Morocco and the serious question of water exports.

Morocco is not a water rich country but one with a negative water footprint. The water footprint of a country is defined as the volume of water used for the production of the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the country. The internal water footprint is the volume of water used from domestic water resources; the external water footprint is the volume of water used in other countries to produce goods and services imported and consumed by the inhabitants of the country. A recent study shows that Morocco imports more water in virtual form (in the form of water-intensive agricultural commodities) than it exports, which makes Morocco dependent on water resources elsewhere in the world. The water footprint calculations show that Morocco depends for 14% on water resources outside its own borders.

Yet Morocco actually exports water to Great Britain, where the average household uses an astonishing amount of water - over 1000 gallons of water a day, making the country one of the biggest water importers in the world.

A study by the environment group WWF is the first attempt to discover the full scale of UK water consumption, and its water footprint. The study not only looks at water for drinking, cleaning and washing, but also at at hidden factors such as how much water is needed to grow food around the world and to make and transport goods. It concludes that only 38 per cent of the water used by the UK comes from its own resources, with much of the rest coming from countries such as Spain and Morocco, which face serious shortages.

The WWF identifies Spain, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Israel, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as some of the countries facing the worst droughts, yet they all still supply the UK with substantial exports of their water. The question of how long Morocco can afford to do this is an important one. According to the latest figures, annual water availability in Morocco is currently around 14bn cu metres, of which 1.8bn cu metres is designated for drinking water and industrial needs, with the remainder used for irrigation. Water storage capacity in dams is scheduled to be increased to 40bn cu metres by 2020 through an extensive dam-building programme, begun in the 1960s, that foresees the building of two dams a year.

Demand for water is expanding by an estimated 6% annually, and prices are likely to be raised in a bid to rationalise water use, particularly for agriculture. The government is spending US$4bn up to 2005 to secure safe supplies of drinking water throughout the country. Urban areas will receive two-thirds of the funds. Furthermore, the authorities have introduced a three-year programme to upgrade the irrigation system, with the aim of stabilising the annual cereals harvest.

And of great concern should be the the World Bank report on Morocco's water resources that has warned that the country could face a 30% drop in water availability per hectare of cultivated land unless improved water management techniques are introduced.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan News briefs

French Company invests 3 million Euro

The French company Descours and its Moroccan partner, Atagri Industries, is planning to invest €3 million on frozen food factory in Morocco. According to the French-language magazine Jeune Afrique the factory will have a capacity of 60,000 tons of frozen food a year.

The unit will recruit 400 people, and is due to double the production capacity of the French group in Morocco. Due to open in 2009, the unit will comply with European traceability standards, according to Jeune Afrique.

Descours Group has achieved a turn over of $ 45mln in 2007, and treated 30,000 tons of fruits used in jam, mass-product pastries, catering and large-scale distribution.


Moroccan Grapes Harvest Big Bucks

The Moroccan grape harvest is in full swing and once again the wine industry will make a substantial contribution to the Moroccan economy and job markey. The wine growing industry provides some twenty thousand farming jobs and more than ten thousand permanent jobs in the production, bottling and distribution sectors. But despite the state-of-the-art technology currently available, a traditional method is still used. The Cellars of Meknes, a company founded by Brahim Zniber, is by far the largest producer of wine in Morocco with almost 85% of the market.


After developing wines bearing the brand names ‘Guerrouane’ and ‘Beni M’Tir’, the Zniber family has been commercializing the brand-name ‘Chateau’ and hence created the first “controlled appellation of origin” in Morocco in 1998; in spite of this success the export figures remain very low in contrast with its direct competitor , the Lancel Group, which exports almost all of its production.

Despite sales figures which almost reach 100 million euros in the wine-producing sector, Morocco is still confronting a long-standing paradox. Alcohol consumption is prohibited in theory… But the 45 million euros which end up in the Moroccan Treasure every year makes things easier to reconcile. Muslims are not supposed to drink alcohol yet, with an annual production of around 34 million bottles, 30 million are consumed each year inside the kingdom.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Morocco and the Eurovision Song Contest.

The words "Eurovision Song Contest' and "Morocco" don't seem to be a natural fit. In fact if you ask most people around Fez they have not heard of the contest. Yet, strange as it seems, Morocco once entered the contest. To be fair, it was a while ago.

Back in 1980 Morocco entered the history of the Eurovision Song Contest with a cute young singer named Samira Ben Said. Then... nothing. Although it is not likely that Morocco will enter again any time soon, we are reminded if it because the Eurovison website - has a story about Samira.


These days Samira is a superstar in the Arabic countries. After a three-year absence from the music scene, she released a new album, Ayam Hayati which has achieved huge sales in the Arabic world but has also been critisised by local media who accuse her that some of her songs bear similarities to Turkish songs.

Samira's new album, Ayam hayati, was released last month and it has already become a huge hit in the Arabic world, having won a MEMA (Middle Eastern Music Award). In a press conference, held on Tuesday, Samira spoke to the press about her new album and answered some negative comments by journalists who accused her that her songs bear similarities to popular Turkish ones.

Samira explained that her long absence was due to the fact she had been working on this new album and she denied all accusations of her songs being similar to other songs. She stated that, in her new album, she was aiming for "diversity in the quality", away from western influences. Samira also denied the similarities between Hob Mayous Meno and Al Gani Baad Youmeen, as they are both different in content or arrangement, the only similarity is the idea of ‘injured love’.

Will Morocco make a return to Eurovision?

Morocco only entered once and the result was not encouraging - 2nd last place in with Samira Ben Said's Bitaqat hob. For 28 years Europe has been waiting for a followup entry from Morocco, but none have been forthcoming. However, with a new Moroccan broadcaster interested in becoming an active member of the EBU, this could change in the next few years!

