Will you please 'stop'?

The BBC web team has been using quotation marks inappropriately for about a decade now, but somehow I find this instance even more irritating than usual.

BBC World Service - Documentary Archive

BBC: The Kids Who Ran Iraq
I always thought one of the oddest aspects of the Iraq war was the appointment of 20-something to senior positions in the Iraq provisional authority. So I'm looking forward to listening to this from the BBC. Their blurb:

After the invasion of Iraq in 2003 hundreds of young American recruits were sent by Washington to help run the Coalition Provisional Authority, the body set up to administer Iraq. The CPA's tenure was widely criticised, as were its staff who, critics say, were simply political appointees with little or no experience relevant to the massive task they faced. Five years on Pascale Harter speaks to some of the so-called Brat Pack of US recruits to find out if they feel proud of what they achieved.

Last Day in Morocco

Well I had a somewhat frustrating day. The two things I most wanted to see were both closed. First, I wanted to start the day by visiting the Archaeological Museum, which was hard to find since neither the taxi driver nor anyone in that neighborhood seemed to know where it was. I had to get out of the taxi and walk around for a while only to run into the same taxi driver again who pointed me the right way after he figured it out. But the museum was closed.

I then visited the Kasbah des Oudaias, where I was hassled quite a bit at the entrance, but I made it through the gauntlet and enjoyed a visit to the Jewelry museum, Andalusian gardens and le plateform. I noticed a few men dressed up as Gnaoui musicians who were trying to make money by posing for pictures with them. It's the second time I've noticed fake Gnaoui musicians in Morocco--the first time was in a kitschy restaurant in Fes. Anyhow I gave in to the temptation to get a picture with them.

I then visited the never completed Hassan Mosque and the neighboring mausoleum. After that I visited the chellah, which is an odd multi-cultural site with Roman ruins next to mosque ruins. After that I went to Sale, the neighboring town, hoping to get to the medersa before it closed at 4:30. Unfortunately the gardien left early for the day since tourist traffic is somewhat low. I was really looking forward to seeing the medersa, since medersas seem to be the most interesting buildings in Morocco. I wound up taking a long walk around the medina and then strolling across the bridge to Rabat while the sun set over the ocean. The beauty of the sunset resolved the tension of the day, but I did end up lost once I crossed the bridge. Fortunately a taxi wasn't too far off.

While in Sale, I had a pastry binge and after dinner here I had another one. I think I like traditional Moroccan pastries more than French ones, especially since they're similar to Indian nut-based pastries.

Meknes and Rabat

On my second day in Meknes I explored the medina. I did get hassled my a couple of people and more so at the end of the day, including one "guide" who wanted a 50 dirham tip for showing me around a two room "museum" that was a carpet shop.

I took a long walk from the southern end of the medina to the imperial city, and then returned to the medina and walked to its northernmost point from where I had a gorgeous view of the hills north of the city. Then I walked all the way back to the square, which, as the Rough Guide points out, is a bit like a small Djemma al Fna. The two major sites of interest that I saw today were the Bou Inania medersa of Meknes and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail.

I was worried about catching the train to Rabat on time, but I was one time and the train was delayed so everything worked out fine.

I was able to post a few pictures to flickr but then something happened to the memory card reader on the pc.

More Photos Uploaded

At my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrismartin76/

In Meknes Now

And life is good. I visited Moulay Idriss and Volubilis today. In the evening visited another hammam and got another massage, although this was not quite as severe as the last one. Maybe Islamist terrorists just need to visit hammams more and they wouldn't be so uptight.
Since I'm not staying in the medina here, I have a lot of bakeries in the area, as is typical in the ville nouvelle of every Moroccan city. It's criminal how little pastry eating I've done while here so I made up for it a little after dinner tonight with some cookies and caramel mousse at a local cafe. Will try to get some more over the next three days.

Second Day in Marrakech

Yesterday was a casual day in which I tried to visit just two museums, but failed at both, which was not a big deal because I mainly wanted to walk around the market anyway. I did twist my ankle just outside the Belghazi museum, which was supposed to be open but was not, and although it didn't hurt at the time, it hurts a lot right now. Fortunately I was able to get a bandage and some ointment for it. I had one of the most lavish dinners of my life at La Maison Bleue last night. There were two Gnaoui musicians there along with an oud player.

Tonight I will probably have dinner at Palais Medina, which has somewhat louder entertainment. I hope it's worthwhile. It was recommended by my tour guide, who, I'm sure, gets some commission from this. I was hoping to hire Jai Chater Rachid as my tour guide based on a recommendation in a book, but Rachid is now in Marrakech, so I hired someone recommended by him named. Hassan. While Hassan was great at navigating the medina, he wasn't as acquainted with the historical and cultural details that I had hoped to hear more about. We saw virtually every site of importance in the medina. Unfortunately one of the two major medersas was closed. But Medersa Bou Inania was lovely.

Tomorrow morning I have to catch a train to Meknes. It's only about 40 minutes away.

From Marrakech to Fes

Although my hotel in Fes has rather seedy rooms, I'm elated to find a cybercafe here with English keyboards.

It's 11 in the morning and I should be out looking at stuff but it's a good time to relax since I've been walking almost nonstop for the last seven days. It feels like I've spent 20 days in Morocco even though I arrived at 9 am last Thursday. I hired a guide to take me around Old Fes and New Fes tomorrow so I might just see a few smaller museums today and enjoy the cuisine.

Yesterday morning I took a rapid walk through the medine to see the four major sights that were pending on my itinerary--Palais El-Badi, the Bahia palace, the Saadian tombs, and the Dar Si-Said museum. Both the El-Badi and Bahai palaces were grand, but I enjoyed the other two sights more, especially since I love Moroccan doors and ceilings and the Saadian tombs and Dar Si-Said had splendid ones. I was also thankful to have both the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet guides at hand. The Rough Guide noted that the gardien at the minbah at El-Badi might let you past the barricade if you are really nice; this is actually true.

I thought my Fes train departed at 2 so I got to the station at 1.30. It was actually a 3 o'clock train, but arriving early was good nonetheless because the availability of the Carte Fidelite, the discount card, is erratic and it gae me time to find the manager who issues those cards. I took a quick trip to the Menara gardens between 2 and 3; it was a bit too hot to enjoy the walk through the garden, but the pool was refreshing.

The train journey was quite pleasant; the trains are much cleaner than in India, bu the vibe is similar. People are friendly and share food. I shared the compartment with a stewardess, a businessman, and a couple of other people. Most of them spoke some English and I received some general advice on French pronunciation once again.

I'm not sure what I'll do today. I hired a guide to take me around the Fes medina tomorrow so I may explore a few smaller museums today and also get a hammam with a massage.

Photos Uploaded

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrismartin76/