Bobbe's trip to Morocco, part 6: Bobbe hits the beach

Here is part 6 of Bobbe's report from Morocco:

Last weekend, I decided to relax by going to the beach. Morocco has a very long coastline, so it has lots of beaches. If you look at a map, you will see that it borders two different bodies of water: the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic coastline is longer, but both are very nice. Looking at a map, can you find the name of the strait that connects the Mediterranean and the Atlantic? That strait separates Morocco from Spain, but the bit of land on the Spanish side is actually owned by the United Kingdom. That bit of land has the same name as the strait. Can you find it?

My trip to Hong Kong, part 2: I visit the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple

As in Singapore, it is possible to find beautiful, relaxing places in Hong Kong where you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. One good way to do this is to go to a Buddhist temple. Lots of people in Hong Kong, as in other parts of East and Southeast Asia, are Buddhists. Buddhists follow the teachings of a man named the Buddha, who reached what is called "Enlightenment" in northern India more than 6,000 years ago. Buddhist temples often have lots of statues of the Buddha, generally in lots of different poses. The temple I visited, known as the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, has a particularly large number of statues. In fact, the name of the temple is a misnomer; there are at least 13,000 Buddha statues on display inside it. I lost count very quickly of how many I had seen, so I just went around taking pictures of as many as I could.

My trip to Hong Kong, part 1: I learn about the city

In the past month, I have been to three very small, very urban places on the continent of Asia: Singapore, Kuwait, and now Hong Kong. Unlike Singapore and Kuwait, however, Hong Kong is not an independent country. It is actually part of China. It is located partly on a peninsula and partly on several islands in southern China next to the South China Sea. Can you find Hong Kong on a map?

My trip to Kuwait, part 2: Kuwaiti society and culture

When I first got to Kuwait, I was expecting to see all the men wearing keffiyehs and agals like I showed you in my last post. I like to discover as much traditional local culture as possible when I travel. But what I found was that not as many men wear keffiyehs as I had anticipated. It turns out that only about half of Kuwait's population is actually from Kuwait. The other half is made up of migrants from all over the world who have come to live and work in Kuwait, especially in the oil industry. Often, these migrants are men who travel to Kuwait without their families and only intend to stay for a short period of time. In some other Persian Gulf countries (such as Bahrain), the number of foreign migrants greatly exceeds the local population. In Kuwait, the foreign population is about 50%. The greatest number of migrants come from poor countries in South Asia such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Their presence, along with Kuwait's traditional cultural and economic links to other parts of the world, make Kuwait a very diverse place.

Bobbe's trip to Morocco, part 5: eating Moroccan breakfast

Bobbe tells us about what she eats for breakfast in Morocco:

Living in Morocco has been wonderful so far. One of my favorite parts is getting to eat the Moroccan food. In my previous posts, I showed you my lunch of chicken with couscous and vegetables as well as another lunch I had of pastilla. But rather than just tell you about what I have eaten for lunch and dinner, I think you might be interested to know what I usually eat for breakfast. So here are some pictures of my Moroccan breakfast!

My trip to Kuwait, part 1: the Persian Gulf

In March, I had an opportunity to head to Kuwait. Kuwait is a very small country on the Persian Gulf. Those of you who are keeping track of all my adventures will know that Kuwait is the fourth Arab country I have blogged about (after Tunisia, Jordan, and Lebanon, plus Bobbe is in Morocco). It is also the seventh predominately Muslim country I have visited (after Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia).

One thing you need to know about Kuwait is that it is a very rich country. The Persian Gulf, as you might know, is a place where lots of oil can be found. All of the eight countries that border the Persian Gulf (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman) have very important oil industries. The Persian Gulf, however, is important for more than just oil. For hundreds of years, Kuwait's economy and culture have been based on the exchange of goods and ideas throughout the Persian Gulf and beyond into the Indian Ocean.

Bobbe's trip to Morocco, part 4: Meknes

Here is the fourth installment of Bobbe's narrative of her trip to Morocco.

As I said in one of my previous posts, Fez is one of three traditional Moroccan capital cities. Today, I'm going to tell you about Meknes, which is one of the others. Meknes was made the capital of Morocco by a ruler named Moulay Ismail, who reigned from 1672 until 1727. Moulay Ismail was very powerful, but he was also kind of cruel. His patronage transformed the city of Meknes; today, everywhere you go in Meknes, you hear all about Moulay Ismail.