Ok, I realize that it’s kind of lame to keep using my children’s talents instead of writing my own material. But first of all, they’re funny. They each have their own blogs, to which they post sporadically, and their friends never read and never comment, and that depresses and discourages them. After we toured the Oudayas and Ilsa wrote about it, I intended to write my own post but then it was just easier to use hers. She got 25 comments! Her brothers were wildly jealous.
This week, we went to the Chellah. I fully intend to write my own post, perhaps explaining it a little better than Abel. But then he posted about it, using his own photos. (Ilsa’s post had my photos) He would love to get a little more exposure for his writing and photographic talents, and I thought, Why not? I need to post after all. So, without further ado, here is Abel’s version of our visit to the Chellah. Please leave him a comment. It would make his day.
I am really sad right now because I tripped over the wire connecting our skype headset and it broke and now I can’t talk to Malcolm on Skype. We were on with our best friends in America, the Andersons. I had talked to Malcolm and Tyson and Ilsa and Elliot were talking to Mariah when I tripped over it. Mariah thought that Elliot was playing a game by being really silent and making her think that we had lost connection, but we really had. Dad had to type to let her know.
Yesterday was a much better day. In the morning, Mom and Dad and me and Elliot went to the Chellah. It is an old Roman fort and village plus after the Romans had all like, died, and there were no more there, these old Moroccans came and made a village and a mosque around in between, and left the Roman ruins, but these Moroccan guys once were digging and found some of the Roman ruins and dug it all up. Actually my Mom says it was a French guy who found them.
It was all cool cuz I like the Romans. And there were 2 stones I found that I think might have been gravestones that had Latin writing on them. We saw the bottom half of a statue of some Roman guy, king, emporer, god, whatever! We saw the old ruins of a Roman marketplace, the dungeon, which was this big square pit where I guess they threw the prisoner into (very painful, I’m guessing, the landing…). There were other pits. THere was a big water reservoir and the toilets were the other pits.
There were a lot of graves of dead Muslim guys. I didn’t really see any Roman graves except those two stones I talk about in the previous paragraph, with the Latin writing on them. There were a lot of cats and in the garden after the Muslim ruins, there were some kitties that were really cute! They were so little.
After we left the Chellah we went to pick up my sister, Ilsa, from a friend’s house. The friends were doing volleyball at the Rabat American School. Then at 3, Elliot and I went to some friends’ house, all the way till 6, which is when my parents and Ilsa came, and we had dinner there. We had hamburgers! And potato chips!
Zach is the name of my new friend. He’s 10 1/2, nearly 11. He likes LOTR cards like me (I wish I had brought mine to his house!), and his favorite is Legolas, like me, and we like wrestling. He’s got some dress up stuff like ninja and a bow and arrow set (not real arrows, just like a dart thing) and a lot of Bionicles. So we set up the Bionicles on a trunk and shot them down with the bow and arrows. So I’m happy to have a new friend. Elliot is really good friends with Zach’s older brother, Caleb, who also has a lot of good LOTR cards.
I need to go to bed, but here’s pictures of the Chellah. Don’t forget to write me a comment!
Here is the Chellah from outside:
This is a close up of one of the towers, also from outside:
Here is a half-statue of a Roman guy, whatever:
And the Latin writing I mentioned. If anyone out there knows Latin and can send me a translation, that’d be good. Leave it in comments.
This is the old marketplace, from about 144 BC:
Here are some cool arches from the Moroccan ruins. The village was destroyed in an earthquake:
Here is a cute little kitten in the gardens in the Moroccan village:
Ok that’s all for now! Bye!
35 comments
September 22, 2008 at 10:08 am
rachel
wow I really liked your pictures. that cat is so cute!
September 22, 2008 at 10:08 am
jolyn
Oh, Abel. Your writing is so engaging and you have a wonderful perspective with your photos! You must keep both of them up. I’m sorry I don’t know Latin…but I am wondering, did you or your siblings wish at all that you could take that cute little kitten home with you?! Although I suppose it must belong to someone…
September 22, 2008 at 10:15 am
planetnomad
Jolyn, there were MILLIONS of cats there! Rabat is full of them. I’m sure we could have taken it home no problem, and yes, the twins really want us to adopt a kitten. But Donn has allergies, so we’re not going to.
