Is Barcelona, is Gaudi – Sagrada Familia (pt.1)

Gaudi is the reason I included Barcelona in the itinerary of my Last Hurrah trip. I’ve loved his work for as long as I can remember. My first physical meeting with him was on my first overseas trip back in 1999. There was Gaudi, sitting on a bench, facing a building he had designed, Casa de los Botines in León, northern Spain. This photo is a digitial image of two film photos I took at the time. The digital age took off during my fifteen years of occasional travel!

In Barcelona, the holy grail is of course La Sagrada Familia, a temple, not a cathedral and only recently (2010) consecrated as a basilica. There can’t be too many people who don’t know of it and its fantastic (in that word’s “imaginative or fanciful; remote from reality” meaning!) design. What I was not prepared for were the classic and Gothic elements throughout this amazing monument – originally commissioned to atone for Barcelona’s sins of modernity! The Gothic is courtesy of the original architect from whom Gaudi took over after only a year or so, completely transforming the original plans. I’m no expert but … you can see different styles and craftsmen at work in two statues that resonate with me: David, for my son of the same name, and Veronica holding the towel with which she wiped the face of Jesus, for my daughter Hilary Veronica.

Visitors and locals alike cannot ignore Sagrada Familia’s presence – it’s there on the skyline from all directions – and the rough outlines of the towers are said to have been inspired by the rocky outlines of Montserrat.

Sagrada Familia has been a work in progress for over a century. As you ascend from the Metro, you’re greeted with an icon that soars to the sky, complete with cranes. Closer up, at ground level there is the builders yard. The comparison of bare walls and the intricate, quirky surface that is so familiar is quite stark.

And so much going on in between, from top to bottom! You get a different view of the work when you go up one of the towers. A mammoth task in itself, to cover and keep safe work that has already been done.

A small museum on site has a fascinating array of machinery, models, photos and hands-on exhibits that explains so much more about this amazing building.

15 September 2014

Barcelonaaaaa!!!

13 September, 2014

It took a while to clear all the officials but once I was on the plane it was a smooth flight from Casablanca to Barcelona, followed by the aerobus to near where I was staying, then a short walk and I found my home for the next week. The owners were hanging over the balcony, waving down furiously to me, all smiles. An AirBnB gem all the way!

Manuel spoke Spanish and smiled and sign languaged a lot, as I did in return. Miquel spoke English and gave me all the info I needed. All was good. Top floor apartment, at the corner of the building overlooking a cross road. Although tiny, it felt light and spacious and had absolutely everything I needed – including a lift! Walking distance to everything. Winner!

That's me, top corner with the white plant pots

Odd shape, but so comfy

All I needed in a kitchen

Plenty of space for one

Looking towards Placa de la Universitat

Not to mention being in a box seat for several late night lightning shows 🙂

After settling in I went out for a bite to eat. I was tired from a day spent travelling from one continent to another but it was too early to go to bed. After a small wander around the immediate area, I sat in the Placa de la Universitat and watched the world go by for a while. Then ‘home’ for an excellent night’s sleep!

Goodbye to Morocco

12 – 13 September, 2014

Leaving Rabat really was like saying goodbye to the whole country.

Hami seemed to agree when I suggested turning off and heading back to Ouarzazate to do it all again. But somehow he always seemed to be in the wrong lane and missed several turn-offs. Hmmm …

It was a short drive to Casablanca. Time to eat, pack, sleep then head to the airport in the morning.

Mind you, crossing the city to get to my hotel was ‘interesting’. There was the crazy, scary traffic in El Jadida. There’s the crazy high speed traffic in Rome. But here in Casablanca, crazy but not so scary. When eight or so lanes from several roads converge into one three lane road it’s a case of hold your nerve and inch your way forward. But from start to finish I was safe with Hami.

After a last glimpse of the sea at breakfast, and just before leaving my room, it was off to the airport.

Last view of Casablanca from my hotel room -
Hassan II Mosque on the skyline

Last view of the sea -
from the hotel breakfast room

Ah, the airport. A hassle getting into the country, a hassle getting out.

But everything in between … brilliant!!!

I felt so sad leaving Hami as I went into the terminal to catch my flight to Barcelona.

Hami and his country will always hold a special place in my heart.

