A Superb Weekend of Hadra in Chefchaouen

The art of hadra (trance dancing) is being celebrated this weekend in Chefchaouen with the participation of leading exponents as well as researchers. The weekend will offer a unique window into this Sufi art form

La Hadra Chefchaounia

The weekend has been organized by l’Association Sœurs de l’art authentique (the Association of Sisters of authentic art) and promises a diverse musical and academic program.

This festival aims to contribute to the cultural dynamics and socio-cultural development of the region and to strengthen Chefchauen's local and international reputation as one of the traditional Moroccan-Andalusian cities that has preserved its artistic heritage.

According to the artist Rahoum Bakkali, president of  l’Association Sœurs de l’art authentique , this festival is an opportunity to celebrate the symbols of artistic creation in Morocco and the contribution of Moroccan women .

This edition will be dedicated to the spirit of the scholar Sefiani Hashimi, a pioneer of the Andalusian music, in recognition of the central role of played by Hashimi in promotion and development of music in the city of Chefchaouen.

The formidable Lala Rhoum El Bakkali

Several Hadra groups will perfom including, Hadra Tanjaoui lead by Naima Barnoussi, Hadra Chefchaounia  and the group of Hadra Tétouania.

The most well known of these groups is the La Hadra Chefchaounia. Their musical director is a formidible force in keeping the Hadra tradition alive. Lala Rhoum El Bakkali, a descendant of Sidi Ali Hajj Bakkali who founded the zawiya (Sufi lodge) Bakkali of Chefchaoun. She is a professor of music and teaches piano and Arab-Andalusian music, in addition to acting as the leader and musical director for La Hadra Chefchaounia

Besides the musical concerts, the program also includes a scientific conference on "Sufi singing and Women Hadra" which will be supervised by specialists and researchers in music and in the history of the sufi art.

Photographs: Philip Murphy for The View From Fez

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Moroccans on Holiday Head For The Hills

With the combination of holidays and hot weather, thousands of Moroccans are choosing to journey to the mountains or to the beach. The View from Fez made the trip to Chefchaouen to check out the huge influx of holidaymakers

The crowds at Ras El Ma in Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen, situated in the Rif Mountains is high enough to have a cooler climate, but was still hot enough for hundreds to spend each day playing in or beside Ras El Ma - the local river, famed for its crystal clear and icy water.

The other favourite spot for visitors is the town square Uta Al-Hammam, with its restaurants, cafes and Kasbah museum and garden.

Uta Al-Hammam at sunset

While a majority of the visitors are Moroccan, Chefchaouen is also popular with foreign tourists, particularly the Spanish. As they soon discover, the town is ridiculously photogenic. Surrounded by the Rif mountains, a cluster of white-washed buildings march up the hillside between two peaks. This is an ideal place to hang out for a couple of days when traveling between Fes and Tangier.

The medina's narrow streets are a vision in various shades of blue. A carryover from when it was a primarily a Jewish quarter, dried pigments are available in the shops, and decorative doors and walls are painted in hues that range from indigo to powder blue and turquoise. Residents are clearly proud of their lovely neighborhood, as this quite possibly the cleanest medina in Morocco.

Today the medina has a large Berber population, easily identifiable by their unique clothing, the men in woolen earth-tone djellabas and women in colorful straw hats and red and white striped skirts.

Besides its charming medina, Chefchaouen is known for its marijuana, or, as it's locally called, kif production. There are plenty of cannabis fields in the hills just outside of town, and while smoking marijuana is illegal though widely tolerated, purchasing it is not recommended.

You can walk right from the old town, past the riverbank where residents are doing laundry, into the Rif Mountains. For a pleasant day hike, head up the graded path past cannabis fields, grazing sheep, and panoramic views of Chefchaouen to the tiny village of El Kalaa.

Chefchaouen - a photogenic jewel of a town

Photographs: Suzanna Clarke

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From Scotland to the Sahara ~ By Bicycle

When Paul Armstrong found himself unable to fly, he decided to cycle instead – all the way from Scotland to the Sahara. Vanessa Bonnin reports

Paul Armstrong in the Ruined Garden Café  in Fez - Photo Vanessa Bonnin

Armstrong, 27, from Alloway in Scotland, is a pilot with the Royal Navy who is equally passionate about cycling as he is flying. In January his entire fleet was grounded after two aircraft crashes and instead of taking off to Thailand with the rest of his squadron he decided to cycle to Morocco.

