Moorish Delights

There is always a story behind the itineraries I create.

Childhood daydreams, stories I have read, things I have seen. 

As a child, there was a library opposite the pub....my father liked to keep the pub stool warm until closing time and we waited outside in the car many evenings. The few years we lived in the place with the library opposite the pub were great. 

I spent many an evening looking at National Geographic and getting to know all the books on the shelves very well. In my teenage years I could truthfully say I had read every interesting book in the library and many of the less exciting ones because I was addicted to the escape of a good story. I remember the section near religion on voodoo scared the living daylights out of me- I had to give them a miss.

I can't quite remember what inspired me to book a ticket to Spain the first time- I know I was interested in the Moorish connection but the starting point?

Ryan Air and cheap flights- I was working in the UK teaching Felting and design workshops mostly on weekends- it was cheaper to get a cheap flight to Europe for the week than stay in the UK- so why not?

Lodhi Gardens in Delhi was definitely part of the mix- the ceilings in the Old Mosque had the most exquisite details. Both the Bara Gumbad [big dome] and the mosque were built in 1494 during the reign of Sikander Lodi

I read that the Medieval Islamic world stretched from here in Delhi as a band all the way across to Granada.... that story had me wanting to see more.

The story of Ibn Battuta's travels , the story of Leo Africanis and especially Amin Maalouf's novel by the same name really got me going.

Around the same time I read a fantasy novel- I can't remember the name, it was set in a fictional Al-Andalus that had been lost due to a conqueror and the Darkness. It talked of the beauty lost, a place where different people worked together to create Beauty and Harmony. Only a story but what a dream.

2008

This fuzzy photo is from the first time I visited the Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba. Started in 785 by Abd al-Rahman I, founder of the Islamic  Caliphate of Córdoba.

 Legend says it was built on the site of the Visigoth church, the Catholic Christian Basilica of Vincent of Saragossa and another says the Visigoth Church was on a Roman temple.

The Roman Temple was for the God Janus- God of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings

- who really knows, it is a good story. The place is definitely special.

What got me were the pillars, there is a forest of pillars under those amazing striped arches.

Who envisions a place like this?

Those pillars are in the original section of the mosque, they have been standing there for over 1200 years and they have an amazing polish at hand height. [look in the photo you can see where the colour changes]

For 1200 years people have been visiting that space, gasping in awe and touching those pillars.

It made me feel connected with the people who had visited of the place, I felt sooo connected to our combined existence. 

All of us over so many years have touched those pillars, felt a sense of beauty and added to their soft polish.

Places can be special, 

Places can carry a feeling/ experience /hope.

What makes the Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba is its many very different layers sitting side by side altogether- it creates a memorable experience.

And it survived the Reconquista of the Christian Kings- those guys started the Inquisition.... what lead them to leave such an obvious sign of another religion in existence? I can only think it was Beauty that protected the space.

In the 9 and 10th century Al-Andalus became a link for cultural and scientific exchange between the Islamic and Christian worlds in the arts, medicine, science, music, literature and philosophy. 

 Muslims and non-Muslims often came from abroad to study at the libraries and universities of Al-Andalus,.

Inspired by The House of Wisdom in Bagdad the Toledo School of Translators was established for translating books and texts from Arabic into Latin.  The transmission of ideas significantly affected the birth of the European Renaissance.

This story of learning and sharing knowledge inspired me. Morocco today grew from this background and I wanted to follow the story.

Since I first visited Cordoba I have seen many changes- the Roman Bridge that crosses the Guadalquivir River has been renovated and the Calahorra Tower has been renovated and turned into a informative museum about the ideals of Al-Andalus where the Three People of The Book lived in harmony. 

I love the way our tourist dollar is going into improving and restoring these world heritage treasures. 

The gardens of the Alhambra in Granada are a continuing delight too, more extensive each visit.

This is the story that fuels "Moorish Delights of Andalusia and Morocco" for me... the beauty that comes when we work together.

