The cheapest route to Niger is with Royal Air Maroc; the only downside is a 12 hour layover in Casablanca. But I don't really see the opportunity to see a tiny bit of another country a downside. It was surreal getting off the plane, realizing that I was back in Africa, feeling the hot air...
Casablanca is a huge city. It seems that everyone has a satellite dish, even people living in tin and wood shacks. The mosques here are different than the ones I saw in Turkey, with a single tall minaret/tower. I went to the Grande Mosquée, which I believe is the biggest in Morocco if not Africa period...it is stunning, built around a huge plaza on the edge of the sea. I got lost in the medina, tiny streets with piles of spices, lots of live chickens, cafés and vegetable stalls...and then realized I was exhausted and decided that the best way to spend the rest of my day was to treat myself to something truly relaxing after the incredibly busy period I've been through recently.
So I found Hammam Ziani, thanks to lonelyplanet.com. Hammams are baths and steam rooms, separated by gender...I went to one in Turkey where I got a very rough massage from a large Turkish lady but I was willing to try again. I went for the full treatment, which meant that I had one woman who took care of me for two hours. She started by soaping me up with fragrant olive oil soap, had me sit in a steam room, then rinsed me off, and proceeded to sand every last dead skin cell off of my body with a loofah/glove implement, then she covered me in hot clay and wrapped me in plastic, leaving me to marinate for half an hour...then she rinsed me and gave me a full body massage. All of this for 300 dirhams, or about forty dollars. I feel like a new person.
The other thing that I loved about the hammam was the fact that, in a muslim country where (even in a cosmopolitan city like Casa) some women are veiled and the cafés are filled only with men, this was a women's space. I was befriended by a mother and two daughters who were there together, and I will forever remain grateful to the woman who took such good care of me. I felt like she knew how much stress I had been carrying.
The other thing I noticed in general was how incredibly warm, friendly, and helpful people were. I have heard so many horror stories of western women travelling alone, but for my brief visit, besides a few instances of "salut, ma fille, tu es seule?", I was left alone. All in all, a good way to spend a layover.
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