cold. Apparently it is the season for colds even though it is about 35 degrees.
We also met a technician called Hassan who had worked with Clare and Steve on the project last year and who we will again be working with this year. He told us all about the valley and the work that is going on there at the moment. We were pleasantly surprised that a lot of work has been done since last year when the project was started. Work is being carried out in 7 or 8 villages at the moment to repair the irrigation channels, Khettaras (the tunnel system that taps into the water table) and the holding tanks. In our village all 3 sections of the irrigation system have been repaired and the open irrigation channels have been replaced with UPVC pipes. One of our tasks will be to map the access points in the system and to develop a maintenance program for the channels. We will also be looking at the impact that the works have had on the valley as a whole and translating parts of last year’s report into French so that funding can be obtained for the various packages of work.
It was great to meet people who are so enthusiastic about the work going on the valley and who have huge amounts of local knowledge which will be very useful to us. I think we will be heading down to the village at the weekend. The journey apparently takes 3 hours and is on a very windy mountainous road! We’re really forward to seeing where we will be living for the next 3 months.
We’re really enjoying living with Mostapha’s family and seeing how family life in Morocco is different to in the UK. He has made us very welcome and set up a little office for us to work in. His daughters are keeping us entertained but we have had to resort to looking the door to our study occasionally so that we can get some work done without having to play tea parties or schools at the same time. Meal times are an important event in a Moroccan house hold. Lunchtime is the most interesting meal of the day where we all gather round a steaming pot of Tajine or cous cous and eat from the pot with bread and our hands.
I have a cold. Apparently it is the season for colds even though it is about 35 degrees.
Monday, 21 September 2009
Goat filled trees and goat cous cous
Today we had our hair and make-up done, had Henna tatoos, drove a taxi, got married and were taught 1 - 10 in Arabic by a 6 year old, all in Mostapha's front room. His 4 daughters are very interested in us and the fact that we don't speak the same language doesn't seem to matter. We have spent the last few days entertaining them in Inezgane at Mostapha's mother's house and are now in Tiznit at his house.
Yesterday was the last day of Ramadan so today we have eaten huge amounts of food, mostly with our fingers. For lunch we had goat cous cous which was a first for us! Cous cous is particularly difficult to eat with your fingers. I gave up and resorted to using a spoon. It seems that in Morocco it is rude to refuse food even if you are full up and because we are guests we're given twice as much as everyone else. For someone who doesn't eat a huge amount I'm finding this quite hard!
Tomorrow is a holiday so we're going to the beach before we start work properly on Wednesday. Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw a tree full of goats on our bus journey from Essaouira to Agadir! Unfortunately the bus was going too fast for me to get a photo but I'm hopeful there will be some more goat-filled trees in the village.
Yesterday was the last day of Ramadan so today we have eaten huge amounts of food, mostly with our fingers. For lunch we had goat cous cous which was a first for us! Cous cous is particularly difficult to eat with your fingers. I gave up and resorted to using a spoon. It seems that in Morocco it is rude to refuse food even if you are full up and because we are guests we're given twice as much as everyone else. For someone who doesn't eat a huge amount I'm finding this quite hard!
Tomorrow is a holiday so we're going to the beach before we start work properly on Wednesday. Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw a tree full of goats on our bus journey from Essaouira to Agadir! Unfortunately the bus was going too fast for me to get a photo but I'm hopeful there will be some more goat-filled trees in the village.
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Fat cats and English Breakfast tea
We are currently enjoying the sun and beautiful sandy beaches in the stunning little town of Essaouria on the Atlantic coast. It is very much a tourist destination and often seems more European than Moroccan but it is a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of the souks of Marrakech and best of all we have found a cafe that serves English Breakfast tea!!
Our journey here was an interesting one. We went to the bus station in Marrakech the night before, bought our tickets and were expecting to get on a comfortable coach which would take 2 hours to get to Essaouira. What we actually experienced was a hot, crowded bus that took 4 and a half hours to get there and stopped for every man and his goat along the way. I was very disappointed that we didn't see any tree-climbing goats along the way as the guide book had promised but am still hopeful we will see some tomorrow on our way to Agadir.
We got talking to a french guy on the bus called Philippe who is now staying with us and is very good for keeping the Moroccan men from hassling us. He is the only french guy I have met who can speak english with a scottish accent, having been to Scotland several times.
Being on the coast Essaouira has many fish restaurants and I had the best fish I have ever tasted for my dinner last night. I was pestered the whole time I was eating it by a black cat, the cats in this town are the fattest in Morocco.
Tomorrow we are off to Agadir on the coach. It should take 3 hours, hopefully it won't take 6!
