After my long hike into the Rif mountains yesterday and equally long soak in the tub, I awake today with no aches or pains, which suggests that one way or another I must be getting fitter as I travel the world. Our first travel activity of the day is the rather less attractive chore of moving rooms. Apparently someone had pre-booked ours, so we have to move to noticeably less appealing room. As usual we eke out as much time as possible in the idyllic room and our inferior room is only for one night. Tomorrow we leave Chefchaouen for the famed city of Casablanca. For the moment, though, we have one last chance to explore the medina and today we focus on the red-hued Kasbah which overlooks the Plaza Uta el-Hamman.
The Kasbah or fortress dates to the 18th century. It was built by that legendary ruler of Morocco Moulay Ismail, although it has been heavily restored over the years. The Kasbah includes an ethnographic museum and art gallery surrounded by gardens that offer a slice of peace and tranquility mere yards from the busy medina. The views from the ramparts over Chefchaouen and the Rif are delightful.
Perhaps the most famous prisoner to be housed in the Kasbah was Abd el-Krim, a Riffian political and military leader, between 1916-1917. He led a large-scale revolt of the Berber tribes in the Rif mountains against the colonial powers of France and Spain, culminating in the establishment of the short-lived Rif Republic (this sounds like something out of Star Wars!). Apparently the guerilla tactics so successfully employed by Abd el-Krim later influenced Ho Chi Minh, Mao Zedong, Che Guevera, and Luke Skywalker in their fights against tyranny.
Christi is once again craving American fast food, but there is no McDonald’s in town. In fact we cannot find a burger joint of any description in Chefchaouen, so Christi resigns herself to more Moroccan fare in the medina. And once again the local cat population benefits greatly from Christi’s largesse. Tomorrow night we will be in Casablanca and according to the Lonely Planet, McDonald’s has invaded that iconic town. The cats may be salivating now, but it will be Christi’s turn tomorrow. I think we might need to buy another pregnancy test kit as well. Craving this much McDonald’s is just not normal.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
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