Tennis in Morocco - New Zealand stumbles.

For the Kiwi expats who wanted good news about New Zealand No 1 Marina Erakovic - there is none. She was eliminated in the first round of the WTA grand prix women's tennis tournament in Fez today. Erakovic tells us her serve let her down in the second and third sets.

Her opponent started to play better and got some of her serves back and played well, she reflected.

Tennis is not big with the locals in fact The View from Fez couldn't find one person who knew the event was happening.

Anyway, here are the gory details of Marina's exit.

She was beaten 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the first round by 98th ranked Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

She will now focus on the doubles and is seeded fourth with partner Russian Alina Jidkova.

The Aucklander has one more WTA clay court tournament in Istanbul next month prior to her French Open debut at Roland Garros.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's Davis Cup player Rubin Statham has jumped 104 places in the latest men's rankings following his semifinal effort at an ATP Challenger tournament in the United last weekend.

Statham's world ranking is up to 430, cementing his place as New Zealand No 2 behind the 322nd ranked Dan King Turner.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Morocco withdraws Ukrainian sunflower oil from market

Morocco will withdraw a batch of Ukrainian sunflower oil from its market as part of the country's precaution measures following the discovery of batches of contaminated sunflower oil imported from this country in several European Union (EU) countries, the agriculture and fisheries Ministry said.

The announcement followed the discovery on April 23, of batches of this oil in five EU member-countries, namely, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The ministry also reported, in a press release, that the Moroccan batch of the Ukrainian sunflower oil had been imported to Morocco in 2008, noting that controls revealed that the oil concerned represents no risk for health, but the government nevertheless decided to withdraw it from the market and to subject all sunflower oils to new quality controls.

The five EU countries are removing contaminated Ukrainian sunflower oil from shop shelves even though they agree that it doesn't pose a serious risk to human health, the European Commission said on Monday.

A 40,000-tonnes cargo of unrefined oil, which arrived in France by sea, was split into seven re-export batches to Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, and within France.

Diesel Oil?

While the exact nature of the contamination is unclear, it is classified as a "mineral oil" -- possibly some kind of lubricant or diesel oil, Commission food safety officials say -- while shipment dates and consignment volumes are still unclear. "We don't think it is sufficient to cause acute health problems at this stage," Commission spokesman Michael Mann told a daily news briefing. "We are still waiting for information from the Ukrainian authorities so that we can be sure," one official told reporters. More data was due from Ukraine later on Monday.

So far, the Commission -- which administers EU policy, including food safety standards, for the bloc's 27 countries -- is treating the case as fraud, until shown otherwise. "The quantities (of tainted material) found did not come from cross-contamination," the official said. "This does not give rise to a toxicological risk but it is not supposed to be in sunflower oil," he added. After a more detailed assessment of the risk of the oil contaminant's presence within sunflower oil, Commission food safety experts -- in conjunction with EU national authories -- would decide whether EU-wide action was needed, Mann said.

EU authorities had asked the four countries that received batches of Ukrainian sunflower oil to trace them throughout their food production and distribution chains, he said. "Everything that is being done by the member states is sufficient as far as we are concerned," Mann said. "But this is a fraud that has been committed."
"The advice we're giving to consumers is that the four member states where this oil may have arrived are taking the necessary action to remove it from the market."

Spain: not sure which or why.

The Spanish response has been the most confused with Spanish chef Antonio Gonzalez saying authorities have told him to remove some oil but he is not sure why or which ones.

Contaminated rapeseed oil was blamed for the death of some 1,200 people in 1981 in Spain's worst food poisoning epidemic. It was sold as olive oil in working-class neighbourhoods of Madrid and several other cities.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Second fire in Casablanca

Three people were killed in a blaze, in the early hours of Monday morning, in a Casablanca tapestry factory.

An investigation was opened by authorities to determine the causes of this blaze that occurred less than 36 hours after a Casablanca mattress factory located in a poor industrial neighbourhood in Casablanca, went up in flames on Saturday morning, killing 55 people. The owner of the factory and his son were arrested as part of the investigation.

Casablanca's Wali, Mohamed Kabbaj, attributed the heavy death toll to the large number of people working at the time -100 - as well as the presence of flammable products, while the head of Casablanca's civil protection unit, Mustapha Taouil, said that the doors of the four-storey factory building were locked.

The mattress factory blaze is the worst industrial incident in Morocco. Moroccan Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa who visited the site, at the head of an official delegation sent by King Mohammed VI, pledged that an investigation into the cause of the blaze would also examine security measures and work conditions at the factory. He said chemicals in the building sent the blaze out of control and delayed the rescue effort by hours.

King Mohammed VI sent a condolence message to the families of the victims and vowed to take in charge the hospitals and burial expenses of the victims.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Snake bites in Morocco.

Vipera lebetina - (Photo credit: Friml & Preiss)

Snake bites are responsible for a high mortality rate in Africa where the overall mortality of bites is around 4%.. Problems for the early care of the victims are many due to lack of medical services with serum in isolated locations..

In the Morocco bites are often caused by the lebetin viper (Vipera lebetina) or the horned viper or sand viper (Cerastes cerastes).

