A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
Day 6 (Continued)
When we arrived back in Tangier, we were delivered at our hotel, where we had time for a short rest and a change of clothes before we headed for our next adventure. We were taken to the palace (kasbah) of the local leader there in Tangier, where we admired the beautiful palace grounds, gardens, and kasbah guards.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
One of the horsemen guards even let me hold his gun (under his watchful eye) for a photo. This didn’t give me a lot of confidence about the security of the kasbah. I’m not sure when that gun was manufactured, but it sure wasn’t any time during the 20th century.
The guards were friendly (I think they were really mostly there for show) and our Moroccan tour guide talked them into allowing us to have our picture taken with them (They look pretty friendly don’t they, with their big smiles and all).
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
After our tour of the kasbah, and just before sunset, we were taken to an area where we were served a delicious traditional Moroccan dinner (the only course I can remember the name of was ‘couscous’) in an authentic Moroccan tent. Before and after our meal we were entertained with a folkloric show, which included traditional Moroccan music, and of course, belly dancers (there they were again).
The food was excellent, and the show was wonderful. There were also several specialty acts, as part of the show, such as a fire eater who entertained us with his fiery torches and feats of daring (didn’t seem very smart in a canvas tent, but hey, who was I to complain).
One of the performers (I called him the ‘Candle Man’) was a juggler of sorts, who spun plates on a stick, twirled steel hoops in all kinds of positions, and walked around the stage area, in various positions, balancing a tray of burning candles on his head.
Then there was this acrobat (who I called rubber girl) who could tie herself up in knots, you wouldn’t believe possible, while we watched. She put herself into some of the most amazing poses, most of which were while she was balancing in some unimaginable position. All of the acts were great, and we enjoyed the entire performance.
After the performance was over, we asked a couple of the performers if we could have our picture taken with them, and they were kind enough to do that for us. We had our picture taken with one of the belly dancers that performed that night.
And of course, we had to have our picture taken with the ‘Candle Man’ as he was bobbing around the tent. He would stop at each table, showing off his balancing act, while having his picture taken with many of the folks in our group.
After dinner, and the show was concluded, the ones of our group who wanted to, were invited outside to take a short camel ride. DiVoran was a good sport and was elevated to new heights on her Berber camel. She said, “Ahmed, the camel handler, was very polite and gently helped me on a stool and onto the camel, and we walked around for a little while. Then after the camel had stopped and had kneeled down, Ahmed helped me down and said, ‘You pay me one dollar now please.’ I was glad to be off that camel and was happy to pay Ahmed his fee.” After that great meal, the exciting show, and the short camel ride, our group was bussed back to our hotel for the evening. I, for one, was looking forward to my bed and a good night’s rest.
—–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 
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