'Morocco Caucus' Established Inside U.S. Congress.
Washington — A Group of U.S. lawmakers announced
the establishment of the "Congressional Morocco Caucus" for the 112th
congress, with the aim of deepening the economic and strategic relations
between Rabat and Washington
"We are pleased to announce the establishment
of the Congressional Morocco Caucus for the 112th Congress. The Morocco Caucus
will be a bipartisan group of Members committed to deepening the economic and
strategic relationship between the United States and Morocco," said the
initiators of the Caucus in a letter to their fellow congressmen.
They recalled that Morocco and the U.S. enjoy
long-standing friendship relations, describing that the Kingdom as a
"vital" ally in North Africa and "a strategic friend that shares
our values and aspirations."
Most recently, said the letter signed by
congressmen Mario-Diaz-Balart, Bennie Thompson, Loretta Sanchez et Michael G.
Grimm, Morocco held a constitutional referendum and implemented
"far-reaching democratic reforms."
They added that the Kingdom "has long been a
strong partner on security issues, a strong trading partner for U.S. business,
and is a regional leader on democratic reforms."
With the recent events taking place in the region,
Morocco-U.S. relations have gained a strategic importance, underlined the
signatories of the letter, stressing the need to "work together to ensure
the success of their democratic aspirations."
------------------------------------------
U.S. Underlines Country's Efforts to
Counter Extremism, Encourage Religious Tolerance – Report
Washington — U.S. Department of State highlighted
Tuesday Morocco's efforts aiming to "counter extremist ideology",
underlining that the Kingdom "continued to encourage tolerance, respect,
and dialogue among religious groups."
Explaining the approach implemented by Morocco, the
Department of State noted, in its 2010 International Religious Freedom Report,
the continuation of the training of female Muslim spiritual guides
(Mourchidaat), a programme launched in 2006, which aims to "promote
tolerance and to increase women's spiritual participation."
The report recalled, in this respect, that since
the inception of the programme over 200 women have been trained and are now
providing counsel to women, girls and children on variety of subjects,
including their legal rights and family planning.
The efforts made by Morocco to promote moderate
Islam are seen through the religious freedom that Moroccan Jews are enjoying
"in safety throughout the country" as well as Christian communities
abroad, said the report.
In order to encourage interfaith dialogue, the
document also noted that Jewish culture and its artistic, literary, and
scientific heritage is taught in some Moroccan universities, citing as an
example the teaching of Hebrew and comparative religion in the Department of
Islamic Studies at the University of Rabat.
Studies of Christianity and Judaism are part of a
course of academic theological studies, added the Department of State in the
same context.
------------------------------------------
Over 6.5 Million Students Enrolled in Schools
14 September 2011
Rabat — Some 6,593,194 students, 39% of whom live
in rural areas, have started the school year 2011-2012 in different schools
across the Kingdom.
The number of new entrants to primary schools
reached 684,438 pupils, while the newly built schools amounted to 290 bringing
the school's overall number to 9,995, including 153 in rural areas.
The educational human resources were reinforced
with 8346 new teachers. This increases the number of teachers to 233,180, of
whom 56% teach in primary schools, 25% in junior high schools, and 19% in high
schools.
To help achieve educational goals, several social
support programmes were developed, notably the "one million school
bag" initiative. This Royal initiative, to be implemented for a total cost
of 313 million dirhams, will benefit 4,102,317 schoolchildren from different
regions
------------------------------------------
Moscow-Pullman
Daily News, Moscow,
Idaho
Anna James spends two years teaching in Rabat,
Morocco, with the Peace Corps
By Kelli Hadley Daily News Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
For almost two years now, a 24-year-old
Pullman-native has lived by herself in a small house in Rabat, Morocco, where
she teaches English and leadership virtues to youth in the developing country.
Anna James was raised in Pullman,
graduating from Pullman High School in 2005 and then from Willamette University
in Salem, Ore., in 2009 with degrees in international studies and French. From
there, her destination was in the hands of the Peace Corps.
"I really developed in interest in
development work and wanted to see all the corners of the world," James
said. "The Peace Corps had always been in the back of my mind."
The application process was lengthy,
she said, taking more than six months from initial paperwork to the formal
invitation to work in North Africa. Upon applying she was able to give a
location preference, but decisions are made based on experience and language
capabilities, she said. Her ability to speak French and background working with
children landed her at a youth development center in Rabat, the capital of
Morocco.
James lived with a host family while
doing intensive language training for the first two months, after which she got
her site placement. She lived with another host family in Rabat for two months
and then found a house where she currently lives by herself. She went into the
experience with an open mind, she said, but still faced culture shock upon
arrival - trying to communicate in Arabic was the biggest struggle she faced at
first. After adapting to the conservative lifestyle in Morocco, things that
seemed foreign at first became ordinary, such as wearing skirts down to her
ankles and long-sleeved shirts.
"I didn't know a lot about Morocco
or Islam, or what the culture would be like," James said. "Morocco is
a beautiful and diverse country, but it's very different from the Pacific
Northwest, especially in the small villages where we're working. Women don't sit
in cafes, and they're not outside a whole lot unless they're going to one place
to another."
James started her volunteer work
teaching English at the youth center, and eventually branched into teaching
different classes, such as exercise groups for women and leadership seminars.
Her biggest project, the implementation
of a program called CLIMB - Creating Leadership in the Mountains and Beyond -
which wrapped up in July. She and another Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco each
gathered a group of 15 teenagers and created a six-month program, teaching
leadership, team
building, first-aid, environmental
education and outdoor appreciation. Once a month the groups went on excursions
to a different areas of Morocco, and then the final step of the program was a
four-day climb to the top of Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa
with an elevation of 13,671 ft.
