Day Excursion #1 -- “Chellah” شالة

Hey, all.  I know I promised you stories from the Sahara but seeing as it’s late tonight, I’m going to save that story for another day (‘cause it’s loooong) and instead introduce you to the popular local sight of a landmark known to the Moroccans as “Chellah” (شالة), which I believe I also promised to tell you about…

Last Tuesday, my second day of school, I, along a whole bunch of new friends I had already made, took advantage of the school’s afternoon excursion to the oldest demographic aggregation on the bank of the Bou Regreg, Rabat’s main river.  Originally an aggregation position by Phoenicians and Carthaginians as early as the third century BCE, Carthage was conquered by the Romans in 146 CE and was then expanded and named by the Romans as Sale Colonia.  Chellah was abandoned at the decline of the Roman empire in 250 CE but it was resettled by the Merinids dynasty between 1300 and 1400 CE, during which time the Merinid Sultan Abou Yacub built a mosque and Quranic school.  In 1339, Abou Al Hassan then built the principal gate and impressive wall that surrounds Chellah, two of the few landmarks that remain standing after Chellah was damaged in 1755 by the Lisbon earthquake and has since been abandoned.

The entrance fee was 10 dirhams (which is nothing in American money) and it was definitely worth the price.  My classmates and I were blessed with a beautiful day to become familiar with this part of Rabat’s history by walking within the walls of Chellah while learning about its past from our accompanying professor, Mohammed, who also doubles as our very knowledgeable tour guide.  We did everything from identifying human bones within the crumbling foundation that followed the main road, to reciting our new Chellah Arabic vocabulary words while discussing the daily rituals that took place in the Islamic Ablution Room we were standing in.  Even more than its historical significance, I enjoyed most simply taking in the beauty and enjoying the sereneness of the sight.  Especially the lovely garden walk down to the buildings—it would serve as a particularly nice spot to just sit back and read a good book or get some homework done.

For more pictures, check out my “Pictures & Videos” page.

Sahara was absolutely AMAZING!!!

Shower.

Sleep.

School.

Then I’ll tell you all about it. And with pictures, too!  ;-)

1 Big Van + A Caravan of Camels = A Fun Weekend Camping Out in the Sahara!

Tell you guys all about it when I get back on Sunday! :-)

A Little Moroccan Entertainment

Part of the curriculum of the Qalam wa Lawh Center is to partake in atleast 2 "excursions" every week meant to immerse us in the Moroccan/Arabic culture.  Besides the icecream event and a visit to the Chellah (details to come soon), I signed up to see a Moroccan movie.  So, yesterday evening a group of us went to the Moroccan cinema in the Medinat Kadeema (the Old City) to see the new film "A Morrocan in Paris."  Unfortunately, most of it ended up being in French or the Moroccan dialect, Darija, (neither of which I speak) but I still followed most of the story line and I went mostly for the cinema experience anyway.  It was just a one-room place and there were no popcorn or drink stalls, you just walk right in after you get your ticket.  The movie car chases and other action scenes were absolutely ridiculously cheesy (which I don't think the directors intended to do!) but the story line was very funny overall and I enjoyed it.  See for yourself! :-)

How to Make Moroccan Ice Cream--

Step 1:  In separate bowls, add one can each of evaporated milk to some frozen peaches and some frozen avocados. 

Step 2:  Squish up and blend the mixture in each bowl until there are no chunks left.

Step 3:  Cut up about half a dozen canned peaches into long, thin slices and shave a nice bar of chocolate down with a cheese grater; set aside for later.

Step 4:  Layer the avocado mixture about an inch thick on top of the bowl of the peach mixture.

Step 5:  Lay the slices of peach around the top of the bowl.  Going in circles, continue to place the peach slices on top until the avocado is covered.

Step 6:  Pour a small amount of milk (NOT evaporated) on top of the peaches using a funnel.

Step 7:  Scatter green and red dried cherry bits around the whole bowl, before topping it off with the chocolate shavings.

Step 8:  Place in the freezer for 20 minutes, and then bon appetite!

Well that didn’t take long --

I hadn’t stepped foot for 5 minutes out of my new apartment in Rabat, Morocco, before already meeting an entire group of new friends.  In asking for direction to the nearest grocery, a young woman I had stopped on the building stairs instead introduced me to half of her entire extended family—particularly her sister, Malak, who is about my age and lives with her younger cousin (10), her cousin’s mother, and her grandmother.  After meeting another cousin who lives next door and one of the grandmother’s sisters, Malak took me to a local grocery store so I could buy a few necessities before her aunt decided to make a trip to the get groceries, too, which resulted in me getting a night tour by car of practically half of the city, and a visit to the largest grocery store in Rabat!  So in just my first night here, I’ve already received some very good advice from people who know their way around, and they assure me that the building we are living in is very safe.  This I do not doubt, as my apartment building faces the police station, so the police are always automatically keeping an eye on things!

It is now 7:15 in the morning for my first day of school and I am ready and waiting for my two new roommates, Zoe from Canada and Rebecca from the U.K., to freshen up before we all head out to the front of the building where we’ll catch our bus to school.  I was told when I checked in yesterday that I’ll only be taking my placement test today (let’s hope that my ARA 202 final exam is still fresh in my brain!) and then hopefully my lost checked baggage will show up at the airport and I will get to go get it.  I probably should have studied more last night, but I was enjoying myself so much with Malak’s family that I couldn’t drag myself away.  Her family immediately took to me, as I took to them.  While Malak will only be staying with her aunt on the weekends because she has university studies in a different town during the week, I have been told repeatedly that I am welcome any time and Malak’s ten-year-old cousin, Yasmin, asked me to stay the night so I told her I would tomorrow because then I would be done studying for my exam.  Even so, her mother Sala’a made me a delicious plate of salad and a sandwich.  I couldn’t refuse such hospitality so I risked getting sick (if the salad was washed in tap water and contains microorganisms that my stomach’s not used to handling), figuring that I’ll probably get sick some time while I’m here eventually, there’s really no avoiding it…

It’s very overwhelming being in Morocco for the first time with no understanding of the Darija Arabic dialect, absolutely no French under my belt, and just a little grasp on Fusha formal Arabic, but with help from the Qalam Center, my new classmates, and my new neighbors, I think I will have support in getting all the help and advice that I need while I explore Morocco for the next 4 weeks.  Ma salaama!