Follow the "alchemist" through Morocco to Egypt

Treasure Hunt

The Alchemistis a story about the journey of pursuing the dream and destiny of the shepherd boy Santiago. He often takes his flock of sheep throughout the Andalusian countryside, makes friends everywhere and has many interesting experiences. One night, Santiago stops at an old abandoned church with a large mulberry tree, in his dream that night, he sees himself being led to the Egyptian pyramids. The dream keeps repeating, causing Santiago to go to a fortuneteller to ask her to interpret the dream, and receives the advice "go to the Egyptian pyramids...". The dream interpretation does not satisfy Santiago. But then the meeting with the strange old man Melchizedek, who calls himself the king of Salem, makes him believe more in his dream. From here, Santiago's journey to Egypt to search for treasure officially begins.

His journey took him from the Andalusian countryside, to the southernmost city of Tarifa in Spain, across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco and across the Sahara Desert to the Faiyum oasis. The Egyptian pyramids were his final destination.

The reader is told that Santiago comes from a town with a castle on a hilltop and that his father wanted him to become a priest at the local church of Saint Santiago. With over 200 castles in Andalusia, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where Santiago's journey should begin. In Andalusia, with its rich history, ancient beauty and breathtaking landscapes, any place can be a great starting point...

Windy city of Tarifa

For many, Andalusia is the heart of Spain with its captivating blue coastline, ancient architecture steeped in Moorish culture and history, fiery flamenco dancing and bullfighting, and delicious tapas.

Tarifa, Spain’s southernmost town, also known as the Windy Capital of Europe, is a world apart from the rest of Andalusia. The main gate of the old town, where Santiago met the King of Salem, is now located in the Puerta de Jerez square, attached to the medieval walls built to protect the city from invaders. With an atmosphere steeped in culture and history, countless small, cozy restaurants and endless white sandy beaches, this stunning town attracts visitors from all over the world every year.

Tarifa and the windswept beaches of Los Lances sit right on the Strait of Gibraltar where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet, overlooking the Moroccan city of Tangier in the distance. Because of its unique location, the town is blessed with strong winds and big waves. No bathing suits are required on Tarifa’s beaches, as this is where visitors can try their hand at water sports, especially kitesurfing and windsurfing.

Clear sea, blue mountains, golden sunshine, small narrow old quarters, simple white houses with blue painted window frames, peace and romance, all wrapped up in the windy town of Tarifa. It is so hard to leave Tarifa! That is why Santiago hesitated to leave for Egypt...

From the Costa de la Luz (Coast of Light) in Tarifa, I took a ferry to Tangier, just over 30 km away. There are eight ferries running back and forth each day. The ferry ride takes 35 minutes, but with the time difference between Tarifa and Tangier, I arrived at the same time I left.

Tangier, the legendary gateway to North Africa

When Santiago arrived in Tangier, he learned a lesson that still resonates with travelers today: be wary of thieves, especially when traveling alone. This is something to remember when traveling anywhere, but especially Tangier, although the city has been making efforts to become a safer destination for tourists in recent years.

My first impression of Tangier was the liveliness and bustle of the streets and the breathtakingly beautiful beaches just a few minutes away by taxi from the center... Along the beach are traditional North African souk markets, frequented by tourists from all over the world, with countless unique local products on sale, with prices for tourists always 3-5 times more expensive than for locals. On the hill are rows of white houses facing the sea, creating a romantic and poetic scene. Tangier's culture and history are rich due to the blend of many great civilizations such as North Africa, Spain and France, giving the city a mysterious, strange and rare beauty. This bay has been a prosperous city of Morocco for many generations thanks to its location at the crossroads where North Africa meets Europe, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, where Western civilization blends with the profound Islamic life.

In 1923, Tangier was named an international city by a treaty between nine countries with interests in Morocco: France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, the United States, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. This “international city” in the 1950s attracted and inspired many international writers and artists, who contributed to making Tangier one of the most impressive tourist cities in Africa.

One of Tangier’s most famous cafes is Café Hafa, perched atop a cliff overlooking Tangier Bay. Looking at photos of patrons like Paul Bowles, William S. Burroughs, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, I noticed that the interior has not changed since it opened in 1921, maintaining its unique charm, both European in its simplicity and North African in its warmth. Café Hafa’s specialties are Maghrebi mint tea and a special Tangier beer. Maghrebi mint tea, a traditional Moroccan drink, is green tea mixed with mint leaves and sugar, and can be served cold as iced tea, as it is hot here year-round.

A blend of Eastern and Western cultures, ancient and modern, the city is not short of interesting destinations, from Dar el Makhzen, the palace of the ancient Sultans, to the Art Museum, the Archaeological Museum and the Kasbah Museum, a mosque with unique architecture, or the church of St. Andrew... The Gran Teatro Cervantes was built in 1913 with a prominent Art Deco style, although the facade is now dilapidated, it was formerly the most prestigious theater in North Africa.

Besides the mysterious cultural and historical relics, the modern neighborhoods in Tangier are also very unique with intricately carved arches, or decorative details in warm colors, such as earthy brown, olive, silver, amber, and especially the outstanding turquoise.