The Moroccan broadcaster, who is a founding member of the EBU and took part in the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, is SNRT. After coming 2nd last in the competition, SNRT decided not to enter again. The sole Moroccan entrant to date, Samira Ben Said, has gone on to become one of the most popular singers in the Arabic-speaking world, a position she maintains even now.

However, a rival Moroccan television station, one that is not directly influenced by the Moroccan government, is now interested in joining the EBU. 2MTV has long been a source for free speech and taboo-breaking in Morocco, and is especially popular with the Moroccan diaspora in countries like France and the Netherlands. A spokesperson for 2MTV confirmed that the station is looking to join the EBU, and that a possible return to the Eurovision Song Contest for Morocco is not impossible, should they get the membership.

A participation in the Eurovision Song Contest could be extremely valuable to Moroccans, many of whom feel more European than African - the Moroccan government has even applied for a EU membership in the past. Eurovision could be a chance for people to consider the idea of a European Morocco once again.

And for those nostalgia freaks who want to zip back to 1980...Here she is.




Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Morocco to send 18 athletes to Paralympics

The Royal Federation of Sports for Handicapped Persons said in a statement issued yesterday that Morocco will be represented at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics by 18 athletes. The Moroccan delegation,which comprises 14 runners, 4 weightlifters and 12 officials, will fly to Beijing on Saturday. The Paralympics will take place 31 August-20 September in Beijing.

The Moroccan delegation is led by the chairman of the Federation, Hamid El Aouni.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Airlines hang on to daylight saving in Morocco

In a follow-up to our previous story about daylight saving being changed for Ramadan, comes the news that airlines in Morocco have decided to maintain, daylight saving time until September 27 for all their flights to and from Morocco. The entire daylight saving issue appears to have become somewhat of a fiasco. Hopefully there will be some level-headed thinking before next year.

Following Morocco's decision to switch back to GMT regular time as of September 1st, flight schedules of Royal Air Maroc, its low-cost subsidiary Atlas Blue, and private carrier Jet4You to and from Morocco will be ahead one hour.

Customers of Royal Air Maroc and Atlas Blue, who bought their tickets before August 27, will have their departure and arrival schedules shifted one hour ahead, while this measure does not concern those who bought tickets after the that date date.

According to a Jet4You press release, similar measures should be observed by costumers who brought the company's tickets before August 28.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Morocco's Daylight Saving - end date changed.

Morocco’s Daylight Saving Ends Earlier than Expected

Morocco will end its daylight saving time earlier than expected in 2008 after it ran the schedule for the first time since the late 1970s. The Ministry for the Modernization of the Public Sectors recently announced that the country would return to its official standard time (UTC+0) by reverting the clock one hour back at midnight between August 31 and September 1 in 2008.

Ramadan the reason?

The original end date for daylight saving time in Morocco was at midnight between September 27 and September 28 in 2008. However, this date was changed recently and is now about 27 days ahead of its original daylight saving schedule. The View from Fez believes this may be because Ramadan – the month of fasting – begins on September 2, 2008.The daylight saving schedule also applies to parts of the Western Sahara that are controlled by Morocco. The entire issue seems to be a bit of a fiasco with obvious negative impacts on various sectors. (See our story on the impact on airline schedules here.)

Morocco decided to trial daylight saving time when it moved the clock one hour forward (UTC+1) at midnight between May 31 and June 1 in 2008. The daylight saving schedule was supposed to end September 28th However, the many individuals and business groups were surprised when a decision was suddenly made to end the daylight saving date nearly a month ahead of schedule. Traders are still struggling to understand the suddenness of this change of plans.

The government planned to use the daylight saving measure to minimize energy costs and to align itself timewise with neighbouring European countries who observe daylight saving time. Organizations such as the National Office of Electricity (ONE) had shown their willingness to try out the daylight saving schedule in hope that the energy-saving schedule would prove to be economically viable for the country. Moreover, it was hoped that tourism would expand as a result of more daylight hours in the summer afternoons due to the schedule, bringing in a boost to businesses within the tourism industry.

It was planned that the 2008 daylight saving trial would be reviewed for a decision to use the schedule in future years. If its disadvantages outweigh its benefits, daylight saving time may be abolished. However, if it proves to be successful, daylight saving time may be used again.

We would be interested in the response of our readers. Should daylight saving become an annual event in Morocco?

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Ramadan schedule at Cafe Clock

Once Ramadan starts on 1 September, Cafe Clock will be serving a F'tour Buffet for the first hour of the evening.

F'tour is the meal that breaks the fast during the holy month of Ramadan. The Clock's breakfast spread (served after the first call to prayer of the evening, and with the change from daylight saving, now at around 18h15) will include all the delicious foods traditionally served at this time: harira, dates, pastries, milkshakes, hardboiled eggs with cumin and various breads.

After the first hour, the regular Clock menu will be available. Please note that Sunday Concerts will commence soon after F'tour, Wednesday nights are programmed as film nights, and Thursday nights will be open mic/jam session.

Here's the Clock Culture programme for this week:



Sunday 31 August : 10 – 12 a.m. ( 30 dh )
Contemporary Dance Class
with Fes based choreographer and dancer Asmae Kouli.

Sunday 31 August : 3 - 5 p.m..
Calligraphy @ the Clock : Open Table.
Discover the sacred art of Arabic calligraphy with artist and teacher
Mohamed Charkaoui.
(New price - 250 dh : Discounts Available)

Sunday 31 August : 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Sunday Sunset Concert
JiLALA Music
With Hussein Massoudi and Co.
( 20 dh )

Turn up the Culture!