"It was an adventure - definitely
the most rewarding thing I've done while in Morocco, but by far the most
challenging," she said. "The people I was working with were adult
community members, and it was really amazing to see so many of them step
forward and ... show their dedication to the youth."
The people of Morocco are probably what
James will miss the most, she said. She would like to return to visit and could
possibly live there again if working with a larger development association.
"It's definitely been the most
rewarding thing I've ever done," James said. "You have really high
highs and some pretty low lows, too, but you really find out a lot about what
you can handle and what you can't. I learned a lot about humility and not
taking yourself too seriously."
James hasn't been back to the U.S. to
visit since she left for Morocco, so she has unsure feelings about what
returning will be like this November.
"I think it'll be tough at first,
but my excitement to come home and see everyone outweighs that feeling,"
she said. "We're very lucky here, a lot of us have Internet access in our
homes, so it's been much easier to keep in touch than it would have been only a
few years ago."
Upon arrival back to the U.S., James
hopes to find a job in Portland in development work or a nonprofit
organization.
"At this point I'm pretty open,
going back to school in the near future will probably be a good move for
me," she said.
James is the daughter of Susan James of
Pullman and Don Carr of Priest River, Idaho.
------------------------------------------
Dentist to help kids keep their big
smiles; COTTINGHAM: Visit to Morocco to treat children in Berber Tribe
Katy Wood
Hull Daily Mail
September 10, 2011
IT WAS an experience which touched his
heart and will stay with him forever.
Now, East Riding dentist Chris
Branfield is making a return visit to Morocco to treat more children with
severe dental problems.
He is part of a group of dentists from
across the UK who are aiming to treat youngsters and educate them on the
importance of dental hygiene. Chris first visited the country last year and
wanted to continue the visits after seeing the scale of the problem.
He will return to north-east Morocco on
September 25 to treat children in the Berber tribe.
Chris said: "You realise you take
things for granted.
"They don't have any dental health
care or dental education, so they have rubbish teeth.
"The children are in pain. To know
you have taken them out of pain gives you a feeling of self-worth and
pride."
Chris, 41, of Beverley, is owner and
principal dentist at Castle Park Dental Care in Cottingham.
He and the rest of the team have
covered their own costs for the trip, as well as a trek during their two-week
stay.
Dental equipment has been donated and
money for other essentials has been raised through fundraising and sponsorship.
The tribe is based in El Jebha, a small
port town situated in the Rif Mountains. Chris helped to treat about 50
children with severe tooth decay last year.
But he hopes to treat at least 200
later this month through the group's Teeth For Life programme.
Chris said: "It's rampant decay
leading to multiple abscesses.
"When I saw it last time, it made
my heart sink and made me feel really emotional.
"I wanted to give the kids a big
hug and wave a magic wand to make it all better.
"They have a really sweet tooth.
"If you can educate the children, hopefully, you can change attitudes for
future generations."
Chris and the team, known as the Dental
Mavericks, also hope to create a dental clinic in El Jebha and pay a dental
nurse to work there.
They will hand out toothbrushes and
toothpaste to the children during their stay.
InShort East Riding dentist Chris
Branfield is part of a team preparing to treat children with severe tooth decay
in Morocco.
Dating back to 3000BC THE Berber Tribe
has lived in Africa since the earliest recorded time and references date back
to 3000BC.
There are many scattered tribes of
Berber across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, and 40 per cent of
the Moroccan population is Berber.
Berber is derived from the Roman term
for barbarians.
Berbers tend to live in rural areas.
They usually live in clay huts or tents made out of goat hair, but houses are
made of stone in larger villages.
Visit www.dentalmavericks.
org or www.castleparkdental.co.uk
to support Chris and the team.
Copyright 2011 Hull Daily MailAll Rights Reserved
Hull Daily Mail
Wire News provided by
------------------------------------------
Alex Norman’s Semester in Morocco:
First Impressions
Okay.
Today is my twelfth day in Rabat, Morocco and I
really cannot over-emphasize how astounding this place is. To start from
the beginning, my flight into the African continent (from Paris to Rabat) was
awe-inspiring in itself; it traced the coast of Spain to the tip of North
Africa and all the way along the coast to the capital city. I could see all the
varied terrain–mountains, plains, beaches–and even the actual contour of the
country’s edge like the curvature of a spine.
My first four nights in Rabat were spent at the
Hotel Majestic (Majestic might have been a bit of an overstatement, but each
room did at least have a shower complete with hot water), which is located
directly across the street from the medina (Rabat’s old city). The medina is a
labyrinth. When I received the address for my homestay family (note: all of
SIT’s homestays are located inside the medina), I thought I’d try to get at
least a rough sense of my new home’s location by looking the medina up in an
online map. Oops! As it turns out, the Rabat medina is the first town I have
ever encountered that is completely undocumented on Google Maps. It is composed
of intricately curved, stone-paved streets and thus, although it is thickly populated
and bursts with street vendors offering djellabas, hookahs, slippers and
snails, it registers only as an obscure grey void on the screen. My homestay
family and their home really deserves its own blog entry, so until I catch up
to that I’ll mention SIT’s main academic building here, which is a real work of
art:
In the annex, there are several stained glass
windows and all of the doors, door frames, windows, etc. are carved and painted
and the walls and floors are lined with detailed tile patterns, like those
above. I personally think that standing inside the building is somewhat like
living inside a giant kaleidoscope, if you can imagine that, with a variety of
patterns and elements that meld together and almost seem to diffract and
re-form depending on where one is standing at the time.
