New friends, old family

Monday was incredible. After breakfast with Molly, we walked a short distance to the heart of the medina in Meknes. Molly really knows her way around and that helped tremendously. We just poked around the shops, ran into people Molly knows and grabbed a tagine (chicken & veggie stew cooked in a crock over coals). Next stop, the Moulay Ismail mausoleum. It's mostly open to the public and it's free. The multiple, nested rooms are defined by increasingly complicated tile mosaic patterns and columns.

From there we made our way by taxi to Molly's part of town. It's about 2 miles from where we're staying. The cab ride costs us 84 cents! We toured Molly's huge apartment and met all of her 5 roommates. Some of her friends joined us for dinner at a trendy cafe for shwarma (kind of like gyros) and fries.

Afterward (here's where the amazing part happened), we were invited to meet one of the host families. It was a short walk from the cafe to the home of Dr. Abdullah and Wafta Abdu whose daughter Fathi studies at the same university as the ISA kids. We were treated to an amazing second dinner of cous-cous, fresh breads, olives, lentils, etc. The conversation was a mix of English (Fathi & us), German (Abdullah and me), French (Wendy and Abdullah), Darija (Molly, the family & Molly's friend Kelly) and lots of laughing. Fathi's 10 year-old brother, Mohammed Ali (yes, Fathi calls him 'the boxer') entertained all of us with his sly refusal to acknowledge anything we said although he obviously understood both English and French, along with his native Darija (Moroccan Arabic). We were so genuinely welcomed to their beautiful, modern and thoroughly Moroccan home. Many photos were taken, hugs exchanged and warmth shared. Abdullah drove us back to our riad around midnight. He wanted to accompany us to the room, but we convinced him we could find it on our own.

It was probably one of the greatest displays of gracious giving I'd ever experienced. We will never forget these remarkable people and have just a little better understanding of the Moroccan heart.

Wendy's note: Ditto to everything Tim said. All the guidebooks have talked about the warmth and generosity of the Moroccan people and we experienced it tenfold! Bless the Abdu family - they are wonderful!

Now you're probably wondering if there has been any downside to the trip so far. I have only one word for Moroccans: Charmin. But now that we know to carry a roll with us, that situation should improve... :) Now, on to Fes!!