Vipera lebetina.

A very corpulent viper, well camouflaged and often just laying on the ground near or even in small water pits, waiting for birds to approach. When passing the snake, it usually doesn't move, what makes it easily overseen by hikers.

Identification:

This matt greyish to dun-brown coloured snake is very corpulent and can reach the thickness of an arm. Adults usually reach a length of approx. 130 cm, rarely up to 160 cm. Like all vipers it has keeled scales on the body where they are larger than on the head. Three very small black spots on the head are typical for this species.

Cerastes cerastes

The average length is 30-60 cm, with a maximum of 85 cm. Females are larger than males.

One of the most distinctive characteristics of this species are the supraorbital horns, one over each eye. However, these are either present, reduced in size or absent.

The colour pattern consists of a yellowish, pale grey, pinkish or pale brown ground colour that almost always matches the substrate colour where the animal is found. Dorsally, a series of dark, semi-rectangular blotches run the length of the body. These may or may not be fused into crossbars. The belly is whitish and the tail may have a black tip.

Cerastes cerastes

Treatment

Immunotherapy remains effective against haemorrhage, even when administered late, in severe disease (bleeding). Death remains inevitable if antivenin is not being administered or if it is at the stage of multiorgan failure.

Heparin is contra-indicated in the acute context, but at distance from the bite, the persistence of inflammatory syndrome can cause phlebitis or pulmonary embolism. Fresh frozen plasma and corticosteroids are ineffective and unnecessary.

Signs of gravity are rapidly extensive swelling and systemic manifestations, particularly bleeding. The severity of poisoning is related to the difficulties of access to health centres, the use of traditional medicine for more than half of the victims, the lack of training of caregivers, finally and most importantly, the lack of anti-venom serum,that is not within reach of prescribing at the appropriate places and times. Despite its cost and allergic risk (become rare with the current serums), immunotherapy which is the only weapon effective against the venom, should be part of emergency essential drugs if spending a long time treking.

For more interesting info: http://www.moroccoherps.com

Catastrophic fire in Casablanca kills 55.

Although the official estimates were lower it is now believed that a fire this morning in a Casablanca mattress factory has injured a dozen people and killed at least 55 people. Over one hundred fire-fighters took part in the attempt to quell the blaze. One of the seriously injured is a police officer.

The domestic MAP news agency, citing the emergency services, said the fire broke out on the ground floor of the four-storey Rosamor Furniture plant at around 10 a.m. (1000 GMT), when 155 employees were present.

The cause of the blaze is suspected to be an accident but an investigation is under way and the owner of the plant and his son, who was its manager, are being questioned as prosecutors open an investigation.

In an AFP report a fire-fighter is quoted as saying "The people who died were either asphyxiated or burned."

The flames spread quickly due to the highly flammable nature of the materials used to make mattresses, MAP reported.

A police official is quoted as saying that windows at the factory had been fitted with iron bars, making escape difficult for those trapped inside.

King Mohammed VI ordered the authorities "to take all necessary measures to help the victims," including the mobilisation of burns units at hospitals all over Morocco, including the elite military hospital in the capital Rabat.

Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa, who visited the scene, described the scene as "catastrophic".

He said prosecutors had asked the judicial police to look into "the circumstances of this disaster and to examine the working conditions (at the plant) with a view to establishing responsibility"

Photo: AFP

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Fez Sacred Music Festival - a musician's pick.

Dan Hipgrave (pictured above), former guitarist with British indie rock band Toploader, picks the best of this summer's music festivals for the UK newspaper The Telegraph and places the Fes Sacred Music Festival in the top three.

Here is what he had to say:

When it comes to summer festivals, I count myself very lucky. I – along with 90,000 deliriously happy mud-caked fans – saw Radiohead deliver their best ever performance at Glastonbury in 1997. Two years later my band, Toploader, appeared on the same stage and I experienced the exhilaration of playing in front of a similar-sized crowd.

Since then, I have checked out other British festivals and have toured the world reviewing similar events. Adding travel to the mixture can often enhance the experience (particularly if mud baths aren't your thing) and certainly broadens your cultural compass.

So here are my top tips for this summer's festivals, both at home and abroad.

DAN'S TOP PICKS.

1. Pinkpop Festival, Landgraaf, May 30-June 1

Pinkpop annual rock festival is held on Whitsun weekend (Pinksteren in Dutch, hence the name) in Landgraaf, 134 miles from Amsterdam. Pinkpop is in Guinness World Records as the longest-running music festival in the world, the first being held in 1970. Like Glastonbury, Pinkpop has the unfortunate knack of being wet and muddy, but this doesn't stop the outlandish Dutch from letting their hair down. The huge open-air event, which is attended by a 60,000-strong crowd, includes about 40 bands spread over four stages. This year the line-up includes Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age and Rage Against The Machine (www.pinkpop.nl)


