Today's fun fact is from our family history buff, Matthew. Morocco was the first country in the world to recognize the United States as a country after it declared independence in 1776. They recognized the United States as an independent country in 1777, helping to promote American independence and gaining credibility for the United States. Thanks Morocco!
Present day Morocco is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the prime minister of Morocco is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a parliament and an independent judiciary. There are two
chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives of Morocco and the Assembly of Councillors.
The current King of Morocco is Mohammed VI. He was born in 1963 and is a member of the Alaouite dynasty and ascended to the throne in 1999 following the death of his father, King Hassan II. The royal 'Alawi dynasty has reigned over Morocco since the 17th century. In the early 20th century, the European powers vied for power in Morocco. Sultan Abd al-Aziz IV displeased Moroccans by cooperating with the Europeans and was deposed in 1908. His brother, Abd al-Hafiz, took the throne but abdicated after the kingdom became a French protectorate in 1912. He was succeeded by his brother Yusuf.
Yusuf's son Mohammed V, who became sultan in 1927, was a widely respected nationalist. He was deposed by the French in 1953, but the French returned Mohammed V to his throne in 1955. Morocco became independent the following year and Mohammed took the title of king.Mohammed V died in 1961 and was succeeded by his son, King Hassan II. Although he was accused of human rights abuses, Hassan II is credited with maintaining unity in Morocco and working toward peace in the Middle East. While Hassan II and Mohammed VI have relinquished some power, ultimately the king retains control over most of Morocco's governmental decisions.
Fes is largely surrounded by relatively flat farmland. About 40 minutes out of Fes we began to climb in elevation and were surrounded by rolling hills mostly planted with crops of grain, periodic olive groves, and occasionally oranges in lower elevations. The higher hills and mountains in the distance were forested. There were some small herds of sheep, and occasionally a few cows and donkeys, but mostly the area was cropland with infrequent small towns. In uncultivated areas next to the road there were frequent areas of prickly pear cactus full of buds and nearing bloom, while other areas had red poppies and other wildflowers in bloom. Overall it was a a very green landscape.
Salad from lunch we had en-route to Chefchaouen.
As we were driving our guide warned us that Chefchaouen was the hashish capital of Morocco and that Morocco was the second largest producer of hashish in the world behind Afghanistan. He told us that we are likely to be approached in Chefchaouen by locals offering to sell us "Moroccan chocolate", AKA hashish.
As we got closer to Chefchaouen the terrain became more mountainous, with less cropland and more trees and natural vegetation. At one point a car passed us going quickly and our driver said "tourists", followed by an explanation that there are many speed traps on this road. He said the fine for speeding was 700 dh, or about 2 weeks wages, so he is careful to not speed.
Chefchaouen is known as the "blue city", for its buildings and walls in various shades of blue. We were fortunate to arrive on a Monday, as Mondays and Thursdays are market day. Out hotel was in the medina, so we had to walk the last half mile or so to the hotel. On the way to our hotel we had to walk through the market area where they were selling a large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The prices were very inexpensive, 4 dh for 1/2 kilo of strawberries. That is less than 40 cents a pound for fresh, juicy local strawberries.
May the force be with you. There are lots of Jedi Knights walking around here.
Once we got to our hotel we quickly did some laundry since we would be staying in Chefchaouen two nights and clothing would have a chance to dry. We then went as a group on a walking tour of town, seeing some of the same sights as when we walked to the hotel, but with more time for pictures and to buy some items. We ended with a walk up to the Spanish Mosque located on a hill above town and with panoramic views.
After the walk we had dinner outside on the main square, and then returned to to the hotel about 10 PM.
Love the blue!
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