Now, the terrace. Oh, the terrace. It has a 360
degree panoramic view of both the city and the ocean and I plan to study there
every chance I get. Here is a taste of the view.
That’s all for now. Enjoy the pictures if you can
(although I’m certainly not the most natural photographer) and look forward to
stories about a Moroccan family in the entries to come!
–Alex
------------------------------------------
Maghreb Film Festival celebrates
Amazigh culture
2011-09-12
Movie-makers from across the Maghreb descended on
Nabeul, Tunisia last week to celebrate the country's newly liberated film
industry.
By Houda Trabelsi in Tunis – 12/09/11
|
|
The Tunisian revolution ushered in a
new era for the nation's movie industry. Organisers of the just-concluded third
Maghreb Film Festival of Nabeul (FFMN) used the opportunity to celebrate
Amazigh cinema for the first time in Tunisia.
"I have discovered Amazigh cinema
at the Azzefoun festival in Algeria, and I was
impressed by their culture," said Anis Lassoued, director of the September
7th-11th festival. "Therefore, we decided to add this aspect to the
Maghreb Film Festival in Nabeul as we can't exclude Amazigh culture in the
Maghreb because there is an important class of Amazigh people here."
Under the old regime, Lassoued said that
he submitted a project on Amazigh culture to a number of producers but all
rejected it for political reasons.
"Now I'm determined to discover
this culture that I have fallen in love with after visiting a number of Berber
villages in southern Tunisia, and therefore, I decided to make a movie on
it," he told Magharebia. "However, shedding light on Amazigh culture
doesn't mean that we encourage divisions among the Maghreb peoples based on
their origins."
The festival director noted that
regional co-operation was "a must to make the Maghreb cinema a global
cinema", adding that organisers established a fund to promote Maghreb
movie making.
Si El Hachemi Assad, director of the
Amazigh Film Festival of Azzefoun (FCNAFA), told Magharebia that the Algerian
group has 12 years of experience with Amazigh cinema.
"I have established the festival
under a personal initiative with the encouragement of state. This is a daring
experiment involving too many challenges," he said.
Regarding the Algerian-Tunisian
partnership, he said that he considered "the creation of a cultural
association in Tunisia for the first time to be a good indicator for
co-operation with brothers in Tunisia in several fields, especially cinema,
which were not possible under the former regime".
Regional film co-operation also extends
to Mauritania. "We don't have too much experience with cinema in
Mauritania, and we don't have any experience with Amazigh cinema although there
are Amazighs in Mauritania and there is a rich Amazigh culture there,"
said Mauritanian cinematographer Abdul Rahman Ahmed Salem.
"There is Amazigh movement in the
region through festivals and meetings with some intellectuals who call for
shedding light on Amazigh identity, and this makes us think about co-operating
with our brothers in the Maghreb to shed light on Amazigh culture, especially
through the cinema, in Mauritania," he added.
Meanwhile, Libyan filmmaker Salah
Gouider said that "the Amazighs were persecuted under Kadhafi and they
were even prevented from speaking in their own language in public, and in this
way, it was not possible to do any cultural activities to shed light on Amazigh
culture in Libya."
"However, now, thank God, we can
do that, especially as the Libyan Amazighs have actively taken part in the
revolution with their own blood, especially in Nafusa Mountains," he said.
"I think that after the Arab
revolutions and the wind of change that blew in the region, the Maghreb
countries can co-operate together to promote the cinema in general and Amazigh
cinema in particular," Gouider added.
------------------------------------------
Maid from Morocco? No thanks, say
Saudi wives
Feel Moroccan women are beautiful and
could snatch their husbands
By Nadim Kawach
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
A few weeks after uniting against a
long-standing ban on female car driving, Saudi women are again joining hands in
another common cause—this time against the recruitment of housemaids from
Morocco. Their excuse is that Moroccan women are beautiful and could snatch
their husbands off them.
While the campaign against the
driving ban came too late, their reaction to government plans to import
Moroccan maids was too swift and decisive.
The Shura council (the Gulf kingdom’s
appointed parliament) said it had been deluged by demands from Saudi women
urging it to veto plans by the government to turn to Morocco to get housemaids
following the suspension of domestic workers from the Philippines and
Indonesia.
“Many Saudi woman have objected to
plans to import domestic workers from Morocco…they say the Moroccan women are
beautiful and this will cause continuous anxiety and concern in Saudi
families,” 'Sharq' daily said.
“Some of them said Moroccan women are
so attractive that their husbands could easily fall for them…others said
Moroccans are good at magic and sorcery and that this could enable them to lure
their husbands.”
In comments last week, a Saudi
chamber official said Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy and the world’s
top oil exporter, could turn to Morocco and other countries to get its domestic
workers following the dispute with the Philippines and Indonesia, the largest
suppliers of housemaids to the Gulf countries.
“We are considering turning to
countries which allow their domestic workers to move to other countries without
preconditions…these include Morocco, east Asia, and some south African
countries,” said Saad Al Baddah, director of the labour recruitment committee
at the Saudi Chambers Federation.
“For the time being, we face a
problem regarding Moroccan domestic workers as there are no official
recruitment centres…temporarily, Saudis can travel to Morocco and bring in
housemaids directly.”
A labour ministry official said
Saudis are allowed to hire Moroccan housemaids directly in the absence of
official or private recruitment offices for that country.