This is what drew me to wandering in Morocco and why I like to start in Spain- I think it really unfolds well together. There are so many connections to stories and cultures.

The other part of that is crossing the Straits of Gibraltar from Tarifa to Tangiers. 

Somewhere around here were the Pillars of Hercules mentioned in Antiquity. Atlas held the world on his shoulders in this area and the Garden Golden apples of the Hesperides was just past here somewhere. I keep my eyes open I have not spotted them just yet but they must be close.

Tarifa is named after the Moroccan guy who fist came- OK invaded Spain in 711. 

We leave the most southern point of Europe and travel to another continent Africa- how exciting is that? It rocks my boat- although the ferry is mostly, quite smooth.

2023

What was it like being back after Covid?

I was a little nervous, actually. Many of my friends in Morocco and Spain I had been able to touch base with, they were very welcoming, but I wondered how hard hit they really were.

No work for those in tourism and hospitality at all for 28 months, and then all the industries that feed into tourism like crafts sales, food production, transportation.

Little things change. The trains timetables in Spain have changed- we missed the Castle in Cordoba, everything else I could still fit in- Ho hum.

In Granada we take a walk one evening visiting tapas bars, tracing food history back to the Moors, tasting ham from the Reconquistas to prove you are not Muslim or Jewish.... sampling wines and Spanish sherry- some of the bars have closed, the best are still going.

In Morocco there was no money handed out by the government, you just had to get by.

I can see the King has created a lot of work by improving roads and extensive planting projects, much work was done on infrastructure which creates work for people.

A number of hotels I like to use were closed- one I think won't re-open another 2 need renovation- sitting idyl for a few years does not look after a property.

Changes I saw- Tangiers and the Mediterranean Coast has become a busy spot for domestic Moroccan tourism- they are stripping off and laying on the beach. This is quite a surprise as much of Morocco has very modest dress codes.

The roads are definitely improving and road side plantings are looking great. I was told proudly a few times the King has a vision of a Green Morocco.

The huge solar farm out near Ouarzazate is even bigger and has this huge science fiction type light tower thingy in the middle of it- amazing.

Drought has hit Morocco hard over the last few years, many of the Palmeries on the way to the Sahara looked very sad.

Some of the Artisan groups we visit have down sized but they are all still going and there is a definite sigh of relief that visitors are back.

Very sadly, Bert Flint owner of the Tishiwin Museum in Marrakesh has died and his museum is closed. The notice on the door says Temporarily. I do hope so, his legacy is a wonderful collection of Berber artifacts and a real treasure.

The enormous Jewish Cemetery in Fez has been renovated- Morocco makes its Jewish people welcome, even though many have moved to Israel in the last 50 years. Their part in Moroccan history is remembered.

Amazigh - the original people of Morocco- culture and language are gaining greater representation in Morocco. All sign posts are now in Arabic, Tamazight [ Amazigh language] and French. It is being introduced into schools at primary level from this year. When I first visited Morocco there was no recognition of it- slowly but surely change is happening.

I hear people mention their heritage as Arabic or Amazigh Moroccan now....

Every visit to a place I love, I wonder "What will it be like now? How is it progressing" It is like catching up with an Old Friend you have not seen for a while.

It felt wonderful to see people I know and respect and touch base and plan to see each other again soon.

I was contemplating trimming the tour down.

Make a loup- in Casablanca around and out through Casablanca... but it feels like I leave a big part of the story out.  

The Moorish magic starts in Cordoba, the breadth of the Moorish World, the importance of the ancient university in Fez and the whole souk link up to the world of learning of Al-Andalus....

I love the way the journey unfolds and sings together.

Ohh and the roof details I saw in Lodhi garden in Delhi, that are also seen in the Alhambra make another show in Uzbekistan.... I am really enjoying following their path. 

It seems I have a few themes in tours- I seem to find indigo, camels and those little arch roof thingys [I must find their real name I suppose]