Thursday 23 August 2012

Chefchaouen and Tetouan

Update on the Marriages 1 book: We contacted the Rabbi of Tangiers today (he is in Israel) and he told us that the Marriages 1 book we wanted access to is locked up in his office. He told us it it just an abstract of information written in greater detail in the other books that he gave us, but we cant confirm this until we go through what we have photographed carefully. I think that the only marriages books we photographed recorded marriages from 1930 - 1940. I guess this means another trip to Tangiers!

We hired Ahmed this morning to take us on a day trip to Chefchaouen and Tetouan. Chefchaouen is 110 kilometers from Tangiers, but the roads and the quality of the ride mean that it takes a very long time to get there! We did have a "limo" though from the early 80's... PS when you get the option of 1000 dirham for a car with with no AC or 1500 dirham for a car with AC, it is not the time to be cheap!


Chefchaouen reminded us of Tzfat. The walls and houses are all painted blue. It is totally gorgeous and very peaceful. I told Eli we are painting our apartment blue when we get home. Now he is saying it looks like the inside of a swimming pool.


We took lots of blue pics.



We also explored the Kasbah, built in 1492. It is not blue so I wont post a pic here now. I dont want to ruin my blue theme. After a couple of hours wandering around (and of course, sweating profusely), Ahmed drove us to Tetouan. We wanted to go see a famous Rabbi's grave that Eli's dad told us about. When we got there, the gate was locked and no one was in sight.

We managed to find another entrance on the other side of the main entrance to the cemetery, where the guard and his family (and turkeys) lived, so he unlocked the gate and let us in. We went to go visit the graves of Rabbi Yitzchak ben Gualid and his family. His grave doesnt have anything written on it because he was very modest.


I dont think my blue skirt was a coincidence!

We headed back to Tangiers, and did some shopping because we leave tomorrow. We did see the same van with a blaring loudspeaker on top of it that we have been seeing all week, advertising for Cirque Amar. It sounds like those trucks in Meah Shearim announcing funerals. We were told by the guy giving out 2 for 1 vouchers that the Circus is in Malabata (near Tangiers) and has an alligator and lions. I am not sure what goes down at a Moroccan circus, but I am not too keen to find out. Eli would be especially nervous considering the chaos and the wild animals and the potential for major safety hazards.


Now we are back at the El Minzah, for our last night in Tangiers : (
Off to Madrid tomorrow!


1 comment:

Denise Levin said...

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.