Chefchaouen & Akchour

Bonsoir les parents,

When Roodly and I began planning a travel opportunity last summer, we wanted to be sure that any French trip would be enriching both culturally and linguistically. Halfway through our time here, we feel as though we have checked both of those boxes, even though Morocco may not have been the most obvious destination for a French program. However, one third of the country is francophone, so your children have not wanted for opportunities to practice their language skills!

“Since our local guides speak only in French to us, I use this as an opportunity to practice not only my listening skills, but also to ask questions in French, whether clarifying things or just out of curiosity.”

“During the tour of the unfinished mosque and military fortress in Rabat, I used a lot of French by talking with the tour guide and learned a lot about the history of these places. Also, today, during the tour of the Kasbah and the Médina, I also talked a lot with the tour guide and learned a lot about the war against the Portuguese.”

“Speaking French has been rough, as I am getting used to hearing different accents and the speed at which they talk. However, I have seen some improvement in my vocabulary!”

“I have used my French to bargain prices with vendors, as well as to ask our tour guide questions.”

“I haggled for a blanket yesterday. I didn’t always know what the shopkeeper was saying, but I still feel as though I got a good price.”

“We have been using a lot of French on the trip so far; for me, I have been using it by observing interactions between two French speakers to see what I can understand, listening and asking questions to our tour guides, and ordering at restaurants.”

“I’ve managed to successfully translate a lot of the information on museum labels and at historical sites. I can also converse with store owners and order things with no problem — I feel like my French is coming back to me and I’m so excited!”

Your kids have been so resilient vis-à-vis the rain, which unapologetically continued throughout the entirety of today, throwing a bit of a wrench into our plans. Here’s how junior Addis Sintayehu of Reading, Massachusetts made the most of her morning:

“We started off our day with a tour of the Kasbah here in Chefchaouen, learning about the rich history within its walls. While it was a fortress similar to what we saw in Rabat, this kasbah once housed a prison for Portuguese soldiers. Our guide also taught us about the secret tunnels under the fortress that could be used as emergency egress. Our guide took us through the fortress, as well as the gardens on the grounds.

The prison was located at the base of this tower, which the prisoners themselves had been forced to build.

View of the Médina from the top of the tower. Our hotel is in there somewhere…

Unlike the kasbah in Rabat, this one is far smaller and has not been repurposed for residential needs.

An exhibit in the Kasbah on Moroccan art. Since human figures are seldom depicted in Islamic art, Moroccan art focuses on plants, geometric motifs (often in the form of mosaics), and calligraphy.

“After the tour, we got ready to take a trip to the Akchour Waterfalls. We braced ourselves for the pouring rain, layering up with rain jackets, hoodies, and our new umbrellas (thanks to our guide Khalid and M. Jean!). Admittedly, the rain did put a damper on our motivation to hike, but once we were there we were grateful to have made it. There was a beautiful view of trees, mountains, and rushing water waiting for us at the end of our journey.

What we were supposed to see.

What we got instead.

The region has not experienced flooding like this since 2010. To have seen the waterfall, it would have been an 80-minute hike in the rain. We opted instead for the shorter route to get a view of the valley, which in turn also became unfeasible once we realized that the rain had made some of the paths unstable. Not every excursion is a winner.

We also missed out on the monkeys which tend to hang around these parts. They, too, likely sought refuge from the rain.

The monkey in question: the Barbary macaque.

Some fun was still had!

There was a group picture taken at this location, the “beautiful view”. However, due to pouring rain, mud, a feral dog, umbrellas, and generalized despair, the photos are universally unflattering. Please instead enjoy this far more whimsical photo of the author and Bea.

“Once we reached the end of our hike, we turned back and started walking to the van. At the van, we started our drive back to the hotel to finally rest after our tiring, rainy, but rewarding morning.”

