4 course Morrocan meal and other useless information - Report #2 from Uncle Ricky

Kasbah - A type of medina, Islamic City or Fortress

I think I've come all the way to Morocco to have my first four course meal. Mohammed, my waiter, explained that this would be a planned menu with the only choice being desert. Zucchini soup with chewy bread, then a little round pizza(which Mohammed called a Berber pizza to make a joke), then lemon chicken with potatoes cooked with olives. Desert choices were fruit salad or chocolate mousse. To celebrate that courses one thru three were very good and a pleasant surprise, I opted for the mousse.

• At dinner with me--an English couple, French couple and a couple from Hong Kong. Plus a family of Moroccans
• My first time in a Muslim country and differences are very noticeable. Arabic signage, but almost everything is also written in French as they controlled Morocco before something happened and the King took over
• The Muslim call to prayers happens five times per day with the cleric screaming out of the loud speakers that are mounted on top of every mosque. Sounds just like it does on tv news or movies
• Saw about 100 men lined up kneeling with their shoes off leaning against a wall praying. Something triggered them all getting up and going about their business but I'm no sure what
• The different level of dress among women is startling. Some have just their head covered with a scarf. Some have the scarf come up to cover their mouths. And some have their whole face covered except for their eyes like you've seen with the Taliban forcing that on women. It's a strange thing to see
• Non-Muslims are not allowed to step inside mosques because they are not considered clean. Doubt they getting a lot of conversions
• Berber and Arabic are two different languages
• They serve hot mint tea with everything. One day of that and I'm taking bottled water to all meals
• Royal Air Moroc allows pets to roam the aisles during flights. Had a chihuahua come see me twice during the flight
• I'm 2 for 2 on showers. Tons of water pressure and hot water. Very pleasant surprise
• The only evidence of sports that I've seen are dirt soccer fields. But lots of kids playing
• In the old days if you lived in a kasbah you could go out to work or whatever at sunrise but had to be back by sunset. There was a guard there to make sure of that