On the evening of September 5th, I departed the USA for a 10 day vacation in exotic Morocco! Prior to my flights, I ordered the VLML meal on the Air France website. This is their vegan-friendly meal option. As is common, vegan meals on airlines forget to remove the dairy condiments such as butter. Air France, however, included a vegan soy butter on one leg of the flight.
My dinner meal aboard the flight consisted of cooked veggies such as squash, red peppers, greens, and mushrooms, with a salad. Dessert was sliced fresh fruit. It was a decent airline meal.
For breakfast, I was provided with a banana and orange juice. It is challenging to find vegan breakfast items on any airline. I knew enough to bring my own packaged oatmeal from home and simply asked the stewardess for some hot water. Presto! Instant oatmeal..a vegan breakfast! My eating bowl and cup are actually compact, foldable, camping items.
The flight included a brief layover at the Charles De Galle airport in Paris. This airport has a vegan-friendly cafe called “Exkti”. For lunch, I ordered a rice and veggie dish with a side of zucchini soup. I washed it down with a fruit juice. They are known for their healthy meal options.
Back onboard Air France, dinner was served around 6pm. My vegan meal consisted of rice pilaf and vegetables, with cinnamon covered orange slices for dessert. It was a good meal.
My late afternoon arrival in Casablanca the next day gave me enough time to freshen up and meet the tour group around 6pm. My tour director from Cosmos introduced us to the itinerary and some nice-to-know information about our upcoming tours and local customs. Our helpful tour director informed me that she would check with the resturants and hotels on our list to assure that they could provide vegan meal options! I was delighted! She also informed me that oil, not butter was most frequently used in the local cuisine.
Breakfast the following morning was included at our hotel’s restaurant. I devoured plenty of the region’s olives, dates, raisins, and figs with a hearty bread and potatoes on the side.
The time had arrived to commence on our sightseeing journey! We would depart Casablanca, not to return for another seven days. The drive from Casablanca to Rabat was a fairly short one. Once a hiding grounds for corsair pirates, Rabat is now the capital of Morocco. We began our visit by entering through the city gate.
The King’s Royal Palace with its striking facade was protected by guards at the entrance.
We then proceeded onto Chellah.
Chellah is the site of the Roman ruins of an ancient town called Sala. One can see the remains of building structures, a mosque with prayer nooks, Roman statues, Roman baths, a forum area, and an arch.
The gardens offer an array of many flower varieties in gorgeous color palettes and hues!
Next we paid a visit to the mausoleum of Mohammed V. This is the tomb of the former Moroccan king and his sons. The Hassan Tower was also on the premises. It is the minaret on an unfinished mosque, which was initially planned to be the tallest minaret in all of the world.
Our following stop was at the Kasbah of Oudayas. This kasbah was built during the reign of the Almohads. They added a palace and mosque to its’ grounds also. This Berber-Muslim dynasty captured and transformed Rabat, as well as took control over North Africa during the 12th century.
It was time for lunch! Our group stopped briefly at a small restaurant in Rabat where I ordered a vegetable tagine. It was a filling comfort food and quite tasty!
Upon reaching Meknes, we paused at the impressive Bab Mansour city gate. The Almoravids founded the city during the 11th century, as a military settlement. The city was Morocco’s capital during the reign of Moulay Ismail, founder of the Alawife dynasty. The city is encompassed by momumental gates and lengthy, protective walls surrounding its palaces.
We next stopped by the entrance to the royal palace, built for sultan Moulay Ismail in the 18th century.
Moulay Ismail had a lake build within the walled kasbah which was able to provide water to all palaces, mosques, and homes during a seige or drought.
Our final excursion of the day was the Moulay Ismail mausoleum and mosque. It has a courtyard sun dial which can still tell the time. Our tour group relaxed on the tour bus, as we proceeded to our evening’s destination: the city of Fes.
Finally, we arrived in Fes. My tour director again informed me that the hotel provided many vegan items for dinner. This included lentils, string beans, carrots, peppers, rice, olives, peppers, and greens. It was delicious! We were also offered the local harira soup. My beverage of choice of course, was Moroccan mint tea.
The following morning began with breakfast at the hotel. My options consisted of fresh fruit like watermelon, local dates, figs, and jams, along with breads. I washed it down with some superb local orange juice!
We started our day with a tour of the old Jewish Quarter of Fes. Our tour guide brought us through it’s gate and onward to the Royal palace with it’s ornate doors.
Street vendors offered a heavenly selection of fruits, spices, and grains that would delight a vegan!
Freshly baked, round Moroccan breads were displayed by street vendors.
The Morrocan donut referred to as “Sfenj” is also made by local street food vendors. It is vegan.
Our guide then took us on what proved to be the most challenging event of our holiday: making our way through the 9,000 alleys in the ancient Medina of Fes! At the entrance to the medina, was a vendor selling local figs.
Within the medina, there were a multitude of shops selling produce, spices, fruits, housewares, jewelry, and clothing.
Our group was allowed to step inside a madrassa university within the medina. This is where students study and memorize the koran.
We finally made our way through the narrow alleyways back to the outside of the medina!
Our local tour guide then brought us to the newer, 14th century medina. We saw various merchants and food vendors, in addition to craftsmen working on copper goods.
Quickly passing through many a nook and cranny, our group went by many vendor shops, a mosque, and food vendors.
Our guide arranged for us to pay a visit to a rug shop within the medina. Our hosts graciously provided us with some refreshing mint tea, while they showed us the handwoven rugs from the various Moroccan groups: Arab, Berber, Bedouin. The vibrant patterns and colors were amazing!
After making our way through winding alleys, we had completed our medina tour for the afternoon. I took a taxi back to the old medina for my lunch break. I decided to venture out on my own at that time, since there was a vegan-friendly restaurant in town. Cafe Clock(Cafe Clock) offers a couple of vegan options. I started with the veggie soup, with a side of local bread and dates. For my main entree, I selected the Moroccan tapas plate. This consisted of cooked carrots, okra, potatoes, string beans, zucchini, olives, lettuce, and cucumbers. It was superb! The rooftop deck dining made for a perfect ambiance!
After heading back to the hotel, there were a couple of hours to ourselves before the tour group was out for a night on the town! The evening’s festivities included a Fes traditional music and entertainment dinner show! Musicians played traditional Moroccan music, a magician performed a few tricks, and dancers performed local dances, all while we were presented with plate upon plate of appetizers and entrees. My vegan palate was happy! I dined upon appetizers of olives and veggies with the local round bread(yummy!), the local harira soup, and a plethera of veggies over a tasty dish of couscous!It was a fantastic meal!
After a wonderful evening of entertainment and food, it was time to call it a night. The next morning, we would be traveling into the very ‘heart’ of Morocco through the Middle Atlas Range Mountains.
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