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Bono's Fez album leaked

The View from Fez reported last year that Bono was in Fez and attended some concerts at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. But the real reason for his visit was to record a new album. Although it hasn't been released yet, Bono was playing it while on holiday in France, and a scheming fan recorded some songs on his mobile phone. The UK's Daily Telegraph has the story:

A Dutch fan of the Irish super group heard the music blaring out of the beachside home in the village of Eze-sur-Mere, near Nice, and recorded them on his mobile phone.

He then boasted about his achievement on U2 fan site Interference.com before putting them on YouTube.

Although U2 has now managed to remove the four leaked songs from YouTube because of “copyright violations”, they have not been able to stop people trading them via email.

The quality is said to be poor - the noise of waves crashing on the beach and seagull cries can be heard in the background - but the new development in the world of pop music piracy is said to have concerned U2 greatly.

“They see Eze as a place where they can get away from it all, and play music as loud as they like,” said a near neighbour in the village.

“Bono had the tracks playing on his stereo and people heard them outside, but nobody expected them to be recorded.” The new album, which is expected to be titled No Line on the Horizon, is U2's first for four years.

It has been recorded in conditions of absolute secrecy, with the band even hiring an isolated house in the medina of Fez, Morocco, to finalise some of the tracks.

Based on the information available on the web yesterday, the leaked tracks were called Moment of Surrender, For Your Love, Sexy Boots, and No Line on the Horizon.

In January U2's manager Paul McGuiness attacked music pirates, claiming internet service providers (ISPs) had “enjoyed a bonanza” over the past few years by accepting fees from illegal downloaders while doing nothing to prevent them from stealing music.

Mr McGuiness called on ISPs to disconnect users caught obtaining music illegally.

“Their snouts have been at our trough feeding free for too long,” said Mr McGuinness.

It is not the first time that U2 has been at the centre of a piracy scandal.

In 2004 tracks from the band's last album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, were leaked after a CD was stolen from one of their photo shoots in the south of France.

U2, which was formed in Dublin in 1976, has sold more than 170 million albums worldwide, and has won more Grammy awards than any other band.

Lead singer Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson, is also well known for his campaigning for human rights and social justice.

Eze-sur-Mere is hugely popular with holidaymakers because of its position on a beach below a medieval village dating back to the 12th Century.

The View from Fez is tickled by the idea of an 'isolated' house in the Fez medina. In fact the band stayed in a guesthouse in the Batha area.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

World Highlight Fez

While many of us tighten our belts in the global credit-crunch or worry about our carbon footprint with long-haul flights, a favoured few can take a 14-day world highlights tour by private jet offered by TCS Expeditions, an American travel company.

Fez is one of the destinations on this trip of a lifetime. Starting in Edinburgh, the tour takes in Prague, Tallinn in Estonia, St Petersburg, Cappadocia and Jerusalem, before heading back to London. The jet that usually seats 233 people has been adapted for just 74 passengers, there's a doctor on board and the food will not be the usual airline fare.

In Fez, passengers will spend their two days at the Palais Jamai and can do tours around the medina, out to the potteries or the Borj Nord museum. If they've been to Fez before, there's an optional trip to Volubilis. Expert lecturers are on hand to discuss art, geography, politics and history.

And the price? A snip at US$38 950. Aaahhh ... how the other half lives!


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Olympic News Flash!

Two Moroccans have qualified in the first round of the women's 1500 metres. Bitissam Lakhouad and Siham Hilali running in different heats have both come third. Hilali managing a season best of 4:05.36. Her previous mark was 4:15.54 at the World Indoor Championships, in Valencia.

Bouchra Chaarbi in the third heat ran bravely but was outclassed by a very fast field and finished in the final position.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

My Studio Door, Tangier - for sale by Sotheby's

British artist Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A., (1856-1941) took a long working holiday in Morocco during the early part of 1920,visiting Fez, Rabat, Marrakesh and Tangier before moving to Cap Ferrat in France.

Lavery was familiar with Tangier having first visited in 1891 and later in 1892 and 1893. It was in Tangier he painted huge canvases such as A Moorish Dance, 1892 and The White City.

According to Kenneth McConkey, writing for Art Daily:

These were dangerous times. Kidnap was a frequent occurance and two prominent British members of the community, Walter Harris and Kaid MacLean had suffered at the hands of the local brigand, El Raisuli. Although Tangier was an international protectorate and the centre of diplomatic intrigue, Morocco was notoriously volatile and it only achieved stability after the French invasion of 1912. Ironically it was a net beneficiary of the Great War, when the French authorities employed German prisoners to build roads and bridges. When Lavery first arrived, passengers were unloaded into rowing boats from ships moored in Tangier Bay, but now, in 1920, the new harbour, built under the Medina, was fully operational and motor vehicles were an increasingly common sight. It was therefore a changing city to which Lavery returned after the war. His sojourn in the city coincided with three events. Firstly, he and Hazel attended the wedding of his former model, Mary Auras, who was now living in Morocco. Secondly, the German Legation was closed on 15 January and the building facing into the souk was handed over to the Moroccan government – with an impressive military parade. And finally, on 6 Febraury, there was the sad ceremonial of the funeral of Kaid Maclean – soldier, expatriate Scotsman, Sultan's envoy, local hero and friend of the painter – when the whole city was in mourning. Lavery painted these latter events with great gusto. Despite the social round, the artist sought quieter moments, painting at least one rooftop scene, several 'moonlight' sketches and views of the beach and souk, reprising earlier compositions.

