Monday, May 12, 2008

The best little restaurant in Fes - update


Thami's restaurant has been closed for the last week and at first it caused concern amongst his regular patrons who worried that he might have closed. Thankfully that was not the case and now Thami (pictured above) has reopened with brand new décor - all fresh and bright. The food? The food is as good as ever.

For a few years Thami's was a well kept secret among the Moroccans and expat locals. Slowly the word got out and he is now listed in the guide books. However, it still takes some skill to find his tiny kitchen and the three small tables.

Tourists visiting Fez are usually guided to "palace" restaurants where the menu is Moroccan salads, chicken or lamb tagine with couscous followed by fruit and mint tea. For the average visitor, street food is something they approach with undue caution. But we are here to tell you the street food is great.

So where do you go if you want to watch the crowds and enjoy a simple, delicious meal at very reasonable prices and no fuss? The answer is Thami's Restaurant.

At this point we should mention that in the context of Thami, the word "restaurant" should be taken to mean a simple table set on a street corner. In fact, the owner and chef, Thami, started off a few years ago with a single table and four chairs. The following year he expanded to six chairs with two tables covered with a single tablecloth and now he has managed to take over another small area of footpath and has a second table with two chairs - such is capitalism.

On our latest visit we noticed that Thami has two new round tables - now all he needs is extra chairs! At the first sign of an approaching tourist, Thami weaves his way through the crowds on the street and presents them with the card. This is hard work, as his strike rate is often as low as one in fifty. Yet when the restaurant is busy, people in the know, find themselves having to nip around to the Batha Hotel to assuage their thirst while waiting for a seat. Once you get a seat you could well find yourself chatting with some of the Medina's most colourful identities - poets, renovators, English teachers and photographers.

Thami is up against stiff competition. To one side of his small hole-in-the-wall kitchen are a row of smart cafes and several terrace restaurants with ambiance much more appealing than a simple table on a busy corner near the Baboujeloud. So why do so many of the expats and Moroccan's regularly visit Thami? The answer is simple. The food is simple, cheap and fresh - and in five years of eating there - nobody has had any need to rush for the immodium! The second reason is Thami himself. He is a really nice person who looks after his regular customers as if they were members of his family.

The one drawback to Thami's is the fact that being located in such a great spot for watching the passing throng some of the locals have taken up almost permanent residence on some of his chairs and often need prying away from them with a crowbar.

We suggest you try the tagine of kefta with egg, the melange and his fish.

Thami's Restaurant is at the very top of the Tala'a Sghira on the corner that turns right to the Baboujeloud and the Tala'a Kbira. He is open for lunch and in the evenings from about 7 onwards. The restaurant is the best kept secret in Fez, so don't tell anyone else, okay?



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Travel Writing about Morocco #19



Continuing our series on travel writing about Morocco, we turn our attention to the Guardian website where Doug McKinlay limps along with a piece about Moulay Idriss (pictured above and below).

Unfortunately along with interviewing the mayor he takes a quite swipe at writers of travel guides. His lack of collegial appreciation of his fellow scribes is only surpassed by his rather lazy and inaccurate shot at Lonely Planet...

Publishers and websites are only now waking up to Moulay Idriss's open-door policy. The latest edition of Lonely Planet's Morocco states: 'The embargo on non-Muslims staying overnight has only recently been lifted.' But it goes on to recommend two restaurants that are now closed and gives no advice on accommodation. From a strictly selfish perspective, I'm happy the guidebook writers have it wrong.

Well, Dougie boy, actually no. He should have kept reading his Lonely Planet because the accommodation is listed. He should also appreciate that there is a lead time in book publishing that daily hacks don't have to contend with. Between research and publication can be months and in that time restaurants open and close. It is a fact of life.



Anyway - if you would like to read the piece, you will find the full text here: Doug Explores Morocco

Photo credits: Sandy McCutcheon

Check out our earlier travel writing stories:

Travel Writing Eighteen
Travel Writing Seventeen
Travel writing Sixteen.
Travel Writing Fifteen.
Travel Writing Fourteen.
Travel Writing Thirteen.
Travel Writing Twelve.
Travel Writing Eleven.
Travel Writing Ten.
Travel Writing Nine
Travel writing eight
Travel writing Seven
Travel Writing Six
Travel Writing Five
Travel Writing Four
Travel Writing Three
Travel Writing Two
Travel Writing One


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Reminder: upcoming concerts in Fez.



Just a reminder. If you would like to enjoy one or both of the next two concerts at Riad Zany, then you need to send us a quick email - fes.riad@gmail.com and put "concert booking" in the subject line.

Please note all concerts start at 9pm and there is a 50 dirham donation at the door which is strictly for the musicians and expenses.

We can only accommodate 70 people and so first in...

