Casablanca

 Casablanca can't be compared with Cairo. It has its positives - it's clean, no pollution, public transport is good, the people are very friendly and we loved speaking in a mix of English/French/Arabic with them. I have to say all those French lessons back in college have come in handy. But the city also has its negatives- it's far more expensive than Cairo (and yet the dinar is about the same as the pound), there are beggars here too, daylight saving started on the first day of Ramadan (no one told us) and the beer is very expensive!

Three days has been plenty to see the main attractions. We spent a day on the trams travelling from one end of the line to the other. Sadly there were not as many attractions along the way as we expected. We have missed the new medina and the sacre coeur cathedral because they are both off the tram track. I wouldn't trust a taxi driver to take us there after our fare from the airport cost 300 Dh to get to the hotel downtown.

Today was the day of the 11.5km walk. We decided to catch the tram to D'Ain Diab Beach and walk back to the hotel along the corniche. Not something I want to share with my physio who has been working to get my knee back in order. However, the beach, the Anfaplace Shopping Centre, the Phare D'El Hank lighthouse and the beautiful Grande Mosque all made the walk worthwhile. What was even better was the beer we had when we got back to the hotel. I'm still waiting for Tony to massage my calves though. Tomorrow we pick up the rental car and drive to a beach called Essaouira down the coast for a couple of days. Goodbye to the big city :-)

No one told us to turn our watches back an hour for daylight saving.
Waiting for McDs to open on the first day of Ramadan.

The Old Medina is much the same as the Khan but not as colourful.

Great tram system!

Tony ordered 1/2 a chicken and got 1/2 the menu. Organized
a doggy bag and gave it to a lady who was asking for money.

No this is not photoshopped. Heineken =50 Dh & Casablanca = 70 Dh

Apparently palm fronds work better in Morocco.

Caught the tram to Plage d'Ain Diab to see the Atlantic

Camel rides at the pyramids, why not horse rides at the beach?

Tony was very happy to get his feet wet.

The lines of umbrellas were mostly empty, maybe because it's Ramadan.

The walk from the beach, in the distance, to the lighthouse

The Phare D'El Hank lighthouse is surrounded by abandoned gun turrets from WW2.

The beautiful Grande Mosque Hassan ll

Summer Holidays Here We Come

Over the next 7 weeks we will cover Morocco, Portugal and Sri Lanka. So excited! Not only will we see these wonderful countries but we'll be catching up with our boys!!
Get out your maps so you can track our little adventure if you want.
Morocco - Casablanca, Essaouira, Agadir, Marrakesh, Beni Mellal, Fez, Rabat, and Tangier.
After ditching the rental car we will ferry to Tarifa (in Spain), bus to San Fernando, catch a train to Seville then cross the border into Portugal, staying at Faro where we will pick up the next car.
Portugal - Faro, Alcacer do Sal, Lisbon, Nazare, Coimbra, Aveiro and Porto where we will meet Jase and Chloe.
After our recoup in Cairo for a few days we are off again but this time to Sri Lanka to catch up with Raymond. We will fly into Colombo and stay there for a couple of days before heading to Hikkaduwa for some "beach time". We'll return to Colombo for a night to farewell Raymond then train over to Kandy to spend a couple of days in the mountains. Then it's back to Colombo and on to Cairo. Phew! I think we'll need a holiday when we get back :-)
I'll post photos as often as I can ... Another adventure begins woohoo!

Idyllic Istanbul

Would you believe I completely forgot to blog Istanbul? It's been over 6 weeks since our return from Turkey so hopefully I give the city some justice in this entry.
We planned to stay for 5 days, which was a perfect length of time to visit the typical tourist areas as well as wander around the old part of the city.
Tony was able to find a last maker among the many shoe makers and suppliers to shoe makers down the back streets opposite the Grand Bazaar. Crossing the language barrier was not easy but he spent 2 hours ducking in and out of buildings talking to the locals, who were very hospitable towards this crazy foreigner who was fascinated with their trade.
I've picked photos that I think cover most of our stay. There were so many beautiful places I couldn't take photos of them all.

Tony in line outside Hagia Sofia while I waited to buy our 3 day passes. Can you see him?

The pulpit inside Hagia Sofia. Stunning!

Outside the Hagia Sofia.

The obelisks at the Hippodrome. 

Medusa in the Cistern, an underground reservoir.

Inside the harem at the Royal Palace.

One of the many mosques in Istanbul.

The spice market was full of shops like this.

The Bosphorous is lined with many amazing buildings

The Blue Mosque

A two hour Bosphorous Tour up the West side and back along the East side.

One of the bridges which cross the Bosphorous, makes Auckland Harbour Bridge look tiny.

Alexander the Great sarcophagus in the museum - amazing marble work.
(Wasn't really his but he featured on it so much they thought it was)

View out to the Bosphorous from our hotel. We were stunned by the
number of ships we could see.

Dinner at the Cistern Restaurant came highly recommended. 

Inside the Blue Mosque. The Mohamed Ali mosque in Cairo was modeled on it.

Time for a cut-throat razor shave.

The last makers' shop.

The Istanbul Train Station - made famous by Agatha Christie

We loved Turkey. They have really got their tourism sorted - markets, transport around the city, bars and the Bosphorous. Would love to go back and do the Eastern side next time, inshallah.