Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to be seen in public. Moroccans have never seen their king's mother. The fact that Moroc-
cans couldn't even recognize their former queen shows how much can change in a relat-
ively short time.
Women are making gains throughout Moroccan society. Until recently, a woman here
couldn't open a bank account. During my visit, the general director of the stock exchange
in Casablanca was a woman, and out of 21 ministers voted into office in a recent election,
seven were female.
The Moroccans I encountered didn't emulate or even seem to care about the USA. Al-
Jazeera blared on teahouse TVs, with a pointed critique of American culture. But people
appeared numb to the propaganda, and the TV seemed to be on that channel for lack of an
alternative. I felt no animosity directed toward me as an American. There was no political
edge to any graffiti or posters.
When I tried to affirm my observations with my guide, Aziz, he explained to me the
fundamental difference between “Islamic” and “Islamist”: Islamists are expansionist and
are threatened by the very existence of Israel. He explained how Al-Jazeera appeals to
Islamists, but he made it clear that Morocco is Islamic, not Islamist.
Wandering in Tangier—especially after dark—is entertaining. It's a rare place where
signs are in three languages (Arabic, French, and Spanish)…and English doesn't make the
cut. Sometimes, when I'm frustrated with the impact of American foreign policy on the
developing world, I have this feeling that an impotent America is better for the world than
an America whose power isn't always used for good. Seeing a country where the signs are
in three languages, but still ignore English, reminds me that there's a world that's man-
aging just fine without us.
The market scene was a wonderland—of everything but pork: Mountains of glistening
olives, a full palate of spices, children with knives happy to perform for my camera.
Aziz explained that each animal is slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law, or
Halal. I asked him to explain. He took me to a table with a pile of chickens and hollered
“Muhammad!” to catch the attention of a knife-wielding boy. (Aziz explained that when
he wants someone's attention, he says, “Hey, Muhammad!” It's like our “Hey, you”…but
very respectful. For a woman, you'd holler, “Hey, Fatima.”) He asked the boy to demon-
strate the proper way to slaughter an animal, and I was given a graphic demonstration: in
the name of Allah, with a sharp knife, animal's head pointing to Mecca, body drained of
its blood.
Before this visit, I had recommended to my guidebook readers that day-trippers from
Spain just hold their nose and take the organized tour (with all the big bus groups from
Spain's Costa del Sol). A Tangier guide meets you at the ferry. He takes you on a bus tour
of the city and a walk through the old town, where he leads you to a few staged photo
ops (camel ride, snake charmer, Atlas Mountains tribal musicians). After visiting a clichéd