There are however very few pictures that sum up the relaxed ambience of his domestic setting more than My Studio Door, Tangier, where the painter's wife, Hazel, basks on a reclining chair, and a girl, probably her daughter, Alice, leans against the wall in the foreground. Other unidentified members of the entourage are seen on the left. The work recalls earlier lush Tangier garden scenes. In the days before the war Lavery had painted the resplendent My Garden in Morocco, 1911 (Private Collection) and Under the Palm Tree, 1912 (Private Collection, see McConkey 1993, plate 119). These show the painter's wife with a younger Alice under the bougainvilleas on the terrace at Dar-el-Midfah. At this time, mirroring the large Artist's Studio, 1913 (National Gallery of Ireland) he also painted In Morocco, 1912 (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne), showing Hazel, Alice, the painter's daughter Eileen and an Arab servant, Ben Ali Rabbati (see also Sotheby's 9 May 2007, lot 47). Thoughts of these sunlit Tangier idylls were clearly in his mind when Lavery turned to the present work. Its unusual symmetrical composition, with Moorish arch and dark central rectangular doorway imitating the proportions of the canvas, almost forms a picture-within-the-picture. Window apertures, fronds and parapet walls frame the entrance while the figures are randomly distributed. Hazel reclining with parasol, recalls a motif borrowed from My Garden in Morocco and The Thames at Maidenhead, c.1914 (Private Collection). Once more a dramatic sunshade disc supports the pictorial drama of balancing shapes and rectangles. Where the artist-reporter had often depicted passing events, here there is stasis, the dark well of the studio beckons and his models await.

Sotheby's will sell Sir John Lavery's My Studio Door, Tangier at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland on the evening of Tuesday, August 26. It is expected to fetch between £400,000 and £600,000.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Olympics - update #6

The Tale of an ex-Moroccan.

Rashid Ramzi was a young Moroccan athlete struggling for recognition in his home country, so he moved to Bahrain, joined their armed forces, and later took out citizenship.

Six years later he's won them their first Olympic medal on the track - and it happens to be one of the most coveted of all.

It wasn't one of the great 1500-metre finals. Not that Ramzi could care less. In fact the field simply played into his hands, particularly the Kenyans, doing all the work early on, and allowing Ramzi deliver his turbo-charged finish to claim the title in 3:32.94.

Morocco will still play some part in the celebration. He still trains there, and if anyone had to claim the title from their previous champion, Hicham El Guerrouj, then Ramzi was surely the man. Ramzi was quick to say that there was no ill-feeling over his departure from Morocco. "This is a huge achievement for a small country, but I think Moroccans would also be happy," Ramzi said. "A group of Moroccan journalists have also congratulated me."

The 1500 metres was a pretty rough affair with a lot of pushing and shoving and so the clean run of Moroccan 21 year old Abdalaati Iguider was a fabulous effort he came in 6th in 3:34.66.

Asbel Kipruto Kiprop from Kenya won the silver medal and a result to make our kiwi readers smile - Nicholas Willis from New Zealand picked up the bronze medal.

Olympic Updates.

Update One
Update Two
Update Three
Update Four
Update Five
Update Six
Moroccan woman joins IOC




Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Family tragedy in Morocco

News has just reached us of a family tragedy that took place at the Oued Al-Makhazin dam (pictured left) near Tangier. The accident happened on Monday when five people belonging to the same family drowned in the dam.

The accident occurred when an 11-year-old girl, who was swimming in a shallow area of the dam, sank into a 25m-deep crevasse, dragging her 12 year-old sister down with her.

The older brother, 37, and his wife, rushed to the rescue of the two girls but they got sucked inside as well. Another sibling, an 18-year-old girl, suffered the same fate.

On Monday, civil protection teams managed to recover two bodies from the bottom of the crevasse, while a third body emerged later. Two other bodies were recovered on Tuesday morning by the civil protection frogmen.

The bodies were carried to the morgue of the northern city of Ouazzane.

The View from Fez extends its sympathy to the relatives of the victims.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

55th anniversary of independance struggle in Morocco

Today, Wednesday August 20, Moroccans are celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People, a landmark in the country's history that illustrates the heroic struggle of the Alaouite Throne and Moroccan people against French occupation.

This anniversary is an opportunity to look back at the achievements of the three monarchs who led the country through the different stages of its history, namely, late Mohammed V and Hassan II, and the current king, Mohammed VI.

On this day back in 1953, the French colonial authorities exiled the Alaouite royal family after the Late King Mohammed V - grandfather of king Mohammed VI- refused to sign decrees consecrating French domination over Morocco.

Mohammed V is justifiably famous because he took the strong stance against the Vichy French order to deport the 300,000 Jews who lived in Morocco at the time of World War II. Hassan II was the monarch who moved quickly to take over the Al-Quds Committee in 1979. This was a crucial step as, at the time, the Muslim world looked set to head down a radical path.

It is also an occasion to hail the efforts and sacrifices of the Moroccan people, who offered lives and money to achieve the independence of the country and subsequently to place it amongst the democratic, modern, moderate and open countries.

Royal Pardons

King Mohammed VI has extended pardon to 476 people to mark the 55th anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People Day and the Youth Day, marking the 45th birthday of the sovereign.

Four people will benefit from total pardon for the remaining period of their sentence, while 242 others will get remission.

A prisoner condemned to life in prison will have his sentence commuted to a limited prison term, while 229 will benefit from different pardons reprieving their sentences or annulling the payment of their fines.

The king grants pardons regularly to inmates on the occasion of national and religious days.



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Morocco Tops Backpacker destination list

Morocco has topped a list of up and coming backpacker destinations.

According to new research from Hostelworld.com, the number of backpackers visiting Morocco has increased by 103 per cent since 2007.

Popular destinations within Morocco include the coastal village of Essaouria, where backpackers are "guaranteed an authentic experience" and where activities such as kitesurfing and windsurfing are on offer.

Other up and coming backpacker favourites include Egypt, Japan and Slovakia.
Bookings for hostel accommodation in Kyoto, Japan have reportedly increased by 160 per cent over the last year.

Meanwhile, Miami has also seen "explosive" growth, with backpackers attracted by the "sandy beaches, flamboyant nightlife and hours of endless sunshine".

