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Day 1: The plane landed at Rabat International Airport. We

ate Harira (Lamb, Lentil, and Chickpea Soup) for supper then Iwent to sleep. My host family was a young Moroccan businessman, and his wife. He works in Rabat the capital city. It is veryhard to find work so he is lucky to have a job, his wife iscompleting collage. The country is very religious, Islam is theirreligion. The king of Morocco is also Islamic, and a spiritualleader. The government is a constitutional monarchy, whichmeans they have a king, and a Constitution.

Day 2: I the morning we ate Mint Tea for breakfast. It was

terrible, way too minty, and not very filling. In the morning Idecided to go to Marrakesh.We went to a souk or market in thecity, which we could have easily spent a day walking around. Iwent on a guided tour of Marrakesh, and saw that most of thebuildings looked red. It is called the red city, because most thebuildings are made from red clay. I stopped for lunch, and hadsome Bidaoui Couscous, which has lots of meats in it, and ismuch more filling than tea. Then I decided to visit the KoutoubiaMosque, because of the importance of Islam in the area. It's very

tall, and it has been the inspiration of buildings around theworld. I thought that it was kind of boring, however very tall.

Day 3: We headed of to Casablanca by tour boat. It is the largest city,

and the largest port in North Africa. In 1942 a movie was made aboutCasablanca. During WWII people fleeing Europe went to Morocco to goto America. The movie was about a man who owned a restaurant there. Ilooked like any other city, In contrast to the deserts we often think of inAfrica this was a big city with skyscrapers. I checked into a very nice

hotel called the Idou Anfa Hotel. There was so much to see I decided tostay there another day. Walking around on the street was very scarymany people drive every where, and don't respect pedestrian crossings. finally rented a cab, and went to see the Port of Casablanca. So manyboats! Before I went back to my hotel I toured the Casablanca TwinCenter, it is two identical skyscrapers. They very tall 28 stories, andoccupied by businesses.

Day 4: I am still in Casablanca, and I just checked out ofthe Idou Anfa Hotel. After I checked out of my hotel I visited the Hassan

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II Masque which is on a piece of land that overlooks the Atlantic ocean.It's 689 ft. tall. It was built on the water because in Qur'an it says god'sthrone was built on the water. King Hassan II had it built in 1986, andwas inaugurated in 1993. King Hassan died in 1999. The Mosque hasglass floors, and has many mosaics, and paintings done by Moroccanartists. After visiting the King Hassan Mosque it looked like the king, andthe government played a big part of Moroccan life. I interviewed a youn

Moroccan that just got a job at the port of Casablanca. I asked him aboutthe government, and king. He stated that: "we don't like to talk about thegovernment, but the king has the final say in everything." He had heardstories about King Hassan II, King Mohammed VI's father, and howpeople that said bad things about the king could "disappear" without anexplanation.

Day 5: Today I'm going to visit a tribe of Tuareg in the desert. Aftergoing in, and out of air-conditioned cars, and buildings it was very hot inthe desert outside the city. I got on a Camel with a

departing Tuareg tribe. we traveled for one week before we got to theirland by an oasis. I have heard before that the Tuareg "wander" fromplace to place. However they have a very good idea of where they aregoing, and what land to farm on. They trek across the desert for suppliesthey cannot make or grow in the desert, and at their oasis. The Tuareghave adopted Islam as their primary religion. The Moroccan governmendoesn't like the Tuareg, and encourages them to blend in with the rest ofthe country.

Day 6: I am meeting my next host family today, and am leaving the desert.He is a tour guide that takes tourists through the big cities, and the desert. We

were headed to Essaouira, he tells me that in Essaouira tourism is the biggestindustry. There is an "old city", and "new city". The old city is an 18th centuryfortified town. There is also a "new city" that has hotels, and markets. A bigdraw for tourists are all of the small craft businesses, and shops. Essaouira hamany skilled crafts people. They do a lot of wood-work like cabinet making.

Day 7: We are going to the Medina Quarter of Essaouira, which is the maintourist attraction. The Medina Quarter of a city is a section, or district that issometimes walled off. They contain many shops, selling everything. However

they are much more than just a flee market. They contain historicallandmarks. They also show a lot about the cultures from what they sell, to whalandmarks they find important. There were many mosques, and religiouslandmarks, because Islam is extremely important in the Medina Quarter, andall of Morocco.

Day 8: Islam is so important I though I would find out more about thehistory of Islam in Morocco. We were going to go on a trip around Morocco tosee all of the religious sites, and learn more about the history of Islam there.Islam was brought to Morocco, and Africa from the Arabs that occupied North

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Africa in the Seventh Century. Morocco is a more liberal country than othercountries in the Arab world. However during Ramadan the rules of Islam arefollowed strictly. One of the biggest things that separates Morocco from therest of the Arab world is the women's rights in Morocco. King Mohammed VIhas enacted laws that are supposed to give them more rights. Walking downthe streets you can see people wearing traditional Muslim clothes, and more

Western-like clothes. Moroccans also consume, and brew alcohol which isagainst Islamic law.

Day 9: We went back up the coast line to Casablanca. I have all ready seenthe King Hassn II Mosque, which is a very big land mark. My host, a tourguide, However knows of more places to see, and some people that knows lotsabout Islam in Morocco. First we visited Sidi Abderrahman, a very old suburbof Casablanca. In Casablanca's suburbs most of the people are very religious,and there are some Muslim extremists there. This is definitely a part of townthe government isn't proud of, It has lots of shanty-towns. We met olderpeople that remember people that have"disappeared" for being extremists,and disagreeing with the king.

Day 10: Morocco is a very diverse place. A liberal Islam State that is verymodern but, still has religious extremists. We are back in Rabat, and it is mylast day in Morocco. It was a very interesting trip. I had been everywhere alonthe coastline, and even learned about the Tuareg in the desert. Morocco has aculture of it's own. It's economy is not just based on tourists, but also onshipping, and natural resources. Their government has a King, but tries tokeep to a Constitution. Morocco would be a fun place to go back to, and it was great trip.

Sam_Wanous Hour: 4-5 February 11, 2008