9. Proud to be cornish

(Well, a quarter cornish!)
They've left a pretty wonderful legacy here in Meknes have my Cornish forebears - an imperial city of huge, beautiful buildings still in use today and all built without JCBs, cranes, lorries or cement mixers, to say nothing of portaloos and teabreaks!

I have to confess that in Tangier and Rabat the sheer logistics of finding what I wanted to see threatened to overwhelm the finding.  Of course what is hard won is all the more precious but it can get you down - relentless urban sprawl, seething masses of humanity and a complete dearth of any sort of signing or interpretation.  Needles and haystacks come to mind.  Take the trains for example.  Modern, efficient, functional, with lovely new stations but those all look the same so when you are on the train be careful when you blink or you may well miss that small, half hidden sign telling you which station you are arriving at.  Even the locals can get it wrong, but it all aids conviviality!

But here in Meknes the things I came to see are absolutely in your face.  No way could you miss these wonderful, huge, spacious, beautuful buildings, like 300 year old stabling for 25,000 horses, or fail to be awestruck by the perfect dimensions and the intricate mosaics and fabulous stone and wood carvings, and the tranquility of these beautuful holy islamic places.  Wow!

One spectacle of this sort of travel is the busloads of tourists looking very clean and superior, following their guide and being very careful not to touch anything.  I really would rather muddle along my way with all its frustrations, and miss things, than be a clean shiny white tourist!!!

I've found the most gorgeous place to eat, right by my hotel.  It's really somebody's house turned restaurant and its lovely and so are they, and the food is  superb.  They have just wished me a fond "bon voyage" after my last meal there.

Other nice things - even the urban sprawl here (less of it) is arabic so at last I feel I have arrived; and the birds chattering everywhere especially in the delightful courtyard gardens.  And today I palled up with a bunch of slovenians for a great trip out of town to Moulay Idris and Volubilis.

And its sunny!  Oh bliss!  Shoes and socks dry!
Off to the desert tonight on the overnight bus.