Maasalama Marrakech

Well…. For those of you who don’t already know, Hafid’s visa has been approved and we are on our way home. To say it’s all happened at the speed of light is almost an understatement. We received a call last Sunday afternoon not more than a few hours after we’d finished saying I will call them on Monday and find out what’s going on. Hafid was interviewed over the phone and then the chap spoke with me, asked a few questions about how we’ll raise our children, whether Hafid will settle into life in Oz, where will we live etc and can you email the wedding photo’s asap. He then said he can’t see any reason why we won’t receive the visa as he will recommend to his supervisor that it should be approved. We emailed the photo’s as soon as we got off the phone and just after I finished calling Mum & Dad, Dan & Diana I received an email saying it’s all done and you are approved! Voila!! I think we were both thinking it will take another couple of weeks before it’s confirmed.

So we then had the tooing and froing about whether to go to Dubai (as it’s on the way home) sorting a visa for there, booking tickets etc. But as it’s turned out we are off to Turkey as Hafid doesn’t need a visa for there and it’s a tad safer than Ghana and easier to get to.

So we are booked to fly out of Marrakech on Monday to Istanbul, where we will then catch the train to Ankara and visit the embassy to collect his visa. Mercury was obviously in retrograde while trying to organise all this, but has turned in our favour with everything falling into place right at the last minute!

We will spend 10 days in Turkey to allow for just in case scenarios arising and to allow us some travel time between Istanbul & Ankara. All very exotic I have to say, this from someone who’s spent the last 8 months in Marrakech. Istanbul has always been on my list of places to visit, but I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. Perhaps this can be our honeymoon by ourselves, although the whole idea of a honeymoon was foreign to Hafid and we had the best time with everyone in Essaouira, which by the way I HIGHLY recommend as a place to visit, especially if you are coming to Morocco. It’s a definite break from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the country.

Of course our leaving is tinged with alot of sadness as it was when I left Melbourne to come here. We’ve created a life together here and I’ve fallen in love with Didiss and Hafid’s family as well, we will miss them very much. I am looking forward to a sit down loo, understanding the conversations around me and making a new home for us in Melbourne especially as this move is made with the knowledge that we will definitely be back in Marrakech and Morocco alot over our life together.

So while we bid farewell to our home here we are both excited, nervous and a little scared but we know the future is very bright for us and will be filled with lots of love and happiness. You can expect us back in Melbourne around the 16th of November.

I will try and post something from Turkey as well, but either way stay tuned as there is alot more happening.

 Bon Voyage, Maasalama, Ci Vediamo Presto, See you very soon xxx Kate & Hafid

~ by Food From Our Life on November 1, 2007.