Updates and Details

So much has happened since we arrived, I hardly know where to pick the story up.  Our visit to the Hassan II mosque set an excellent tone for the last couple of days.  The mosque is touted as the third largest religious shrine in the world...and we all believe it.  The sheer size of it was overwhelming.  We were able to take photos, but the scale is very difficult to capture in a picture.  The walk around the courtyards and building (it houses 25,000 worshippers inside; over 100,000 total) took more than an hour.  We were able to even set a foot inside the building (unusual for religious places here) and had a really awesome time walking among the people.  Walking back in the rain, we were really thankful for our time at this religious center; and have so much to share about our visit.  That evening we walked through the medina.  What a maze of roads, alleys, shops and people.  It is so full of life. It is a little like our urban areas but the people are more engaging and in a sense friendly.  The next morning we were up early for a trip to Fez.  If you have a chance to check a map, it will give you a sense of our journey that day.  Fez is considered to be the heart of Morocco, and is a highly regarded religious:spiritual center of the country.  We considered it a ``must see`` on our journey as a key city of interest.  It was a super huge maze of alleys and streets with merchants and craftsmen at every turn.  A guide is strongly recommended for the old city but we attempted to negotiate it with our fabulous senses of direction and a handy compass.  Thankfully God sent us a teen to guide us as a gesture of friendship.  Unfortunately he was arrested toward the end of our visit and taken away in handcuffs by the police as an illegal guide.  I attempted to speak on his behalf, but the verdict was in.  We were able to see the royal palace of the current king of Morocco, as well as a lot of awesome craftsmen and their wares.  The mosques were off limits to foreigners, but we did walk by many of them.  There was a very strong sense of greed there, so if it does indeed represent the heart of Morocco, there may be some concern.  On the train ride back we sat across from a couple visiting from Senegal.  I somehow recognized a couple of words the woman spoke in Jola, and it ended up she is from the same small town in southern Senegal our friend Gilbert Lambert lives in.  Coincidence?  We had good conversation in French.  This morning our bus left early to the city of Marrakech.  The ride revealed more of the landscape of the country, with large mountains starting to rise on the horizon.  We were not far from the tallest peak in Northern Africa...over 12,000 feet.  Marrakech is a vibrant and rather wealthy city.  There are businesses throughout the new city, with evidence of economic growth everywhere.  The medina is full of shops and places to eat, with a very active kasbah where we found some delicious olives.  It is very tourist oriented, with an active square where all manner of freaks hang out.  Contortionists, snake charmers, boxing matches, magicians, musicians, and all kinds of people selling their goods are there.  It is an exciting place to visit.  We walked over 4 miles in the city as we visited the mosques and even a church.  On the train ride back to Casablanca we met two businessmen on their way home.  We had great conversation on the trip, and the conversation eventually turned to faith and religion.  Since we are visiting the home town of one of the men tomorrow, he gave me his telephone number to call and get together when we are in town to continue the conversation.  We are all tired today and in need of rest.  More later.