Morocco. Red beautiful country
In our "great and mighty", the word "red" (as well as many other words, by the way) does not have a single definite meaning. Therefore, speaking about this state, I want to say the country is red-beautiful, like a red flag or a fire engine, and beautiful-red, like a red girl or Red Square. Everything is true! The state is called the Kingdom of Morocco. The country is an adornment of the Black Continent! Don't believe? Okay. . . Follow me! And I will show you the homeland of Ali Baba and oriental beauties, the land of caravans, camels and oases, a country washed by the Atlantic Ocean and warmed by the hot sun of the Sahara desert.
When the plane is landing, you get the feeling that you are landing... on Mars. Red mountains, red earth, in the distance - incomprehensible buildings of pink hues. Yep, chassis touch. With tension, you are waiting for the appearance of the "Martians". And they appear.
…The officer at the customs desk looked at me sternly, compared the image with the photo in my passport and… smiled broadly: “Welcome”. I’ll make a reservation right away: for all the time of my bliss in Morocco, this was the first and last meticulously stern expression on my face. Everyone smiles. There was a strong impression that everyone there was happy to see me there. The smile is the emblem of the country. And it is true. My wife and I visited different Moroccan cities, where we wandered along very non-tourist routes, went to the desert, where people live in labor and cares, spoke with representatives of different segments of the population... Everyone is greeted with a smile! Lovely custom.
By the way, about the abundance of red. Here, the soil contains a lot of iron and clay, which is why the earth looks like it has been watered with blood. Should I talk about the color of the national flag? Yes, yes, a green five-pointed star is located in the very center of a bright red flag.
The images on the banners are easy to see and remember. Flags are everywhere. As well as portraits of the king. And patriotism without fanaticism. No one requires any special attitude to state attributes, but the Moroccans themselves look at the flag with pride, and roll their eyes reverently at the mention of the king. Even in the desert, stopping for a bite to eat in one of the poor huts in the oasis, we were frankly surprised - a framed portrait of the royal family flaunted on the wall, cut out of a black and white newspaper...
The roots of such reverence and respect are understandable. The ruling monarch (like his father) gives all his strength, energy, thoughts to his native country. He does not buy foreign football clubs, multi-meter yachts and does not run around with people's money in Courchevel, but, for example, he continues his father's work - he builds reservoirs near every major city. These are real seas. They say that a city next to such a reservoir can live without a single rain for 12 years! What is water for the desert - no need to say. I saw those bodies of water. I would also love such a ruler!
On mighty dams, as well as in other prominent places (for example, on a tall mountain in the resort of Agadir), the Moroccan motto flaunts: "God, Motherland, King. " And this is probably the main rule of the life of the state. What other values can a person, a citizen have?
By the way, the "family values" of the Moroccans play a big cementing role in society. Take, for example, the "diversity" of the population in terms of ethnic composition: half are Arabs, half are Berbers, a small number of Jews, French... There has not been a single internal conflict - territorial, religious-ethnic, cultural - here, and I am sure there will not be. Do you remember the motto of the kingdom…
Remember the events in northern Africa ten years ago? Tunisia erupted with demonstrations, then Egypt shuddered from pogroms, Algeria, Libya, Syria is still being reconciled, and in the neighboring state of Morocco, only a few dozen people “festivalized”, and even then, “for the company”. This is what god, homeland, king mean...
The wish of the monarch is considered an order here, and the instruction is considered a law. A few years ago, the head of state decided to develop tourism in the country. Citizens "took under the visor. " Today, tourism ranks second in the country's budget revenue item! The economy depends on the "come in large numbers here. " And there are still few Russians among the stream. And it's worth going there!
When I ended up in Marrakech (one of the four imperial cities of Morocco, the third largest city in the country after Casablanca and Rabat), I realized that I was in a fairy tale from "1000 and one nights. " Everything is amazing there. The largest mosque in the city and the most “famous” in the world, the Koutoubia mosque (the minaret of which was rebuilt due to a mistake by the architects - the guys “wrong” with the definition of the cardinal direction, for which they paid with their heads), is good because its minaret is crowned with four copper balls. The legend says that originally they were made of pure gold, and there were only three of them (the balls). The fourth one was donated by the wife of the ruler of the XII century to atone for the fact that during Ramadan one day she could not stand the fast. Tormented by remorse, the young lady ordered to melt all her gold jewelry and make a fourth ball out of them. Story? They shine like real ones...
The souq (bazaar) of Marrakech is the theater of a million actors. On the streets - sometimes no more than a meter wide - everything is sold in the openings of houses. Antique lamps (I know for sure that if you dig, you will definitely find a lamp with a genie there), pointed slippers - grandmothers (that's the genies in such and such they go), carpets (airplanes? ), "gold-diamonds", fabrics, skins, here is a flock of girls - are they really concubines? . .
The Majorelle Garden is a separate story. Well, many representatives of the world flora are collected in a very small area. Fantastic shapes and sizes of cacti, intoxicating, fragrant plants, incomprehensible shades and colors of trunks, leaves, fruits... All flowers bloom here. But most of all, of course, cacti. Collected one by one from all over the world, they drive you crazy with their sizes, shapes, colors. This is truly a real wonder of the world.
And the goldfish in the ponds? And the turtles looking at you sadly? . . Eh, Yves Saint Laurent was right in spending a lot of time and money to restore and maintain the Majorelle Garden. The master fell in love with this place so much that he bequeathed to scatter his ashes here after his death. The couturier's will was executed in 2008. He wanted to stay in the legend. . .