Our journey here was an interesting one. We went to the bus station in Marrakech the night before, bought our tickets and were expecting to get on a comfortable coach which would take 2 hours to get to Essaouira. What we actually experienced was a hot, crowded bus that took 4 and a half hours to get there and stopped for every man and his goat along the way. I was very disappointed that we didn't see any tree-climbing goats along the way as the guide book had promised but am still hopeful we will see some tomorrow on our way to Agadir.
We got talking to a french guy on the bus called Philippe who is now staying with us and is very good for keeping the Moroccan men from hassling us. He is the only french guy I have met who can speak english with a scottish accent, having been to Scotland several times.
Being on the coast Essaouira has many fish restaurants and I had the best fish I have ever tasted for my dinner last night. I was pestered the whole time I was eating it by a black cat, the cats in this town are the fattest in Morocco.
Tomorrow we are off to Agadir on the coach. It should take 3 hours, hopefully it won't take 6!
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
The markets of Marrakech
I take back what I said. Cold showers I can deal with but I draw the line at sharing a shower with a massive cockroach! So on that note we left Casablanca and caught the train to Marrakech where we are now, staying in a beautiful riad just a short walk away from the famous Djemaa el-Fna square. We have hot showers, its sunny and there is a lot to do and see here. Unlike the other cities we have been to it is incredibly touristy and because of that you get hassled more by the street sellers but we had great fun today bartering in the markets.
At night the square comes alive with food stands, snake charmers, street performers, musicians, raconteurs, small children selling tissues (it seems they start learning to scam tourist from a very early age) and we have enjoyed our evenings sitting on rooftop terraces, eating dinner and watching the hustle and bustle of the square below.
Tomorrow Ollie is going home so from then on we will have to get our own breakfast, carry our own bags, entertain ourselves and fend off unwanted attention - we will miss our man servant! Stacey and I will be off to Essaouira on the bus to continue our adventures on our own.
At night the square comes alive with food stands, snake charmers, street performers, musicians, raconteurs, small children selling tissues (it seems they start learning to scam tourist from a very early age) and we have enjoyed our evenings sitting on rooftop terraces, eating dinner and watching the hustle and bustle of the square below.
Tomorrow Ollie is going home so from then on we will have to get our own breakfast, carry our own bags, entertain ourselves and fend off unwanted attention - we will miss our man servant! Stacey and I will be off to Essaouira on the bus to continue our adventures on our own.
Saturday, 12 September 2009
A quick update
Just a quick update on what we've been doing for the past few days. So the day after we watched all the wedding videos we went to visit the roman ruins of Volubilis and the hilltop town of Moulay Idriss near to Meknes. The roman ruins were amazing with columns and arches set against a beautiful landscape. The small town of Moulay Idriss is named after a great grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and is one of Morocco's most important pilgrimage sites. They say that 5 visits to Moulay Idriss is equivalent to 1 trip to Mecca.
The next day we left hot showers behind and caught the train to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. Our accomodation in Rabat was pretty basic and right next to a busy market so we got very little sleep the 2 days we were there. During Ramadan the markets and streets become alive at night once everyone has broken their fast. Rabat is on the coast so a bit cooler than the places we had visited so far and in actual fact it rained most of the time we were there. The 2nd day of rain we were so desperate for a cup of tea that we contemplated buying a kettle but couldn't find one. There weren't many tourists in the city and we enjoyed walking around the streets without being hassled.
Then onto Casablanca where we are at present. Casa is the biggest city in Morocco but it is the first time in our whole time here that we have really struggled to find food. Most of the restaurants are closed for Ramadan or are only selling drinks and the big market was pretty empty when we went there yesterday. Casablanca has a certain romanticism attached to its name but in reality it is a big dirty city where you don't have to wander far from the city centre to find massive slums. We visited the Hassan II Mosque this morning which is the 3rd biggest Mosque in the world, costing around US $800 million and magnificent in all its marble clad splendour but right next to a slum where people are living in some of the poorest conditions we've yet seen.
We are looking forward to moving onto Marrakech tomorrow and have our fingers crossed for hot showers.
The next day we left hot showers behind and caught the train to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. Our accomodation in Rabat was pretty basic and right next to a busy market so we got very little sleep the 2 days we were there. During Ramadan the markets and streets become alive at night once everyone has broken their fast. Rabat is on the coast so a bit cooler than the places we had visited so far and in actual fact it rained most of the time we were there. The 2nd day of rain we were so desperate for a cup of tea that we contemplated buying a kettle but couldn't find one. There weren't many tourists in the city and we enjoyed walking around the streets without being hassled.
Then onto Casablanca where we are at present. Casa is the biggest city in Morocco but it is the first time in our whole time here that we have really struggled to find food. Most of the restaurants are closed for Ramadan or are only selling drinks and the big market was pretty empty when we went there yesterday. Casablanca has a certain romanticism attached to its name but in reality it is a big dirty city where you don't have to wander far from the city centre to find massive slums. We visited the Hassan II Mosque this morning which is the 3rd biggest Mosque in the world, costing around US $800 million and magnificent in all its marble clad splendour but right next to a slum where people are living in some of the poorest conditions we've yet seen.