"Miami is the only major city in the United States bordered by two national parks, Everglades National Park on the west, and Biscayne National Park on the east," Hostelworld.com notes.

A recent survey by social networking site Bebo revealed that the average backpacker spends around £4,000 on their travels.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Riad Alkantara opens its doors

Riad Alkantara is now open for reservations from the beginning of October. Lumen investigates:

This splendid complex of five traditional houses has been painstakingly restored over the last few years by Abdelfettah Seffar and Camille Lorenzetti. Luxurious in the extreme, the first house to open is Dar Feshadara. Here the suites are decorated in a refined Oriental theme with hand-crafted cedarwood furniture, antiques from across the Maghreb, Syria, Egypt and India, Italian fabrics and Egyptian cotton bedding, embroidered towels and dressing gowns. You'll have your own music system with a library of CDs, a DVD library, your own laptop computer with Wifi internet connection, tea-making facilities with a variety of infusions, a minibar, hairdryer and Occitane bath products.

Jardins des Roses Suite

4000sq m of established gardens invite a stroll. There's a large swimming pool as well as fountains, water channels and lush planting. Shady terraces, panoramic views of the medina and a solarium complete the scene. Inside there's a dining room as well as a restaurant (open to the public), an exhibition space, a lecture room, bar lounge, smoking room and shop. No expense has been spared, and there's superb attention to detail.


Next year workshops in the creative arts such as cooking, art, crafts, art therapy, music, dance and yoga will be offered. Evenings of music, poetry and story-telling are also on the cards, as well as weddings and events organisation.

The spa will open in September next year. There's a hammam, jacuzzi, Finnish sauna, massage rooms, beauty therapy and solarium. At the same time, the second house, Riad Constellation, will open its doors, with the third, Riad Sahar, in October 2010.

Situated in Oued Souaffine in Douh, Riad Alkantara is reasonably close to parking and very convenient for exploring the medina. The suites start at Dh4000 per night, including breakfast.
Contact the riad at 035 740 292 (the website www.riadalkantara.com is still under construction), or book through Fez Riads.




Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Eight Moroccans killed, forty injured in bus accident

Eight Moroccans have been killed and 40 others injured, including six in a critical condition, in a bus accident Sunday afternoon in the municipality of Oropesa del Mar in Spain.

The accident took place when the bus carrying Moroccan expatriates skidded off the road and overturned, due probably to a tyre deflation, which caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The driver, a Spaniard, was also among the dead.

The passengers were going back to Catalonia after they spent their summer holidays in Morocco.

Following the tragedy, King Mohammed VI addressed a message of condolences and compassion to the families of the dead and the wounded. He also decided to pay for the hospitalization costs and repatriation of victims’ bodies to Morocco.

The monarch ordered Morocco’s ambassador to Spain, and the president of the Council of the Moroccan Community Living Abroad, to go to the scene and take the appropriate measures to provide necessary support to the families of the dead and the injured.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Olympics - update #5

Morocco's first medal.

Moroccan athlete Hesna Benhassi had a fantastic run in the 800 metre women's final. Hesna clocked 1:56:73 behind Kenyans Pamela Jelimo (1:54.87) and Janeth Busienei Jepkosgei (1:56.07), who won gold and silver respectively. Silver medallist in the 2004 Athens Olympics, Benhassi ranked second in semi-final heat 2 in 1:58.03, behind Kenyan Pamela Jelimo (1:57.31).


Benhassi was already among the greatest Moroccan women athletes in history even before her silver medal 800m performances in the Athens Olympics and the World Championships in Helsinki in 2005 and Osaka in 2007. She had won gold at 800m in the 2000 African Championships and at 1500m in the 2001 World Indoor Championships in Lisbon, becoming only the second female Moroccan athlete, after Nezha Bidouane, to win a World Championship title. But she has remained very much in the shadow of her brilliant compatriot, Hicham El Guerrouj.



* Born June 1, 1978.
* Making her third appearance at the Olympics.
* Won silver in the 2004 Athens Games (1 minute, 56.43 seconds), and finished eighth in 2000 at Sydney (1:59.27).
* Took silver at the 2007 World Championships in Japan, finishing in 1:56.04.
* Also finished second at the 2005 worlds in Finland with a time of 1:59.42.
* Won gold in the 2000 African Championships.
* Finished first in the 1,500m dash at the 2001 World Indoor Championships.
* Took gold in the 800m dash at the 1997 Mediterranean Games and the Pan-Arab Games that year.

Olympic Updates.

Update One
Update Two
Update Three
Update Four
Update Five
Update Six
Moroccan woman joins IOC



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Magic at the Clock

An internationally-renowned magician in the on the cultural menu this week at Cafe Clock.

Tuesday 19 August : 7:30 – 9 p.m
Magic Mardi
Hans Dillenberg International Magician.
(Free)

Saturday 23 August : 8 p.m.
Film: Ali Zawa / Prince of the Streets
(Free)

A moving portrait of the lives of street kids living in Casablanca's
abandoned lots. Ali, Kouka, Omar and Boubker, four young friends who
are members of a gang, rebel against their cruel leader's oppressive
rule and strike out on their own, running away from "home" a second
time.
Although they are surrounded by crime, violence and degradation, the
boys long for love and tenderness. Ali's fantasy is to escape to the
seas and become a sailor. He wants to reach the island "where two suns
set," become a royal prince and "meet a lovely woman."

*Winner of over 40 international film festival awards*


Sunday 24 August : 10 – 12 a.m. ( 30 dh )
Contemporary Dance Class
with Fes based choreographer and dancer Asmae Kouli.