“We can provide Saudis with a visa
for one Moroccan domestic worker but they have to bring them in or look for
government offices in Morocco…this procedure is temporary pending the
establishment of such offices in Saudi Arabia,” labour ministry spokesman
Hattab Al Anzi told local newspapers.
Riyadh’s plans to turn to new
domestic labour sources followed the suspension of recruitment of housemaids
from the Philippines and Indonesia in June over disputes on wages and other
terms.
Officials said last month they could
soon lift a ban on maids from the Philippine once a final deal is signed
between the two countries.
Employment offices across Saudi
Arabia said they were already negotiating with other countries to supply maids
and offset a shortage resulting from the boycott of Philippine and Indonesian
domestic workers.“Many Saudi women have asked the Shura council to intervene to
stop plans to bring in housemaids from Morocco,” 'Sharq' said.
“Some women threatened to resign
their job and stay at home so their husbands will not be left alone with the
Moroccan maid.”More than 1.5 million housemaids from the Philippines,
Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other Asian and African nations work in Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom has been under fire from
local and foreign human rights groups over the death of some housemaids, who
have been reportedly killed by their employers. Pressure mounted in late 2010
following news that an Indonesian housemaid was severely tortured by her female
employer.
The case of the 23-year-old maid,
Sumiati Salan Mustapa triggered furor through the Kingdom and other countries
after she was hospitalised with severe head and body injuries because the
torture by hot iron.
Saudi official dismisses fears of
Moroccan maids
http://www.emirates247.com/news/saudi-official-dismisses-fears-of-moroccan-maids-2011-09-15-1.418725
------------------------------------------
Morocco's culture aids its economy
By Sylvia Smith
Mayor Mohamed Benaissa explains
what inspired the festival
Cherries, camels, dates and even
saffron; all are celebrated in colourful, traditional festivals in towns and
villages throughout Morocco, yet none has brought enduring social and
environmental benefits on the scale of the art museum in Assilah in northern
Morocco.
The process began in 1978 when a
few cleverly placed licks of paint began the transformation of a rat-infested,
rubbish-strewn eyesore with open sewers into a clean and environmentally aware
city.
Setting up a festival based on
festooning the town's white walls with murals was a deliberate tactic by its
photographer mayor, Mohamed Benaissa, to encourage civic pride in the town.
"We don't have any resources
other than the cultural abilities and imagination of our residents," he
explains. "But my faith in them has paid off."
Mayor Benaissa says he has different
priorities from other festival directors, who may not even live in the city
hosting the event.
"This city council has a duty
to provide its citizens with shelter, employment and basic
infrastructure," he says. "We dovetail these with running the festival."
Gulf country donations
The Assilah effect - sustained
growth without "the Torremolinos effect" of high-rise hotels and
overcrowded beaches - has encouraged other cities to regard art as a way of
boosting income.
From Fez, with its festival of
sacred music, to Essaouira, with its Gnawa bands, and Agadir's Timitar based on
amazing arts, culture lures foreign tourists who stay for the duration of the
festival. Some even buy a second home.
But although lots of Moroccan
cities have benefited from investment from Dubai in the construction of
large-scale tourist projects, Assilah has side-stepped dependence on
mass-market tourism, benefiting instead from Gulf country donations to build a
library, hospital, clinic, school or cultural centre.
Key to Assilah's ability to benefit
from socio-cultural financing offered by Gulf sovereign wealth funds is the
festival's status as Morocco's first non-governmental organisation (NGO) and Mr
Benaissa's close relationship with Gulf ministers, forged during his nine years
as Morocco's foreign minister.
Key questions
Additionally, the Moroccan
government's policies have brought it close to countries such as the United
Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, which invest in commercial schemes in the
kingdom.
Ministers and influential policy
makers from these countries come in person to address international conferences
at the Assilah festival.
The month-long "paint-in"
has morphed into an event that confronts key questions that resonate with
Africa, the Gulf, Latin America and Asia.
Issues such as immigration,
investment in infrastructure, transport and alternative energy have all been
debated and opinions have been shaped in this small Atlantic town.
The director-general of the Kuwaiti
Development Fund, Abdulwahab Ahmed al-Bader, says Morocco, a member of the Arab
League, has a very good relationship with the Gulf Economic Countries.
"It's been an ally in foreign
affairs," he says. "It's part of our duty to support a country like
Morocco."
High-level think-tank
The Kuwait-based Arab Fund for
Economic and Social Development has paid for this year's festival, and
previously built an old people's home.
Assilah's restoration has helped create a place
for debate as well as culture
It is not alone. The Qatari
Investment Corporation built new social housing projects after the construction
of a fishing port and a highway from the airport in Tangier to Assilah by the
Moroccan government.
Although the donor countries
receive no financial benefit from their Assilah investment portfolio, they have
the opportunity to participate in the wide-ranging conferences and debates that
link together economic, environmental and political matters.
According to Fathallah Oualalou,
Morocco's former finance minister and now mayor of the capital Rabat, putting
together a sort of high-level think-tank underlines the importance of Assilah.
"Participants from African
countries benefit from meeting the heads of Sovereign Funds in the Gulf, he
explains. "We are part of Africa here and Assilah acts as a fulcrum
between Europe and Africa, but also we have strong Latin American and Asian
participation."
This year's conference on renewable
energy, attended by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
reminded the audience that more than half of the world's renewable power
capacity was being developed in Africa, Asia and the Gulf.
