Monday, April 24, 2017

MOROCCO and MADEIRA

DAY 102 — April 16, 2017 – Casablanca, MOROCCO


Easter Sunday.  HAL always wants to make us feel at home.






Casablanca, MOROCCO


Our first stop was a photo op for Rick’s Café in Casablanca (between the two palm trees).  It is owned by a British woman who seems to want it to blend in, not stand out.



The huge Casablanca Mosque.  Inside it holds 25,000 people.  The square outside holds another 30,000.







A walk through one of the oldest sections of the city brought us to a marketplace where we found a variety of “antiques” and other junk.

























When we rounded a corner, and turned down an alley, we knew what we were going to find before we got there because of the aroma of . . .  olives!  I never knew they came in so many different varieties.






We then raveled to Rabat, the capital of Morocco to visit the Presidential Palace.  




Our luncheon restaurant was hidden in a warren of back alleyways and turned out to be a very cool place.




Our table had its own alcove at the restaurant.  



































After lunch, we went to a Casbah in Rabat. A casbah is a home or small community with reinforced walls for security and gardens and patios for pleasure. 


An interesting door in the Casbah.



A garden in the Casbah.



The Mauseleum of King Hussan and his two sons.

The library for the Mausoleum.

All the Islamic countries we visited on this trip have unbelievably ornate buildings massive in size.  The other thing they had in common was they all wanted us to know that their Islam is peaceful and tolerant and not anything like what we hear about in the media.




DAY 103 — April 17, 2017 – Sailing the Atlantic Ocean to Madeira





DAY 104 — April 18, 2017 – Funchal, MADEIRA

Our last port stop on our cruise was in the Portuguese archipelago of the Madeira Islands.  It is located off the African coast just north of the Canary Islands. 

Although the island of Madeira is basically a massive dormant volcano, everywhere you look it is just beautiful.  Over a million visitors come every year to enjoy this year-round resort island.  You can see why. 


Little communities are nestled in the rocky hills.



 Beautiful harbor front.


Lush tropical gardens.



Pretty parks.



Pretty streets.


Because of the steep volcanic terrain, Madeirans use terracing to take advantage of available surfaces. 




One last wonder of Madeira.  


Our day in Madeira was a nice surprise.  We had great weather and a nice overview of a place we knew next to nothing about but would revisit whenever we have the chance
















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