Sunday 24 August : 3 - 5 p.m..
Calligraphy @ the Clock : Open Table.
Discover the sacred art of Arabic calligraphy with artist and teacher
Mohamed Charkaoui.
(New price - 250 dh : Discounts Available)


Sunday 24 August : 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Sunday Sunset Concert
Wllat Saa3a / Hip Hop
(20 dh)



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Olympics - Update #4

The women's 800 metres women race came alive Saturday after Benhassi Hasna of Morocco (pictured above) came in second in a time of 1.58.03 behind 19 year old Pamela Jelimo of Kenya who won her heat in a time of 1.57.31 both women qualified for the finals. Kostetskaya Ekaterina of Russia was third in a time of 1.58.33.

In the long jump qualifications Yahya Berrabah of Morocco jumped 7.88 9 and Tarik Bougtaib 7.69 15.

The Maghreb region also had cause to celebrate with the outstanding gold medal win by Tunisian Oussama Mellouli who beat the favourite Grant Hackett of Australia.

Tunisia ended Australian Grant Hackett's dream of an historic three 1500m freestyle Olympic gold medals with a thrilling victory in the final at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday. Mellouli sprinted clear with 300m left and held off Hackett's spirited finish to win in 14 minutes 40.84 seconds.

Hackett, the winner of the event in Sydney and Athens and bidding to become the first man to win three Olympics titles in the same event, took the silver medal in 14:41.53, only 0.49secs behind.

Algeria's Amar Benikhlef won a silver in the men's Judo 100kg category and beside him was bronze medallist Hesham Mesbah from Egypt.

Benikhlef's breakthrough has been a fruit cultivated by the International Training Center of International Judo Federation (IJF) established in Morocco, where judokas were head coached by former Italian judo star Ezio Gamba, Olympic champion in Moscow 1981 and silver in Los Angeles 1984.

An appeal lodged by Morocco after bantamweight Hicham Mesbahi (pictured left) was stopped with injury in a second-round bout at the Olympic boxing competition has been turned down, the sport's ruling body said on Saturday.

Mesbahi was leading Botswana's Khumiso Ikgopoleng 8-3 on Friday when the referee stopped the bout with 32 seconds left in the fourth and final round because the Moroccan had a nose cut.

The result will stand, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) said in a statement.

Olympic Updates.

Update One
Update Two
Update Three
Update Four
Update Five
Update Six
Moroccan woman joins IOC


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Busy Batha

The open parking lot in Batha is no longer. A wall has been constructed and a sign erected telling us that a 67-bed, 3-star hotel is to be constructed there. Across the road, the other 4-star hotel seems not to progress at all. It's looked like this (below) for some years. The View from Fez isn't sure what's going on here, but has heard that there's a dispute over who actually owns the land it's on.


And these aren't the only hotels going up in the city. There's to be at least one in the new shopping centre on Champs de Course, another next to the shopping centre on Avenue Al Fassi leading to the medina, another 5-star across from McDonalds and the Hotel Lamdaghri just off Boulevard Mohamed V is currently being upgraded. And all this is before we even start to consider the proposed tourist development on the hills south of the medina.

It's good to see such investment in Fez; obviously a lot more tourists are expected. Let's hope, though, that extra parking will be provided to make up for the loss in Batha and the presumable increase in traffic to the area.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Fes et Gestes: new tea garden in Ziat

Fes et Gestes is just perfect for summer lunches. Helen Ranger investigates ...

Cecile Houizot-Nanot has done it again. First she organised those wonderful Sunday afternoon concerts at the Palais Mokri (that sadly are no longer); now she's opened a delightful tea garden in Ziat. And with the plethora of guesthouses in the Ziat area, some long-established and some new, this is very welcome.

The house is somewhat surprising - a French colonial design, with large windows opening onto the garden, but with Moroccan touches such as zellij and Iraqi glass. It was occupied for some 27 years by Sister Cathy, an English nun and midwife, who sadly died a few months ago. The garden is very pretty, with a central fountain much enjoyed by little Louis-Xavier, Cecile's son. Cultural events are planned such as painting and sculpture exhibitions, afternoon tales and evening concerts.

The name intrigued us ... it's a play on words, in French. If you know someone's faits et gestes, it means that you really know what makes them tick. So here is Fez ... et Gestes.

There's a wide range of fruit juices, teas and coffees at Dh15 or Dh18 - we sampled the house special coffee, delightfully spiced, and rooibos tea (most dear to Helen Ranger's heart) flavoured with lime blossoms and mint. Lunch is also available at Dh90, including water and tea or coffee. It's a hearty meal of a wide range of Moroccan salads, a tagine and dessert. It's possible just to have one or two courses.

Fes et Gestes can be found at 39 Arsat El Hamoumi in Ziat (see the map on the website), phone 035 63 85 32. It's open every day except Wednesdays from 09h00 to, well, it says 19h00, but Cecile says that sometimes people stay til 20h30.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Angry Royal Air Maroc Passengers set fire to plane!

According to the Moroccan Daily, Al Massae, five passengers on board a Boeing 757 aircraft, on a Royal Air Maroc flight between Paris, Charles De-Gaule Airport and Moroccan city of Oujda, stated a fire inside the plane as a violent protest unfolded because of delays of more than six hours.

Tensions were such that five passengers set fire inside the aircraft and violently mishandle the plane crew who refused to offer any information to the passengers about the extended delay.

The pilot had to make an emergency landing at Barcelona airport, where the offending five passengers where held by the police as investigation of the incident proceeded.

The troubles stated when the crew ignored the entireties of the passengers inquiring about the delays, its duration and estimated time of departure.

The decision of the flight crew not to communicate with passengers lead to tensions to rise between passengers and the crew and started with mild arguments and ended with the five passengers allegedly setting fire inside the aircraft while in the air which produced panic among the rest of the passengers and led to their arrest of the five by Spanish police.

This is the latest mishap for Royal Air Maroc airlines this summer. Several other incidents were due to extended delays and frequent unannounced flight cancellation, stranded passengers for days at a time at JFK airport in NY, poor communication customer service and the deteriorating labor relations inside the company.