“I’ve ridden since I was a little kid, bikes are my thing,” Armstrong (no relation to Lance) said. “In the past I’ve done short tours like London to Amsterdam in two days, to the Alps and back, classic Tour de France climbs, that sort of thing, but this time I wanted to do a big tour. I had visited the north of Morocco 15 years ago with my parents but I wanted to see the real Morocco and go to the Sahara.”

But before he could search for “the real Morocco” he had to cycle all the way through Scotland, England, Belgium, France and Spain. On his Spin road bike, with a handmade titanium frame, he took in a few mountain ranges on the way including the Pyrenees, the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de Grazalema.

“I left Scotland in mid-January, and for the first few weeks I was miserable because of the cold,” he said. “I could only take minimal kit on the bike and my SLR camera was my only luxury. Then from Malaga all the way to Larache there were horrendous headwinds, I was only doing an average of nine miles an hour, compared to my normal rate of 18 miles an hour. There was really heavy rain and I was having a miserable time!I also stacked it in Tangier only two miles from the ferry because they seemed to be digging up every road in Tangier at the time and the roads were covered in mud slicks.”

Despite thinking of his squadron in sunny Thailand, Armstrong persevered taking a route down through Morocco that went from Tangier to Larache (where he spent his 27th birthday), Rabat, Casablanca, Safi, Essaouria, Agadir, Tiznit and finally Tan Tan.

“Tan Tan was my most southerly destination but it was about the whole journey for me, not just the destination of the desert, although I really did want to see the sand dunes,” he said. “I baked even though I was using 50+ sunscreen! But it was phenomenal to see. What I was I most happy about was I’d been cycling into a head wind since Tangier – for over 1000kms – and it was pretty soul destroying. So turning around and having a tail wind was fantastic!”

Despite reaching the desert, his journey was far from over and the highlights of his adventure were yet to come.

“After Tan Tan I cycled back to Tiznit and then went inland over the Anti-Atlas to Tafraout,” he said. “These were Alpine-style climbs, really arduous averaging 8-9% inclines over 20 miles and the sun was blisteringly hot, climbing all the way to 2500m. But it was worth it, Tafraout and the whole area was spectacular, indescribable really.”

Armstrong then went from Taroudant to Marrakech, via the Tizi N’Test pass, a route that has been described as the most spectacular in Morocco, reaching a high point of 2092m above sea level.

“I was quite apprehensive about climbing the Tizi N’Test Pass which wasn’t helped by stopping and meeting a Moroccan cyclist working as a waiter at the bottom who said ‘there’s no way you’ll make it in one day’”, he said. "Undeterred however I set off and got to a sign at the start of the climb that said Tizi N’Test 36kms. There was a 7-8% gradient for the entire climb but I did it in 3.5 hours with 6 litres of water and 1.5 litres of Coca-Cola!

"That was my achievement moment, getting to the top of the Tizi N’Test Pass. There’s phenomenal scenery up there and then I set off on the descent into the sunset which was magic.”

After two days well-earned rest in Marrakech, Armstrong continued his Morocco tour through Beni Mellal, Khenifra, Azrou, Meknes and finally Fes, where we meet him – arriving for brunch at the Ruined Garden Café with a helpful local called Youssef.

“My whole experience of Morocco has been that the people are so friendly - Youssef is a good example of that friendliness,” he said. "I’ve almost come to expect it here. Bumping into people and getting chatting. The kids especially, all the kids run after you down the road, waving and holding out their hands to shake. It’s great, puts a smile on your face. With the bike you get to experience the country and the people in a way you wouldn’t in a car or campervan or on a motorbike.”

So what was the highlight of experiencing Morocco by bike?

“The best moment was when I was riding from Azrou to Meknes, I was riding through a 2000m pass in hailstones and strong winds,” he said “I had this car behind me, beeping and beeping, then they pulled alongside me and handed over some chocolate bars! It put a big smile on my face – I was soaked to the skin but that gesture really kept me going.”

And what does this intrepid explorer think of our beloved city, Fes?

“I love Fes, it’s a warren, you walk down side streets and discover new things, it’s one big adventure. I love the sense of discovery. And the tanneries are something else – they didn’t smell as bad as I thought they would!” he said.

Despite the hardships on this journey – his longest by bike so far – Armstrong is determined to try more cycling adventures in the future.

