Postcards From Morocco

Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/14
  Marrakesh! We made it and are installed in Riad Algeria, where we dropped our suitcases and sat down. Fatima, speaking Arabic, welcomed us and gave us the tour. The large central air space, open to the sky, cools and refreshes the whole interior, so there are no external windows. The riad has three floors each forming three sides of the space. We breakfast in the courtyard on the first, sleep in the 'pink salon' on the second, and slurp our wine on the top floor terrace. There's a good kitchen, complete with tajines!

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/15
  Morocco is home to the Berbers, the Roman term for barbarian. They have lived in North Africa since the ice age. The society, which frustrated invaders, has Arabic, European, Egyptian, etc. influences. It's complex, diverse and fascinating. Berber is an oral language today, but it has an odd 33-letter alphabet rediscovered from ancient artifacts. Pastilla (pigeon pie), a classic Berber dish, is today made with slow-cooked chicken and veggies in filo with confectioner's sugar and cinnamon. It's wonderful!

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/16
  The Médersa (madrasah in English) is Marrakech's ancient legal and religious school. Founded in the 14th century, it was once North Africa's largest Koranic school with 900 students. It's a work of art. Stone and cedar carving cover all surfaces not already tiled. Arches are decorated; upper floors are decorated; so are entries to tiny monastic rooms. The Carrara marble entry reads: "You who enter my door, may your highest hopes be exceeded." Perhaps all schools need this sign.
  [Caution: Larger files.]

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/17
  We live in the Medina, Marrakech's ancient walled city founded in 1062 and a World Heritage Site. In 2004 it had 182,000 residents or 22% of Marrakech's population. People eat and sleep behind the walls, but they live on the streets. Except for scooters, it's unchanged for at least 3 centuries. There are horse and donkey carts, veggie sellers, the butcher, the chicken man, the bean ladies, and general pandemonium. At the Medina's center is Djemaa El Fna, the main "square" with some rare open space.

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/18
  Wandering the Medina is fun, because one learns such interesting things. For example, who knew chickens might run afoul of the law - wait! Is that spelled right? - soon to be jail birds. If you have a week, a building can be demolished with pick axes, though better planning could help. It's odd that despite Islam's prohibition against alcohol this man sells under a Heineken umbrella ... but perhaps not as odd as selling denture plates and random teeth. (He has pliers on his table!) And how forlorn is a donkey without a tire?

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/19
  Perhaps our tales of life in the Medina have left the impression that everyone in Marrakech sits on the ground selling cucumbers one at a time. Not true. Marrakech is a city of over a million people; outside of the Medina they seem to lead standard 21st century lives: TV, cars, contemporary housing, clothes at the mall, spaghetti sauce from the super marché. There's an opera house, many jardins and green spaces. Of course, everyone has a phone. What else would there be to look at?

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/20
  We're leaving Marrakech and taking the train to Fès (local spelling). We leave you with these last two glimpses of beautiful Marrakech.

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/21
  We've arrived in Fès to our 400 year old, beautifully restored riad. You're down with riad design, right? No external windows, interior air space open to the sky. Our Fès riad has living space around four sides of three floors. We've chosen the beryl bedroom. And one of the baths is perfect for a sultan! The terrace will be pleasant in all weather, which so far has been sunny in the 70s. And the tile work! Really, we need a lot more pictures to give the full impact of this place. It's the kind of place where the doors have doors!

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/22
  Welcome to Morocco's tanning salon. Chouara Tannery in Fès and its 1000 year old process are impressive. It stinks, so use a Moroccan gas mask (mint leaves). Young men tan sheep, goat, cow & camel hides 'cause it's too hard for old guys. Wash hides, soak a week in lime, cow urine, salt and water. Next soak in pigeon poop; it contains ammonia to make it supple, especially if you knead it with your legs for a few hours. Tan by soaking in mimosa bark. Wash. Dye: poppy red, indigo, henna (orange), cedar (brown), saffron root (yellow). Dry. It's brutal work.

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/23
  The markets in the medinas of Fès and Marrakech sell mostly locally produced food. Mint, for example, is sold in huge bunches for stuffing into glasses of traditional tea and for general cooking. Seasonal veggies now are fava beans, zucchini, wild artichoke blossoms and peas. The goat cheese is wrapped in palm leaves. Bread is baked on every corner. Rosewater and other uses for blossoms are popular. We are less certain about the colored milk, since bottles are filled by a guy on a scooter who doesn't know the word sterile.

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/24
  Except for one aspect, the Marrakech and Fès medinas are polar opposites. Marrakech is perfectly flat. Fès sits on a steep hill. Marrakech is plagued by scooters; thanks to the steps Fès has none. Streets & alleys in Fès are much narrower, making the medina the world's largest car-free area. So residents of the medina walk, and most offer a smile and bonjour as they pass. It's pleasant! That one aspect? Getting lost is inevitable in both. As for the new town, like Marrakech, Fès is very modern and up-to-date.

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/25
  Today in Tile Designs 101 we will talk about algorithms for creating stars. Ha! Joke. No algorithms. We're only appreciating stars. The 64-point star at left is built from a 16-point star (green), then doubled (red) and doubled again (blue). Sweet. The 24-point star in gold fill surrounded by 8 white and blue stars is common: A B C. Notice how the embellishments can build in various ways, or as right, not at all. Cool, no? For actual algorithms see: Arabesques: Decorative Art In Morocco, Jean-Marc Castéra, ACR, 1999

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/26
  Last night Nabila fixed dinner for us; Julie was sous chef. The menu was Pastilla (see 4/15), cold orange carrot soup, fava beans, smoked eggplant spread, tomato salad, and mixed fruit and yogurt for dessert. The classic Pastilla is a 7 egg mixture, cooked chicken, herbs, ground almonds and sugar all encased in filo. Once baked, it gets the powdered sugar & cinnamon treatment. Our rating of Café Nabila:

  
  
  
Poste Maroc 2015
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  4/27
  Au revoir, Maroc.
  Nous reviendrons un jour in shaa Allah,
  which is how we hear friends say the Arabic,
  

  إن شاء الله

  
  
  

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