Morocco, Day 3

We began our day with breakfast in the van on the way to a university classroom in Rabat.  We had a discussion scheduled with a professor there to discuss the "West and Islamic Worlds - Images about each other".  It was a good discussion, but we didn't really talk much about that topic, we basically asked a few questions we had, and our professor answered them...it wasn't too exciting.  We did learn a few interesting things though, so that was nice.  

After the discussions, we headed out to the Roman ruins of Chellah.  They were beautiful, and very fun to look through.  It was also interesting because there were dozens of giant storks all around, and all their babies had just hatched.  I'd never seen so many huge birds in one place in my life!

We also saw quite a few eels (how many strange animals are we up to now?), because there is an "Eel Pool" that had an interesting story to it...I don't remember it all, but legend said that if you threw pieces of hard boiled eggs into the eels and they ate your piece, you would soon become pregnant...something like that.  We bought some eggs, and a few people threw them in, but most of us didn't want to tempt fate.  :)

After Chellah, we went to a huge unfinished mosque and the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V.  A sultan adopted this as his project, which, if completed, would have been the biggest mosque in the world. However, the sultan died 5 years after the project began, and no one wanted to finish it out of respect for the passion he had for it.  A huge earthquake also damaged the mosque, so it is very interesting to visit because of the broken pillars of all different sizes.  

The mausoleum is also where the present king's father is buried, so the king often visits the mosque.  It is also still used for prayer, even though it is unfinished.  On Friday, the day of mandatory prayer at the mosque for Islamic men, the entire place is filled with prayer mats and men praying.  That would have been an amazing sight.  After seeing the sights, we went home for our lunch meal...another round of couscous.  

Lunch was delicious, and when we were full, we set out for our next activity, exploring the city with some Moroccan students.  Our student had flawless English, and was very smart and fun to hang out with.  He took us to get henna painted onto our hands, shopping in the souk, and then to a pool hall where he likes to hang out with his friends.  It was very cool to be shown the city by someone who really lives there.  

That evening, we had a meeting set up to talk with a Fulbright Scholar doing research in Morocco, and a member of the Peace Corp in Morocco.  Both of them have been doing some very interesting and exciting things in the country, and it was cool to hear them talk about their work.  

Another one of my favorite things we did (there were so many...) was the Hammam, or public baths with one of the host sisters.  She took us to the place where many people in the neighborhood come once or twice a week to bathe.  It was a very interesting, fun cultural activity.  We went as a group into basically a large steam room, and we would fill up buckets of hot water and use a bowl to pour water over ourselves.  They gave us special soap and scrubbies to use to get the dead skin off and to make our skin very soft.  We were there for over an hour and it was very relaxing.  

After the Hammam, it was time for supper, and we went to bed fairly soon after that...these days were so long!