2. Rock am Ring/ Rock im Park, June 6-8

For years, the Germans have been the undisputed kings of metal and these two raucous events, the biggest summer festivals in Germany, rarely disappoint. They are held simultaneously at the Nürburgring racetrack and the Frankestadion in Nuremberg. The emphasis is purely on the music and, with few other attractions to distract you, this is what you get. With a line-up that includes Metallica, Motorhead and The Manic Street Preachers, what else do you need (except for ear plugs)? It's loud, heavy and German (www.rock-am-ring.com; www.rock-im-park.com)

3. Fez World Sacred Music Festival, June 6-14

During June, Morocco's ancient holy city, Fez, stages a very individual world music event where performers from every corner of the planet come together for a week of artistic excellence. The festival is split into four locations around the Medina, with stages that blend seamlessly into Fez's incredible Islamic architecture. It's far more than a "music festival"; it's a showcase of devotional sacred music uniting faiths and peaceful values from all over the globe. This is a real "hippie experience", not the pretend tie-dyed affair one might find at a conventional music festival (www.fesfestival.com)

See the full programme here: The 14th Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

Ticket collection service here: Ticket Collection

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

13th Chellah Jazz festival organized in Morocco

The 13th Chellah Jazz festival in Rabat is being organized, between 12-16 June, by the European Commission Delegation to Morocco and the embassies and cultural institutes of EU member states, in partnership with the country’s Ministry of Culture.

For the 13th year, the historic site of Chellah will play home to a musical dialogue among cultures, as a number of European and Arab musicians are taking part in this event.



We have not had a chance to translate the following information, but will do so soon, inshallah.

Le festival Jazz au Chellah aura lieu du 12 au 16 juin sur le magnifique site qui lui a donné son nom. Depuis sa création, le Festival de Jazz au Chellah, qui en est sa 13ème année, s’impose comme un événement incontournable de la scène culturelle de la capitale et du Maroc tout entier. Organisé depuis 1996 conjointement par la Délégation de la Commission européenne au Maroc et les ambassades et instituts culturels des États membres de l’Union européenne, en partenariat avec le ministère de la Culture et la Wilaya de Rabat Salé, ce festival est un témoignage concret du partenariat culturel Europe-Maroc.

Pour ses 13 ans, le festival nous invite à un véritable tour de l'Europe en jazz. Du jazz oriental, à l'électro jazz, en passant par la musique du monde revisitée, et le classic jazz et en finissant par l’une des plus belles fusions jazz au monde. Habib Achour, Directeur Artistique Europe a préparé un voyage musical sans précédent que Majid Bekkas, Directeur artistique Maroc, rehaussera en véritable magicien des rencontres par le fleuron des musiques marocaines.

Quelques rencontres phares, des noms, des sonorités et des instruments:

Le trio autrichien de Wolfgang Muthspiel avec Youssef Dhafer: guitare, oud, voix magique et flûte du génial Said Nouiar.

L'électro jazz hollandais du groupe State of Monc, les sonorités bien marocaines du violon d'Ahmed Cherkani et les percussions de Abdellah Allaoui.

Hassan Boussou, en digne héritier de son père feu Hmida Boussou, portera bien son patrimoine gnaoui à la rencontre des sons du balafon de Lansiné Kouyaté.

Flavio Boltro, le fougueux trompettiste italien additionné à l'énergie des percussions de Jauck El Maleh et du Oud de Youssef Oulmadani.

Et pour clôturer cette 13ème édition, une rencontre au sommet à mettre sur l'agenda de tous : le plus beau trio de jazz métissé - Majid Bekkas, Joachim Khün et Ramon Lopez nous présentent pour la première fois au Maroc le projet Kalimba, qui compte parmi les 10 meilleurs albums jazz de 2007.

Du 12 au 16 juin 2008, le Chellah portera haut le concept du dialogue des cultures dont le festival est l'une des illustrations les plus réussies.

Pour plus d’informations, merci de contacter :

La Délégation de la Commission européenne à Rabat
Safaa Kaddioui, safaa.kaddioui@ec.europa.eu
Chargée des Affaires culturelles et de Communication
037-57-98-59

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

The Fes Festival of Sufi Culture - final night.

Tonight is the final night of the Fes Sufi Festival and it should be a great one. Starting at nine in the Batha Museum the concert includes Mohammed Ba Jeddoub (pictured left) from Morocco and Musa Dieng Kala (below left) from Senegal .

Despite some rain that caused the switching of venues, this year's festival has been a great success and congratulations go to the director Faouzi Skali and his wonderful team of workers. The staff at the venues have been a great help to us in covering the events.

Lastly to the musicians and performers - thanks for your energy and inspiration


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Visitors in the Medina

From time to time The View from Fez does a feature on visitors to the Medina, sometimes new residents, sometimes interesting tourists. Now, while we failed to get an interview with yesterday's guest, we did get some photographs.

Pieris brassicae brassicae
(Click on images to enlarge)

At first glance we thought it might have been the beautiful Gonepteryx cleopatra (pictured below), but the colour of the abdomen let us down. Our visitor is(so we are told) as common as muck! Yep... It's a cabbage butterfly. Oh well, we hope later in the year to get a shot of an Atlas Blue....


For those interested in Moroccan lepidoptera, we suggest you check out the beautiful photographs by Jean Delacre.