Marrakesh is always beautiful. But if you have time in the evening, by all means step to the Jem el-Fna square. That's where the holiday, action, delight and horror. Only here is all the beauty, culture, history. Snake charmers and acrobats, henna readers and painters, musicians, dancers and water vendors… A cacophony of sounds and sights. A real fairy tale, a legend, a myth. . . Right there, on the square, there are thousands of food vendors: fried lamb heads and unique seafood, oriental sweets and freshly squeezed juices are on the shelves. Everything sizzles, smokes and smells amazing. Forget hygiene. This concept is not known here. By the way, trying everything and everything there (and you won’t be able to overcome yourself either), not a single time did I use any medications. Maybe it all depends on the mood? Or from magic?
There are absolutely no traffic rules in Jama El Fna Square. There are no sidewalks, zebras, traffic lights. There are no road signs and there are no familiar traffic cops! Everyone flies on mopeds, bicycles, carts (this is the type of taxi here). I jumped away from the very orthodoxly wrapped up (only eyes are visible! ) motor scooter drivers and smiled at the rickshaws in bewilderment. The cops winked in approval. I have not seen a single accident during my stay in this amazing country. To whom you tell, they will answer - a fairy tale.
The desert is a separate layer of Moroccan national pride. Having managed to survive here, they proved to everyone the strength of their spirit and the power of their will. They conquered her. Of course, culture, way of life, national dress - everything was formed in unity and struggle with this natural area. But now it is absolute harmony.
Contemplating the ocean of endless waves-dunes, you somehow perceive the mentality of local residents with their slowness and prudence in a different way, finally the philosophical thoughts of the eastern sages reach, there is a clear awareness of your mortal place in the world order...
I am silent about the heat. The hot sand burns through the soles so much that my precious wife could only get out of the car and take two steps. Then she watched my dashes from cactus to cactus, trying not to “fall out” of the shadows. And now I know that only very strong, "heat-resistant" people can live and exist here. . .
“There will be an oasis soon, ” our guide-guide, Jamal “Ivanovich” (once he studied in Ivanovo, where he learned Russian and acquired a “patronymic”), said, looking at how we were “flattened”, “we will go there and rest. ”
Expecting to see a picturesque lake surrounded by palm trees, antelopes and birds of paradise, we must say that we were disappointed with the scenery.
A simple “village” with several yards, stones underfoot, and somewhere below (it doesn’t look at all like the usual mountain gorge, rather, a deep, deep ravine) a banana grove is visible, hiding a stream-stream with its greenery.
In a room where there is neither air conditioning nor a fan, it is cozy and cool. Probably, the Berbers still have some kind of architectural secret of their own - for example, I just don’t understand how you can live in Krasnodar, Rostov or Volgograd in the summer without euro windows and a split system, but here it’s still the Sahara!
The food also does not please with variety, but what a beauty in its simplicity! Everything is cooked in a tajine (a clay pan - a plate - a dish covered with a cone-shaped lid): couscous with meat, fish, vegetables... It turns out to be a very tasty stew. You can, of course, try the lamb thigh, but this is not for everyone.
The "brand" of Morocco is tea. They themselves laughingly call it "Berber whiskey". Again, in this "dish" everything is simple, like everything ingenious is simple - a good bunch of mint and a lot of sugar are added to the strongest green tea. They are served in small glass cups like in Turkey (in our villages they are also called piles). Now imagine what kind of energy charge the body receives from one such “dose”!
Alcohol is worse here. Muslim country - well, it is not customary to drink here. In all the cafes they sit only with tea and only men who, turning towards the entrance, can watch the life passing by for hours. Restaurants "for visitors" have wine, but still you have to go to other countries of the world for this drink.
And in Morocco, you have to buy, get enough of all sorts of citrus fruits (there are so many of them here that I have never seen some of these tangerine oranges, even in books). For lovers of olives and olives, this is just a place of "political" asylum. In any bough (bazaar) they rise with some incredible architectural compositions, and these mountains are an endless ridge. With a lot of seasonings, salted and pickled, green, yellow and brown... And spices! It's just a heaven of spices! Everything smells, your head is spinning, you can try everything, you don’t understand anything anymore, you can bargain - but why, you bought one, they gave you three! . .
Another of the symbols of this kingdom is the argan tree. Berbers call it the tree of life, because it provides them with material for construction, fuel, food for people and food for animals (goats, by the way, are not too lazy to climb tree branches in search of tasty leaves and fruits). But the main “field of application” of the argan tree is the “extraction” of oil and medicines. Argan seed oil is considered one of the most expensive plant products in the world, comparable in price to black caviar. It is rich in vitamins and is used for different purposes, depending on the degree of purification. It is added to cosmetics, as it is believed that it moisturizes and rejuvenates the skin (and this is really true - the oil is rich in vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids, which can easily penetrate the skin and cell membranes and play a primary role in moisturizing cells, nourishing them and reproduction), doctors treat them with atherosclerosis, chicken pox and rheumatism. A couple of drops of oil added to a salad or tajine gives the food a delicate aroma and taste, they are filled with lamps and lamps...
In a word, you have to go here. It all needs to be absorbed. Morocco is paradise. Of course, I have not yet been in the present, in the next world, but I already imagine (even sure) how it should look.