Concert One. Bernard Carney

On the weekend of May 24/25 Bernard Carney will perform at Riad Zany on the Saturday (24th) and will follow up with a smaller event at Cafe Clock on the Sunday (25th).

"Bernard Carney is a great all-round musician in the tradition of the folk troubadour. He has a unique talent as songwriter, guitarist and singer all peppered with passion and humour."
Port Fairy Festival Director Jamie McKew when presenting Bernard with the prestigious Artist of the Year award at Port Fairy Festival.

“Songs of love and memory are bitter-sweet explorations of human emotion sung with a kind of melodic elegance that is the hall mark of a good song.” Ron Banks West Australian newspaper review.

Concert Two; Cloudstreet with Rebecca Wright.

On May 30 Cloudstreet (the renowned Australian folk duo) will perform at Riad Zany along with singer songwriter Rebecca Wright.

On the Sunday they will perform at Cafe Clock.

Cloudstreet perform hot harmonies & beautiful ballads. This will be their second trip to Fez as guests of The View from Fez. On their last trip they were impressed by the acoustic quality inside the riad and so are very happy to be returning after a highly successful tour in the UK


John and Nicole's performances (pictured above) are packed with vitality, humour and excitement, as they breathe new life into some of the great songs of the Australian, English and Celtic traditions and carry the tradition forward with original songs and tunes. Driving guitar and Irish flute support their enthralling vocals. Their trademark dazzling harmonies and their impassioned presentation are leavened with humour and great tales from their travels. Cloudstreet makes their audience feel that they are the privileged viewers of something very special.


Rebecca Wright (pictured above) will perform with Cloudstreet as well as presenting some of her own superbly crafted songs. Freshly revealing, bright and beautiful... Rebecca’s songs will stir your heart. Her deftly exquisite arrangements of voice and acoustic guitar, and graceful, grounded performances captivate her audiences and weave connections among people.

WE NEED TO BORROW A CELLO - Please email us. Free admission for lending a cello!


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Café Clock happenings


It is hard to keep up with all the events at the tic toc - but here is what Clock Culture organised for the next 10 days at Café Clock - and the new kitchen opening times.

From Tuesday May13 - Café Clock will be serving food and drinks from
9 a.m. to 10p.m., including breakfasts, delicious pastries, and a full
lunch and evening menu. Closed Mondays ( for the moment!).

TODAY – 4p.m. Poetry Reading – Sabul Assalam Centre - Ouadia El Ghazi.

Sunday 11 : 3 – 5p.m. Calligraphy @ the Clock. Open table.
( 350 dh - Discounts available)

Sunday 11 : 5:30 – 7p.m. Sunday Sunset Concert.
Jazz Blues. ( 20 dh )

NEW
Tuesday 13 : New kitchen opening schedule. 9a.m – 10.p.m

Wednesday 14 : 10 –12 Clock Language Conversation Group ; Darija.
( 50 dh Discounts available)

Thursday 15 : 10 –12 Clock Language Conversation Group : English ( basic )
( 50 dh. Discounts available)

NEW
Saturday 17 May : 10 –12 Clock Language Conversation Group : French
( 50 dh. Discounts available.)

Sunday 18 : 3 – 5 p.m Calligraphy at the Clock. Open table.
( 350 dh - Discounts available)

EXCELLENT
Sunday 18 : 5:30 – 7 Sunday Sunset Concert ( 20 dh)
Rachelle sings Jazz Blues aCapella.

Cafe Clock rocks!

For more information see www.cafeclock.com


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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Scorpion stings in Morocco


Recently we published a story on snakebites in Morocco and had several emails asking about scorpions and whether they were a problem. The answer is a big YES.

According to figures from the Moroccan Centre national antipoison et de pharmacovigilance (CAPM) (poisons and drug monitoring center) scorpion stings kill about 100 under 15s every year, in a total of some 30,000 cases of scorpion poisoning documented yearly in Morocco. There is a particular danger between July and August each year. It should also be noted that over 60 percent of stings are at night.

To stem this scourge, a nationwide campaign themed "Together Save our Children from Death from Scorpion Stings," was launched on Friday in the city of Essaouira. It is aiming at reducing the mortality rateby 30%.

Initiated by the CAPM, the campaign will be carried out under the aegis of the Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Province of Essaouira, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Research and the Protection of Argan Trees, and NGOs. Essaouira is the area that produces 4.6% of all scorpion-related incidents reported in Morocco. Scorpions claimed the lives of 528 people between 2001 and 2006.

Speaking on the occasion, king’s advisor and chairman of the Foundation, André Azoulay, stressed the need to fight scorpion stings in the city.