Photo credits: Pieris brassicae brassicae: Sandy McCutcheon Gonepteryx cleopatra: Jean Delacre


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Spinning gold from straw at the Ain Azleten souk

Lumen has been pottering around in the junk souk at Ain Azleten, forever on the lookout for that interesting objet to transform a room ...

The souk is a bit of an eyesore from a distance, two lines of shanty-town shacks on the hillside, next to the mosque at the Ain Azleten lower car park. But it's definitely worth a wander. You can pick up just about any kind of tool from tile-cutters to pliers, as well as a wealth of used catering machines such as mincers and fridges. But if you're not in the market for a second-hand toilet, browse a bit further and use your imagination.

Lumen spotted a curly wrought-iron Singer sewing machine table, complete with treadle, that she bought for a song, added a marble top and produced a great terrace table. There are old cedar doors galore, window frames with wrought-iron screens, shelves, marble cafe table tops, a huge array of ceramic olive oil pots, genuine printer's trays, mashrabiya panels and wooden boxes.


The souk has a wrought-iron factory where you can have just about anything made, there's a carpentry factory too, and a small tannery.

Perhaps Mike Richardson has the best eye when it comes to finding treasure. He bought an old iron case from a Shell petrol station, added glass shelving and lights and turned it into a talking-point display case on the wall at Cafe Clock.

Cafe Clock's display case

Photo credits: Lumen

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

The Festival of Sufi Culture - Update

Monday afternoon turned out to be one of the festival highlights with an amazing performance by the Hamadcha and Aissawa brotherhoods. Frédéric Calmès and Nathalie Château-Artaud introduced the different sections of the ceremony by reflecting on the place of music as therapy. The Aissawa Brotherhood, like the Hamadcha, uses trance as part of its musical ritual. In the case of the Aissawiyyia this practice is dedicated to their founding saint, the celebrated Cheikh El Kamel, ‘the Perfect Master’. In the case of the Hamadcha, their saint is Sidi Ali ben Hamdush. Both brotherhoods have long used music as a method of curing disorders. According to research done by anthropologists the cure rate in the area of mental health surpasses western psychiatry!

The two brotherhoods performing together created an extraordinary atmosphere with great energy from Abderrahim Amarani Marrakchi, the leader of the Hamadcha and Mohssin Zemmouri at the head of the Aissawa.

Abderrahim Amarani Marrakchi

Two Hamadcha musicians prepare

Dar Batha was the venue and it was a wonderful setting though a little small for the large crowd that turned up to take part in the event. And take part they did - with the entire crowd on their feet entranced by the powerful rhythms and great music. It was an afternoon to remember.

A section of the crowd at Dar Batha

Frédéric Calmès

Nathalie Château-Artaud

IMAGES FROM THE EVENT

Photo credits: Sandy McCutcheon

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Internet outage...

Our apologies for the lack of updates yesterday. The View from Fez was hit by one of the rare internet outages that strike the Medina from time to time. Thankfully our friend Taoufic sorted us out and we are back on line.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Medina Gossip #3504

Once again it is time to round up the gossip on the streets of the Fez Medina and our spies have been out and about discovering a mixed bag of offerings from blues musicians at the Clock to unrest in the Ville Nouvelle over visual pollution.

Recent visitors returning to Morocco after a break of 48 years were Henry and Meg Clarke from Mullumbimby in Australia. All those years ago architect Henry and Meg travelled in a VW bug right around Morocco - no mean feat back in those days. While in Fez Henry regaled us with tales of a Morocco long gone. One of the things that impressed him this time was the way Morocco has developed so fast and yet retained its essential character. Back on their first visit the intrepid couple had amazing adventures camping, straying too close to the Algerian border and forever trying to find petrol stations. How things have changed.
While in Morocco, Henry had need of medical attention and was happy to report that the facilities in a Fez clinic were world class as was the medical advice and care.

Henry & Meg Clarke

Thami's Closed - for the moment.

One of our favourite eating places in the Medina closed its doors this week and visitors in search of fine Fez food were concerned that Thami was off to pursue another career. Thankfully we can report that it is simply a renovation and not a closure. Thami's building permission came through and we look forward to a speedy return to business.

Tasty blues at Cafe Clock

The cultural program at Cafe Clock continues to impress and last night the offering was blues and jazz. The weather (rain) precluded use of the terrace and so the two instrumentalists and the singer moved into the downstairs salon. The acoustic here was great and our spy enjoyed a great cup of coffee to the tune of Stairway to Heaven! Keep an eye on the noticeboard at the Clock for upcoming events.

Meanwhile on a recent trip to The Majestic Restaurant one of our spies was disturbed to see the number of new advertising billboards cluttering the roadside. While there is probably a place for billboards - the area around Fez is not it, certainly not in the numbers that are now in place. On lone stretch of road our spy counted more than a dozen billboards in less than half a kilometre. They are an offensive intrusion in the cityscape and we are glad to hear that certain city officials are also very unhappy with the number around. When tourists arrive in Fez they do not expect (or want) to see the view obscured by ugly signs of globalisation. It is time to get rid of a majority of these offensive billboards!

