Dreams do come true - Australia and New Zealand here I come!!!

Oh my word! Am I really doing it? It's definitely not a typical Thursday morning. Just woke up after being back from Morocco last night, so it's time to quickly repack my tired luggage and get ready, because it's time to go again. A ticket in my hand, with itinerary London - Abu Dhabi - Sydney? Really? I still can not believe!!! What a happiness...

Australia and New Zealand have always been on my travel list, but it has just never happened before... other places were "calling" me first:)
But the time has finally come... it's time to visit the land, where I supposed to be born! Yes, I did. But the Polish government that time was making everything hard and my parents were never able to fulfill their dreams and use their tickets, which are still kept in our home for a memory. What a pity that is... I would love to grow up between adorable kangaroos and koalas, but not spiders necessarily, hihi ;)

Anyway, I always have wondered why am I so drawn to this part of the world...? My mum says that maybe I am going to find my home there? That there is something special to discover? Part of my new history? Let's see... I can not wait ot find out!

Wish me luck, please :)


See you soon,

Martita

Chefchaouen - "The Blue Pearl of Morocco"

If you ever have chance to travel around Morocco, please don't miss out on visiting The Blue City of Chefchaouen, situated in the Rif Mountains, in the north-east part of Morocco. 

I can reassure you, that you are going to fall in love with this quiet "mountain village" (as called by locals), covered in all shades of blue paint... all across the white buildings' walls, streets and stairs, giving the city such a stunning look.

Established in 1471 by Moulay Ali Ben Moussa Ben Rached El Alami, Chefchaouen served as a military base - from here military forces were being sent to fight against the Spanish and the Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco. 

In the following centuries, The Blue City became a place of settlement for Muslim and Jews refugees coming from Spain and, for half of the millennium, it stayed quite isolated from the rulers, making changes to the rest of Morocco. The city was then captured by Spain in the early 20th century and its gates have been finally opened to the outside world. 

The history claims that those Jewish exiles, who refused to convert into Christianity during the Spanish Invasion in the late 15th century and settled in Chefchaouen istead, painted every building in the old city in cool shades of blue, most likely as it is the colour of divinity in Judaism. Although other theories say that the colour supposed to repel the mosquitos.

This beautiful blue-coloured city definitely deserves a name of The Blue Pearl of Morocco". In my opinion it's heaven for traveller's eye :) I can not believe that the place remained shut off from the world for almost 500 years. We are so lucky that the city's labyrinthine streets covered in shades of blue are now open to visitors to admire it!!!

Chefchaouen is definitely one of my favourite places in the entire country. 

Today, the city is an absolute dream for wanderers, adventurers and photographers. You will be blown away by picturesque landscapes and specific architecture in these amazing blue shades, all the handicraft - good quality leather products, handmade carpets and blankets, colorful scarves, pottery and unique jewellery, antique shops, little stores full of beautiful candles, lamps and other relics. The gorgeous smell of freshly grounded spices....

I could walk all around this breathtaking city for days....
And, while wandering around medina's streets, don't forget to treat yourself with a glass of traditional Moroccan mint tea and delicious tagine! Heaven in a mouth :)

Chefchaouen is fortified with two peaks of the Jebel Mountain in the shape of goat's horns Ech-Chaouen (Mountain of Horns), which the name of the city derives from.

The city enchants with its appearance. So impressive land of beauty...

It is said that it is the quietest place in the Northern Morocco.

Have you also been in Chefchaouen? How did you like it? And if you haven't, I strongly recommend you to pay a visit to this gorgeous blue city in the Moroccan mountains.

Hope you enjoyed it!

See you soon,

Martita :)

All about Henna - fabulous beauty specific

What is the Henna?

Henna is the name of a shrub known as Lawsonia Inermis.

The plant has small, four-petaled flowers ranging from yellow to pink and its leaves produce a red dye. Twice a year the leaves are harvested, dried, and ground into a fine powder. This powder is used to dye hair red and also for the ancient eastern art of Mehndi. Henna contains hennotannic acid, a dye that bonds with the collagen in skin cells and keratin of fingernails and hair, leaving behind a red coloring.

Traditional Henna = Mehndi
The henna plant is one of the oldest cosmetics ever used and it's extremely safe.
Some medical journal articles have shown henna may be beneficial for skin, and no test has ever shown that pure henna applied to unbroken normal healthy adult skin causes harm. 
Women in over 60 countries have safely used henna for at least 5000 years. Henna traditions are associated with many religions: Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Christian.
Henna has been practiced for thousands of years in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

Natural henna, when applied to the skin rarely causes any adverse reactions, if you are concerned you should do a small patch test first. Natural henna is safe even for use on children as it contains no dangerous chemical dyes or harsh additives.