“Oh definitely, to ride in a different culture is amazing and to get to visit the country as well is a fantastic combination.”

Armstrong travelled on from Fes to Chefchaouen, Al Hoceima, Tangier and Malaga before flying home with a slightly heavier load that included the essential Fes purchases – a Moroccan, rug and a leather jacket!


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George Negus ~ The View from Morocco

George Negus is one of the best known faces on Australian television and the bestselling author of The World From Islam, The World from Italy and The World Downunder. For the last thirty-five years he has travelled the world, but strangely this is his first “official” visit to Morocco.  His partner, Kirsty Cockburn, is a fellow journalist, photographer, mother of their two sons and also an addicted traveller. When the The View from Fez caught up with them they had just completed a trans-Siberian rail journey from Vladivostok to St Petersburg. George and Kirsty spent time talking with The View from Fez.

Kirsty and George sampling Moroccan produce

TVFF: Why did you come to Morocco?

NEGUS: I had been to Morocco once in the early 80s. I found myself in Morocco journalistically via the Algerian border so there is no record of me being here. This time I came here through the front door so that makes this my first official visit. Morocco is one of those places that for anybody who has travelled at all has always been on their radar. So when we were looking for a post-Russia destination, we remembered Sandy McCutcheon inviting us to his home in Fez.

The first impression was disappointing, because the Ville Nouvelle appeared to be neither one thing or the other…it was sort of the hangover from French colonialism, it was a hint of the new Arabia, but it definitely wasn’t a medina.

It was only when we got out of the taxi at the bottom of the Medina at Rcif that I knew we had come to the right place. Then we plunged into the labyrinth. And I thought I am glad we didn’t walk into here ourselves, on our own.The Fez Medina has an amazing reputation as the oldest and largest of its kind in the world. Yet, even having read the profundity of the Lonely Planet, and its warnings about losing your way, it was hard not to be shocked at how easy it is to get lost. That is no bad thing because if you haven't experienced being lost in the Medina then you have missed an essential experience.

Later, we went for longer walk in the bustling Medina I realised that I didn’t really know the real difference between a medina and a souk. A medina wasn't somewhere you went to buy something for your aunty. This was somewhere real. Somewhere where people lived. One of the first things that struck me was the warmth and friendliness and sometimes open affection people expressed towards us and our host and we could feel that warmth and affection rubbing off on us. And the Medina was so alive with a feeling of humanity, excitement…productivity…the kids laughing and playing and smiling...simple things.

TVFF: From time to time people complain about being hassled...

NEGUS: Apart from one exception there was no sense of being hassled at all. Being able to say la shukran, "no thank you" was better than ignoring people. And bargaining was no problem

KIRSTY: I cannot bear bargaining at all because I cannot help but think of the trouble people have gone to making things..and cannot bear to think I haven’t bargained fairly.

TVFF: And the food?

NEGUS:  Moroccan food that I was not familiar with or haven’t tried outside of Morocco was far more appealing than Moroccan food I did know, such as tagines and couscous. My new discoveries were the Moroccan soups that I think have international potential way beyond their reputation. Harira, the traditional Berber soup of Morocco, is really interesting. At first you think it is a Moroccan steal of minestrone but it has the wonderful Moroccan not Italian spices and historically is far older than minestrone.  And as an old pea soup person I loved besara I thought it was really cute that here was a pea soup without ham hock in it. But with the cumin and oil besara is just beautiful and so ridiculously simple. Great peasant food, which of course is some of the best food in the world.

Another find was B'stilla.  I was a bit surprised by it because it looked like a filo pastry pie with icing sugar and cinnamon. Finally was the revelation about pomegranates which are derisively described as the new sun dried tomato of Australian cusine. I found it bland in Australia but it has grown in my estimation. Undoubtedly because they are better here than in Australia.

TVFF: As an experienced traveller what were your impressions of Northern Morocco?

George Negus and Youssef Abdelmoula who showed them around the north of Morocco

NEGUS:  It is a far more geographically beautiful and physically interesting place than I expected.  I know deserts and expected more of that. But I had no idea that the agriculture activity was as full on. There is certainly no shortage of fresh food and daily vegetables with people from outlying areas setting up their stalls with local produce. That is always a good sign.