Meanwhile... On Friday the President of Amnesty Morocco, Mohamed Sektaoui, was in Fez to report on the "significant achievements" carried out, in recent years, by Morocco with regard to human rights' protection.

"The human rights situation in Morocco has witnessed in recent years several important achievements, including the incrimination of torture and the establishment of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission," Mr. Sektaoui said at the inaugural session of AI's 6th General Assembly (Moroccan section), held in Fez under the banner "Human rights for human dignity".

These achievements, he said, also concerned the adoption of a new family code and the granting to Moroccan women the right to transmit their nationality to their children born of foreign fathers.

"Morocco, which has turned the page of past violations, must now tackle the preservation of the social, economic and cultural rights," he said.

Regarding the situation of women, the Moroccan official pointed out that the Moroccan section of Amnesty International sent a petition to the government in order to incriminate domestic violence.

The Festival of Sufi Culture continues today with Frederic Calmes appearing at the annex of the Institute Francais at 4 pm and tonight's concert at the Batha Museum features the Sufi Brotherhoods Alaouiya/Chadhiliya. It starts at 9pm.




Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan support for education of disabled children

On SWednesday the Ministry of Social Development, Family and Solidarity, signed a 1.3Mn USD partnership agreement with associations working in the field of education to support disabled children from poor families. The initiative is to benefit some 1,301 children, including 467 girls and 834 boys. It includes 43 specialized centres spread over Morocco’s different regions.

Under these agreements the Ministry commits to bear the costs of education for disabled children from needy families during 2007-2008 school year.

Speaking on this occasion, Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity, Nouzha Skalli, said that the signed agreements aim at ensuring more suitable education and rehabilitation for children with disabilities to guarantee their integration into society.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Ifrane to get upgrade

Yesterday King Mohammed VI presided over the signing ceremony of a convention to develop and upgrade a tourist resort in Ifrane (200km east of Rabat) for a sum amounting to USD 46.36Mn.

The project, to be carried out by the Moroccan-Kuwaiti Consortium, is part of a project dubbed "Biladi" designed to promote domestic tourism. The new resort will be built on an area of 30ha with an accommodation capacity of 1,450 beds in the form of tourist residences and camping sites.

Launched back in July 2007, the "Biladi" plan provides for the creation of eight new tourist stations in the most popular tourist cities in Morocco, such as Marrakech, Casablanca, El-Jadida, Agadir, Essaidia, Tangiers, Fes, and Kenitra. It is planned to raise the country's hosting capacity to 9 million overnight stays by 2012, against 2.6 million in 2003.

The projects were described to the king with detailed information about the projects in Ifrane between now and 2009.The program envisages developing several streets and green spaces in the city, modernizing irrigation water pumping networks, public lighting, and the construction and equipping of four public fountains.

A NEW MOSQUE

Earlier in the day, King Mohammed VI laid the foundation stone of a USD 1.09Mn mosque to be constructed in Atlas Mountain town. Spanning on an area of 1,250 sq meters, the mosque has a capacity of 1,400 people. It includes prayer halls for men and women, and other trade-oriented facilities. Construction works are expected to run for 16 months.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Author back in Fez.

The well known Australian author, Suzanna Clarke, is back in Morocco for a short visit. She was seen at the opening of the Sufi Festival last evening and (so rumour has it) at Cafe Clock, sampling the "eggs Florentine!

Suzanna Clarke - back in Fez.

Suzanna is well known around Fez for the renovation work on Riad Zany and her runaway best seller - A House in Fez. In Australia the hardback collectors' edition sold out in a matter of weeks. According to several local guest-house owners the book has resulted in an increase in visitors from Australia and New Zealand. They can expect a lot more visitors from among Ms Clarke's readers as the book is being released in the UK and Ireland next week and in the USA in November. At around the same time other translations of the work will be released - including an edition in Korean. It is hoped that French, German and Spanish publishers will also bring out editions in those languages.

Sold out!

Recently, a number of visitors staying at the Hotel Batha were keen to get copies and were searching bookshops in Fez, but sadly we have to report that, as of the moment, no distribution deal has been struck with Moroccan book importers.

When we spoke to Suzanna she had just got off the phone from a Radio Europe interview and was about to compile material for Condé Nast . Her job as the Arts Editor of a major Australian newspaper means that she can only stay a short time in Fez but has definite plans to return as soon as possible.

'Being in Fez is like coming home," Suzanna said. "It is great to meet up with all my Moroccan friends and the buzz of the Medina."


We wish Suzanna Clarke a great time on her short visit and hope she gets a break from the UK publicity machine which has been on her trail keen for interviews.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Morocco to serve the worlds biggest buffet???

Some 5,000 visitors are expected in Rabat to sample a vast number of different dishes to be served on a 300-m buffet - possibly the world's largest!

Themed "together to bring our peoples closer through our cultures", this event will gather the most popular dishes of some twenty countries in a "festival of taste and fondness of good food" is also meant to bring peoples closer through presenting their cultures (gastronomy, folklore and musical heritage) and offers the opportunity to participants to share the friendship.

