Ah, Nature!

This week I finally got to return to what I love: Nature. I left last Thursday, the 22nd to go to Beni Ammar, the village where Faisal's family is from (about 2 hrs west of Fes). I stayed at his Grandmothers house, which was this amazing old villa over looking her acres of farmland in the valleys below. The first night I spent laying on the terrace with Sue and Khadija (Faisal's Grandma) on sheepskins and pillows under the balcony where ripe grapes were hanging from a very mature vine. The moon was full that night, and we watched it rise over the hill over looking her house and looked at pictures I brought from Tucson of my friends and family and also of Jessie and Faisal and kin. The next day we woke up early to head out to Volubilis or "Oualili" in Arabic, which is the site of ancient Roman ruins from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Since I have never been to Europe, I haven't ever seen any historical sites this old before. My love fore history was definitely awakened while I wandered about the ruined houses, admiring the amazing mosaics floors which are in great condition. Sue, Farah and I strolled down the grand Decumanus Maximus, the wide, two-lane road dissecting the site. The drainage/sewage system the Romans constructed under marble slabs down the center of the road is still in working order. Not only that, but some remarkable arches were still in tact, among them the marble Triumphal Arch built to honor the Emperor Caracalla. But the highlight was really the mosaics. They depicted everything from complex geometric patters to dolphins to intricate scenes out of Roman mythology including the Labours of Hercules, Medusa, Diana, Orpheus, etc, etc. Unfortunately we were a bit rushed due to the mid-day heat and our lunch date at Faisal's uncle's home back in the village.

That night, Beni Ammar began their annual festival which looked very promising: Ganawa music, magician shows, an art expedition, and my favorite attraction, a contest for the most beautiful donkey. Unfortunately I could only stay for the first night and missed the donkey contest and the music, but that just means I'll have to return someday. Every year this festival is becoming bigger and bigger which is great because Beni Ammar is a historical place and the more people come to visit it, the more money will go into preserving it. Faisal's uncle Abdel Haq is on the board for this festival and gave me lots of information about it as well as introducing me to the rest of the board and some French philanthropists who were there for the 4th time.

I left the next day back to Fes, and because there were no taxis down the mountain to Nzala, my friend and I decided to just walk. It turned out to be quite a beautiful trek through the mountainside, through olive groves and beautiful pastures. I'll admit, I was a little hesitant at times, since we didn't really know where we were going, only that it was down, but I was in good company and seized the opportunity to take some really nice shots.

Once I was back in Fes, I was off once again, this time east of Fes to Taza to visit Hanane's sister Samira and her new husband. Despite what I had heard, Taza is a lovely little city nestled between the Rif Mountains to the North and the Middle Atlas to the south. The weather was cooler than it had been in weeks, and Samira's apartment always had a nice breeze blowing through it. The second day I was there, Samira's husband came home from work and after a delicious lunch of stuffed eggplant and tomato salad (really...I could just write about the food) we set off to go spelunking in the Groffre du Friouato. The drive itself was absolutely spectacular...I think I had my head sticking out the window like a dog the whole ride. We saw small farming villages on the way up, one which is actually preserved by Unicef as a historical site. The caves are said to be the deepest and possibly most extensive in North Africa, although they have never been fully explored to date. The main chamber is a 100m vertical drop. At the bottom of this chamber is a hole which you climb through to reach the really good stuff. It is over 500 steps to get to the hole, and then another 200 or so to the next chamber. It is a living cave, and therefor very wet and muddy. Samira stayed outside the hole and me and her husband descended below, flashlights in hand. I have never been spelunking before; the only caves I have been in have been like Kartchner Caverns in Arizona, where you can walk through on well-lit paved walkways. This was quite the opposite; it was a belly-crawling, butt-scooting, muddy good time. I could only get a taste of the amazing formations around us, due to lack of power in our flashlights; but what I did see was very impressive. Draperies, stalactites, stalagmites...I wish I had brought my camera inside! It was a little depressing though, because there was a lot of damage done to the cave. Broken off formations, graffiti, litter...not very well protected. And from everything I learned from the guided tour at Kartchner Caverns about living caves, I'm afraid this cave is in danger of losing much of its majesty due to stupid humans. Hopefully the Moroccan government will someday soon start a campaign to protect more of its natural wonders. Standing at the opening of the main chamber of the cave, I had a wonderful moment where I witnessed the beauty of God's great earth. I can only pray that generations of Moroccans and tourists alike can witness this place in the same condition (if not better) that I saw it.

On Tuesday I am heading off to the Moroccan-Algerian border to Ouijda (wij-da) and there is plans in the works for a wedding in Tangier the north and a trip to the Sahara in the south. But nothing is ever for sure in Morocco; plans change a quickly as they are made...so all I can say is "insha Allah" or God Willing.