We have had five days moving around the north and each day was totally different. We went with  Youssef Abdelmoula from Plan-it-Fez, who was superb and found local people to help us with the local details. For example, we found ourselves in a national park and I am not a twitcher but I was interested to learn about the birds. And it didn’t matter that I didn’t know anything about flamingos. The local ornithological expert Youssef introduced us to was enthusiastic and extremely knowledgable. He was also a strong environmentalist. I had not expected a Moroccan to express such disappointment at the pollution and the rubbish that invariably exists in any developing country. I'm not about to lecture Moroccans but they have got to get their act together on that score because they are undermining  the beauty of their country by letting that refuse pile up. Westerners are pretty simple people and some will leave Morocco and only talk about what rubbish they saw, not the natural beauty or carefully tilled land or shepherds looking after their flocks. Westerners often find the worst thing about a country - if you ask me - to give them an excuse to go to somewhere else to complain about.

Like any post-colonial developing country it has stark contrasts. What I term the shock factor versus the easy experience factor. The easy factor includes places like Chefchaouen which has retained its integrity. It was painted blue before tourists started coming and it retains a genuine sense of tranquillity. And Tangier?  Tangier was as edgy as I expected and did not let me down.

At the the other end of the spectrum - the shock factor - is the tannery in the Fez Medina. I have been to many places in the world such as Cambodia, Sierra Pelada in Brazil, Calcutta and Jamaican slums, where people are victims of circumstances over which they have no control. The tannery was mind-blowing, a truly mediaeval work situation. To get to look at it, you have to walk through the leather shops to where you can snap away with your smartphone or fancy camera. And below you are these guys working.  Spielberg would spend millions recreating the tannery. It was like being on a movie set. And it is hard to believe people are actually living this way. The shock was not just the people working there. It was the passivity of the tourists, as if they didn’t connect the work with the leather goods they were happily buying. I took photos of people buying things who had made no connection between what they were buying and where it was produced.

Looking down into the extraordinary Fez Medina

TVFF: Kirsty, tell us about the shopping

KIRSTY: My shopping was quite personal because from my childhood I remember my surroundings were enlivened by my parents leather poofs, brass plates and I absolutely loved the Islamic treasure chests. They had come to Morocco in the 1940s as a young married couple and for me the experience I had evoked my slim, blonde, mother shopping in a Moroccan souk. I absolutely wanted to find my own version of those colourful additions to the family home. And I had great fun doing so. The fabric colours are distinctly more vibrant than home. And the weaving more admirable. As a craft inclined person, the skills of the artisans are more interesting to me as a shopper than simply purchasing stuff for the sake of it. So I loved being able to not only see the products but also appreciate the workmanship and meet the creators of the various items. Shopping in Morocco for me is a distinctive holistic experience, something that has vanished from virtually everywhere else in the world. I hope the Moroccans hang onto it.

Kirsty - shopping up a storm in Fez

TVFF: You were particularly struck by the Moroccan women.

KIRSTY:  Oh, yes. They seem really strong and feisty and express themselves everywhere, even in public, in the street. And, to be honest, the do so more than we have the guts to do back in Australia where such public outbursts are frowned upon. Their children are incredibly happy and playful and that is always a good sign that women are having a really good influence. I notice the young women talking, armed with books and unfazed by the men, even though the men dominate some of the coffee shops. George and I stumbled across a big football match - Real Madrid versus Barcelona  - and we only saw men sitting watching. I asked if it was okay for me to sit there. It was absolutely no problem and they sorted my chair and my mint tea and asked who I was wanting to win. They laughed when we screamed in support of the great Messi when he scored. I did not feel at all uncomfortable. In fact the only time I felt uncomfortable on the entire trip was with bargaining in the shops. That is a personal clash with local culture that just makes me uncomfortable. Yet others, including our kids, love the bargaining game!

TVFF: George, turning to geo-politics. The Arab Spring is over and as they say - winter is coming. Any sense of tensions here?

NEGUS: The short answer is no.  I have been in Islamic countries where the tension between Islam and politics is pretty obvious and you can see why the Arab Spring occurred. I have a sense  that the current monarchy is smarter than your average monarchy.  He got in before the so-called Arab Spring and made changes in the areas such as the fight against poverty and corruption and that meant a lot to people.