This well attended forum was held
in the Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Library, paid for by the former Saudi
ambassador to the US.
With debates on Gulf sovereign wealth
funds, the image of the Arab in sub-Saharan African media, and a prize for
African poetry, it appears that Assilah can mix and match culture with
economics and the environment in a way that leaves other Moroccan towns behind.
------------------------------------------
Breathing in the magic of Morocco
Sitting at the northwestern corner of
the African continent, with the Strait of Gibraltar separating it from
Spain, is the kingdom of Morocco, ruled by a king with such vast executive
powers he can dissolve parliament and issue decrees that have the force of law.
Its population is over 32 million, its
political capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. It is
comparable to California in mileage. Every Moroccan can speak either Berber or
Moroccan Arabic. French is the foreign language most spoken, but
otherwise, Moroccans appear to be very nationalistic and proud of their
ancestry.
The best known city is Casablanca,
setting of the vintage romantic film of the same title starring Humphrey Bogart
and Ingrid Bergman, although none of the scenes was ever shot there.
We had long been fascinated by Morocco,
first because we knew absolutely nothing about it, and second, because
Filipinos appeared to be inordinately privileged not to be required a visa for
as long as 90 days, while our Asean neighbors Malaysia, Thailand,
Cambodia, Burma, Brunei, Laos and Vietnam had to fall in line for one.
We found nothing in our history, past
or present, that would link us to this country, and it was the strangeness,
plus its being part of the African continent, that made us all the more want to
go and visit it.
We are told, however, by our
Madrid-based friend Richard Signey, who has been to Morocco innumerable times,
that if we only had time to visit one city in Morocco, it should be Marrakech.
We took Richard’s advice and prepared for the trip not without anxiety, for
Richard had a full schedule of teaching and could not accompany us.
Fortunately, we had as travel
companions journalist Ronald Constantino and jewelry designer Marlon Pedregosa
to share in our doubts and fears. Marlon, the experienced traveler among us,
got us cheap tickets on EasyJet and booked us for four days at the Hotel Ryad
Mogador, part of a modern chain, yet proudly displaying décor from its
artisans.
The location was close to the walled
city they call the Medina, so near we could just walk in and voila! find a KFC
eatery, and was as comforting as it was distressing.
Heart of the city
Marrakech has two parts—the historic
old city called the Medina, and the new district called Ville Nouvelle or New
Town. Most visitors proceed to the Medina with its narrow passageways and
shops, its local color, residents in full regalia, and the perception of danger
that every unfamiliar culture strangely offers as magnet to the more
adventurous.
Clearly, the Medina is the throbbing
heart of Marrakech, a sprawling combustion of humanity that can be
disconcerting, as Moroccans are not as welcoming as we Pinoys are to foreigners.
They hate visitors interminably taking
pictures of them without as much as a by-your-leave. They would swear in their
native tongue at the souvenir hunter, and it didn’t matter that he was buying a
whole bagful of their goodies. That just isn’t part of the bargain.
Otherwise, one can find in the Medina a
flea market that would put Divisoria to shame. Everything, mostly
handmade in Morocco and other African kingdoms, can be found, from
clothes, bags, metalcraft and glass-blown lamps, to carved knick-knacks, shoes
and food. You name it, they have it, and at unbelievably cheap prices.
But Marrakech is other sights and
places, as well. It is history and culture, and these we are advised to
see by private cab. Our cab driver Omar spoke English, and knew his country’s
history like the back of his hand.
Marrakech was founded in 1062 AD by the
Almoravid dynasty that ruled much of Africa then, and what is now Spain and
Portugal. Almost a century after, the Almoravids would be overtaken by the
Berber Muslim Almohad Dynasty, who encouraged creativity from Arabic poets,
philosophers and scholars.
After the fall of the Almohads,
Marrakech was taken over by the French from 1912-1956. This is why today, most
everyone speaks French or their native tongue, and only those in the tourist
industry learn English.
A day trip outside Marrakech would cost
$300, which includes cab, fuel, driver, normal entrance fees and lunch. One
leaves the hotel at 9 a.m. and returns at 6 p.m. after the 80 km round-trip.
Driver Omar agrees to the rates, but does us one better by not informing us his
air-conditioning was defective. We had been warned about these drivers, so we
are not really surprised.
Otherwise, Omar’s itinerary is
acceptable, although it traverses the expected tourist route with items for
sale wherever we stopped, where Omar earned a commission.
Valleys and waterfalls
The Ourika Valley is a string of
villages 30 km south of Marrakech where the landscape along a river is fresh,
green, and cool even in the hottest summer. Spring would be the best choice for
the traveler. The road slowly led us into the valley until it ended in Setti
Fatma, famous for its seven waterfalls, after which would be mountains
difficult to trek, Omar tells us.
We are first brought to what we call
the camel stop, where tourists are expected to take pictures. Then we visit a
cooperative complex, Le Coin Berbere, where old women share with young Berber
workers how to make organic cosmetic products.
We buy samplings of eucalyptus, musk
and rose-flavored perfumed oil that local chemists studying in nearby
universities have come up with. We buy tea leaves, lip balm, soap, henna, body
scrub, wrinkle cream, massage oil and body lotion. Less than a kilometer away,
we visit a garden where they grow the source of these products. This was a most
enjoyable stop where we saw no tourists.
But first a word about the Berbers.
They are an ethnic group with a common heritage, language, culture, and
ancestry. Omar tells us that the first Berber in Morocco came from Yemen.
Perhaps he did, but today’s Berber-speaking people live in Morocco, Algeria,
Libya and Tunisia.