September 22, 2008 at 10:42 am
Bethany
Thanks for writing, Abel! I have friends who live in Fez, and I’m planning to visit them in the summer of 2010 so maybe I’ll get to see some places that look like your pictures. : )
September 22, 2008 at 10:51 am
Beck
Hi Abel!
I think Latin writing
siht ekil og ot sdnet
And then this way again. The called it
“swolp xo eht sa”
That kitten IS very cute, but it also looks sort of like it has worms – the fate of stray cats, I guess.
September 22, 2008 at 11:25 am
Katherine
Great pictures, Abel! I really like the one with the arches. Feel free to guest post anytime. I like the different perspectives of life overseas.
September 22, 2008 at 11:35 am
Kit
Sorry to hear about the accident to your Skype head-set – I hope you get connected again soon – it’s a great way to keep in touch with friends for free – we use it all the time.
I like your pictures of the Roman ruins and the half a roman guy – it’s amazing to think they have been standing there for 2000 years.
September 22, 2008 at 11:53 am
Robin
Sorry about the skype headset. We live out of the US too so I know how important skype can be.
Great perspective on the arches shot, definitely adds interest to what is already a very cool-looking place.
September 22, 2008 at 12:15 pm
suz
Hi Abel,so glad to hear from you..your writing was great..!..I too am sorry about the skype accident-we miss you..the pictures are great..
September 22, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Mamasphere
Abel, that was such an entertaining post! You made the Chellah sound so interesting. Great pictures, too. Glad you found a friend already that has so many similar interests as you!
September 22, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Tonggu Momma
I’ve always loved visiting ancient places and imagining all of the people who walked there before me. Living in the United States, we don’t see very many ancient ruins. Thank you so much for sharing your perspective about the day.
September 22, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Octamom
Fantastic job–loved the perspective shot of the arches–beautiful stuff! Wish I could help you on the Latin–I took Latin in high school, but that was a lonnnnggg time ago!
Great job!
Blessings!
September 22, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Laurie
Great post Abel! You are getting to see so many cool things over there. Thanks for sharing with those of us stuck in the states!
September 22, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Mrs. McCoy
I love seeing your pictures-thanks for blogging here and sharing. Bummed about your Skype but happy for your new Legolas friend. What an amazing place to live!
September 22, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Diane
Abel, great to hear from you–and I love all the pictures. You’ll have to tell your mom and sister that I just finished catching up on reading 2 weeks worth of their blogs–I enjoyed them too, especially all the pictures. It’s good to see pictures of you kids–it makes me miss you though. Sorry my boys haven’t written–they are very busy with school, sports, etc. I’ll keep on them!
September 22, 2008 at 8:14 pm
avtcoach
Abel, wow, this was a great post. I found this blog site this weekend and really love the posts and pictures. I am sorry about Skype. I use Skype every week to communicate with children in other states and in our state who are hearing impaired. I am a speech pathologist who teaches them to listen and talk. I love Skype because the picture is so clear and the sound is so good. I bet it is great talking with your American friends and keeping in touch.
I am amazed at the pictures of your field trip. I live in Oklahoma and I know I will never see these ruins for myself. I cannot believe that you are seeing ruins from 144 BC. It is such a gift that you and your family are blogging about your many adventures so that we can read about them.
Great post Abel, I will come back to read more!
September 22, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Shalee
Abel, I don’t know how to use Skype, I never took Latin and I’ve never been to that part of the world. BUT (and I do have a big one) I love LOTR and I think that half of a Roman guy (?) is pretty cool. But the best thing about this post is that you have a new friend! What a blessing!
September 22, 2008 at 9:32 pm
js
Good post, Abel and those are some nice photos. Nice work! I hope you write more and post pictures when you can. You are living a pretty adventurous life!
Roger once studied Latin, but he couldn’t make anything of the inscription.
September 22, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Linda
Love the photos-you must take after your father in that talent. It sounds like Morocco is a very interesting country.
September 23, 2008 at 3:17 am
ChasAndSam
Great photos! But they were not as good as the writing. My dad is going to Mauritania soon. the name of my blog is “rainforest information”.
September 23, 2008 at 3:57 am
Renee
Wow, great photos, looks very exciting there.
