Up the beach by night

After my contemporaries here headed home for the night, I left them everything but my camera and a few Dirham and walked solidly out of tourist land. I left the city walls and walked about two kilometres up the windswept beach. The whole area was illuminated by massive floodlights. Out there, I found a stage where a versatile group of performers were playing a wide variety of fusion rock – hard to describe, but undeniably excellent. I purchased a CD of highlights from last year’s festival which I will be able to lend to the curious.

Also impressive was the general atmosphere. Well after midnight, there were still unsupervised children and grandparents about. Everyone was there for the festival, and thus took no notice of me. Part of the dynamic is probably the result of the total absence of alcohol. I doubt streets so dominated by groups of young men would be so benign otherwise. The legions of police and army personnel everywhere are probably also a factor, though I have yet to see them do so much as give anyone a warning.

In other news, the food here has been good. It’s a bit on the bland side (salty olives aside), but there are lots of nice places to eat for good prices. I suspect that non-vegetarians get more diverse and flavourful cuisine. There are certainly an abundance of fish for sale all around the harbour.

Given that everyone else went to bed hours ago, I should probably wander back to our rented flat now. I am proud to say that I now fully have my bearings in the walled portions of the town, with a growing collection of knowledge about zones outlying.

PS. The stage I found seems to have been the following:

The Electro-Fusion stage offers to the public an Electro sound, more and more present nowadays. The festival creates on this stage a real spirit of fusion between traditional musicians and DJ of a very high level.

Perhaps I will try to lead the others back there tomorrow night, though with more than a t-shirt to resist the wind this time.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here. View all posts by Milan