A different world

I was recently lucky enough to experience two very different sides of the Mdina. First was when I decided to take a "short cut" on my way to class. Through the Mdina, early in the morning. This turned out not to be such a short cut as I got a bit lost after turning too early and ended up walking around a school for a bit. However I am so glad I did it as I saw a totally different side of the Mdina. The abandoned side, the free side, the empty side, the streets before they are filled with the busyness of the day and the bustling of the merchants and shoppers. I never expected to find the Mdina so empty and this was what caught me more than anything. I liked being part of the beginning of the day, having somewhere to go and joining the few other people around doing other necessary early morning tasks.

Pushing way way through the crowded alleys on my way back from class I decided to treat myself to something new - mini churros. The man who sold them was so sweet and the whole cornet cost 70p! Unfortunately this meant that many people felt they could shout comments my way. Fortunately my Arabic is not really up to scratch yet so I had no idea what they were saying :-).

Subsequently I was even luckier when despite a dreadfully rainy day (I will talk more about this later) I was with M and I and they agreed to accompany me to walk the Mdina at night. I was told by A that it is a sight and indeed it was a magical walk. The dim lights made such images I could not resist talking photos. The way the light danced off the carved doors made every image different, it was such a contrast to the day, and again the morning. 

Actually walking the Mdina in the rain was not such a bad idea as much of it is covered, every now and again our paths would meet with that of others making their way to another destination. In a strange way it made me think of Christmas. I think it is probably due to the day the light was not dissimilar to that cast by fairy lights and the rain didn't make the weather too unlike that of England.

This was one of my favourite pictures, the shadow of a passer by was caught just in time. who knows how many shadows wanders these streets at night, the Mdina was all that existed before the French arrived in 1912 and the essence of over 100 years of use is all around.

However things have not changed much as the roads are often too narrow for cars so carts are used to bring supplies to the merchants for sale. This particular cart made me laugh as it had a French number plate - a number plate being rare on these two wheeled transportation machines, let alone a French one.

This is an example of the French architecture which was characteristic of some of the buildings on the outskirts of the old Mdina. I think the cobbled streets also add to the atmosphere here, it is such a beautiful place. I will try and do a post about it during the day to show the contrast.

The reason I referred to the rain as dreadful is that currently Morocco is being hit by some of the worst floods in decades. Whole villages have been wiped out, bridges are collapsing, leaving thousands of citizens stranded and people are dying. The King has said he will pay for their funerals but the people say money would be better spent in trying to have a better coping strategy in place as it is the lack of infrastructure which is in some way to blame for this disaster. The army has been mobilised and people are rallying together but for many hope is being washed away with their homes, livelihoods and for some their lives. My thoughts are with those who are struggling at this time, when the Christmas season of merriment is about to start in the UK, it is hard to forget the sights here in Morocco. Global warming is indeed playing havoc with the weather systems - this time last year people were at the beach!

My walk to class

So I have been doing my Arabic classes for nearly two weeks now. Progress is slow to say the least, but I enjoy them immensely. I decided to have classes with CCCL from recommendations or friends, fellow ex pats and also due to the general vibe from the website and email communications. It was the best decision ever. Although I ended up in a class on my own as the others who had signed up were no longer able to attend it was kind of a blessing in disguise as I think this way I am sure to be learning the basics correctly with the undivided attention of the teacher.

I have found it hard to adjust to one-to-one learning and often find myself the source of my own distractions. However the teacher is patient with me and I am able to be honest about my frustrations which are becoming fewer as I adopt the view of - it's not about perfection but trying to gain a general understanding.

I have to walk about 20-40 minutes to class each day. The extra 20 minutes depend on how much I gaze around as I walk. It is a beautiful walk and I really like taking a look around. One day I decided to take photos of all the beautiful things I saw. These are quite superficial things, which aren't hard to pick out. Hopefully one day I can take lots of pictures of all the hidden gems on my way home.

I used to walk to class and back via the riverside, there are generally less people here and it is nice and calm to walk back this way. Sometimes I stop off and get a juice, looking out at Salé whilst I drink. Salé is the smaller city, adjoining Rabat, across the river. The white buildings are all new developments. I like how the boats are brightly painted, as they are in Malta and Senegal too. I took a picture of the stop sign because in class I was taught the word for stop in reverse means to sleep. At least I hope I remembered that right - I will try and remember to confirm this :-)

When I told the girls who I live with, and my friends about how long it was taking me to get to class they were astonished, and after taking various different routes I have found that it is quicker to walk down my street towards the centre of town and then take the main road down towards the Mdina. This means I walk past different things. Below is a picture of the Mohammad V theatre. There will be more about this place in another post.

This is the square by Bab el Had. Bab was one of the first words I learnt in Arabic and means door. There are always people busy getting to work in the morning when I walk to class. However my path also crosses people contemplating, selling things like tissues and toothpicks. I even came across a traditional water seller in this square once, he carries around water in a pouch made from the stomach of a camel I hear.

These palm trees are my que that I am nearly at the Marassa district, where my classes take place in an annex of CCCL. Coincidentally the main CCCL building is actually opposite the Riad where N and I stayed on my first ever visit to Rabat. I love the blue skies here, it is a beautiful city.