A VISIT TO AGADIR, MOROCCO
by John Yeo
GOD~COUNTRY~KING. is inscribed in large Arabic letters on the rocky cliffs overlooking the harbour.
The cruise ship berthed among the container ships and many other commercial vessels in the very busy port of Agadir. One is overwhelmed with piles of containers and numerous cranes and with the intense industry in process everywhere. Many, many containers, stacked one on top of another at the side of the very busy docks. There are many fishing boats along the side of the docks unloading and preparing to sail. This is a very poor population economically and fish forms a major part of their diet. Hundreds of large seagulls flock and fly around the fishing vessels ready to snap up the discarded, unwanted portion of the catch and to obtain an easy meal.
We boarded a coach to attend, “Fantasia”. A local cultural show, located in a venue a short drive from our ship, through the busy port and the bustling city of Agadir. We were fortunate to have a very knowledgeable guide, Mohamed, very fluent in the English language, who provided a very interesting running commentary as we travelled through the busy city. There were contrasting signs of affluence and poverty all along the way as we drove through the city. Two different guarded royal residences set in green gardens with flowering shrubs and palm trees, set among many small, seedy run-down small shops and stalls vieing with each other for local trade. We passed three different markets, first a large fish market near the docks. a general food and produce market and a cattle and livestock market. Mohamed, our guide, said there is also a camel market that is located elsewhere in the city.
We stopped on the way to the show to visit a historical fortress at the top of a very high mountain where we had a wonderful view of the port and the city of Agadir. Shrouded in a mist, with the sun shining through the clouds, I managed to capture some very interesting photographs of the city and shoreline spread out below the fort. There were hawkers galore here, trading in cheap souvenirs and offering very expensive rides on the backs of several camels that were paraded around the fort. Photographic opportunities of the camels and various other novelties, such as people in traditional dress with snakes curled around their hands were also on sale.
We boarded the coach to continue the drive to the venue of the Fantasia show,, We again drove along the busy city road passing many more local shops with many people around, working, walking and conversing. It was very interesting to see the variety of dress styles and Mohamed gave a wonderful description of what, where and when the clothing was worn.
A very colourful noisy welcome awaited us as we reached the venue for our show. We were greeted by a line of Arabic women in very colourful clothing, dancing to some distinctive traditional Arabic music. After a refreshing glass of mint tea, we took our seats to enjoy the show.
The overture consisted of the women dancing to the traditional music played by various musicians, then several members of the audience were invited to take part in the dance.
A group of Arab horsemen with rifles then rode from one end of the arena to the other, firing the guns with a loud volley of sound that reverberated and echoed all around. This was followed by a group of acrobats who performed some wonderful leaps and jumps with a great deal of shouting and good humour. Then another charge and volley of rifle fire from the Arab horsemen.
Then, to the sound of fluted eastern music, a snake-charmer arrived and displayed and teased a variety of snakes that he had transported in cloth bags drawn from a large wooden box, The mystique of the traditional music and the snakes writhing and twisting, was very entertaining to our eyes as we all have a very healthy respect for poisonous snakes.
Then after another charge and volley of rifle fire from the wonderful Arab horsemen, the show was over and we were on our way again. We boarded our coaches to the sound of music, with the dancers and acrobats lined up to say goodbye as many photographs were snapped by our fellow tourists.
Next we stopped at a large store selling many locally crafted goods on five floors of wonderful merchandise. Opposite to the store there was a very run-down area of town, where the reality of the contrasting lifestyle for some of the residents of Agadir was clearly evident, There was a man leading a donkey pulling a cart full of other people's discarded rubbish that he was recycling from a large overfilled skip. The dust and decay and litter clearly displayed another side of a many faceted coin.
Then we boarded our coach and travelled back through the busy docks to our ship. We sailed away from a very interesting port, with the Arabic words clearly visible on the side of the cliff.
GOD~COUNTRY~KING.
by John Yeo
GOD~COUNTRY~KING. is inscribed in large Arabic letters on the rocky cliffs overlooking the harbour.
The cruise ship berthed among the container ships and many other commercial vessels in the very busy port of Agadir. One is overwhelmed with piles of containers and numerous cranes and with the intense industry in process everywhere. Many, many containers, stacked one on top of another at the side of the very busy docks. There are many fishing boats along the side of the docks unloading and preparing to sail. This is a very poor population economically and fish forms a major part of their diet. Hundreds of large seagulls flock and fly around the fishing vessels ready to snap up the discarded, unwanted portion of the catch and to obtain an easy meal.
We boarded a coach to attend, “Fantasia”. A local cultural show, located in a venue a short drive from our ship, through the busy port and the bustling city of Agadir. We were fortunate to have a very knowledgeable guide, Mohamed, very fluent in the English language, who provided a very interesting running commentary as we travelled through the busy city. There were contrasting signs of affluence and poverty all along the way as we drove through the city. Two different guarded royal residences set in green gardens with flowering shrubs and palm trees, set among many small, seedy run-down small shops and stalls vieing with each other for local trade. We passed three different markets, first a large fish market near the docks. a general food and produce market and a cattle and livestock market. Mohamed, our guide, said there is also a camel market that is located elsewhere in the city.
We stopped on the way to the show to visit a historical fortress at the top of a very high mountain where we had a wonderful view of the port and the city of Agadir. Shrouded in a mist, with the sun shining through the clouds, I managed to capture some very interesting photographs of the city and shoreline spread out below the fort. There were hawkers galore here, trading in cheap souvenirs and offering very expensive rides on the backs of several camels that were paraded around the fort. Photographic opportunities of the camels and various other novelties, such as people in traditional dress with snakes curled around their hands were also on sale.
We boarded the coach to continue the drive to the venue of the Fantasia show,, We again drove along the busy city road passing many more local shops with many people around, working, walking and conversing. It was very interesting to see the variety of dress styles and Mohamed gave a wonderful description of what, where and when the clothing was worn.
A very colourful noisy welcome awaited us as we reached the venue for our show. We were greeted by a line of Arabic women in very colourful clothing, dancing to some distinctive traditional Arabic music. After a refreshing glass of mint tea, we took our seats to enjoy the show.
The overture consisted of the women dancing to the traditional music played by various musicians, then several members of the audience were invited to take part in the dance.
A group of Arab horsemen with rifles then rode from one end of the arena to the other, firing the guns with a loud volley of sound that reverberated and echoed all around. This was followed by a group of acrobats who performed some wonderful leaps and jumps with a great deal of shouting and good humour. Then another charge and volley of rifle fire from the Arab horsemen.
Then, to the sound of fluted eastern music, a snake-charmer arrived and displayed and teased a variety of snakes that he had transported in cloth bags drawn from a large wooden box, The mystique of the traditional music and the snakes writhing and twisting, was very entertaining to our eyes as we all have a very healthy respect for poisonous snakes.
Then after another charge and volley of rifle fire from the wonderful Arab horsemen, the show was over and we were on our way again. We boarded our coaches to the sound of music, with the dancers and acrobats lined up to say goodbye as many photographs were snapped by our fellow tourists.
Next we stopped at a large store selling many locally crafted goods on five floors of wonderful merchandise. Opposite to the store there was a very run-down area of town, where the reality of the contrasting lifestyle for some of the residents of Agadir was clearly evident, There was a man leading a donkey pulling a cart full of other people's discarded rubbish that he was recycling from a large overfilled skip. The dust and decay and litter clearly displayed another side of a many faceted coin.
Then we boarded our coach and travelled back through the busy docks to our ship. We sailed away from a very interesting port, with the Arabic words clearly visible on the side of the cliff.
GOD~COUNTRY~KING.