Spain - Harvey World Travel

The many
faces of
Morocco
Leading New Zealand designer and travel ambassador,
Jane Daniels, describes the inspirational beauty of a journey
with Innovative Travel.
We are led through dark mysterious
alleyways by a bent figure in a hooded
djelleba. The only light is from his flickering
lantern. A solid blue door is opened,
revealing a magnificently coloured tiled
courtyard, a fountain and pools, all
fragrant and strewn with petals. An exotic
dinner and evening await....
Morocco, in fact, has been a continual
doorway that the Phoenicians, Romans,
Arabs, Berbers, Muslims, Jews, Spanish,
Portuguese and French have all walked
through, leaving behind a diverse culture
whose cuisine, crafts and architecture are
unique but clearly influenced by exotic
lands near and far.
There is more to Morocco though than its
iconic fez, or red felt hat. While you see
many people living subsistence-level lives,
it is also good to know that Morocco
was the location of one the world’s first
universities, a land that was teaching the
decimal system in the tenth century, and
the homeland of the great fourteenthcentury
explorer, Ibn Battuta, who rivalled
Marco Polo in the extent of his travels.
Much of Moroccan life carries
on as it has done for centuries,
surrounded by masses of people
in the souks (markets) and squares
that are awash with coloured ceramics,
embroidery and spices – goods that
are the lifeblood of many, all competing
for your attention and your dirhams.
In places, the camels, tagine pots and
donkeys give way to a new sophistication.
In many beautiful properties that I visited,
you are surrounded by design ideas for
interiors that have influenced the West
for decades. Westerners who have made
Morocco home also collaborate with
skilled local craftsmen in the making of
beautiful objects that you can buy in
contemporary boutiques. In terms of colour
alone it is easy to be passionate about
Morocco: the palette here is a rainbow,
and it is easy to follow in the footsteps of
Delacroix and Matisse.
On one day I can be sitting on a
terrace, drinking mint tea from a gilded
glass out of an ornate teapot, and
taking in a vista of white cube-shaped
houses in a medina (old city quarter)
set against a brilliant turquoise sea.
The the next day I can be in a labyrinth
of streets of lilac-blue houses in
Chefchaouen. Then in the burnt sienna
of the desert kasbahs (citadels) and
the gold-through-red shadings of the
desert sand dunes. On another day I can
be encompassed by the deep purpleblue
hue of the snow-capped Atlas
Mountains above Marrakech, the pink city
that Winston Churchill described as “the
most lovely spot in the world.” It all leaves
you breathless.
on location harveyworld.co.nz
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