This Is Not Brooklyn.

For our last two weeks in Morocco, we returned to the Atlas mountains for our first worldschooling hub. Hubs are programs that provide a community, and often programming, for families who practice worldschooling (aka traveling while educating their kids).  They exist all over the world and the set-up can vary significantly.  

For this one, all ages were welcome, and there were theoretically activities for the kids everyday.  It was located right on a small river in the valley of the mountains.  The program and supervision were very loose.  Still, there were some cultural classes, lots of soccer (in an empty pool) for Dev, hikes to mountaintops and waterfalls, ziplining, cooking lessons, scorpions, learning how to make and apply henna, kickboxing, Amazigh drumming and singing around a bonfire, and lots of swinging for both kids.  One afternoon the kids helped teach an English class to local children.

While I wouldn’t say it was what we expected, it was still a helpful learning experience for us.  It was nice for the kids to have time with other kids, for us to meet and learn from other families, and for us to learn more about the hub experience.     

Meanwhile we also survived our biggest challenge yet: submitting NYC high school and middle school applications!  Thanks to everyone who helped us along the way as we tried to make decisions from afar.

It has been five months since we left NYC and we have learned so much about the experience, what works for us, and what works for our kids.  There is still so much we don’t know and it constantly evolves.  With all that said, we decided to make some tweaks to our itinerary.

After Morocco we will make a quick stop in Spain – to Valencia and Barcelona – where we are very excited that Mira’s friend, Maya, will join us for a bit!  After that we will do an even quicker stop in Istanbul, pass through Cairo to see the pyramids (bucket list!), and then land in Ghana for a while before heading East to Rwanda and then Tanzania.

More soon!

The drive to Marrakesh through the High Atlas mountains was breathtaking, both because of the beautiful vistas and because of all the twists and turns of the road!  We all felt like A-listers with a stop in Ourzazate at Atlas Studios, the Hollywood of Morocco, where many popular films and commercials have been made (e.g., Game of Thrones, Gladiator, Ben Hur).  The guide even made a mini-movie of Dev as Cleopatra (see video below).  We also made a quick stop to see Ait Benhaddou, a historic village that was along the caravan route from the Sahara to Marrakesh.

After a full day, we arrived at Ryad Dyor in Marrakesh which was amazing.  It is three homes combined so a bit of a puzzle with multiple courtyards and a beautiful rooftop where we ate an amazing breakfast every morning. 

On our first full day we had a guide who showed us the major sites, including the Kutubiyya Mosque (built around 1200 and standing 253 ft high), and the jewish area (we love the jews!).  Dennis and the kids weren’t feeling great so they went home early while Grandma and Johanna continued the tour through the medina, Ben Youssef medrasa (a school), and Jemaa el-Fnaa square.  We tried to remember where we were going so we could return with everyone else.  It’s slightly less overwhelming than the Fes medina but there are also people on motorcycles zooming through so you have to be much more aware.  The medina in Marrakesh also has some more contemporary designers which was interesting and a delicious highlight was getting a bunch of fresh ground spices to bring home.  

Since several of us were not feeling great, we took it easy the next day enjoying the ryad and taking a stroll through the medina (with Grandma and Johanna as guides).  Highlights included a long stop at a hipster store, practicing some metalwork, and buying more sweets from an incredible place that has passed through three generations.  The almond pastries are a favorite, especially the Kaab El Ghazal (the gazelle’s horn). We finished off with the required tourist stops to see monkeys and snakes in the square, dinner at the street vendors, and then rides home in Tok Toks (see video below).   

The next day we went to the ever popular Marjorelle Gardens, Yves Saint Laurent museum, and a museum showing his private collection of Amazigh antiques (still called the Berber museum).  It was our first time seeing lines of tourists.  The last museum was especially beautiful, particularly because of the way it was displayed.  After lunch, we headed off to our hammam experience.  Historically, not everyone had access to baths so hammams were created as public baths where people could go to wash (men and women separately).  It involves multiple steps including a serious scrub down, some version of a hot sauna, and rinsing off.  They remain popular today and are very much a social experience where the community gathers.  For tourists like us, there are now also private spas where you can visit for a hamman-type experience.  We split into two groups: Grandma took the kids and then Dennis and Johanna went together. The kids loved it and Dennis survived it.  For dinner we switched gears from the classic tagines and went to a contemporary restaurant which was incredible.  