We are looking forward to moving onto Marrakech tomorrow and have our fingers crossed for hot showers.
Friday, 11 September 2009
How to trick a tourist
We have been in Morocco for a week now and are slowly becoming wise to all the tricks that can befall a tourist. That said, I got tricked again this morning; I am so gullible. The most common trick is a guy will come up to you as you are poring over the guidebook trying to work out where to go and he'll ask you what you are looking for. You tell him you're looking for a supermarket and he'll say "it's that way, not very far." You'll set off in the direction he pointed and then all of a sudden he'll appear again and say "no, you're going the wrong way, it's this way, follow me" and its at that point that you have fallen for the trick and will have to part with some cash at some point, even if its just to get rid of him.
We have fallen for this trick or a variation of it at least 5 times.
We have fallen for this trick or a variation of it at least 5 times.
I want a cup of tea!
We are now in a youth hostel in Casablanca. We have finally found a kettle but have just discovered that the English Breakfast tea bags have gone missing! Disaster! It's been raining for 2 days and we're a bit damp and miserable.
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Endless wedding videos and mint tea
We have been pleasantly surprised at how friendly the people are in Morocco. Wherever we go we find people are interested in talking to us and practising their english or french. Ollie got chatting to a Moroccan guy on the plane over here and he offered to show us round his home town of Meknes. So when we arrived in Meknes a couple of days ago we sent him a message and not only did he show us round Meknes, he invited us back to his parents house to break fast with his family! It was very interesting to see how Moroccans live. His whole family (brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles and aunts) lived in the same 3-storey house. After sundown we ate with his family and then they showed us family wedding videos. These were interesting to begin with as Moroccan weddings are very different to english weddings (they last 6 or 7 hours and the bride wears all kinds of wonderfully ornate dresses) but got a bit tiresome after the 4th or 5th video!
We are now in Rabat and are all quite tired after being woken up at 4.30am by the call to prayer. Our hostel is next door to a mosque. Rabat is a lot less touristy than the places we visited before and is on the coast so is a bit cooler - maybe 30 degrees instead of 38). Tomorrow we are moving onto Casablanca where we will meet some friends of Mostapha (the guy we will be working for on our placement).
A bientot.
We are now in Rabat and are all quite tired after being woken up at 4.30am by the call to prayer. Our hostel is next door to a mosque. Rabat is a lot less touristy than the places we visited before and is on the coast so is a bit cooler - maybe 30 degrees instead of 38). Tomorrow we are moving onto Casablanca where we will meet some friends of Mostapha (the guy we will be working for on our placement).
A bientot.
Sunday, 6 September 2009
The chaos of Fez
We arrived in Fes 2 days ago (me, Stacey and Ollie who has come along for a holiday) and were immediately met by the chaos of Morocco. Its more amazing than I imagined. (apologies for the lack of apostrophes in this entry, I cant find anything on this keyboard). After a scary drive from the airport in an ancient Merc which looked like the doors would fall off at any minute, we arrived at the Medina (the old part of the city). We then had to negotiate our way through the narrow crumbling streets packed with people, market sellers and animals to get to where we were staying. As a first taster of Morocco it surpassed all my expectations.
We are staying in the heart of the Medina which is a maze of tiny streets lined with hatches selling everything you could imagine from arts and crafts, leather, food, spices, live chickens... The streets are completely chaotic with all the locals going about their daily business and lots of donkeys and horses carrying goods up and down. The food is amazing. We have already eaten lots of cous cous (womens food apparently although it seems to be Ollies favourite food so far), tagines, kefta and a local speciality called Lubia which is the Moroccan version of baked beans as far as we can tell but much tastier.
Today we are in the new part of town which isnt so nice but are going to head back to the medina soon. Tomorrow we are moving on to Meknes where we hope to meet up with a man we met on the plane who said he would show us around.
We are staying in the heart of the Medina which is a maze of tiny streets lined with hatches selling everything you could imagine from arts and crafts, leather, food, spices, live chickens... The streets are completely chaotic with all the locals going about their daily business and lots of donkeys and horses carrying goods up and down. The food is amazing. We have already eaten lots of cous cous (womens food apparently although it seems to be Ollies favourite food so far), tagines, kefta and a local speciality called Lubia which is the Moroccan version of baked beans as far as we can tell but much tastier.
Today we are in the new part of town which isnt so nice but are going to head back to the medina soon. Tomorrow we are moving on to Meknes where we hope to meet up with a man we met on the plane who said he would show us around.
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