“Thank You” doesn’t really cover it at all!

And one last glimpse from the air ...

Hassan II Mosque

I must also say thank you to Georgina in the Berber Treasures Sydney office for handling my booking so well, answering all my questions, genuinely caring, before, during and after the trip, that I had a great time.

If you want to go to Morocco – and why wouldn’t you, it’s so fabulous – do it with the locals, Berber Treasures (online and on FaceBook).

An Imperial End … in Rabat (pt.2)

12 September 2014

En route to Chellah we drove through the modern capital that is Rabat, passing the current royal palace and seat of bureaucracy. Not that you could see much, just glimpses through a very few gateways. This is one very big compound surrounded by long, high walls.

Chellah itself is a walled ‘city’. The ruins are from Roman times (200 BC onwards) and the Arab 14th century, side by side rather than one built over the other. The viewing platform would have given a good overview if trees had not been in the way! Ruins: turn left for Roman, right for Arabic!

The Roman section of Chellah from the viewing platform

Roman, left. Arab, right.

The Roman/Christian settlement was typical of its period. There was a capitol, temple, forum, thermes (baths, what we would call a sauna and gym these days), artisans quarters, triumphal arch – now all not much more than knee high, if that, and some landmarks impossible to be distinguished by this non-archaeologist.

The Arab/Muslim remains, being relatively! recent, stand quite high in parts. This largely consists of a mosque and necropolis but there are also the remains of a hammam. It’s surprising that the small amounts of tile work that remain are not better protected.

A marabout -
the resting place/shrine of a Muslim holy man

Morocco is a breeding ground for storks. Nests can be seen in many places throughout the country, including at these ruins.

I don’t know if the dodo was ever resident here but it is reborn as a tree 🙂

Whether Roman or Arab, the ‘watering holes’ look equally, decidedly uninviting. I really think the Arab remains is really a flooded courtyard.

Arab

Roman

After an absorbing day visiting the three very different “top tourists attractions” in Rabat, it was time to leave. It was much more than one day ending.

An Imperial End … in Rabat (pt.1)

12 September 2014

We left Asilah early enough to catch the local market in full swing. Then it was onto the freeway for an easy drive south, along the Atlantic coast, to Rabat. En route this time, it was farewell to gum trees!!

Morocco has four Imperial Cities. I’d already visited Marrakech, Meknes and Fes. Rabat makes Number 4 and completes the set. It is also Morocco’s capital city. On the way to the first tourist spot I caught glimpses of what more was to come.

Kasbah des Oudaias was built towards the end of the 12th century. Once inside the rather magnificent gate in the very solid walls, there is blue and white paint again, and studded doors, as in Chefchaouen, Asilah and, thinking back to past travels, Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia.

Meandering (sounds better than “haven’t got a clue, following my nose”) through the streets and alleyways, I peeped through open doorways at the tiling that is common here, and I also visited a small art gallery.

Eventually you get to an open area that overlooks river, beach, sea, city and … cemeteries! Given the proximity of port, boats and dredging of some sort, I did wonder just how clean the water would be for swimming and ‘surfing’.

                        Cemetery in middle distance

Hami was waiting when I left the kasbah and off we went to an imperial part of the Imperial City – Tour Hassan and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V (died 1961) … which could be seen on the horizon, across from the kasbah. 

                                     Looking across to 

          Tour Hassan and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V

The tower was supposed to be twice its 44m height, part of a mosque constructed around the same time as the kasbah. The mosque would have been enormous. The remains of its columns cover a football field or more.

In the absence of a panorama shot, this (sort of!) shows the perspective of the mausoleum – new mosque complex, scanning across through the remains of the columns of the old mosque.

The mausoleum, which itself includes a mosque complex, closes to tourists and visitors on religious and special occasions. I don’t know what it was but I struck one such day so couldn’t go inside. It could only have been magnificent, judging by the exterior. You couldn’t even climb the steps to get a better perspective of the remains of the ancient mosque, which was a pity. But one of the hazards of travel.

The guards on horseback looked stunning. The guards were as inscrutable as those in London at Horse Guards in Whitehall, and their horses equally as statuesque. Magnificent creatures.

Then it was on to the Chellah, home, sequentially, to Phoenicians, Romans, Berbers, Arabs.