According to figures of the CAPM, 91 people died in 2006 of scorpion stings, compared to 98 in 2005 and 93 in 2004. Scorpion stings are the primary cause of 50 to 60 % of documented poisoning cases in Morocco.

Morocco has more than 30 kinds of yellow and black scorpions. The latter remain the most dangerous, according to CAPM. There is an interesting abstract here: scorpions.

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Friday, May 09, 2008

Morocco decides to switch to daylight saving.


Want to save time and energy? Then Morocco is the place.

Morocco is to save energy by adjusting its clock during summer so it will be one hour ahead of GMT between 1 June and 27 September, according to Communication Minister and Government Spokesman, Khalid Naciri. "This measure will allow us to save energy and to align the time zone with Morocco’s regional and international partners including the EU countries".

In the 1980s, Morocco used to adjust its clock during the summer time, but later cancelled the process.

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A House in Fez - now available in the UK



Suzanna Clarke's best seller A House in Fez, is now available in the UK. Published in Britain by Ebury Press (Random House). The book is a paperback version of the Australian collectors' edition, which sold out in six weeks. The English edition does not have as many photographs as the Australian (Penguin) version, but nevertheless is a great insight into Moroccan culture, music, cuisine and daily life.

The American (paperback) version will come out from Simon and Schuster in New York in November, a reprint in Australia will be available in December and the Korean language version should be in print some time soon.

A House in Fez is a journey into Moroccan culture, revealing its day-to-day rhythms, its customs and festivals; its history, Islam, and Sufi rituals; the lore of djinns and spirits; the vibrant life-filled market places and the irresistible Moroccan cuisine. And above all, into the lives of the people - warm, friendly, and hospitable.

Beautifully descriptive and infused with an extraordinary sense of place, this is a compelling account of one couple's adventures in ancient Morocco. - Random House
The British edition has been "perfect partnered" on Amazon UK with Fez (Lonely Planet Encounter) by Helen Ranger and Virginia Maxwell.



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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Tahar Ben Jelloun - now a member of the Goncourt Academy.



On Tuesday the Moroccan writer, Tahar Ben Jelloun ( pictured above), was unanimously elected a member of the Goncourt Academy. Founded in 1903, the Paris-based Academy each year awards a writer as "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year."

Born in 1944, Mr. Ben Jelloun is a prominent figure of French literature. He has written several books, which made him world-famous. His works include The Sacred Night" (1987), "Racism Explained to My Daughter" (1998) and "Sand Child" (1985).

In 2007, the French-speaking writer and poet was awarded the insignia of Officer of the French "Legion of Honor" (Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur) by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He had also received the Knight insignia of the National order by late French President, François Mitterrand.



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New shop on Tala'a Kebira




Lumen was sauntering down Tala'a Kebira and dropped into Made in M, a recently-opened shop with a distinctively different feel.

The interesting thing about this shop is that it stocks what it calls new Moroccan craft. There are the usual tagines, the leather handbags, the tassels, the argane oil products, but all in a new and exciting range of colours and textures. And the shop-fitting is a new departure for the Fez Medina.

The most striking products are the exquisite leather bags, which don't come cheap at Dh1750 each. There's a wide range of scented candles in metal-worked glass jars as well as pretty little betassled tadelakt boxes in a range of colours that start at Dh85. Argane oil is scented with flower waters and essential oils such as neroli, patchouli and jasmine. There are beautiful, shiny dark red or charcoal tagines and teapots for Dh220, and various candleholders. Passementerie curtain tie-backs start at Dh110 each. Presented in an elegant box is Les Delices du Saiss Phenicia extra virgin olive oil made from hand-harvested olives from the Fez region, at Dh200 per 750ml.

Find the shop at 246 Tala'a Kebira, just up the hill from Ain Azleten.

No doubt Lumen will go shopping again soon, to report on another new shop about to open in Rue de la Poste, Batha ... watch this space!



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Tuesday, May 06, 2008

World's oldest Jewels - discovered in Morocco


Photo credit: Ian Cartwright, Institute of Archaeology, Oxford University

"The beads themselves comprise 12 Nassarius shells - Nassarius are molluscs found in warm seas and coral reefs in America, Asia and the Pacific - which had holes in them and appeared to have been suspended or hung. They were covered in red ochre."

Grotte des Pigeons

Abdeljalil Bouzouggar, from the Moroccan Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine. (Institute of Archaeology), and colleagues found the shells in the Grotte des Pigeons, a limestone cave in eastern Morocco, alongside burnt stone remains in well-layered soil. An Institute of Archaeology team from Oxford University has been working with their Moroccan colleagues on the site for some time. The beads are thought to be 84,000 to 86,000 years old.

The twenty handmade beads, discovered at the Grotte des Pigeons, in the region of Taforalt, and are thought to be the world's oldest jewels although similar beads have been found at sites in Algeria, Israel and South Africa which are thought to date back to around the same time or slightly after the finds from Taforalt.


