Casablanca/

Gibraltar

Cartagena

Friday, March 24—Monday, March 27

The country pace now picks us with sequential stops in , and . Weather, although cool and windy with an occasional rain shower has really not been a factor in our enjoyment of these visits. The Grand in is above.

Friday, March 24, Casablanca, Morocco

Our visit to Casablanca and Rabat in Morocco signifies that we have made it across the and have reached . For those of us who only think of Casablanca in terms of Humphrey and Ingrid and are looking for romantic intrigue, the bruising crush of the morning traffic will bring you to another reality. Casablanca is a city of 6 million and it is the commercial hub of Morocco. It is the third largest port in Africa and although the French influence is seen everywhere, the streets are mayhem. Interesting to me was the fact the most prevalent car here is the Foton, made in Romania. We willed our bus driver to shoulder through the city traffic and head for Rabat, the political capital of Morocco. Once outside the city the 50-minute drive northward was made in comfort on very modern roads and highways. The countryside is beautiful and you can understand why the King has his palace in Rabat, rather than Casablanca. We happen to be visiting on the same day that the King of Jordan is in Rabat to visit with the King of Morocco. We were fortunate enough to be able to spend considerable time with our guide, the mother of two teenage daughters. She shared the increasingly posi- tive things about and she was genuinely more concerned about what was going on America than the 11% unem- ployment rate in her country. If she represented the Moroccan people, then their major question is: “What is your new President trying to do?” A cogent question for sure. Our visit to Rabat was highlighted by a visit to the outside of the King’s Palace as well as a sense of the fact that he has been good for this country. Hospitals and schools have been high on his list of priorities, although the military has not been slighted. Lots of uniformed, mostly men, in green as soldiers, grey as police and red as palace guards. But indicative of change is the fact that the guide’s daughter is in training to become an engineer or mechanic in the Royal Moroccan . We took the scenic shore road back to Casablanca, arriving back at the mosque at about the time of prayers. Completed about 20 years ago, it is magnificent and built out over the sea. Very impressive to see about 8 to 9 thousand leaving the mosque after prayers. Morocco is very welcoming of various religions and there are dozens of and catholic or protestant churches in Casablanca.

Approaching the King’s Palace in Rabat. Notice the damp pavement and the de- parting rain clouds to the left. The red flag is the flag of Morocco, the red, white, black and green flag is the , honor- ing the visit of Jordan’s king.

The King’s Mosque is adjacent to the palace.

Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat

Palace Guard at the Mausoleum The “Unfinished Mosque”

Blue has special meaning in Rabat

The Grand Mosque

In Casablanca The Exodus after Prayers. Friday Noontime prayers are the most well attended, but there were over 8000 here.

The once exotic and world class hotel is now pretty well run down.

Omnipresent—McDonalds and Soldiers In Morocco, manner of dress is for the most part a matter of per- sonal choice. Women may be covered or uncovered and western wear is accepted in all but the most conservative of groupings. Men likewise are seen with the fez as seen here. Men also tend to wear a long robe with a hood, particularly in cool weather. It is re- ally a hoodie with a long skirt and it makes a lot of sense in the windy seacoast areas such as Casablanca and Rabat.

Saturday, March 25, Gibraltar, UK

The approach to Gibraltar was, as always, impressive. It was very windy, but clear. Having been to Gibraltar before, we made no plans other than to take a walk and stretch our legs. As some of you will remember, the last time we were here, we visited the Gibraltar Apes in their “den” and Ellen was bitten by a female. She was really doing nothing that could in any way provoke this and maybe the lady ape was just being overprotecive of here nearby child. At any rate, it was fortunate that Ellen was wearing a leather sleeved jacket and alt- hough bruised, the skin was not broken. I remember that the ship’s crew was very concerned had the skin been broken. So, it was a quiet day, shortened by a loss of another hour for a shift. Gibraltar, still remains strategically important because of its location. Not so much militarily at the moment, but it is a major port and refueling stop for those about to complete or just completing an Atlantic crossing. Sort of reminds one of Singapore as you see so many ships at anchor.

I think the picture says it all. Cool and Windy as the ship approaches Gibraltar.