The evolution of the Moroccan bed

Friday was an early morning for us, and it was a painful one, first because of the Moroccan bed.

Now, of all the things you may have heard about Morocco, the Moroccan bed is probably not one of them. The food, the medina, the mint tea, the early morning calls to prayer, the beautiful scenery, the language, the costumes, the customs – none of these can hold a candle to the Moroccan bed.

Research suggests the contemporary Moroccan bed is descended from a long line of firm surfaces, dating back to the marble slabs used during the height of the Roman Empire. This was later followed by the Granite Period, about the time that Islam was introduced in the Magreb. Skipping down through history, there is the Concrete Period, coinciding with French colonialization, and the modern, or Steel Period that symbolizes Morocco’s current developmental period.

Do you get the picture? It feels like a literal 1″ thick sheet of oak has been inserted onto both sides of the Moroccan mattress. Okay, maybe not oak, but whatever that tree is that ubiquitously dots the landscape. Thursday night we layered three blankets on the mattress beneath us, but still have bruises to show for the experience.

Second, there was the noise.

There was an internet café located next door to where we were staying. Now, you’d think that six storeys up (marble stairs, by the way) the street noise would be inaudible, but in this case you’d be wrong. There were several young adults chatting and goofing around on the street until after 2 am, and their noise reverberated off the neighbouring buildings, perfectly channeled directly into our room. We managed to fall asleep after 2 am, just a couple of hours before the first call to prayer. Oh yeah, there was a mosque directly across the street.

So, all in all we slept very poorly.

We did manage to get to the ferry terminal on time, which wasn’t necessary as the ferry left 45 minutes late.

We landed in Tarifa, Spain, and flew through immigration and (lack of) customs inspection. Next stop – Gibraltar!