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I can’t believe this is the penultimate day of the trip. We are so close to the end and we are still finding new things to do. This day was special because we took an excursion few tour groups ever even think of. It’s the kind unique and personal experience treat Road Scholar specializes in.
As we were driving out of Marrakesh this morning we were delighted to see our old friends the High Atlas Mountains off of the distance.
I don’t remember seeing this fence design before. They are staggered adobe walls with gaps that people can fit through but not animals. Well, not big animals.
Fences built of adobe will collapse just like the houses do.
I see camels ready to go to work today.
After about a 1-hr. drive we arrived in the village of Aghmat. It is really off the beaten path and there are no other tourists here. In fact the residents seemed surprised to see a tour bus driving through town. Notice all the kids?
It turns out there is a boarding school here and this is the day the parents come to check on their children. So there were children and parents everywhere we looked.
There was a very nice clothing emporium.
And a Dollar General.
No, it is not a motorcycle gang. Bikes are ordinary transportation for nearly everybody around here, young and old.
It's a pick-up cycle.
And there's the boarding school.
This was our destination. Behind that wall is a private home that will be open to us today. It’s also the location of a co-op formed by women to earn money outside the home. Primarily they make couscous to sell locally. Couscous is a very popular dish in Morocco, and today we will learn how to make it.
First we will have tea in the salon.
The salon is the largest room in the house and it is the most extensively decorated. It’s an important place in Moroccan culture because this is where you entertain your guests and you want to make a good impression.
Along with our tea we will sample some delicious homemade pastries on these lovely Moroccan plates.
OK, but they are nice plates.
Tea is served hot in Morocco. While
unsweet tea is prepared for the crazy Americans just to be
hospitable, Moroccans traditionally drink their tea very sweet. In
fact the government has begun a program to remind people that sugar
is “white poison” and they should not consume so much of it.
It came wrapped in paper.
Tiger brand sugar is the most popular around here.
This whole sugar loaf thing was a new one on me. How do you break them up? Like this.
After one of the women used a rock to break the loaf into chunks right there at the table, some of what you see in the tureen was dropped into the hot tea.
Our tea is being prepared.
The cookies were delicious, and everything was sweet. Very sweet.
Of course I had one of each.
Pouring tea is an art here. Nabil says he can do the high pour because it’s a skill every Moroccan has mastered.
A masterful pour.
My tea and cookies were delicious. By the way, tea is served in glasses like that, not tea cups.
That’s the proud owner of this house there on the left.
Here are some of the women who work here as part of the co-op. Some of them have a high school education, some have a middle school education, and some no formal education at all.
I was loving all this. Don has fallen asleep. Maybe.
One of the ladies brought her baby, and Nabil enjoyed showing him off to the group.
Happy baby and mama.
We are learning about how the idea of having a co-op in the neighborhood where women could earn money on their own without depending on a man did not go over very well at first when they began this in 2013. It turns out the local mayor was afraid that if these women gained some influence in the community, they would run for mayor and replace him. After the women sat down with him and explained they had no such ambition, he stopped turning off their electricity and water and actually became cooperative. Now they are taking on individual creative projects that can be sold in the local market.
Bill just wants to get to the part where we learn to make couscous.
We're getting ready for a lesson in how to make couscous.
Tim and Nancy are certainly ready for the lesson to begin.
Nabil gets things rolling by showing the ingredients, water and flour.
Then he shows special pots required for the process.
The baby can't take his eyes off Nabil.
And after a lot of kneading and sifting...
You start to get the tiny balls that are couscous.
That was the short version. Watch this if you want to see more. Turns out it's a complicated process that requires sieves of various sizes but the result is a couscous better than anything I've ever had in the good old USA.
Sarah is getting a special peek in the kitchen.
Pull back the cloth from the steaming couscous and ... yum.
They're so very friendly here.
The food is almost ready.
So are the Road Scholars.
In fact, they've started to crowd around the kitchen.
Well if you're going to crowd together like that, let's have a group picture.
Be patient. Things are coming along.
Almost ready.
Ahhh. A tagine without a surprise revelation. May be a first for the trip. Under all that meat and vegetables is a big pile of delicious home made couscous.
Let's look around the place. There's a nice view of snow from the roof.
A lovely interior.
There's even a pool that would surely be filled with water if there weren't a drought.
These green interlocking roof tiles are pretty common in Morocco.
Here are the ladies of the co-op. I hated to say goodbye to them because I truly enjoyed our visit. They told us that they enjoy having Americans come by because from what they see on TV Americans are too sophisticated to enjoy visiting with them. We assured them that is not even slightly the case. We loved meeting and learning from them. Thank you ladies and thank you Road Scholar for arranging things.
Back through town.
The crowds of kids and parents have dispersed and we are headed back to the Marrakesh market.
Now we have returned to Marrakesh and its Medina where we will shop for spices and other souvenirs. There’s a mirror in the sign out in front of the spice shop. Can you see the tourist taking his own picture?
Inside there are all kinds of spices and fragrances.
There's even a tired tourist leaning against a wall of spice. Thanks for the photo, Alexandra.
We had to sit for a sales pitch which didn’t last very long and then we all started buying our spices. I bought some cinnamon and also some couscous spice mixes in case I ever want to make couscous at home.
The Road Scholars made their selections and headed out to pay.
And pay they did.
Back outside I spotted a crowd around a food stand and began to wonder what they were selling.
Fresh made honey covered pastries. Yum. No wonder there’s a big crowd.
Now back out in the Medina, we are going to find a store that specializes in Moroccan handicrafts. Or so they say.
This is what they have at the handicrafts store.
They have this too. Bill had never seen collected under one roof so much stuff he would never ever buy.
So he went to an outdoor café and had a nice cool Mojito Mocktail. That’s a cocktail without alcohol. It was superb.
We had our final nice official goodbye dinner tonight even though we still have one more day of the tour. The problem is tomorrow night will be kind of crazy with everybody getting packed for the trip home and trying to get to bed early so we can catch the bus to the airport around 3 AM. Road Scholar has chosen “The Red House“ for our final nice meal. This place is sort of semi spectacular.
A French businesswoman built it in a Moroccan influenced art deco style about 100 years ago. Now it has been turned into a combination restaurant – hotel.
Well yes it's food. What did you think it was? Actually our first dish was some kind of shrimp avocado tomato aspic. It was outstanding.
Can you see that the lamp is a Fes? It has a black tassel.
The Road Scholars are getting ready to say goodbye.
We've enjoyed some fantastic meals together over the past couple of weeks.
And this will be our last.
Actually I think dinner is under there.
Now that's what I call presenting food with a flourish.
Under the domes we found either veal or lamb medallions. We weren’t sure which.
As with everything else in this meal, dessert was outstanding.
Let's look around the place.
Originally a family home, THE RED HOUSE was converted into a guest palace with comfortable rooms and suites, well-equipped. To share luxury of this home, THE RED HOUSE opens the doors to a heaven of peace and life style, which combines tradition and modernity.
To share luxury of this home, THE RED HOUSE opens the doors to a heaven of peace and life style, which combines tradition and modernity. Well, that's what the hotel's website says.
Actually it is a pretty nice place.
If I should ever return on my own, I think I'll want to stay here. We had a wonderful meal in luxurious surroundings. A great place to have our tour's goodbye dinner.
But now it's time to go.
Look, entertainment over there!
Earlier I was sitting at the table when I heard a familiar melody being played by that guy over there. I didn't know this song was Moroccan. Did you know this song was Moroccan?
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