The airline pilots are getting ready to go on strike and ground the airline planes during the month of august, the busiest of year. The pilots, following a union meeting, criticized the airline president, Mr. Driss Benhima, who has been making inflammatory statements to the press.

The airline has recently been transferring aircraft to its other subsidiaries, Atlas Blue airline and Senegal International Air and hiring foreign non-union pilots.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Olympics - update #3 - Boxer floors Brad Pitt.

At last Morocco has something to cheer about. Mohmammed Arjoui won a comprehensive victory (11/6) against Brad Pitt. Pitt quit his job as a painter in order to train for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, but unfortunately he did not qualify for the games. After this blow he returned to work again as a painter only to quit again to focus his time on qualifying for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. For him Beijing lasted only a few minutes.

Morocco's Mohammed Arjaoui (L)defeats Australia's Brad Pitt during their Heavyweight (91 kg) bout

Morocco's Hicham Mesbahi is declared winner after defeating Colombia's Jonatan Romero during their Bantamweight (54 kg) bout.

Olympic Updates.

Update One
Update Two
Update Three
Update Four
Update Five
Update Six
Moroccan woman joins IOC

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Cafe Clock's Cultural Week

Here's the Clock Culture programme for the coming week:
Saturday 16 August : 4 p.m.
Poetry Reading ( Free )

Sunday 17 August : 10 – 12 a.m. ( 30 dh )
Contemporary Dance Class
with Fes based choreographer and dancer Asmae Kouli.

Sunday 17 August : 3 - 5 p.m..
Calligraphy @ the Clock : Open Table.
Discover the sacred art of Arabic calligraphy with artist and teacher
Mohamed Charkaoui.
(New price - 250 dh : Discounts Available)

Sunday 17 August : 7-8 p.m.
Henna @ the Clock
( price varies )

Sunday 17 August : 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Sunday Sunset Concert
Annas Habib
Traditional Arabic Song
(20 dh)

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Morocco's Movie Productions worth $111 million

Some 17 foreign movies were shot in Morocco during the first half of 2008, worth some $ 111 million, which is "a record that has never been achieved before," according to the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM).

In 2007, the amount invested in foreign movie production in Morocco exceeded $ 74 million, against $ 61.9 mln in 2006 and $ 38.4 millions in 2005, the same source added.

"The increasingly important number of movies attracted by Morocco is due to the miscellaneous publicity-grabbing operations carried out by the CCM at major international film events, especially those of Cannes and Marrakech," the CCM went on.

It is also explained by the promotional efforts of the southern region of Souss-Massa-Draa, which hosts shooting locations for more than half of foreign productions in Morocco, to become a leader shooting location in Africa by the year 2016.

Some famous films are related to Morocco, namely, "Gladiator" (2000), “Black Hawk Down” (2001), “Kingdom of Heaven” (2005), as wells as "Alexander" (2004).


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Olympics - update #2

Floored in the men's 60 kg preliminary judo bout

Ludwig Paischer of Austria competes against Younes Ahmadi of Morocco .
(Photo credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Safouane Attaf (L) and Great Britain's Euan Burton compete during their men's -81kg judo

In the past Morocco has won 19 Olympic medals but only in two sports, with 16 medals from athletics and three medals from boxing. Morocco's first gold was won by Nawal El Moutawakel in the women's 400m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Saïd Aouita, the overwhelming favourite for the 5000m in Los Angeles, won Morocco's second Olympic gold. He went undefeated over the distance for almost ten years but injury prevented him from defending his title in 1988, although he still managed to win a bronze medal.

In Athens 2004 four-time world champion Hicham El Guerrouj added two gold medals to his silver medal from Sydney 2000 by winning the 1500m and 5000m. He became the first athlete in 80 years to win both 1500m and 5000m at the same Olympic Games. Finnish legend Paavo Nurmi did the double at 1924.Games in Paris. The two gold medals also made El Guerrouj Morocco's most successful Olympian.

Azerbaijan's Samir Mammadov (L) is declared winner after defeating

Morocco's Abdelillah Nhaila during the Flyweight (51 kg) bout

Morocco's Hicham Mesbahi is declared winner after defeating
Colombia's Jonatan Romero in Bantamweight (54 kg) class

In Beijing Morocco has not had a lot to smile about so far. In boxing (middleweight division) Kazakhstan's Bakhtiyar Artayev, who won gold in the welterweight division at Athens 2004 and bronze in the middleweight division at the 2007 World Championships, pocketed an 8-2 victory over Morocco's Said Rachidi.

Today in the super Heavyweight (+91kg)

Up-and-coming 2007 World Championships bronze medalist Zhang Zhilei of China meets 2005 African Championship gold medalist Mohamed Amanissi of Morocco in his preliminary encounter. Zhang is also a 2007 Asian Championship silver medalist.

Archery

Khadija Abbouda competes in the women's archery

In archery Khadija Abbouda had a tough match up with Sung Hyun Park of Korea. She lost the match 80 to 112. Athlete Biography ABBOUDA Khadija

Olympic Updates.

Update One
Update Two
Update Three
Update Four
Update Five
Update Six
Moroccan woman joins IOC



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Jnan Sbil update

The gates are open ... but you can't go in. Not yet, anyway.

The Jnan Sbil gardens on the north-western edge of the medina were always a favourite place for Fassis, where lovers and retired people could while away the hours among the palms, eucalyptus, weeping willows, citrus trees and bamboo. The park was opened to the public by Moulay Hassan in the 19th century. Two rivers - the Oued Fes with its water wheel - and the Oued Jawahir (river of pearls) flowed through the garden and there were three cafes. On the western edge near Bab Makina, the Nouria Cafe is still open and is a very pleasant place for tea or lunch. A broken-down waterwheel is still visible from the cafe.