There is an Islamist government administering this country yet again I get no sense of a tension between politics and religion  and I get no sense of shariah law being foisted on people. You walk down any section of the medina or outside and you see absolutely traditional devout Muslims who pray five times a day. At the same time and you will see girls in tight jeans, tight as anywhere in the world, with high heels, knock-off designer tshirts, runners, smart hairstyles and hair covered - the full kaleidoscope  - but I do not sense tension between them and the more conservative members of the society.

What I would say to those people who are hesitant about visiting Morocco because it is an Islamic society is this. Quarter of the world’s population are Muslim and they are not going to go away and they are not going to wake up one morning and say oops ..we have been wrong for 1400 years I really should be a Catholic. They are Muslims by religion by culture, by geography and by identity. And we have to learn to live with them and Morocco is a good place to start understanding them better. I have written that 99.9pc of the muslims in the world are NOT terrorists …in Morocco I suspect that figure is even higher.

George Negus and Kirsty Cockburn's itinerary was organised by Plan-it-Fez
They stayed in Fez as guests of The View from Fez

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Photograph of the Day ~ Morocco

The View from Fez is very happy to post a fabulous photograph by the talented young Moroccan photographer, Omar Chennafi. Not only does Omar have a great eye for composition and framing, but he is also responsible for promoting photographic art through the Alif Photography Club on Facebook.

This stunning photograph was taken this week by Omar in the town of  Chefchaouen - Click on image to enlarge..

If you have a photograph you think should be featured on The View from Fez, please submit it to: theviewfromfez@gmail.com

Also, take time to check out the photo-essays on The View from Fez, Photo Journal

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Moroccan Bluegrass Tour ~ Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fez & Casablanca

If you have ever wondered what a fusion of Bluegrass and Moroccan beats might sound like, well now is your chance to find out.

The concert tour starts in Tangier on May 7 then heads to Chefchaouen for a concert on Sunday May 8. Tuesday May 10 is the date for Fez. The concert in Fez will be held at the Complexe Al Houriya. The final night of the tour will be held in Casablanca on Thursday May 12.

Every concert starts at 8pm and the good news is that admission is free. The tour is sponsored by The American Embassy in Rabat, The American Language Centre, Tangier, Chaine Inter, The Talessemtane Association for the Environment and Development, the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University and the Theatre Sidi Belyout.

CLICK ON POSTER IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

Videos of Morocco

From time to time we come across videos that give a reasonable idea of what various parts of Morocco are like. So we have decided to create a link to some of the better ones.

To start the ball rolling, here are two, one of Fez and one of Chefchaouen.

FEZ and CHEFCHAOUEN VIDEO

Moroccan Photography Competition #71

Fez - photographer; Tiago Costa

(click image to enlarge)

The photography competition will be closing shortly, and then the big job of judging will begin.

The winners will be announced at our birthday party in October, with some wonderful prizes, including a very generous accommodation package for two in Fez, donated by the good folks at Dar El Menia, a sumptuous meal for two at Cafe Clock as well as a luxury hammam and other goodies to be announced. We will accept entries until September 30th. So get your entry in !

Submit a photograph.

Send your photograph in jpeg or gif form to: theviewfromfez@gmail.com and please put the words "photo entry" in the subject line.

View all photographs in our photojournal.

Moroccan Photography Competition #70

Fes Station: Photographer: Lynette Reece

(click image to enlarge)

The photography competition will be closing shortly, and then the big job of judging will begin.

The winners will be announced at our birthday party in October, with some wonderful prizes, including a very generous accommodation package for two in Fez, donated by the good folks at Dar El Menia, a sumptuous meal for two at Cafe Clock as well as a luxury hammam and other goodies to be announced. We will accept entries until September 30th. So get your entry in !

Submit a photograph.

Send your photograph in jpeg or gif form to: theviewfromfez@gmail.com and please put the words "photo entry" in the subject line.

View all photographs in our photojournal.

Moroccan Photography Competition #69

Freedom run: Photographer Nina Galbert

(Click image to enlarge)

The photography competition will be closing shortly, and then the big job of judging will begin.

The winners will be announced at our birthday party in October, with some wonderful prizes, including a very generous accommodation package for two in Fez, donated by the good folks at Dar El Menia, a sumptuous meal for two at Cafe Clock as well as a luxury hammam and other goodies to be announced. We will accept entries until September 30th. So get your entry in !

Submit a photograph.

Send your photograph in jpeg or gif form to: theviewfromfez@gmail.com and please put the words "photo entry" in the subject line.

