We spent all morning today listening to lectures. Now that may not sound like much fun to you, maybe, but it’s the learning aspects of Road Scholar tours I enjoy the most. And today I learned a lot.

We are back at the riad that is now the Center for Cross Cultural Learning, or CCCL.

This is our lecturer for the day. Her name is Farah Cherif d’Ouezzan and she is general director of the CCCL. Her academic training is in comparative religion.

The title of her first lecture was “Islam in Morocco.” She was warm, witty and knowledgeable and I gained lots — seriously lots of insights about Islam and how its culture has changed significantly just since the Iranian revolution in 1979. She talked about how people used to make a pilgrimage to Mecca for spiritual cleansing and renewal and they would come home more dedicated to their faith. But now they are coming home from Saudi Arabia radicalized because of the sermons they hear pump them full of zealotry. That is just one example of the subjects she touched on. She was so good she actually made me believe there for a minute that I understood what is going on in the Arab world

We took a coffee/tea break on the roof of the CCCL.

Today’s weather is just as fantastic as yesterday’s.

We can see the concert hall, the cucumber and the minaret from up here.

The Road Scholars are using this lovely setting to get to know one another.

We can see the roofs of the neighbors’ homes. This riad has a sliding sunroof.

We have a good group.

The old tiled stairs from the roof were lovely, but steep and almost treacherous. David and Joan are taking care.

Now back to more lecturing.

I took a selfie with Farah.

The title of the second lecture was “Veil and Moroccan Costumes.” That is Nancy in an old traditional outfit.

Now this is a fancier outfit. Anne is in there somewhere.

How about a little something in yellow?

The fashion show continues.  That’s Betty on the left and Barbara in the green.

These costumes are from the countryside. Alexandra looks lovely, doesn’t she?

Bill is impressed.

The djellaba, also known as a jillaba, is a long, loose-fitting, unisex outer robe or dress with full sleeves that is worn in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is traditionally worn by men of the Muslim faith, especially in Morocco. The djellaba is a very popular dress that has never gone out of fashion.

The djellaba is a traditional dress that is worn for special events, gatherings, or as a daily outfit. It is comfortable, elegant, and exudes pride. The djellaba signifies purity, virtue, good fortune, and honorable moral qualities. The earliest designs of the djellaba were all some variation of white or cream-colored. The djellaba also acted as a public symbol of transition from boyhood to manhood.

Bill is thinking the vertical stripes take at least 10 pounds off his appearance.

Are Alexandra and Bill a great looking couple or what?

What he doesn’t realize is that under Moroccan tradition he is now married.

No, not really.  Ha. Ha. Ha.

A couple of months after the trip Bill was browsing the Road Scholar website to find a map showing the full route of our tour when he came across this page.  Bill vaguely remembers that a representative of Road Scholar was present to observe and take photos this day. Apparently somebody at the home office thought Alexandra and Bill looked so magnificent in their Moroccan farmer garb that they deserved to be immortalized right there in the official Road Scholar description of the tour. Well of course!

Lentil soup and eggplant purée for lunch.

Followed by a lamb cutlet with prunes and apricots.

That was all OK, but dessert was magnificent. It’s a flaky multi layered pastry with crushed almonds and a cream sauce. It’s called Jawhara. Yum.

We were given the option of riding the bus back to the hotel or walking. Many chose to walk, including Don and me. Right there on the sidewalk we encountered an artisan inlaying tile.

Don't bump the ladies, Don.

Remember that big cemetery we saw from the bus on our first day here? As we were walking along, Don spotted the entrance.

So here we are in a cemetery.

Right on the hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

All these dead people have a nice view.

And some of them have some gorgeous graves.

With fancy headstones.

Bill thinks the place seems awfully crowded.

Don spotted a cell phone tower disguised as a palm tree. 

Here's another pretty grave.

That’s some interesting architecture we spotted as we walked along looking for Mohammed V Avenue, which is our way home. 

Or maybe we should take Route 66. 

Ah, here it is. 

Don is leading the way. 

We passed shops that sold all sorts of junk. 

And some fancy dresses.

And food staples 

And dates.

And pastries.

And bread.

Our hotel is thataway. 

We have found the train station so we must be close to the hotel. 

And sure enough we were.

billanderson601@yahoo.com