But over the years, the gardens fell into disrepair and became not such a good place to go. A few years ago, ADER (the Agency for the Dedensification and Rehabilitation of the Fes Medina) was tasked with renovating the Borj and the walls surrounding the gardens. The Borj is now a museum of the natural environment and attracts lots of school groups, and the walls have been completed.

Renovated garden walls

The Mohamed VI Foundation for the Environment is now tackling the renovation of the gardens themselves. Directed by architect Rachid Haloui, this demanding project consists of three or four separate parts. The first two parts are expected to be completed by the end of October this year. These comprise the Andalous garden and the bamboo sections which are the oldest plantings of the garden and the most interesting. M Haloui reports that it has been extremely difficult to cope with the lack of water these days, even for the existing plants.

It doesn't look like the gardens will be open any time soon, but The View from Fez is looking forward to having the city's green lung restored and open for the public's enjoyment.

the central layout so far ...

photo credits: Helen Ranger

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

The Fez Medina in literature - a surprising update!

Most people who have read widely about the Fez Medina in literature will be quick to point out the work of Paul Bowles (The Spider's House) and maybe our own Sandy McCutcheon's The Cobbler's Apprentice. And in Non Fiction A House in Fez by Suzanna Clarke. However to this list must now be added Eoin Colfer and Artemis Fowl & the Time Paradox. This is the seventh Artemis Fowl book written by the Irish children's author.



Publication date was 7 August

For those who have not become addicted to Colfer's fantasy, Artemis Fowl is a very wealthy criminal mastermind who has unlocked a world of fairies and magic and in this book there are two versions of him: Elder and Younger.

Both have a huge minder called Butler. His sidekick is Captain Holly Short, a very capable police fairy who has hypnotic skills and an amazing range of gadgets.

And here's what caught our attention. The James Bond-like showdown in the leather souq in Fez is really thrilling. Yep! The Fez tanneries. Read and enjoy.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Opinion: More than a tunnel to Morocco...

Mohammad el-Ashab, writing in Al Hayat, takes a look at the proposed tunnel between Spain and Morocco and says it is going to be far more than just a bridge between the continents - it will be an opportunity for Arab league and the Maghreb Union to build bridges of their own.

A Moroccan Bridge to… Andalusia!

By Mohammad el-Ashab

The descendants of Moroccan general Tariq Ibn Ziyad and Spanish King Felipe V are trying to once again bridge the gap between the two continents. What nature has achieved with volcanic eruptions, soil erosion and the sea extended between Europe and Africa, humankind now seeks to restore, by binding the branches to the roots.

Five centuries ago, Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain across the Atlantic to discover America. At around the same time, Moroccan geographer Al-Sharif Al-Idrisi advocated the spherical shape of the earth. It is paradoxical that Al-Idrisi lived in the city of Ceuta in Northern Morocco, today under Spanish occupation.

Today, it looks as if the most likely discovery at hand for both the Spanish and the Moroccans is submitting to the logic of nature by once again looking into the grand project of a land connection between Africa and Europe, in the form of a tunnel of colossal proportions, an accomplishment which had been difficult to imagine. However, scientific and technological progress has made it a matter of political will and financial capabilities. Such a tunnel would not merely be connecting two countries, as with the Channel Tunnel between France and Britain, but two continents.

Beyond the scientific and technical aspect of a project of such proportions, the initiative of bridging the continental gap between Europe and Africa has come from two countries, Spain and Morocco, which have yet to solve their political disputes over the fate of the occupied cities of Ceuta and Melilla. One cannot recall the common history of the two countries, from the Islamic Conquest to the collapse of the Taifa kingdoms and the fall of Andalusia, without mentioning the role played by these two cities, in peace and in war, in prosperity and in decline.

Nevertheless, it is true that the future perspectives of such a continent-connecting project will help overcome current difficulties and integrate border territories on the Mediterranean coast into a wider space for cooperation. As for Spain's claims of sovereignty over territories on the African continent, they can be toned down by providing it with face-saving economic and commercial interests. In turn, Morocco's demands in terms of holding on to sovereignty may be met with sympathy on the part of its northern neighbor by widening the scope of bilateral cooperation. Such cooperation will take on a continental dimension through which Spain, which has been aspiring to expand its influence vertically towards the African continent, can be confident of the new horizons ahead.

That is not the only gain. Morocco's opening up to Spain has represented a notable step towards overcoming sensitivities resulting from the influx of Moroccan goods into European space through Spain. If Spain reciprocates, it will provide Rabat with a privileged situation in its ties with Europe: more than a partnership and less than full membership.

Opening up at such an advanced degree will certainly benefit the region of North Africa as a whole. It will curb illegal immigration while allowing for the smooth flow of migrants within the framework of multilateral cooperation between countries of emigration and host countries, considering the increasing need of EU countries for both white-collar and blue-collar labor force. It will also be helpful in bringing the Arab Maghreb Union out of its slumber and paralysis, as the European Union wishes it to be its equivalent interlocutor. Added to that are the necessities imposed by integration into the Union for the Mediterranean, especially as one of the Union's priorities is the implementation of concrete projects, including transports and establishing additional duty-free zones, as well as trading political clichés with concrete economic terms.

When Morocco and Spain go to Luxemburg to put forth the project of an intercontinental land connection between Africa and Europe, many will be absent: the Arab Maghreb Union, which is facing difficulties in proving itself; the African Union, of which Morocco is not a member; and the Arab League, which can revive a trilateral dialogue between Africa, Europe and the Arab World. However, the opportunity has not yet passed, as the project is still being formed and Arab countries should get involved. The road back to Andalusia is paved with new concepts and values, ones which adopt the language of the age.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news