The Imperial Cities of Morocco

After getting used to seat-less toilets, persistent touts, and pervasive feral cats, Morocco really is the most invigorating of places. My sister Sarah and I took a whirlwind ten-day trip this past October to get lost and wowed by a country that is equally old world and bustling metropolis. From the daily calls to prayer infiltrating the cities through loudspeakers to the mule drivers shouting "balak" (look out) in the medinas, to the pungent smell of the Fes tanneries - this small North African country is a sensory overload.

Knowing zero Arabic and little French, it was a big relief to meet up with my AT hiker friend, Mack, who was doing a semester abroad in Ilfrane. She can carry on a whole conversation in Arabic (which turned out to be a disadvantage when we found ourselves on a 40 minute taxi ride with a loquacious and persistent driver who wanted Mack to marry his son). All Moroccan craziness aside, we had great time fumbling around the medinas, sipping mint tea at sidewalk cafes, and searching for hotels with clean sheets.

See more pictures on Shutterfly - click on the link at right under "Moments Captured".