Fez Medina Gossip #3508

The Great Wet.

The rain, the rain and then the rain - that's the chief topic of conversation around the damp walls of the Medina at the moment. The weather has been so dismal that one well known Fez identity has taken off for a sojourn in foreign climes where a glass of Bordeaux with magret de canard is expected to have a warming effect (at least internally).

However, for some the weather has been more than something to grumble about. A number of recently restored houses have revealed themselves to be prone to leaks and it is expected that there will be a number of maintenance jobs on offer to people capable of actually waterproofing terraces. The sun is expected to break through on Sunday morning with temperatures rising to 13 degress Celsius.

Sidi Slimane

Spare a thought for those worse off. Three hundred adobe houses were swept away on Tuesday night by flood waters from the Oued Beht river in the northern region of Sidi Slimane. According to our sources there were no casualties.

Maghreb Arabe Presse reported that a total of 1,800 houses were submerged by floodwaters, and 1,500 victims were rescued in the disaster-stricken area. The flood victims received food and blankets.

The early warning given in the flood-threatened regions spared the lives of many people,as local police, the Gendarmerie Royale (rural police), the auxiliary forces and rescue and emergency units joined efforts to help the victims.

After heavy rains that recently hit the Gharb region, El Kansra dam overflowed into Oued Beht. Eight people were killed and two others were injured Tuesday as a result of the harsh weather which is currently hitting Morocco.

Princess Lalla Salma

For a while the most searched for name on The View from Fez was a certain Lebanese pop princess - but now Morocco's popular Princess Lalla Salma has toppled Haifa Wehbe and is the subject of a huge amount of interest.

A sudden spike in searches for the princess had a few web-addicts looking for the cause and one Moroccan friend reckons it is because of Facebook! So we cruised over to check it out and discovered a Facebook page called simply: Princess Lalla Salma. Now, while we doubt that the Princess has time to do much websurfing, we can report that the page has attracted 21,480 fans. There is also an album of photographs - enough to keep avid royal watchers happy.

We suspect that the page has not been created by Princess Lalla Salma, but it does remind us that today is the anniversary of a famous controversy. On Tuesday, February 5th, 2008, Fouad Mourtada was arrested on suspicion of stealing the identity of Prince Moulay Rachid and creating a false profile on Facebook.

You can check out the fan page for the princess here: Princess Lalla Salma

And talking of Haifa Wehbe...


Haifa Wehbe's is appears to be on a big promotional drive at the moment with appearances scheduled in Oman, Jordan and... Morocco. Haifa recently performed in Oman's capital Mascat where she held a charity concert in the Intercontinental hotel for the benefit of Bank Oman. The concert, which lasted around 2 hours, was attended by about 2000 people. (We did think the financial crisis must really be hitting hard when a pop star performs to benefit a bank in Oman.)

Haifa then returned to Beirut, where she visited 'St Jude' centre for children who suffer from Cancer. For those who follow the pop diva, she is scheduled to hold a concert on March 30th in Jordan as part of the Aqaba Festival.

And as for Morocco, the Haifa Wehbe concert will be part of the festivities marking the launch of a new radio station, Radio Cap, on April 7th.

Her new album 'Baby Haifa', which will be solely for kids, is in the final stages of production. Haifa's single 'Naughty' will also be part of the new album.

Finally, Haifa will be the guest on Star Academy 4 along with famous Algerian Rai singer, Cheb Khaled.

More Mo-rock'n'roll?

Maybe it was the influence of U2 recording in Morocco, but whatever the cause, there is certainly something happening. The latest rock star to slot "Morocco" into the title of his album is Ian Gillan. Ian who, you ask? Shame! This is THE Ian Gillan, the legendary Deep Purple singer.The album is called One Eye on Morocco and according to industry insiders... "Ian Gillan's unique style draws you in. One Eye To Morocco goes deeper into the roots of rock and roll, soul and blues, than any other Ian Gillan solo album.


The CD is the most adventurous and complete album Ian Gillan has recorded in his long career. His distinguished style admired by generations of DEEP PURPLE fans is showcased, as well as his musical versatility."

More Mobile Phone Choice.

On Wednesday it was announced that Wana, the telecoms arm of Morocco's biggest conglomerate, ONA had won the country's third wireless phone network. This comes as part of a government drive to liberalise the telecoms sector and cut prices.

Wana, which currently offers limited-range mobile, fixed-line and Internet services, will now join Maroc Telecom (IAM.CS) and Meditel, which operate the two existing mobile networks.

The Telecoms National Regulation Agency (ANRT) commented... "Wana Corporate" presented a "clear, high-quality" bidding, an ANRT statement said adding that WANA pledged "significant investment" and innovative services likely to meet the market's expectations and contribute to upgrading telecoms services in the country.

Wana has said it would detail its investment strategy early this year after ANRT decided on the third licence.

The government expects the telecoms industry as a proportion of the country's gross domestic product to grow from about 7 percent currently to 10 percent next year on the back of more liberalisation and greater competition.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news