Back from Africa!

A summary of my trips to Córdoba, Sevilla, Casablanca and Tangier before beginning classes this week!

I can scarcely believe that I’ve been in four different cities over the past week and a half! Following our month of Intensivo, or Intensive Language Review, my AHA group spent four days in the amazing cities of Córdoba and Sevilla/Seville before real courses began this week. After a two-week Italian adventure with friends, I can honestly say that tagging along on a pre-planned, pre-paid trip was extremely relaxing. I love the way AHA structured the trips, by balancing the amount of historic tours with copious amounts of free time. At times, the trip seemed disorganized because promptness was not strictly enforced, meaning we got behind schedule several times. On the bright side, it was nice not to be treated like a high school tour group in which students are smothered by a plethora of rules.

After a 3.5 hour bus ride to Córdoba, we spent the day touring. Our first stop was the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (“Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs”). This fortress, which appears Islamic, was constructed under Christian rule and served as a primary residence of Christian monarchs. It was also a garrison for Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops and a prison. Currently, it is a tourist attraction and national monument containing beautifully manicured gardens and fountains.


Gardens & fountains of Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos.

Our second tour was of the Mezquita (Spanish for “mosque”), famous for its giant candycane-like arches. The third largest mosque in the world, the Mezquita was re-dedicated as a Christian place of worship after being conquested, and has a large Roman Catholic cathedral built inside. Probably the best part about Córdoba was our group trip to the Hamman-Baños Árabes, or traditional Arab baths, after the Mezquita. Traditional Arab baths feature three different types of water: lukewarm, heated, and icy cold. The Romans used bathhouses as a place to conduct business and socialize, and entered the lukewarm and heated baths first to relax, and ended with an icy cold plunge as a means of rejuvenating the body. Our stay lasted about an hour and a half and included personalized 15-minute professional massages. What a deal!


The Mezquita’s famous arches.

We arrived in Sevilla/Seville late in the evening after spending the day in Córdoba. As the third largest city in Spain and the capital of Andalucia, Sevilla is monstrously huge in comparison to Granada, but more spread out, and thus, a more favorable place to stay in for a prolonged period of time. We toured Roman ruins in the outskirts of town, which featured an amphitheatre where gladiators once battled. If you recall from the movie Gladiator, Russell Crowe’s character was nicknamed “the Spaniard,” and this amphitheatre is the reason why.


Ruins of the Roman amphitheatre in Sevilla.

Also in Sevilla is a Gothic/Baroque Cathedral, the third largest in the world after St. Peter’s in Italy and St. Paul’s in London. The structure is simply breathtaking and a trip up to the top of its tower, the Giralda, is a definite must!


Amazing façade of Sevilla’s Cathedral.

Another noteworthy structure in Sevilla is the Plaza de España, which is used for government affairs, but is visually stunning as the epitome of Moorish Revival of Spanish architecture. As a side note, this building is used as the setting for Naboo in Star Wars: Episode II.


The Plaza de España in Sevilla.

Many program students ended up departing for their 4-day vacations from Sevilla, but a select few of us journeyed back to Granada. One of thee beauties about being in Europe is the ease of traveling to other countries for brief periods of time. Small groups of our AHA brood headed to Paris, the Canary Islands, Barcelona, Portugal, and (my “group”) Morocco!

The day after arriving home from Sevilla, my fellow UPS/AHA buddy, Alex, and took a five-hour bus ride to Madrid, and an evening flight to Casablanca (Casa). I’m not going to lie: I am extremely glad I was traveling with a guy, and I highly recommend any girl do the same. Both Casablanca and Tangier, the other city we visited, were full of local Muslim women and men, and hardly any tourists. Thus, Alex and I stuck out like sore thumbs and were occasionally the victims of minor tourists traps.

The first occurred when we caught a taxi from Casablanca airport to our hostel. A man dressed in a suit loaded our bags into a taxi, and then demanded payment. We had assumed he was the driver, but was actually running his own “bag-loading service” separate from the taxi ride. Thus, I highly recommend getting small currency immediately after changing your euros to dirhams (Moroccan currency). The rest were pretty minor, such as tour guides offering to show us the way to a particular location for a fee, or guys who would buddy up to Alex and eventually offer to sell him hashish. After a while, constant stares and catcalls from locals and pushy salesmen who attempt to lure you into their establishments certainly gets annoying, but on the whole, the people are harmless.

Casablanca’s main attraction is the giant Hassan II Mosque constructed in 1986 and dedicated in 1993. It’s an impressive modern structure and currently the second largest in the world after the mosque in Mecca, and home to the world’s tallest minaret.


Hassan II Mosque from afar.

Me in front of the mosque…just to give an idea of the size!

The mosque is surrounded by gorgeous beaches where fisherman and tanners work, and isn’t far from Rick’s Café, constructed in 2004 and modeled after the set of the movie Casablanca. Alex and I took lunch in this café and were excited to see familiar American entrees on the menu, including walnut brownies (Europe in general lacks brownies, along with peanut butter).


Rick’s Café, Casablanca.

After spending a full day in Casa, Alex and I spent an entire day standing in the aisles of overbooked trains on our way to Tangier. A very modern city situated alongside a long stretch of ocean, Tangier’s main stretch is crammed with hotels, restaurants, and discoteques. Thus, all we really did in Tangier was walk along the beach, check out the Arab markets, and hang out in our amazing hostel, Dar-Jameel, which was more like a luxury hotel than a hostel.


Beautiful beach in Tangier.

A Moroccan street market in Tangier.

In summary, I certainly enjoyed my time in Morocco, even though the stares and hissing from the Moroccan men certainly got annoying fast. One of the tragic features of Morocco is the amount of trash you find all over the streets and in the great green stretches of the countryside. It’s sad that Moroccans are quickly taken in by American products such as Coke and McDonald’s, but lack an efficient recycling or disposal system for waste products. In the end, I will certainly miss the freshly squeezed orange juice we receieved as part of our huge continental breakfasts, but won’t miss being flustered by constant communication barriers (French speakers will get by just fine; Spanish and English…not so much). For anyone wanting to visit Morocco, I would recommend doing what Alex and I didn’t do and spend a day in Marakesh to get your fill of camels and snake charmers.


A view of Tangier’s main strip from the gazebo of our hostel, Dar-Jameel.