The six students participating in Al-Andalus this year included three 1997 graduates: Cornelia Engler, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Hans Engler, Due West; Christopher Horne, son of Mr. and Mrs. Delbert J. Horne, 201 Moores Mill Road, Pelzer; and Rachel Reed, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Reed, 1406 West Georgia Road, Simpsonville.

Also sharing the adventure were three returning juniors: Michael Armstrong, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Armstrong, Route 3, Box 1510 Rabon Road, Laurens; Cathy Dunlap, daughter of Ms. Lena Dunlap, Route 4, Box 223 Nance Road, Abbeville; and Melissa Schweir, daughter of Ms. Donna M. Schwier, 160 Droos Way, Charleston.

The students were accompanied by two professors. Dr. Linda Rashidi, a native of Ithaca, N.Y., has a Ph.D in linguistics from Michigan State University, is a veteran of the Peace Corps (two years in Afghanistan), and currently teaches at Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. Dr. Carlos Mentley is Associate Professor of Languages at Erskine College.

In addition, Jeff Lash, an American graduate student teaching at Al-Akhawayn University, and Aomar Boum, a Moroccan graduate student, accompanied the group in Morocco.

The group visited the three great centers of Moorish civilization in Spain: Crdoba, the capital of Al Andalus from 711 to 1031; Sevilla, the most important city in the turbulent times of the Berber invasions, 1031 to 1236; and Granada, the last and most magnificent Moorish capital 1236 to 1492. Visits to these cities are included in most tours of southern Spain, but the Erskine trip was exceptional in a number of ways, according to Mentley.

Unlike the average American tourists in Europe, for example, the group traced the early stages of the route followed by El Cid, the epic hero of medieval Spanish poetry. They visited Santo Domingo de Silos and listened to the Gregorian chant sung by the monks there. They stopped in small towns throughout central and southern Spain, "to experience the essence of Spanish culture far from the routes of the tour buses," according to Mentley.

The students studied Moorish culture "not only in Spain, but where it began-in Morocco," says Mentley. During the Moroccan leg of the journey, students spent a night in the Sahara desert, following the steps of the Arab invaders of the seventh century, traveling by camel. They also walked into the Atlas Mountains to visit remote Berber towns.

Students explored the "medina," that is, the non-European part, of the great imperial capital of Morocco, Fes, a city which developed parallel with Granada, Spain. The two cities constituted the nucleus of late Andalus culture.

The group avoided large hotels, staying mostly in family-run "hostales" and using a combination of public transportation and rental cars to allow flexibility. With all members of the group able to function in Spanish, and three able to function in French, Morocco's second language, plenty of interaction between the group and the native population was possible.

Engler, who graduated from Erskine in May, enjoyed the way the trip was structured. "He let us go off on our own and discover things for ourselves," she says of Al-Andalus director Mentley.

Students were told about the things they ought to see in a given locale, and then allowed to explore in groups of two or more, coming together for meals which they found especially enjoyable. "The food was usually delicious," she remembers. "In restaurants we would generally order the daily menu. There was lots of fruit, including a green melon that tasted like cantaloupe."

Each student was required to prepare a presentation on a topic they selected from a list given them before the journey. "My topic was the French in Morocco, so while we were in Morocco I had to give my presentation.

"Spain was beautiful, but I particularly liked Morocco because it was so completely different," says Engler. "It was very dirty, noisy, lots of people everywhere. Little kids would come up asking you for money and wanting to be your guide."

Armstrong, back on the Erskine campus after his adventures in Spain and Morocco, told of his attempt to get a Jeep Cherokee repaired while in Fez. The Jeep was overheating, and the mechanic was not experienced with American cars.

"He pulled hoses off and put them back on," said Armstrong. "The last straw was when he pulled the bottom radiator hose off the Jeep and said it was hard. I told him it had a spring in it, but he pulled the spring outÑhe didn't understand that it had to be in there."

Finally, Armstrong and Aomar Boum, who served as interpreter, managed to convey to the mechanic that they wanted him to put it back together and then they would leave. They left with the Jeep still unrepaired, having paid $25 for a container of antifreeze.

"We left there and found another mechanic, one Aomar knew, and in 30 minutes he had it fixed," said Armstrong.

Armstrong also enjoyed the freedom built into the structure of the Al-Andalus program, and the exposure to other cultures the trip entailed. "We even got to stay at Aomar's house one night," he said.

Describing the way in which the group found accommodations each night, Armstrong explained, "We would get into a town and he (Dr. Mentley) would have a list from different travel guides and we would call around and if we called one and it sounded good, we would go and check it out."

The group traveled to Toledo to see its art museums and attend the Visigothic rite mass at the cathedral. Some other highlights of the trip included four days on the Mediterranean islands of Formentera and Ibiza and finally a couple of days in Madrid to visit the Prado art museum, the Royal Palace, the Rastro flea market and a bullfight.

Students interested in Al-Andalus should contact Dr. Carlos MentleyÑand concentrate on learning Spanish.