As we will have seen and will continue to see, Morocco is a patchwork quilt (or mosaic, if you will) of cultures: languages, religions, art and architecture, cuisines, and history. Bradymir Gomez of Hamden, Connecticut is here to talk a little bit more about that history, specifically that of Chefchaouen’s Kasbah…

“The Kasbah that we visited here in Chefchaouen was built by Rachid Ben Ali as a militaristic base to repel the Portuguese attempt to take the northern part of the country during the 15th century. Since Chefchaouen was built in the mountains with a river nearby, it served as the perfect place for a kasbah and was ideal for resupplying soldiers and launching counterattacks against the Portuguese.

“In such fortresses lived the highest ranking nobles or royalty along with his family; there were also barracks for the soldiers, while ours here in Chefchaouen had cells for the war prisoners. There were also many secret tunnels under the Kasbah which only important residents at the time knew about. The tunnels were forgotten for centuries, and while there were rumors, nobody actually believed they existed until some of them caved in due to heavy rainfall in the 1980s. [Should we anticipate discovering a few more?]

“Over the last 600 years, the Kasbah has undergone several transformations from being a military fortress, to being an administrative center under the Spanish protectorate (1912–1956; Chefchaouen is the only city on our itinerary which was controlled by Spain and not France), to the cultural site it is today. The Kasbah, along with all of Chefchaouen, has stood tall and has become a place to settle for Muslims and Jews that have been persecuted [more on that later this week].”

All enjoyed a good long rest after our trip to Akchour. Naps were had, showers were taken, lunches were inhaled, and complaining subsided. At 4PM, we reconvened in the hotel lobby for a short walking tour of the Médina. I’ll let sophomore Elizabeth Welles of Belmont, North Carolina take it away…

“After lunch on our own, we got to relax and rejuvenate after our exciting morning full of rain. I explored the city for a little and stopped at this delicious bakery to try a strawberry mousse. After our afternoon break, we met up with our tour guide again to learn more about the rich history of Chefchaouen. As he took us through the streets, we learned about the history of why the city is painted blue [see yesterday’s entry], as well as some details about the paint’s properties. Although it was pouring rain, we had our umbrellas and didn’t let the weather stop us. As Mr. Herath loves to say, ‘always be prepared for anything when traveling.’

La Grande Mosquée de Chefchaouen. Historically, the imam of the grand mosque needed to be an expert at keeping track of the five prayer times, as they change slightly every day. The call to prayer would thus initially be projected from his minaret, and the mosques in each of the other neighborhoods would follow suit. There’s an app for that, now.

In addition to a mosque, a fountain, and a hammam, all neighborhoods in the Médina were built with communal bakeries. Unlike the one passed by yesterday, our guide showed us an operational one. For families who lack ovens in their homes, they are able to walk down the street and bake with the help of their neighbors.

The first neighborhood in Chefchaouen was the Jewish neighborhood.

Any path or alleyway painted blue (on the ground, that is) means that it leads to a dead end.

Even in the rain this place is so dang Instagrammable.

Bathroom design ideas?

I feel as though my sister once had a doorway that looked something like this…

This group photo went far better. Taken at the Place El Haouta, where the fish market used to be held. Thanks again to our guide from today, Mohammed!

Lulu and Kalina never fail to spark joy.

“After we finished our tour, we had some more free time until dinner. Everyone went back to the hotel, had some tea, and enjoyed the peaceful afternoon. For dinner, we went to this local restaurant around the corner, where I, adventurously, tried the much raved about tajine. And it did, indeed, meet expectations; it was delicious. After we ordered our meals and enjoyed our dessert, a few of us explored the Médina at night and walked around the lit up blue streets. We then decided it was time to return back to the hotel and get some rest for our big day tomorrow traveling to Fès.”

And it will be a big day tomorrow. We’ll rise early, hop in the van, and enjoy a roughly three and a half hour drive to Fès. Then, the kids are hitting the souks. Rugs, blankets, bags, slippers, pottery, poufs, baskets, jewelry, lanterns, spices… If you want something, make it known.

Special thanks to Melissa and Mylles for doing such a fabulous job with the MX Instagram takeover. They’ll be posting again tomorrow!

À bientôt donc…

Konrad James