Agadir & Taroudant

[deirdre]

Agadir's climate is much drier than in the north, about like much of California. It doesn't get much rain; naturally (under the "you will experience atypical weather rule), it was completely enveloped in clouds when we arrived. Still, it's much wetter than the Sahara region of Morocco further south. There were many stretches where we saw the endemic tree, the argan tree. The oil is used in cooking and cosmetics. Goats love to eat the fruit, so you'll sometimes see goats up in the trees.

Our guide, Ahmed, was funny and charming, dressed in traditional robes. He was missing a few teeth.

Agadir is almost entirely modern as a 5.7 earthquake flattened the city in 1960, killing 17,000 people. We saw the port, but drove to a mint tea stop, then onto the much older city of Taroudant, specifically its medina (old city, generally walled). Were it not for the few cars and some people in western dress (almost all of whom were men), it could easily have been another century. In contrast with the north, we saw far fewer women without veils, most in abayas, and a few women in niqab (more older women than younger). For niqab wearers, tie dye wasn't uncommon, and purple-and-forest green was an unusually common combination.

When I caught someone's eye, particularly a woman or girl, I'd say "bonjour." About 1/3 of the time, they'd say the same; 1/3 of the time, they'd smile but say nothing, and 1/3 of the time, no response. One young mother turned to her daughter and said, "Elle a dit bonjour!" Very cute.

Our first visit was to a women's cooperative that extracted argan and made products with it, so we got some oil and soap, as well as a Moroccan spice blend. Outside, Rick made a friend with a mama cat who flopped down next to him, then immediately spooked. After that, we spent time stopping at several places in the souk, which wound through the center of the medina in an impossible convolutions Escher would be proud of. It's the kind of district that grows organically over time; sometimes inside, sometimes outside, sometimes covered, sometimes not. Our guide bought a bag of oranges, so we each got one. Perfect timing, as we'd walked a couple of miles and I was getting hungry.

On the way back, we stopped at Agadir's kasbah. Up on a hill overlooking Agadir, it has a beautiful view of the city and most of the port. Men with camels were there, offering rides. I don't know the deal here, but in Egypt, they'll let you get on for free, then charge you to get off. One woman in Egypt got taken for 20 euros in Egypt and the tourist police had to intervene, which involved a lot of screaming in Arabic.

Overall, school in Morocco isn't compulsory. The literacy rate was said to be around 75%, but there were a lot of "ėcrivain public" (scribes), which suggests a lower level of functional literacy.