The largest market in Tangier is Petit Socco, the market gate connecting to the road to the seaside. This is also the gate connecting a civilized, modern Tangier with a legendary, ancient Tangier. There is no place more suitable than Petit Socco for you to immerse yourself in the life of the Tangier people, with an explosion of colors, sounds, temperatures, somewhat reminiscent of the ancient Persian markets...

But the consequences of people from all over the world coming here have pushed Tangier into a state of chaos and chaos that continues to this day. Goods are more expensive than elsewhere, the city at night is not safe, the beaches are full of tourist solicitors... Once again, Santiago's lesson is repeated: be especially vigilant against fraud and theft in Tangier.

But there were some things I couldn't learn from the "alchemist." Santiago had followed a camel caravan from Morocco to Egypt. Since it was impossible to travel overland through Libya at that time, I had to fly to Cairo.

From Faiyum Oasis to Ancient Pyramids

After a tiring journey through the Sahara Desert, Santiago and his caravan arrive at the date palm oasis of Faiyum (also known as El Fayoum). This is where he meets and falls in love with a young girl, Fatima, and is also introduced to the "alchemist".

"The shepherd could not believe his eyes: the oasis was not a well surrounded by a few palm trees - as he had read before in a history book - but was much larger than many villages in Spain. The oasis had hundreds of wells and many colorful huts among fifty thousand palm trees."

As described in the book, Faiyum is much larger than I expected for a desert oasis, with a population of around 300,000. It is the oldest city in Egypt, dating back to the time of the Pharaohs, with many fascinating historical sites, making it a suitable destination for a day trip from Cairo, only about 2 hours by car. There are no camel tours to Faiyum, because the oasis is 100 km from Cairo across the Sahara Desert. But there are many car tours to Faiyum, with prices ranging from 150 to 1,500 USD.

“Maybe God created the desert so that people would appreciate the date palms,” the experienced alchemist thought. Santiago thought, “one day these thousand date palms will be just a memory, but for now, for him, they are shade, water, and a refuge from war.”

As for me, Faiyum is the final destination of my treasure hunt. My treasure is not gold and silver like Santiago, but a sense of peace in my soul.

The oasis is located in a depression along the shores of the salt lake Qarun and is irrigated by 200 water wheels from the Nile. Just outside the center of the oasis are three lesser-known pyramids: the pyramid at Meidum, the pyramid at al Lahun and the pyramid of Amenemhet at Hawara. There is also Wadi al-Hitan, the Valley of the Whales, where 40-million-year-old whale skeletons have been found, evidence that the area was once a vast ocean. Wadi al-Hitan was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. These sites are close to the Faiyum oasis and offer camel rides for visitors interested in archaeology.

The oasis is so large, with so many archaeological sites, that although it is possible to go to Cairo and return in a day, visitors often choose to stay here overnight. Faiyum tourism services are very developed, with no shortage of high-class hotels and restaurants and all kinds of amenities for tourists - to the point that I can forget that I am in the middle of the desert.

In the old days, when there were no airplanes, cars and air conditioning, in the Sahara desert, considered one of the harshest places on the planet, a healthy person, if lucky enough not to encounter scorpions, poisonous snakes, robbers, would soon collapse under the heat and sandstorms of the desert. Yet, there were always footprints on the sand dunes, across an entire continent, of merchants, pilgrims or nomads, carrying with them goods, food, weapons along with a spirit of steel, mixed with a little adventure and faith.

What keeps desert travelers healthy and mentally strong during their arduous journey? The answer is the oasis. Travelers must pass through oases to replenish their water and food. Together with the tribes living there, people can spend time relaxing under the shade of green palm trees, enjoying the rare, cool, fresh water, and then the next day continue their long journey between the golden sand and the blue sky.

It is difficult to describe Faiyum - dusty, sun-drenched and windy, vibrant, bustling, hot, exotic, colorful and full of life. The markets of Faiyum are a lavish maze, a dizzying whirl of lights, music, loud laughter and shouting, strange, mysterious smoke and aromatic spices typical of the Middle East, dozens, hundreds of different languages ​​spoken by locals and tourists, snakes, monkeys and sweet dates. From the ornate houses in the ancient villages, to the children playing in the streets, the winding roads, the cool breeze from the lake blowing through the canyons and the endless orange sand dunes of the Sahara. So, I find it difficult to describe Faiyum, how can one fully understand the beauty of this green oasis in just a short trip? How can we fully understand the joyful shouts of gratitude when the ancient travelers saw the green palm forests in Faiyum after many days of wandering in the desert?

Santiago's journey through distant, unknown lands leads him to his dream, making the reader realize that "only when one has the ability to realize one's dreams is life worth living." If there is such an "alchemist" to guide us, why don't we dare to dream of traveling from the sunny and windy Andalusia to the pyramids of mysterious Egypt?

It took four flights across three continents, hours of mountain and desert travel, and a camel ride through the Saharan dunes, but every moment of the journey was worth it. Because, as the “alchemist” said, “life is generous to those who pursue their destiny.”

Rosemary