For lunch, Omar brings us to a
riverside restaurant where the delicious set meal is served along
with refreshments and local entertainment. We are now ready to visit a Berber
home four generations old, where 10 people live in a house of stones from the
mountains put together with clay, paste and water.
We speak with the head of the family;
we take a tour around the home; we take pictures. It seems so unreal. Obviously
because we are tourists and theirs is a regular stop for tourists, we
experience none of the shooing away in the Medina, which actually was rather
disappointing.
We are back home at the agreed time,
with mixed feelings about the day’s proceedings. We felt we had been given an
authentic enough taste of life in the barrios, one that displayed the Berber’s
use of nature as a partner to be respected and not to be abused, and their
artistry in utilizing these gifts to maintain a livelihood.
But at the same time, we felt their
natural inclinations had been stifled. They were too polite. They posed for
pictures yet did not smile. We ask ourselves what was the better portrait—this
obedient provincial dweller, or that of the proud, boisterous Medina merchant
who stood his ground? Easily, our choice was the latter.
The next day, we go on our own, taking
a cab to the Palace of El Badii and Jardin Majorelle.
Richard had warned us not to waste our
money on El Badii, which means Incomparable Palace, but we didn’t listen.
He was right. The palace consists simply of the remnants of an original built
in 1578 which took 25 years to construct, and was torn apart by another Sultan who
used the materials to decorate his own palace in Meknes.
Greatest work
Jardin Majorelle, on the other hand, is
a joy to visit. Opened by French painter Jacques Majorelle in 1947, it is
now considered his greatest work, with the abundance of vegetal shapes and
figures from five continents, in a palette of colors from nature. When Jacques
died, the famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent acquired the property,
restoring it to its original beauty. It is a must on anyone’s itinerary.
Of course, we, too, had to take a look
at modern Marrakech at the Ville Nouvelle that plays host to modern
restaurants, upscale brands in fashion boutiques along Mohammed V and Zertouni,
after which we sat in a café drinking coffee and finding the environment so
artificial and boring. Amid Lacoste, McDonald’s, Haagen Dazs and the ubiquitous
KFC, we decide to return to the hotel.
Before leaving for the airport, we felt a need to visit the Medina once again
to say goodbye. No longer did we feel threatened by their covered faces. We
seek out the shop keeper who knew exactly what we needed. And we know now
exactly why Richard returns again and again. We stand in the plaza to breathe
in its peculiar potion. A bientôt— till we meet again.
For EasyJet, e-mail easyjet@mailnj.custhelp.com;
Ryad Mogador Hotel, e-mail marrakech@ryadmogador.com; Pause Gourmande
restaurant in the Medina, tel. +212(0)524290215; Shop Freres Hamza &
Mohamed, tel. 067041005; Shop Idees Cadeaux, tel. 0675354417; Jardin
Majorelle, tel. +212524313047.
E-mail the author at bibsycar@gmail.com.
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Morocco road trip
Cafes, camels, medinas — and bribes?
By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press
CASABLANCA, Morocco -- The dusty road to Marrakech
had just started to straighten out after hours of tight curves along jagged
mountains. We sped up when we spotted two policemen standing in the middle of
the road by a small car. They waved us over.
We had been warned about this: Drivers being asked
to pay bribes to get through random checkpoints.
The mustached man spoke little English but
indicated that he wanted 5,000 dirhams, or about $600.
My boyfriend, Andrew Strickler, who was driving,
balked. The officer, nervous now as he noticed we were foreign, immediately
dropped the price to 3,000 and then quickly to 1,000.
Andrew started to hand over the cash as visions of
foreign jail cells flashed before my eyes. I tried to make polite conversation
to explain what we were doing here. I held up a copy of our Lonely Planet guide
and said we were journalists. As I did, he backed off and handed back the
money, one bill at a time, grinning widely.
“You work,” he said to Andrew. “She is wife. She no
work. Yes?”
He laughed, slapped Andrew on the shoulder and
waved us on.
Ah, the Moroccan road trip.
We spent two weeks on the road in this North
African country. The routes are winding, at times frighteningly so. The street
signs are in Moroccan Arabic and French, languages neither one of us knows.
Still, we figured that navigating the byways was the best way to experience the
country.
We came to Morocco to visit friends. We made plans
to meet in the southern part of the country after a few days traveling on our
own.
It’s fairly easy to rent a car in Morocco, and
costs about the same as taking trains and buses. But driving gives you more
freedom to stop along the way, and the flexibility to change your plans and
linger in a location you like. Plus, all the gas stations double as small cafes
where they serve strong Moroccan coffee and tea.
These cafes, along with most other locations, are
filled mostly with men; women do not spend as much time in public places in
this Muslim nation. Still, as long as you dress modestly — no tank tops or
short skirts — you’ll feel only mildly uncomfortable as a female out on the
town. I only interacted with three Moroccan women while I was there, but the
men were friendly and welcoming, though often they preferred to talk to Andrew
instead of me.
Morocco is a kingdom bordering the Atlantic Ocean,
just a few miles from the southern tip of Spain. We started our trip without a
car, flying to Casablanca from Madrid on the budget carrier EasyJet, then
heading north to Rabat, the country’s capital, by train. Here we visited the
medina, a word that literally translates to old city, but in Morocco also
usually means a marketplace with a thick weave of shops and hawkers who sell and
fix everything from cell phones to blenders to camel heads to carpets. Every
city has one.
