I was met at Casablanca airport by Youssef, my former upstairs neighbor who was coincidentally visiting family in Morocco. He explained that the city was grinding to a halt getting ready for Eid al-Adha the following day.
Known as “the sheep Eid,” it is the bigger of the two islamic holidays. The holiday is marked by the male head of household slitting the throat of a sheep. It is intended to represent the sacrifice Abraham was asked to make, except the sheep is used instead of the eldest son (I’m guessing for population maintaining reasons). See the video attached, if you care to see it (warning – it’s pretty graphic).
The rest of the day pretty much resembled Thanksgiving, with lamb and conversation. All in all, being able to join in and experience the holiday was a really great experience.
The following day we drove the 2 hours to Marrakech to see the night market and the souq. The contrast from the day before was huge. Going from the countryside to the Plaza of the Apocalypse (seriously, that’s the name of the plaza) was like seeing two different worlds. Marrakech is a busy, chaotic hub for tourists and locals. The spice vendors, food vendors, drink vendors are all amazing to see, but bring your wad of cash because (by Moroccan standards – or any other standard) this place is not cheap. Check out the pictures below:
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