On Sunday, the first group visited Project Soar, a girl-centered activity aimed at empowering teen girls through a one-year program in order to help them understand their value, body, rights, and path. Its focus is to prevent adolescent pregnancy and child marriage, but also to encourage girls to continue their education and enter the labor market. At the center, Kawtar Ait Malek talked about their work and we got to meet the girls. Many of us were touched by their project!
Afterward, we went and visited several museums: The Bahia Palace, a ruined palace that shows an example of traditional Moroccan architecture, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, a historic Islamic School and an impressive example of Moroccan architecture, and Le Jardin Secret, a beautiful garden and riad located in the souks of Marrakech.
In the evening, the group was reunited and decided to have dinner at a local restaurant, where several of us enjoyed Tanjia, a traditional Marrakech dish. Then we explored the city, going through the souks to Jemaa el Fnaa, the main square, and the marketplace of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists alike. Being in these markets, vendors will constantly call you to bring your attention to their stalls, and haggling is an expected custom when purchasing. On the way back to the hotel, we also stopped by the Koutoubia mosque, the largest mosque in Marrakech.
On Monday, most of us went on a full-day trip to visit the Ouzoud Waterfalls with a guided hike and boat ride. It was an absolutely amazing and slightly wet experience, especially for some of us! We also got to see monkeys.
The second half of the week was spent in Rabat to visit NGOs and the Swedish embassy in Morocco. The group split up once more as some left directly in the morning by train to stop by Casa Blanca to visit Hassan II, one of the largest mosques in the world, while others stayed to enjoy the last few hours in Marrakech before returning to Rabat in the afternoon.
Written by: Chad Farrell and Ebba Tholander
On our first full day back in Rabat we decided to sleep in and gather some energy after the adventures in Marrakech and Casablanca. We decided to split into halves and eventually head to the old Medina in Rabat for lunch. Spacious and beautiful sections of market stalls gave way to lovely all-white streets which led up to the city’s old keep with an amazing view of the beaches and the ocean. Rabat certainly showed us its best side!
After a quick lunch, we went by bus to the Embassy of Sweden in Morocco, where Julia and Maja offered us a warm welcome. They explained their day-to-day work, and how it is to be an embassy intern in Rabat, before answering various questions from the travelers. Many of us felt inspired after this meeting!
In the evening we had some free time, where some decided to head to the medina and buy some food to make dinner at the hostel. We also found an alcohol shop (!) and decided to pick up a couple of beers and a wine bottle to celebrate being back in Rabat. Everyone ate together before playing a few games, getting to know each other just a little bit more!
On our second day back in Rabat, we first visited the National Human Rights Council, a national institution for the protection and promotion of human rights. After lunch, we visited the Moroccan Organisation of Human Rights, an NGO that is devoted to issues of political detention, torture, and human rights awareness.
In the late afternoon, we spent some time at the beach and some of us tried surfing, which was awesome! Later in the evening we all met up and had our last dinner together in Morocco. On the last day, people walked around in the city and shopping and sat in cafés and parks before we departed from Morocco via Spain to Sweden.
Written by: Alexander Skingsley and Gustaf Stövling