Black henna -> Harqous, Harquus
There is no such thing as black henna. In order for henna to produce a black color chemicals that are unsafe for your skin have been added. Black henna should be avoided. A chemical dye known as PPD, which is not authorized for use on the skin by the FDA is often added to the natural henna to produce a black color. 
Black henna has become very popular in certain tourist areas. It can cause liver and kidney damage, as well as scarring of the skin. Just be aware of the false and toxic henna made by local women wandering around the beach and offering to do it, as recently there are lots of cases of skin allergies appearing after the application of the henna, as some chemicals are added to the original stuff (usually it's a black type of henna, touristy one). And unfortunately no one is informing the people about it and they end up with  irrational skin rash and scars for life. Many of my friends suffered of it and now we are trying to warn people to not to do it in unknown places, like beaches. Or at least to do first a little trial on a small part of the skin and see if you get any allergic reaction before getting a bigger tattoo. As you can really regret it afterwards.
I wanted to show you some scars of people I know, as I witnessed it myself and I want to advise you to be really careful with the place you choose to make it.
For more information please check out www.hennapage.com :)

That's the scar of my friend who made 'black henna' tattoo on the beach in Agadir

Where to do a safe henna?
The best places are henna/beauty salon around the city or in the souk, which I choose myself. It's actually better to do original henna, which is brown, and it's a choice of Moroccan women themselves. But please, first always check if the local people do it there too, inform the lady who does it, that you know about common allergies and wish to be safe with the one they offer to be reassured that you won't get the cheated one there. Plus ideally - ask first for a test of the henna (you will get a tiny dot of it to see if you won't get an allergy). If all looks ok and your skin isn't itchy or red - enjoy your Moroccan design henna :)

See you soon...

Martita


Links to pages I used:
http://www.hennapage.com/
http://www.hennacaravan.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna

Merzouga - "The door of The Sahara Desert"

One of my goals during the trip around Morocco was to explore The Sahara Desert. I had a taste of this sand land while travelling through Egypt and Tunesia, and I was absolutely blown away by it, so Moroccan side definitely had to be seen.

Dunes of Erg Chebbi, Merzouga, Sahara Desert

How to get to see the Moroccan side of Sahara Desert? I would definitely advise you to do a road trip, as I did, because that way you get to see the places you want and you can stop anytime, anywhere you would like to admire the beauty of the scenery, which - believe me - is really stunning! You won't be able to do it when taking a bus.

So the best way is to drive from Marrakesh or Agadir over the Atlas Mountains to the first "Door Of Sahara Desert", a city called Quarzazate. It's plenty to do and see there (will introduce you to this place in another post as it's really worth to see), so you can easily do a overnight stop here to explore the city itself and a UNESCO World Heritage Site called Ait Ben Haddou. Your next stop could be Dades and Tinghir as they are on the way. Then you can head either to Erfoud and Rissani afterwards, or alternatively - head south to Alnif and then Rissani. Once there, drive through the town and follow the road south-east for 40 km (24 miles), which will take you to Merzouga, as the only access to our destination is through town Er Rissani.

Gate to Sahara Desert, Er Rissani

So what can we say about Merzouga? Well, it's an interesting village on the Sahara Desert in Morocco, on the edge of Erg Chebbi, it's a a 50km long and 5km wide set of sand dunes that reaches up to 350 m high (the highest in Morocco). It's also called "the doors of Sahara Desert".

                            One of the main attractions in the region - camel ride through the desert

Taking a camel safari trip through the dunes, can give you a taste of Berbers' life - you get a chance to sleep overnight in a "Hotel Under The Thousands Stars" - a tent in the middle of the desert:)

And in the early morning, you can climb Erg Chebbi dune to watch the sunrise from this amazing place...

A night away from any civilization - overnight stay in a tent in the middle of the desert... what a way to watch the stars

Sunset...

Sunrise on the Sahara Desert

One of the most interesting things to do is to try sandboarding, so many amateurs of this sport come here from all over the world to enjoy it.

Sandboarding

And I absolutely love the ride on the camels, they are so calm and friendly animals!

Camels... camels... lovely camels everywhere! :D

The best time of the year to visit Merzouga? Well, I would say it's around February to April, when it's spring time here, with temperatures from 25 C to 30 C during the day and cool nights. Summer time is really unbearable because of the heat, but the nights are still pretty cold. Winter months (November to February) are cool, but sunny, with daily temperatures not so high and an occasional drizzle risk (a couple of days per month on average). 

Hope you enjoyed reading about my memories from Merzouga and will be inspired to pay it a visit, when you are around. You can explore the village by foot, as it's small and easily walkable. Just protect yourself from too big heat. And don't miss a chance of enjoying the dunes, getting there by camels, 4WD, quads or motorbike. There is a few desert hotels for more luxury, but my choice would always be a "Hotel Under The Thousand Stars". Would you go for it too?

See you soon,

Martita :)