In addition to world dishes, this event will also feature artistic events (paintings, sculpture and traditional arts) of the participating countries, as musical and dancing bands will come from the four corners of the world to perform in the Moroccan capital.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Fez Festival of Sufi Culture - opening night.

Last night saw the opening concert of the second Fez Festival of Sufi Culture. The festival runs until April 24 and promises to surpass last year's event. The View from Fez attended and would like to congratulate Festival Director, Faouzi Skali on a wonderful evening.

Jean Claude Carrière reading Rumi

For the opening night of the Sufi Festival a large crowd were entertained by Nahal Tajadod (Iran) and Jean Claude Carrière (France) giving readings of Rumi « Sur les pas de Rûmi » in Persian and French to the accompaniment of a ney player.

Nahal Tajadod (centre) in full flight!

A small section of the international audience

The setting for the concert at the Batha Museum was perfect and thankfully the rain which had been threatening stayed away. The night temperature was perfect and the Director, Faouzi Skali must have been very happy with the composition of the audience who covered the spectrum of Fez society as well as international guests from America, France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Great Britain and Spain.

While the opening night concentrated on the spoken word, the remaining concert events provide a range of musical talent that should prove even more popular.

Faouzi Skali arrives for the opening night concert

Wonderful improvising on the ney

The remainder of the program.

Vendredi 18 avril
10h Conférence (Medersa Bouanania)
Mustafa Chérif :
« Valeurs chevaleresques et relations internationales »
18h30 - 20h Concert (Bab Boujloud)
1ère partie : « Moultaqa Salam » de Ali Alaoui (Maroc / France)
Chants des confréries religieuses populaires du Maroc.
2ème partie : « Haj Mohammed Bennis » Samaa de Fès (Maroc)
21h Concert
1ère partie : « Aicha Radouane et les « Rabi’a » » (Maroc/France) 2ème partie : Soirée de Samaa - Confrérie : Harraqiya

Samedi 19 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Femmes et spiritualité »
16h - 18h Concert (Musée Batha)
1ère partie : «Voix soufies à travers le temps », Autour de Hallaj , Rûmi , Majrouh.
Saadi Younis Bahri , Reem Sharabeh, Farouk Gholem Païenda, Meradjaudine Emamzahdah. (Irak/Syrie/Afghanistan)
Mise en scène: Lionel Tardif
2ème partie : « Oumnia et Elie Ashkar » (Maroc/Liban)
Chants spirituels d’Oum Keltoum
18h30 - 20h Concert (Bab Boujloud)
1ère partie : « Aissaoua » Mouhcine Zemmouri (Maroc)
2ème partie : « Said Hafid » (Egypte)
21h Concert
1ère partie : « Marouane Hajji » (Maroc)
2ème partie : « Nihad Najjar » (Syrie)

Dimanche 20 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Spiritualité et Entreprise »
16h - 18h Concert (Musée Batha)
1ère partie : « L’ensemble Ibn Arabi » (Maroc)
2ème partie : « Curro Piñana » Chants Flamenco des poèmes d’Ibn Arabi (Espagne)
18h - 20h Concert (Bab Boujloud)
« Nihad Najjar » (Syrie)
21h Concert (Jnan Palace)
1ère partie : « Haj Mohamed Bennis » Samaa de Fès (Maroc)
2ème partie : « Said Hafid » (Egypte)

Lundi 21 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Spiritualité et environnement »
16h - 18h Ateliers
21h Soirée de Samaa (Musée Batha)
Confréries : Boutchichya / Chadhilia

Mardi 22 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Les voies de la connaissance de soi en Orient et Occident »
16h - 18h Ateliers
21h Soirée de Samaa (Musée Batha)
Confréries : Tijaniya / Charkaouia

Mercredi 23 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Soufisme et dialogue Orient Occident »
16h - 18h Ateliers
18h30 - 20h30 Soirée de Samaa (Musée Batha)
Confréries : Alaouia / Ouazzania

Jeudi 24 avril
10h « Désir d'islam, le voyage soufi d'Isabelle Eberhardt »
Marie-Odile Delacour et Jean René Huleu (Medersa Bouanania)
21h Soirée de Clôture
Concert (Jnan Palace)
1ère partie : « Ba Jeddoub » (Maroc) 2ème partie : « Musa Dieng Kala » (Sénégal)

Expositions / Conférences / Films
(Musée Batha – Jnan Palace)
Reza Deghati, Olivier Weber: « Quêtes spirituelles sur la route de la soie »
Layla Benmoussa / Abdou Hafidi : «Fès, le Saint et la Cité »
Louise Cara : « Arts et spiritualité »

To see the program and find out about the training courses in Moroccan Sacred Music in other languages including English visit : The Festival Site

At the same time Sufi brotherhoods from different countries and cultures will have Dhikr (invocations) evenings open to the public, as well as art exhibitions and spiritual music.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

