The Sea Gate , Tangier, Morocco

It is a turning point in my life. I felt excited, confused, worried and fulfilled all together. The turbulence is increasing, yet I am drowning in my own thoughts that I cannot even feel it. I am awakened by the voice of the flight attendant saying we need to fasten our seat belts.

It is a six hours flight journey from Cairo to the city of Tangier in Morocco flying over the breadth of Africa. Africa the continent I was born in, I liked but never explored and now I will be leaving for good but maybe a goodbye kiss would be worth it.

Exactly one month ago I received that lucrative job offer to move to Germany. Jumping out of my own comfort zone to the unknown, leaving my home, family, friends, network was my choice. It was like a dive into a mysterious journey on my own, a path I have to walk alone, a journey that I need to discover myself, overcome my fears, stretch the boundaries of my soul and mind to their limits to create new limits or move to the unlimited. Only then can I explore new worlds within me. I needed some time on my own maybe to get myself together, take a break from my restless thoughts or maybe just to fulfill a dream postponed for long. A dream of discovering different parts of my continent that have its own unique culture, music, history and life vibes.

Why I picked Morocco, I am not sure whether it was just an intuition or I wanted to cross to very other end of Africa facing the Atlantic ocean , exploring how this special part of Africa evolved its very own unique culture with exposure to European, Spanish, Andalusia civilization, a pursuit to understand how could diversified African, Arabic, Barbarian Amazigh, and Andalusian history blended together and evolved throughout the users. I wanted to mingle with the people, indulge in Moroccan life, not just museums and renowned touristic areas that turns mostly into tourists’ traps. Therefore, I planned my trip in a different way this time.

My plane finally landed in Tangier, I was eager to travel through the small alleys and roads. I wanted to explore the city where Hercules used to hide in its Caves as some Greek myths say. I was looking forward to standing where Tarek ibn Ziyad stood and spotted Spain on the other side then got fascinated by the outlook at the strait of Gibraltar connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, captivated by its beauty he decides to cross, and he did and then started the new Andalusian Era. The very controversial era viewed by some historians as bloody and oppressive and by the others as the foundation to the European Renaissance. Regardless of the historic views it is an Era that produced prominent philosophers, unique architecture, enchanting music that is vibrant till today in Morocco and Spain.

At Tangier I had chosen to live with the local and get in touch with the middle and poor social classes, so instead of picking a fancy hotel overlooking the Mediterranean which would have been a nature choice to mem I picked a simple Dar (Dar means a house in Arabic) in the Old Medina (Old historical town of Tangier). As I made my way to through narrow allies of the old Medina I realized I made the right choice.  I had an overwhelming feeling of going back in history many hundreds of years. The old stones, the colorful unique ceramics and the children plays around starring at the new face who is joining their ancient alley. As I walked there an Acapella singing sound getting stronger and stronger and as I almost reached the Dar where I was to stay it, I saw a large group of Moroccan women dancing and singing and cooking in the alley. After some time, I realized there was traditional Moroccan wedding in the Dar next to my Dar of residence. Thrills of joy where everywhere and I could not prevent myself from sharing the moment with these local women, getting into deep conversations about how they feel as women in Morocco, their heritage, tradition, as well as challenges and insecurities. A few hours after enjoying the wedding and its customs I returned to the Dar to sleep.  The Dar was an old Moroccan traditional house that was renovated and as an investment the owner’s grandchild decided to convert it to a guest house for people who want to explore Tangier in the very local way. Sitting in Fina El Dar (The traditional courtyard of the house) I started imaging the lives of the old inhabitants of this Dar, their happy moments, the love, the fights, celebrations and tough moments these ancient walls have witnessed. At night I was sleepless, so I decided to go down to the reception or rather the simple salon of the Dar to have some seasoned Moroccan mint to drink. In the reception desk I met Rady who turn to be the grand child of the house owner, he studied physics and dream of a career in research, but his dreams were shattered by the lack of research funds and job opportunities in Morocco likewise many African countries. Luckily the young eloquent gentleman did not give up and he pursued a new dream of converting his grandpa house, a house that is 300 years old to a safe haven for visitors who would like to explore Tangier and Morocco through local eyes which is to him a very sophisticated soul sharing experience that is as sophisticated as atomic research in physics.

To be continued