View all photographs in our photojournal.

Moroccan Photography Competition #68

Everyday life - On the streets of the medina in Tangier.

Photographer: Koós Kinga

(click image to enlarge)

The photography competition will be closing shortly, and then the big job of judging will begin.

The winners will be announced at our birthday party in October, with some wonderful prizes, including a very generous accommodation package for two in Fez, donated by the good folks at Dar El Menia, a sumptuous meal for two at Cafe Clock as well as a luxury hammam and other goodies to be announced. We will accept entries until September 30th. So get your entry in !

Submit a photograph.

Send your photograph in jpeg or gif form to: theviewfromfez@gmail.com and please put the words "photo entry" in the subject line.

View all photographs in our photojournal.

No-baggage traveller in Fez

While some airlines restrict you to a mere 15kg of baggage, there's one man travelling the globe with no baggage at all. The View from Fez takes a look.

Travel writer Rolf Potts (above) has taken on the No Baggage Challenge. His blog states that starting and ending in New York City, Rolf will travel through 12 countries in 42 days. He’ll make nearly 10 flights (spending over 50 hours in the air), ride countless trains and buses, and maybe even a boat or two. All with no luggage.

From New York, the first stop was London before taking a train to Paris. Then it was off to Spain, where he saw the sights of Madrid, then Gibraltar for a ferry to Morocco. Next up it’s Egypt, and then South Africa for a safari. Another long flight to Bangkok before making his way through Thailand, Malaysia, and on to Singapore overland. New Zealand is next, with a quick stop off in Australia, and then it’s back to the United States for a cross-country jaunt back to New York City.

Rolf is accompanied by a cameraman, who probably has enough equipment to make up for his no baggage! He is being sponsored by a company that makes travel clothing with a lot of pockets. His vest has 18, that are filled with such necessities as toothbrush, toothpaste, sunblock, sunglasses, spare underwear, t-shirts and socks and detergent.

'While on a conscious level I’m enjoying the no-baggage experiment', says Rolf, 'my subconscious is still carrying bags. After years of traveling with (at the very least) a backpack and a wallet, I still have gut-level instincts to keep track of those items. This started at JFK airport in New York, when I had a small moment of panic upon realizing my wallet was missing (it was in storage in Manhattan), and I continue to get hit with occasional, irrational micro-flashes of “where’s my bag?” panic.

As for my no-luggage laundry duties (washing a rotation of socks, underwear, and a t-shirt each day), that has become a part of my nightly routine, kind of like brushing my teeth before bed.'

TETOUAN

Arriving in Morocco was not without mishap. A mispronunciation of 'Chefchaouen' meant that Rolf and cameraman Justin ended up in Tetouan instead, but they enjoyed their stay there.

Rolf and his multi-pocketed vest in Tetouan

'Justin and I entered the medina through Bab Tout and wandered the old city for upwards of an hour before a Belgium-born Jean-Marc (of Dar Rehla guesthouse) kindly informed us that we were still a good hour way from Chefchaouen. Tetouan, where we were standing at that moment, was a town ten times the size of our presumed destination. Though less popular with foreign tourists than Chefchaouen, he said, Tetouan was fascinating in its own right: It has an extensive old market and medina studded with low, cube-like white houses; it is surrounded by almond, orange, and pomegranate orchards; it had a historical reputation as an operating base for pirates preying on Mediterranean shipping; it was rejuvenated in the 15th century by Muslims and Jews kicked out of Spain during the Inquisition.'

FEZ: walk until the day becomes interesting

They did eventually get to Chaouen, and are now in Fez, where Rolf reports that he started his stroll at Bab Boujloud.

'The moment I entered Fes el Bali I was swarmed by Moroccan touts who, for a fee, wanted to steer me to the standard monuments and mosques (and, no doubt, a few carpet shops). The market-driven profit for touts lies in helping tourists find what they have come to see in Fes — but upon entering the old city I didn’t know yet what I wanted to see. When I respectfully declined their assistance and walked away from the high-traffic areas of the medina, a common refrain from the touts was, “But there is nothing to see in that direction!”