For the opening night of the Sufi Festival a large crowd were entertained by Nahal Tajadod (Iran) and Jean Claude Carrière (France) giving readings of Rumi « Sur les pas de Rûmi » in Persian and French to the accompaniment of a ney player.
Vendredi 18 avril
10h Conférence (Medersa Bouanania)
Mustafa Chérif :
« Valeurs chevaleresques et relations internationales »
18h30 - 20h Concert (Bab Boujloud)
1ère partie : « Moultaqa Salam » de Ali Alaoui (Maroc / France)
Chants des confréries religieuses populaires du Maroc.
2ème partie : « Haj Mohammed Bennis » Samaa de Fès (Maroc)
21h Concert
1ère partie : « Aicha Radouane et les « Rabi’a » » (Maroc/France) 2ème partie : Soirée de Samaa - Confrérie : Harraqiya

Samedi 19 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Femmes et spiritualité »
16h - 18h Concert (Musée Batha)
1ère partie : «Voix soufies à travers le temps », Autour de Hallaj , Rûmi , Majrouh.
Saadi Younis Bahri , Reem Sharabeh, Farouk Gholem Païenda, Meradjaudine Emamzahdah. (Irak/Syrie/Afghanistan)
Mise en scène: Lionel Tardif
2ème partie : « Oumnia et Elie Ashkar » (Maroc/Liban)
Chants spirituels d’Oum Keltoum
18h30 - 20h Concert (Bab Boujloud)
1ère partie : « Aissaoua » Mouhcine Zemmouri (Maroc)
2ème partie : « Said Hafid » (Egypte)
21h Concert
1ère partie : « Marouane Hajji » (Maroc)
2ème partie : « Nihad Najjar » (Syrie)

Dimanche 20 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Spiritualité et Entreprise »
16h - 18h Concert (Musée Batha)
1ère partie : « L’ensemble Ibn Arabi » (Maroc)
2ème partie : « Curro Piñana » Chants Flamenco des poèmes d’Ibn Arabi (Espagne)
18h - 20h Concert (Bab Boujloud)
« Nihad Najjar » (Syrie)
21h Concert (Jnan Palace)
1ère partie : « Haj Mohamed Bennis » Samaa de Fès (Maroc)
2ème partie : « Said Hafid » (Egypte)

Lundi 21 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Spiritualité et environnement »
16h - 18h Ateliers
21h Soirée de Samaa (Musée Batha)
Confréries : Boutchichya / Chadhilia

Mardi 22 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Les voies de la connaissance de soi en Orient et Occident »
16h - 18h Ateliers
21h Soirée de Samaa (Musée Batha)
Confréries : Tijaniya / Charkaouia

Mercredi 23 avril
8h45 - 9h Introduction Artistique : 15 min (Medersa Bouanania)
9h - 12h Table ronde
« Soufisme et dialogue Orient Occident »
16h - 18h Ateliers
18h30 - 20h30 Soirée de Samaa (Musée Batha)
Confréries : Alaouia / Ouazzania

Jeudi 24 avril
10h « Désir d'islam, le voyage soufi d'Isabelle Eberhardt »
Marie-Odile Delacour et Jean René Huleu (Medersa Bouanania)
21h Soirée de Clôture
Concert (Jnan Palace)
1ère partie : « Ba Jeddoub » (Maroc) 2ème partie : « Musa Dieng Kala » (Sénégal)

Expositions / Conférences / Films
(Musée Batha – Jnan Palace)
Reza Deghati, Olivier Weber: « Quêtes spirituelles sur la route de la soie »
Layla Benmoussa / Abdou Hafidi : «Fès, le Saint et la Cité »
Louise Cara : « Arts et spiritualité »

To see the program and find out about the training courses in Moroccan Sacred Music in other languages including English visit : The Festival Site

At the same time Sufi brotherhoods from different countries and cultures will have Dhikr (invocations) evenings open to the public, as well as art exhibitions and spiritual music.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccans Celebrate Their History

Have you been wondering why the buses have been decorated with red plastic coats, why there are pretty red and green shields on the lampposts, new decorative lights all over town and banners all over the medina? Lumen has the story.

An ambitious programme of events scheduled for the rest of the year was launched at the beginning of April to celebrate Douze siecles de la vie d'un Royaume - Twelve centuries in the life of a Kingdom. It's Fez's birthday - and the city is twelve centuries old this year.

Fez is a 'model of coexistence between civilisations and cultures', says His Majesty King Mohamed VI in his opening speech. 'We are determined to support the city in its vocation as a source of inspiration to stimulate artistic and artisinal creation, a spirit of enterprise, the dynamism of production and trade, and as a rewarding tourist destination with its variety of attractions and its spiritual dimensions.'

The impressive opening ceremony took place in Boujloud Square with Princess Lalla Meriem and Prince Moulay Rachid in attendance. More events are planned to celebrate a country building its future with confidence and consolidating its place in the modern world.

Opening ceremony
photo: Catherine Bendayan

Happy Birthday Fez!

For more information, see www.12siecles.com.




Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

How do you find a cello in Fez?

The View from Fez needs help! We have a musician coming for a Riad Zany & Clock Cafe concert who needs to borrow a cello. The problem is the airline flying her from the UK says her cello is too big for hand luggage and she does not want it thrown in the hold.

Can you find a cello for Rebecca?