From there we took a train to Fez, home to one of
the world’s largest continuous car-free areas. The entire city is a narrow
maze, virtually impossible to navigate on your own, especially if you have only
one day. We hired a guide who walked us through the vendor-filled passageways.
One unusual sight was a tannery with a checkerboard
of dye pools, hides scattered everywhere in various stages of drying. Small
worker apartments lined the inner corridors. It was pouring rain, so the stench
was manageable, but our guide told us stories of other tourists who were
sickened by the awful smell. Owners hand out fresh mint to sniff as an
antidote.
INTO THE SAHARA
Our road trip began a day later, with a 10-hour
drive southeast from Rabat to a town called Merzouga at the edge of the Sahara
desert. It took about an hour to rent the tiny blue tin-can car, which cost
about $300 for six days. Only stick-shift vehicles were available; travelers
should know that Morocco is notorious for highway accidents, so be careful.
Andrew did most of the driving the first day, and I navigated using maps and
signs, which meant trying to translate from Arabic and French into English using
a teeny dictionary. After a while you realize there are so few roads to get
from one place to the next that it’s not that difficult to intuit your way.
The landscape changed when we arrived at the
Sahara. It’s barren and rocky, like a moonscape, with nothing ahead or behind.
In the past decade, hotels have cropped up but they’re far off in the distance
from the single-lane gravel road. It’s best to get there before dark so you can
see where you’re going. You take a left near a hotel sign and head off into the
sand. It looks like you’re heading toward nothing but huge golden sand dunes at
the edge of the world. Miles and miles of softly sculpted dunes, called Erg
Chebbi, stretched out in front of us.
Our hotel, Kanz Erremal, cost about $100 for two,
including dinner and breakfast. (For the budget traveler, cheaper hotels can
also be found, but you have to really look for them.)
The hotel also offers camel trips to the desert,
either overnight or at dawn. We took the shorter morning trip, for an extra
$50, to watch the sunrise. Getting up at dark, we climbed onto our stinky,
grumpy camels as they knelt down. The makeshift saddle had a metal handle and a
few blankets. The camels walk in plodding steps; I found sitting with my legs
up was easiest for balance. Our guide walked, leading the camels. After about
20 minutes the hotels disappeared and we saw nothing but desert.
Our guide stopped the camels and we got off. He
warned us not to pet them. We scrambled up to the top of a dune, and while our
guide walked the entire way, I was so exhausted and out of breath I could
barely stand.
The silence was shocking, interrupted only by the
crunching sound of the camels and the occasional growl. The sky was huge and
colorful, splashed with bursts of bluish pink and blazing orange.
We then drove east to an oasis called El Khorbat in
the Todra Valley. This unusual destination uses tourism as a way to help
preserve a traditional fortified village, called a casbah, where dwellings are
made from earth and clay. Families still live there, but there is also a museum
documenting local history and various excursions. We took a long walk among
palm trees and down dirt roads with a guide who spoke four languages,
discussing literature and politics.
CITY LIFE
Back on the road, the landscape turned hillier as
we moved on, passing through several poor small towns before reaching
Ouarzazate, which is the Los Angeles of Morocco. Several movies have been
filmed there and it has a decidedly wealthy, Western feel with manicured
streets and pink walls
We returned the car in Marrakech. The rental
company dropped us at the entrance to the medina, where we were staying at the
Hotel Du Tresor. The hotel was a quiet, cool sanctuary from the rest of the
medina, a wild and busy place complete with snake charmers (and snakes),
psychics and hawkers of all kinds. Inside the market, we ate huge snails in
broth with a toothpick (totally gross), fried sardines (delicious) and tagine
with couscous (eh).
From Marrakech, we bused to the surf town Agadir to
meet our friends, then drove together south to Sidi Ifni, an uncrowded beach
spot with imposing red stone arches, eroded over eons by the ocean. A stay at
an oceanside resort cost barely $150 for two people for two nights, including
breakfast. It was the most peaceful part of the trip, and Andrew’s favorite
part. It’s worth traveling there just to stand under the arches.
After a few days in the sun, we drove back up the
coast, about 10 hours to Rabat, where deserted stretches alternated with poor
towns and rich areas. One funny sight on the winding mountain roads was goats
perched in the tops of small trees called Argans. They climb up to eat the
seeds. We saw as many as six munching on one tree at a time. We took some
pictures but they ignored us.
Before we left the country, we did some shopping.
Our friends, having lived here long enough to become skilled in the art of
bargaining, came with us to buy a carpet and we all acted out a part: Andrew,
the moneybags tourist, me the stingy partner, and the other couple, a wizened
ex-pat with his hurrying wife, who wanted to get us to dinner on time. The role
of the clever, miserly carpet man was successfully played by the rug vendor.
In the end, though, we couldn’t agree on a price.
We overpaid $20 for some tea glasses, but we walked away without a rug.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/28/v-fullstory/2371775/morocco-road-trip.html#ixzz1XZkn1mqO
------------------------------------------
Desert Dreaming in Morocco
Nadia Bintoro | September 13, 2011
There are many opportunities to experience Berber
culture in Morocco, which also has French and Arabic influences. JG Photos/Nadia Bintoro
As a lone female traveler, making my way through
the crowded alleys of Marrakech, one of Morocco’s imperial cities, turned out
to be a real battle.
I had to acrobatically twist my body to avoid
getting hit by reckless motorcycles, while at the same time fighting off
persistent vendors and shushing away catcalls by curious men — all under the
sizzling heat of the Moroccan sun.