'This assertion intrigues me,' continues Rolf, 'since it hints at a more philosophical question: What “sights” are worthy of our gaze as travelers, and who decided they were important? Several hundred years ago, the “sights” of a non-business oriented journey were frequently the objects of pilgrimage (shrines, holy sites, saints’ relics). By the 19th century, museums and factory showrooms and even hospitals became “sights” on the tourist trail (Mark Twain famously visited the Paris morgue on his Innocents Abroad journey in 1869). In recent years there has even been a boom in “slum tourism,” for people who want to see the “real” Rio or Nairobi.

When I got past the touts in the old city the following day, I found that the back alleys of Fes el Bali served as a vibrant, retro-style economic zone. The first sight that captured my imagination was a guy sawing slats for wooden buckets in his storefront. That alley led me into an entire woodworking district, with shop after shop of Moroccan craftsmen planing boards, building furniture, and hand-carving crown-moldings. None of the storefronts were bigger than your average living room, and the pre-industrialized vibe made it feel like I’d wandered into a medieval village (albeit one with the occasional band-saw and power lathe).

From the woodworking district I wandered into the leather-crafting quarter of the old city, where I saw similar storefronts (and back-lot tanneries) attending to every step of the trade, from the cutting of raw skins, to the tanning and dyeing process, to the sewing and ornamentation of leather cushions and furniture. In this way, my wanderings felt a little like time-travel to a place where everything is still manufactured slowly, by craftsmen, one step at a time. The alleys were so narrow in that part of the city that the supplies (including propane, building supplies, and wholesale groceries) were carted from place to place on donkeys.

Since few merchants and craftsmen spoke English, I communicated through a garbled (yet surprisingly effective) mix of unconjugated Spanish, phrasebook-grade French phrases, and a few of the Arabic words I still remembered from my visit to the Middle East ten years before. Eventually I made my way into the more high-traffic areas of the old city — narrow streets that sold everything from keys to fruit to phone cards.

Si Hassan the spice merchant on Tala'a Kebira

Uphill from this area, I found a closet-sized spice shop, run by a bearded old fellow named Hassan, that sold a curious array of Berber beauty products. Hassan’s storefront display looked similar to what you might find in a Walgreens — but instead of mascara and hand cream, it featured kohl stones, henna powder, and translucent white chunks of mineral-salt. When a neighboring merchant (who spoke a little English) told me the mineral salt could be used for shaving and hygiene, I remembered that a number of friends and readers had recommended this product as a way to keep my armpits odor-free (apparently, the mineral salts kill foul-smelling bacteria before it has a chance to form). Inspired, I plunked down the equivalent of a dollar and added the mineral-salt stone to my no-baggage pocket-gear.

So it was that four hours of randomly wandering the Fes medina led me down medieval-era alleyways, past medieval-style craftsmen and merchants — and culminated in the purchase of medieval-style deodorant.'

photos: Justin Glow

Moroccan Photography Competition #67

Three men in Chefchaouen. Photographer, Kirsten Monkemeyer

The photography competition winners will be announced at our birthday party in October, with some wonderful prizes, including a very generous accommodation package for two in Fez, donated by the good folks at Dar El Menia, a sumptuous meal for two at Cafe Clock as well as a luxury hammam and other goodies to be announced. We will accept entries until September 30th. So get your entry in !

Submit a photograph.

Send your photograph in jpeg or gif form to: theviewfromfez@gmail.com and please put the words "photo entry" in the subject line.

View all photographs in our photojournal.

Moroccan Photography Competition #55

Jaws - photographer: David Cruickshank

(click image to enlarge)

The photography competition winners will be announced at our birthday party in October, with some wonderful prizes, including a very generous accommodation package for two in Fez, donated by the good folks at Dar El Menia, a sumptuous meal for two at Cafe Clock as well as a luxury hammam and other goodies to be announced. We will accept entries until September 30th. So get your entry in !

Submit a photograph.

Send your photograph in jpeg or gif form to: theviewfromfez@gmail.com and please put the words "photo entry" in the subject line.

View all photographs in our photojournal.

Moroccan Photography Competition #54

Chefchaouen - Photographer: Maggie Cruickshank

The photography competition winners will be announced at our birthday party in October, with some wonderful prizes, including a very generous accommodation package for two in Fez, donated by the good folks at Dar El Menia, a sumptuous meal for two at Cafe Clock as well as a luxury hammam and other goodies to be announced. We will accept entries until September 30th. So get your entry in !

Submit a photograph.

Send your photograph in jpeg or gif form to: theviewfromfez@gmail.com and please put the words "photo entry" in the subject line.

