Casablanca - named by the Portuguese!

 In Casablanca with our group now about to tour the key cities of Morocco. Mostly Australian with a Canadian .. the most charming. He has a good habit of  photographing his best meals so I will  ask him to post them to the blog if they have chilli.

Last night we had a fine chilli free dinner of tajines and harira (soup). I guess I could have ordered harissa on the side. But this was the first group dinner and first posh restaurant so I thought I'd play it safe.

I'm developing a diversity of interests to complement the chillies.  Such as the Berber history and presence here. The Berbers are the first people of Morocco and i think are re than Half the population. 

When Grette and I walked a little of the Camino in Spain a few years ago we came across the Berber heritage of Astorga in Northern Spain : they had been the mulateers of Europe and the cuisine still reflected the need to eat the meat first and the soup last (so that you didn't miss out to much if the French arrived  mid meal and you had to scarper.)

Anyway, now it seems the Berber language  is close to being made one of the official languages of Morocco - with Arabic and French - after a long process and quite a bit of political or cultural change. I look forward to capturing a bit of text later in the trip.

So I think now this blog obsessions are circling around the chilli divide. Pre and post chilli cultures and cuisines. Not, I think, that the Portuguese had a direct role in the evolution of Morocco.

 If anyone knows better let me know.