For the final day, Dennis and the kids went to a cooking class outside of the city on a farm where they learned to shake their tajines by dancing to music, all about the tea ritual, and they got to meet the animals on the farm.  Meanwhile Johanna and Grandma went to eat at Mamounia, a bucket list item for Grandma, and had a lovely lunch where they were particularly excited to eat fresh salad.  

Tomorrow, we say goodbye to Grandma and our wonderful guide/driver, Mohamed! He will take Grandma back to Casablanca at an extremely early hour for her flight home and the rest of us will drive into the Atlas Mountains for our first Worldschooling Hub. 

Here is the link for the video if it does not work above.

https://youtu.be/u5ex1QAn7hM?si=U6a4lLx6JPyqpfV1

https://youtu.be/_tabULoCxPU?si=6Mv6QHGnTLS7yC0T

We spent our Thanksgiving weekend being grateful in the Sahara Desert.  Before we even got there, we stopped in the cedar forest to feed monkeys which was a blast.  At one point, a monkey grabbed a bag of food from Dev and ran off but paused to look back at her and laughed – so we laughed right back! After a long drive we spent the night at the edge of the desert at a funny hotel complete with mini golf on the roof and a tennis court (which Dennis and the kids conquered).  

In the morning we set off and really maximized the day.  One of the highlights was driving dune buggies into the desert.  It was like another planet and reminded us of White Sands in New Mexico.  There were sections where we could only see dunes in every direction and driving over some of the high ones was exhilarating. Mira and Dev even drove the buggies for a bit!  

After a great lunch at an Amazigh** restaurant, we took a much slower trip on camels to our campsite in the Sahara.  We learned that camels are really uncomfortable to ride!  The camp was amazing and very Grandma Martha.  Definitely glamping at its finest.  The highlight, however, was an astronomy class after the stars came out.  We learned all about North African and indigenous astronomy (fun fact: ursa minor/major are called momma and little camel!).  It was a perfect, cloud-free night with no moon so the view was amazing.  Among other things, we got to see Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s moons, the Orion constellation, and the Milky Way galaxy.  

After waking up early to see the sunrise and do some (kind of slow) sandboarding, we took off for Skoura.  This time we skipped the camels and took a 4×4 pick-up truck.  No doubt the kids will say that a major highlight was riding in the back of the truck – on top of our luggage. The driver sped over dunes while the kids sang at the top of their lungs.

Before leaving the desert we stopped to learn about the continental drift and how the Sahara Desert used to be covered in water. We learned about all the fossils they have found in the area and even bought our very own trilobite fossil. Afterwards we stopped for a dramatic walk through the Todra Gorge in the Atlas Mountains.

After a drive along a dirt road, we spent two nights in a town called Skoura, which is in an amazing oasis of palm groves in the desert.  Due to the drought and lack of water, the palms weren’t as green as usual but it was still surprisingly green compared to the rest of the landscape.  We went horseback-riding (with english saddles!) and the guides were kind enough to get the horses to trot a bit; luckily nobody fell off.  It was a wonderful way to explore the nearby villages with their beautiful architecture and many kasbahs.

Tomorrow we’re off to Marrakesh.    

**The Amazigh people, often known as the Berbers, are an indigenous ethnic group of North Africa who have lived in the region since at least 5,000 BCE. The term “Berber” comes from the Latin word barbarus, which was used by the Romans to describe non-Latin-speaking peoples and adopted by the French when they controlled Morocco.  The Amazigh prefer to be called by the term Imazighen, which means “free men” in their language and the term Berber is considered derogatory. 

Be sure to check out the video from Mira below the photos!