So if you can help with a cello for Rebecca Wright during the last weekend in May - email fes.riad@gmail.com - and you will also get two free tickets to either concert.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

A Portrait of the Artist ...

Jess - a self-portrait

Helen Ranger recently caught up with artist Jess Stephens, Cultural Co-ordinator at Cafe Clock. Here's what Jess has to say about her role at the Clock and life in Fez:

Before settling in Fez, I was a practising artist and teacher in Barcelona, Northern Spain, for eight years, involved in exhibitions and creative projects. Catalonia's capital city is rich in culture platforms and programmes.

I'm here in Morocco to realise a desire to set up an artist's residency programme in a rich and interesting culture, where visual artists, musicians and the literary can be inspired and informed, exchange ideas and share knowledge.

I first came to Morocco with this dream in 2005, and spent my adventures investigating potential tranquil locations close to an imperial city. Fantastic Fez being one of the capital cities for artisans and large enough to house the necessary requirements for my residency project, it was not long into my research that I discovered the nearby old Jewish town of Sefrou: perfect for both stimulation and focus.

With the thirst to realise creative projects in my new-found life, I was generously offered a rich platform for culture by Mike Richardson. His newly restored 300-year-old dar that houses Cafe Clock provides just such a platform, perfect for crossing cultures and borders.

As Cultural Co-ordinator at Cafe Clock, I am thrilled to amalgamate my skills as an artist, event organiser and teacher into a programme of visual art, multi-media, live music, lectures and calligraphy workshops. To aim to inspire and end up being motivated is a thrill.

Clock Culture strives to mix nationalities and cultures whilst intertwining traditional and contemporary creativity. Clock Culture and the artist's residency plan are closely related and one will feed the other.

One of our strengths at the Clock is the informal and welcoming environment, which encourages all people to dip or dive into a usually intimidating culture pool. Four months into the action, artists, musicians, artisans and the literary are getting to know Cafe Clock as a meeting point where we endeavour to collaborate, demonstrate, experiment and inspire, in addition to challenging ourselves. It's an approachable, unpretentious and refreshing environment to visit and spend some time. Tick, tock, tick, tick.

Clock Culture's future, we hope, will continue to develop openly and creatively as it has so far. The culture team and cafe staff are all stimulated and fired up for the next phase. We are programming language conversation groups, more music evenings, exhibitions and themed evening events. All in all, it's about collaborating with other organisations and creative individuals and contributing to the rich tapestry that is the Fez medina.

At present Clock Culture and Cafe Clock donate a percentage of concert ticket sales to Makadamat Ata3 who assist children in the medina to acquire reading glasses.

For the programme of events at Cafe Clock, see www.cafeclock.com.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Passion for Fez

Passion for the Planet is a UK radio station broadcasting on DAB to London, Essex, Bournemouth, Bristol and Bath, Devon and Peterborough, and is also available via the internet. Passion reaches an audience of health, environment, spirituality and personal development-focused adults. Its audience is open-minded, keen to change the world and live a more ethical, sustainable lifestyle.

And it's Passion for the Planet that has become the first-ever UK media partner for the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. Here's the Press Release:

Award-winning DAB radio station Passion for the Planet has been chosen as the first ever UK media partner for the hugely successful Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco.
The Festival, in its 14th year, takes place from 6-14 June in the ancient city of Fes. The Fes Festival attracts both musicians seeking fresh ideas and renewed inspiration as well as international music lovers, many of whom return year after year. VIP guests last year included members of the Irish supergroup U2, composer Osvaldo Golijov and Queen Rania of Jordan.
HRH The Prince of Wales praised the Fes Festival for its spiritual, ethical and humaritarian values in a video message made specially for the 2005 Festival.
This partnership is a first for both the Fes Festival and Passion for the Planet. Passion joins a distinguished list of international media partners including Radio France International, Le Figaro and Al Jazeera.
"We have chosen to partner with Passion for the Planet as it is the only radio station in the UK to deliver an audience that's focused on the issues close to the heart of the Fes Festival", said Mary Finnigan, the Festival's UK Co-ordinator.
"Both the Fes Festival and Passion for the Planet are about making the world a better place, about getting in touch with our spirituality, about tolerance and understanding through communication and friendship. This partnership makes perfect sense for us and we hope this is the first of many years working with Passion for the Planet."
Passion for the Planet will be promoting this year's Festival on air during May, and will visit the Festival to record interviews with some of the Fes Forum speakers, for broadcast later this year.
"We've been to the Fes Festival in the past and it's a magical event - music from all over the world in stunning settings", says Passion's Managing Director, Chantal Cooke.
"Just imagine listening to music under the stars surrounded by the majesty of the Bab Makina palace courtyard, or dancing with Sufi mystics into the early hours, or sitting in the shade of an ancient oak tree listening to leading thinkers of the 21st century, and then lunching in the hustle and bustle of the medina of Fes, chatting with locals and soaking up the sounds and smells of the souks. This is the experience we hope to bring to our listeners."
For more information, see www.passionfortheplanet.com.

See the full programme here: The 14th Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

Ticket collection service here: Ticket Collection

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news