The team has also uncovered similar shells at other sites in Morocco and are currently awaiting dating results.

These beads are even older than a dozen of ornamental beads, which were discovered in the cave in 2003. Institute director Prof Nick Barton said: "Bead-making in Africa was a widespread practice at the time, which was spread between cultures with different stone technology by exchange or by long-distance social networks.

The shells come from a genus of marine snail called Nassarius, which is not found along the Moroccan shoreline today. The nearest place where the snails live is an island off Tunisia that lies more than 800 miles (1,280 kilometers) away.

"It is possible that these beads were brought here from Tunisia and were very special objects," Barton said.

"A major question in evolutionary studies today is 'how early did humans begin to think and behave in ways we would see as fundamentally modern?' "The appearance of ornaments such as these may be linked to a growing sense of self-awareness and identity among humans and cultural innovations must have played a large role in human development."

"Shells from other sites may turn out to be even older," Barton said, "and we may well be looking at ornamentation beyond a hundred thousand years ago." Prof Barton said the finds suggest that humans were making purely symbolic objects 40,000 years before they did it in Europe.

The team has also discovered five children's graves, which date back to 12,000 years.


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Friday, May 02, 2008

New British Ambassador appointed to Morocco.


According to news from the British Foreign Office, Morocco has a new Ambassador for Great Britain.

The new ambassador is Timothy Morris and he will also act as and Britain's non-resident Ambassador to The Islamic Republic of Mauritania in succession to Mr Charles Gray CMG who will become Her Majesty's Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps in September 2008. Mr Morris will take up his appointment during August 2008.

Welcome aboard Tim!


For those who want the details our Foreign Affairs reporter lists the following information:

Full Name: Timothy Colin Morris
Married to: Patricia Tena
Children: Three sons

2005 - 2008 FCO, Head of International Organisations Department
2003 - 2005 Lisbon, Deputy Head of Mission
1998 - 2002 Tokyo, Counsellor, Trade and Investment
1996 - 1998 FCO, Deputy Head, United Nations Department
1991 - 1996 Madrid, First Secretary and Head of Political Section
1989 - 1991 DTI, Head, Exports to Japan Unit
1987 - 1989 FCO, Southern African Department
1984 - 1987 Tokyo, Second Secretary, Commercial
1982 - 1984 Japanese language training
1981 - 1982 FCO, Mexico and Central American Department

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New tax on guesthouses




The Commune of Fez has slapped a new tax on guesthouses in the medina, and owners are up in arms, The View from Fez has learned.

There's always been an Dh8 taxe de promotion touristique per person per night that guesthouses either add to the bill of their guests, or cost into their price structure. But now there's a new taxe de sejour of Dh30 per person per night. And to add insult to injury, guesthouse owners have to pay this retrospectively from January 2008. Apparently there has not been any notice of this new tax, so owners have not been charging their guests this amount over the last four months.

'I'm scandalised! I've just spent all my profits for the first three months of the year in paying these back taxes', moaned one guesthouse owner.

It's not good for Fez visitors either who now have to pay Dh38 per person per night in taxes on top of their bill. On an average stay of three nights for one couple, that works out to another Dh228, or puts their bill up by more than another 20 Euros. With guesthouse prices starting at around 60 Euros per night, that's quite a lot.

A spokesman for the CRT (Conseil Regionale de Tourisme) said he was talking to the mayor of Fez, M. Shabbat, in the hopes of getting some kind of respite.

Please note; We would welcome comments on this topic.


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Thursday, May 01, 2008

Air Arabia to fly from Morocco



Budget carrier Air Arabia will open a hub in Morocco in the later half of this year in order to connect to European destinations. This will be its third hub. Its base is in Sharjah and this year launched its second hub in Kathmandu, Nepal, in a joint venture with Yeti Airlines.

According to Adel Ali, CEO of Air Arabia, "We do not have an exact date yet but we are looking at starting operations from our Morocco hub sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. The whole objective is to connect to Europe, North Africa and more Middle East destinations via Morocco."

For its hub in Rabat, Air Arabia has entered into a joint venture with Morocco's leading private carrier, Regional Air Lines and Bahrain-based investment bank, Ithmaar Bank.

Air Arabia originally intended to launch the Morocco hub before the Kathmandu hub, but as Morocco is going to be much larger hub, it took time. "Establishing a hub in Kathmandu, on the other hand, was a much quicker process," Ali said.

"Considering Morocco expects to welcome an estimated 10 million tourists a year by 2010, this is a good move. There is also a large Moroccan diaspora, in Europe, who will benefit," said Mohamed Hassan Ben Salah, Chairman of Morocco's Regional Air Lines.

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