Here is the link which might help to watch.

https://youtu.be/3npw3lq1nfI?si=g8Ur5BbYYcXrfNS1

In Fes we are staying at none other than Riad Myra!  A perfect name (if not spelled a bit different from our Mira) and an amazing place.  Riads are former homes in the medina that have been turned into guest houses.  We were told that riads are what used to be “middle class” homes. Traditionally, there are no windows on the outside of any of the homes and it all looks the same on the outside so you cannot tell how much wealth the family has.  The intent was for integrated communities.  Once you get inside, the homes are built around a central courtyard which would typically have a garden. 

We were lucky to stay in Fes for four nights and finally have more time to relax.  We had another amazing guide the first two days who specialized in Jewish history.  We saw the Jewish area (which is always next to the palace) and explored the Jewish cemetery which was really striking.  Not surprisingly, Johanna’s favorite tomb was a Jewish “saint” who was known for helping people who were innocent and wrongfully accused (after he experienced the same).  Since so many of the Jews moved to Israel, all of the current caretakers of the cemetery are Muslim.  We also saw the Ibn Danan synagogue built in the early 17th century, including the underground mikvah.  

After the Jewish area, we went to see the Royal Palace and also the University al-Qarawiyyin, often recognized as the oldest operating university in the world.  

We also spent a lot of time wandering through the medina. Fes is known for its craftwork, particularly mosaic tiles, detailed plasterwork, leather, weaving, and carpentry.  We learned about many of the crafts, visited a famous tannery, and also went to other souks to see where things are made.  After lunch in the medina, we went outside the city to visit the mosaic cooperative where the adults had a tour and the kids took a class: they were able to make some pottery using a manual wheel, create a mosaic with hand-cut pieces, and paint pottery.  They had a blast!  Later the kids even got henna tattoos.  

We spent our last day catching up on school and work in the beautiful courtyard of the riad.  Next up is the Sahara Desert!

We’ve been in Morocco less than a week and we’ve already done so much.  We met Grandma Martha at the Casablanca airport at 1am so we only got a few hours of sleep.  But it was worth it because the next morning we saw the amazing Hassan II mosque.  We’ve repeatedly heard the history of this mosque and how it seemed ill-advised at the time because of the cost, but how it has been critical in supporting the rise in tourism and protecting crafts in the country.  It was also really interesting to learn more about Islam and to recognize so many similarities with Judaism.

We explored the medina** and bought some incredible Moroccan pastries. We had an incredible guide who was a real match for Dennis and the kids with puns! But there was no doubt that the highlight for the kids was playing with the pigeons.  Mira achieved a lifelong goal of holding a pigeon.  After the adults anxiously watched and tried to stop them, some quick googling revealed that pigeons are not “dirty rats with wings” but actually super clean animals and there’s a pretty interesting history about how they’ve been mischaracterized.  

We spent the next night in Rabat which we hadn’t originally planned but turned out to be wonderful.  We went on a food and medina tour which ensured everyone met their 10,000 steps goal.  We tried so much food (mostly sweets), wandered through the jewish area, skipped eating the cows’ heads, and then had dinner at a beautiful spot outside the walls.  Our guide had both jewish and muslim family so was able to teach us even more about the history of the jewish community in morocco.  

The next day we kept things moving and headed up the Rif mountains to the beautiful city of Chefchaouen. Lately, it has become known as the “blue city” and frequently appears on Instagram.  When we arrived, the street into the medina, however, was closed and we had to walk with our luggage all the way up.  And then our rooms were up many flights of stairs.  Grandma Martha is impressing everyone with how well she’s doing.  The climb was definitely worth it though.  We had an amazing view and the call to prayer floating over the valley from the roof was really beautiful.   In the morning we did a walking tour of the city and meandered through the various small alleys.  We learned about how every community within a medina must have five things: community water access; community ovens; hammam for bathing; mosque; and a school (a madrasa).  The kids especially loved that there are cats and dogs everywhere and they are cared for by the community.  Dogs have tags on their ears showing if they’ve been vaccinated and everybody leaves out food.  We did a lot of stopping to pet cats and take photos. So many photos…. 

After several hours of meandering the streets of Chefchaouen, including stopping at a few “Instagram” streets, we are off to Fes!  

**Medina means “city” in Arabic and it’s also used to mean the “old” city or part of a town that has, so far, been surrounded by a wall.   

(Click on the photos for a full sized sideshow)