Like most days in the city, the sun was beating
down and the temperature was hovering at around 40 degrees Celsius. I instantly
felt overdressed in my coat and shawl — tell-tale signs of a tourist escaping
the tail-end of a cool British summer.
The short bus ride from Marrakech’s Menara Airport
ended at a park in the center of the city. I showed the driver the address of
my riad (guesthouse) and he confidently assured me that I’d find it without
hassle. Just follow the park and walk straight through the square, he said. It
sounded easy enough.
But it wasn’t. Coming out of the park, I was
greeted by the hectic Jemaa el-Fnaa, a large square in the middle of
Marrakech’s old city where all the essences of Moroccan life are stirred
together in a flurry of sights and smells.
Aside from being the first port of call for
tourists visiting Marrakech, Jemaa el-Fnaa is also famous among locals for its
large souk (market), selling everything from spices to couscous and
high-quality souvenirs.
The square was alive with people and traffic.
Beige-colored taxis and swarms of motorcycles crossed the square recklessly,
oblivious to pedestrians. In one corner of the square, horse carriages were
lined up, enticing tourists to try this exotic mode of transport.
Disoriented, I carefully made my way to the square,
following the crowds spilling forward through the chaos. The air was thick with
the smells of unfamiliar spices and horse manure baking under the sun.
Everybody seemed to be moving and speaking at the same time.
Locals wearing the traditional djellaba (a hooded
garment with long sleeves) passed by chattering among themselves in French and
Arabic. Flocks of confused European tourists wearing sunglasses and hats argued
in English, French and occasionally Spanish.
Lost among the throng, I spent an hour searching
for my riad — without success. After being chased by a snake charmer,
I decided it was time for a break. I found refuge
among the orange juice vendors, selling fresh juice for 4 dirham (about 50
cents) a glass.
By immense luck, I eventually found my guest house
a further hour later, hidden in a maze of nameless, tiny alleyways. It felt
like I had found my oasis in the desert.
Later that night, I decided to once again face the
streets and explore the Jemaa el-Fnaa souk, famous for its night market, where
magicians, story-tellers and henna painters are said to emerge after dark.
Outside, I was again assaulted by a barrage of
unfamiliar sights and sounds.
Jemaa el-Fnaa was just as lively at night as it was
during the day, if not more so. The smell of mouth-watering, authentic Moroccan
cuisine wafted out from the line of food stalls in the middle of the souk.
Under a cloud of steam, men in white chef coats
shoved their menus into my face, trying to lure me into their stalls. I finally
gave in to temptation, and was soon gratefully enjoying a dinner of couscous
and spiced chicken tagine — all for just 40 dirham.
After all that, I still had to battle my way
through the souk to return to my riad, past speeding motorcycles, pushy vendors
and catcalls that worsened as the night went on. With tourists crowding the
souk at night, speaking over each other in myriad languages, it became
particularly difficult to bargain for the nice kaftan dress that caught my eye.
Once again, I lost my way in the souk, trying to
find the guest house among the teeming crowds.
The next day, I sought peace in the solitude of the
Sahara Desert. I signed up for a two-day excursion to the desert and took a
10-hour ride by minivan to the dunes of Erg Chigaga over the oasis town of
Zagora.
The trip was certainly a pleasant change from the
hustle and bustle of life in Marrakech. Seated by the driver, my eyes wandered
over the magnificent natural scenery of the countryside.
As if the scenery was not stimulating enough, I
also had the best vantage point for watching our skillful driver, Rasyid,
navigate the van through every blind mountain turn, one hand on the steering
wheel and the other busy answering calls on his cellphone — it seems he didn’t
have a spare hand, or moment, to fasten his seat belt.
As we drove, the view outside switched from dusty
fields with palm trees to small villages and finally the stunning panorama of
the Atlas Mountains.
It was a mysterious and surreal feeling to watch
the gray mountain range unfold as the van climbed higher and higher, right to
the top where the landscape plateaued to reveal an area called Col du Tichka —
the highest point in the Atlas Mountains at 2,260 meters above sea level.
By the time we reached Zagora, it was almost
sunset. Our connecting transport was awaiting us — a herd of camels.
An indigenous Berber man was waiting with a dozen
tethered camels ready for us to hop onto their humps.
At first, the ride was uncomfortable and awkward.
It was bumpy and hard to tell where you were supposed to put your legs on top
of the creature. But after a while, as I relaxed into the rhythm of my camel’s
footsteps, it began to feel like a calm and meditative experience.
Soon, no sound could be heard except the plodding
of the camels in the desert sand. The sun began to set and the camels’ shadows
were elongated on the sand like a painting of a dream.
By the time we reached our Bedouin tents in the
middle of the desert, the sun had completely disappeared. The only light came
from our tents.
When I looked up, I couldn’t help but gasp at the
vast, clear sky filled with millions of bright stars. Every couple of seconds,
a shooting star could be seen firing through the sky.
A sense of powerlessness overcame me in the face of
such a mighty scene.
But the night was still young and the Berbers were
ready with their own entertainment.
Seated by the open fire, the group formed a circle
with five Berber men in the middle. There, in their colorful costumes and
turbans, the nomad tribesmen sang, accompanied by an infectious rhythm from a
tabl (a traditional double-sided drum). A couple of tourists joined in and soon
the desert air was filled with joy and laughter.
Despite our many languages, the group was united
through the music and kindness we shared for that moment.
I walked back to the tent to go to sleep on a
modest blanket. Away from civilization, with the only sound being sand swept by
desert wind, I had the best sleep of my life.
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