A Slice of Life
Bill LItes
Day 6 (Continued)
We enjoyed an excellent lunch, while musicians played quiet Moroccan music in the background as we ate. Everyone seemed to be excited and were all talking at the same time, about the things they were going to do and see while we were in Morocco. It was a very relaxing time for all of us after the excitement of our tour thru the bazaar and the walking tour of Tangier.
As we were finishing our lunch, the musicians began to play rhythmic Moroccan music, and a dancer appeared on the small stage to perform for us. We were to find that these shikhat dancers were a common entertainment for tourist no matter where or what the occasion; at lunch, dinner, or any other special event. After the performance was over, we went to our room and were given time to finish unpacking our things and have another short rest.
That afternoon, the ones of our group who wanted to, boarded a bus for a short trip thru some 25 miles of Morocco’s picturesque countryside, to visit the small town of Asilah located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. This old walled town (medina) was built by the colonial Portuguese in the 15thcentury. The medina is an art center now, known for its many murals and the annual Moussem Culturel d’Asilah festival that takes place there.
We toured the village with its narrow streets and its many small shops while our Program Director explained the many points of interest to us. We walked along some the old walls of the city with many of its newer buildings located on, what seemed to be, the very foundations of the walls, which gave them a grand view of the ocean.
On the way back to our hotel in Tangier, our Program Director pointed out several beautiful villas (Villa De Ojen) and luxury hotel complexes (La Mirage Hotel) along the Moroccan countryside, that cater to the rich and famous. Everyone in the group was impressed, but I don’t think anyone was ready to shell-out the kind of dirhams (Moroccan dollars) it would take to stay in one of those establishments for any length of time.
We made a quick stop at a small fishing village, also situated on the Atlantic seashore. DiVoran remembers that all the houses in the village were white, and we were told a person could tell who lived in the houses by the color of the doors. Blue doors indicated a fisherman’s home, and a green door indicated a farmer’s home. We weren’t really sure what significance, if any, there was to being able to identify who lives in the house, but that was the story we were told.
—–To Be Continued—–
Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 64 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing. He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville. Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.
One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is: John 10:10
Old Things R New 
I liked that very much.
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