Children in Sefrou near Fes in Morocco
On our wanderings through the town of Sefrou near the city of Fes in Morocco, I came across these children playing in the street. I thought they might be like all children and eager to pose for a photograph. This group was a little different and were somewhat reluctant.
Eventually they did line up for a photo.
Perhaps the language barrier had something to do with their reluctance, but I eventually communicated what I wanted them to do.
Public water fountain in Sefrou, near Fes in Morocco
When one travels overseas, especially to developing countries like Ethiopia and Morocco, one starts to appreciate how well off we are living in places like Australia. The poignant scene shown in the photo above shows that not all people in Morocco have reticulated water in their homes.
This woman is at the public fountain in the street, filling a series of water containers to take home. We grumble if our water supply is cut off for pipeline repairs or maintenance, even if this is only for an hour or two. Imagine having to go a distance down the street to collect water on a daily basis.
In more rural areas we saw people riding their donkeys great distances in order to reach a reliable source of water.
We take far too many things for granted here in Australia.
Sefrou, near Fes in Morocco
Sefrou, near Fes in Morocco
Sefrou, near Fes, Morocco
Some of the buildings in the town of Sefrou near Fes in Morocco are badly in need of repair, as is illustrated in the photo above. Some have indeed collapsed and others seem destined for the same fate. Sadly, many of the locals probably do not have enough disposable cash to deal with the problem. Many of the poorer quarters we travelled through or visited were like this, and it was sad to see. Far too many seem to be simply just surviving.
Some basic amenities we take for granted here in Australia are simply not available. We all assume we will have safe drinking reticulated water right into our homes, and we get upset if the water supply is cut for repairs for even an hour or two. Notice the man in photo above. He is carrying two water containers to the public fountain to the right of where I was standing.
Sefrou, near Fes, Morocco
Sefrou, near Fes, Morocco
Washing hanging out in Sefrou, Morocco
One of the smaller towns we visited on our tour of Morocco was Sefrou, a short 30km drive from Fes. This town was just as fascinating as any of the larger cities we explored, and over the coming days I’ll share some of the photos taken during our visit.
Today I show just 2 photos. Below features our guide, Said, and some of the tour group. Said was exceptional in his knowledge of his country. He was also very considerate of each member of the touring group and we were immediately at ease with him.
Above is a quick snap I took of washing hanging out to dry. In many of the places we visited we were able to mix with the local people going about their everyday activities. In that regard one could say that we really experienced the genuine people, their culture and lifestyle. Although we did visit a large number of obvious tourist oriented sites, we were never far from the authentic experience of Morocco.
The photo above also shows some of the ancient fortified wall of the town. Such walls are a feature of many of the older towns and cities in Morocco.
Our guide (left) and some of our tour group, Morocco
Owners of a small restaurant in Fes, Morocco
There were many highlights on our tour of Morocco. One of them was finding delightful little shops or hidden away restaurants. During our stay in Fes we found this delightful little family restaurant right next door to the hotel where we were staying. We could have dined in style in the hotel restaurant but this eatery had so much more character.
It wasn’t huge; it had enough seating for about 6 to 8 people; there were no more chairs, and the dining room was hardly a room at all. The cooking and counter took up half the room, and some equipment had to flow out onto the footpath. Most of the customers were people passing by, grabbing a bite to eat on their way to work or back home. The establishment was run by the lady shown in the photo above, assisted by her young daughter.
The mother could only understand a few words of English but the daughter spoke it fluently. We engaged her in conversation and found out she was working her way through university, studying to be a teacher. My wife, daughter and I are all teachers, so we found this very encouraging. My guess is that not many Moroccan girls are teachers, and few go to university. Women in the professions are most definitely in the minority in this country, but this is changing.
We were very pleased to support this family and their tiny restaurant on several occasions during our stay.
And the food was delicious.