September 23, 2008 at 4:14 am
Carrie
Hi Abel! Thank you for posting! I enjoyed reading about the Chellah from your perspective. And, I think your photos were very nice! I especially like the first one, with the road leading up to the fort, and also the one of the arches overhead. It looks so clear there–do you think you will get dust storms, like you did in Mauritania?
September 23, 2008 at 4:40 am
Jeanne A
I’m glad you’re making new friends. To me, that’s the most important part of a new place. The sights are great, but if you’re going to live there having friends is the best. Especially if they serve hamburgers and potato chips.
Did the potato chips taste like American chips? When I was your age I lived in Ethiopia and we had to make our own potato chips. WE worked all day to get a big can of potato chips to take on a trip! Now you can buy potato chips in Ethiopia and sometimes in the US I buy a brand called “Dirty Potato Chips” that I buy because they remind me of the chips in Ethiopia.
September 23, 2008 at 5:14 am
Nan
Hey, y’all! It looks like my husband Sean is definitely going to fly helicopters in Mauritania. The world is our oyster. I am not sure where the boys and I will base ourselves, or when we will leave here, but it’s pretty exciting.
Any advice?
I think my son Sam just left a comment? Great post Abel, I love your photos! The boys will need to check out your blog, I guess, if we are going to become Nomads!
September 23, 2008 at 11:11 am
shannon
I am sorry your skype headset broke. I hope you are able to get a replacement soon. It makes such a difference to be able to call freinds and family back in the states.
The Roman ruins look totally cool. We visited some Roman ruins here in Germany and are hoping to visit more soon. Keep writing!
September 23, 2008 at 3:41 pm
LIB
Thanks for posting, Abel! Please do it again.
(You don’t need to feel guilty. You’re providing your children an opportunity. Providing things for your children is a good, GUILT-FREE thing.
I can’t help but comment on the fact that we’ve heard from Ilsa, now Abel, but not Elliot. I think we need a guest post from Elliot!)
September 23, 2008 at 11:45 pm
planetnomad
Lib, I’m planning to eventually let Elliot guest post. With the twins, both times I’ve just copied something they posted on their own blogs. E hasn’t been posting much, mostly Youtube videos that are fascinating when you’re 13.
September 24, 2008 at 6:43 am
meredith
Hi Abel,
I hope to visit the country you’re living in, next year and Chellah looks like a beautiful place to add to my go to list.
What are LOTR cards? Maybe they don’t have them here in France.
September 24, 2008 at 7:57 am
Mary-LUE
For Planet Nomad… My daughter has a blog and has resorted to sending emails to family member saying, “Please come write on my blog!”
Abel, The ruins are amazing. This is such an incredible experience your family is getting–to see all these amazing places. I went to a museum here in California years ago and there were lots of Roman and Greek artifacts. To be honest, I didn’t think they were that interesting. Seeing them in your pictures and reading what you have to say about them makes me wish I could see them, too!
Maybe I should give that museum another go?
September 29, 2008 at 2:35 pm
robin
My 12 year old has also been posting you tube videos that are interesting when you are 12, I suppose.
Abel, what are LOTR cards? My sons have collected Pokemon, Yu-gi-o and Magic cards.
September 30, 2008 at 10:29 am
All Rileyed Up
Hi Abel, I loved reading your description of Chellah. My Latin is a little shaky from disuse these days, but I believe it says “Legolas Rocks.”
October 9, 2008 at 9:25 pm
veereg
Hi Abel…….wow your gonna be some writer when you grow up…..Guess what today is the first time I am visiting your mom’s blog and I must tell yu that if she hadn’t mentioned I would have imagined she wrote it…….keep writing…..Good wishes….
December 17, 2008 at 9:26 am
Nenuncoro
Hello I’m new here
And it looks like a great forum, so just wanted to say hello! :):):)
And looking forward to participating.
Going on vacation for a few days, so i’ll be back
April 4, 2009 at 9:40 pm
San Juan Who? « Planet Nomad
[…] armed with brand-new Duracells, we headed off to the Chellah, our second visit to this combination Roman ruins/Moroccan ruins/picnic area/tourist attraction. It […]
June 28, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Snippets, Two: Jazz au Chellah « Planet Nomad
[…] (mythical creatures that exist only in my mind) will remember that I have mentioned the Chellah several times before. These ancient Roman and Moroccan ruins surrounded by a medieval wall are a popular […]