View all photographs in our photojournal.

The View from Fez Twitter Competition !

As part of our fifth birthday celebrations, The View from Fez is running a Twitter competition! It is dead easy to enter.

Send your suggested caption

If you are already on Twitter, visit "The View from Fez Twitter Competition:" at http://bit.ly/ciGZfg. Take a look at the photograph and all the entries then send a caption suggestion for the photograph. Send your tweet reply with the hash tag: #feztwitter and we will announce the winner during our birthday celebrations.

The winner will receive a copy of the essential guide to Fez; Fez Encounter and the Lonely Planet Morocco guide.

If you don't have a free twitter account, go to http://twitter.com/theviewfromfez and sign up.

Remember, you don't have to send it to us @theviewfromfez. Simply write your caption and add the hash tag #feztwitter.

A traveller's view of Morocco

Viv von der Heyden, two of her sons aged 18 and 23 and her mom proved that three generations can travel very companionably together. They ventured around Morocco in April, self-driven in a small hired car, by bus, by train and by grand taxi, covering close on 3000kms in 21 days.

Bab Boujloud, Fez

"We met with such friendliness as soon as we mentioned that we were from South Africa. Even if our conversations were restricted to a few words: Bafana Bafana, Mandela and vuvuzela!”
The family comes from Fish Hoek near Cape Town where Viv co-owns the local community website http://www.scenicsouth.co.za. Here is Viv's report of her travels.

For me, Marrakesh always conjured up visions of market stalls, marijuana and maudlin hippies. Fez was a fuzzy and nebulous notion of an exotic fabled city. Morocco was never on my bucket list. In fact, I knew very little about it.

I am wiser now. A three week trip throughout Morocco with two sons temporarily overseas and desperate after a harsh Northern hemisphere winter for sunshine, good surf and Safricans, and a septuagenarian mom always ready for adventure, has made me so. Yip, marijuana there was... but not only in Marrakesh; the few hippies seemed happy and the exquisite carpets of Fez were not of the magical mystical kind. How often our preconceptions are misconceptions!

Morocco is not a desert country inhabited mainly by turbaned Black Africans. It is peopled with black African Africans, Arab Africans, Berber Africans, French neo-Africans and a variety of non-Africans. Much of the countryside is green and fertile. Its cities are vibrant, divided into the old hidden behind ancient walls, and the new and modern. We explored mainly the old, where life continues as it has for centuries - tradesmen and artisans creating or selling their wares from tiny stalls packed along narrow alley ways. The goods sold may not have changed much either- spices, leatherware, kaftans, jellabas, live poultry, rabbits, tripe, fruit, pancakes, carpets, pottery and other finely crafted, finely patterned articles made from clay, wood and metals. In the souqs (markets places) of Marrakesh modernity intrudes as one dodges scooters carrying goods and passengers while in the souqs of Fez, heavily laden donkeys and mules assume right of way.

In the alleys, behind studded doors within doors surrounded by splendid mosaic tiles and intricately carved stucco archways, renovated riads testify to the brilliant craftsmanship of the Moroccan people. One marvels at the time that must have been spent in beautifying the ceilings, walls and internal courtyards of these mansions inhabited by the upper and ruling classes, many of which are now well-run and popular B&Bs.

a doorway in Marrakech

Contrasting completely are the huge kasbahs with their great crenellated walls which once protected the ruling families, their servants and guards and their provisions stored in case of siege. Most famous of these, and most restored, is Ait Benhaddou near Ouarzazate in the desert, used as a backdrop in the film “Gladiators” as well as several other box office hits. Its setting is as enchanting as the buildings themselves.

Ait Benaddhou

The river valleys are richly cultivated by subsistence farmers - fields of onions, wheat and broad beans, herbs and other vegetables, while the rocky hillsides are dotted with tethered goats and sheep, patiently watched over by their owners who might occasionally have a chance of a chat with a neighbour plodding by sidesaddled on his donkey. How different their lives are from ours. I wondered whether I could exchange mine for theirs...I couldn't! I have become too dependent on the accoutrements of my modern, urban South African life and the feminist in me would rebel viciously against washing carpets and clothes in a stream, cooking on primitive stoves, toiling in the fields and raising the family while my spouse drank endless cups of coffee at the pavement cafe with his buddies, morning to nightfall. But, I think I do the men a disfavour- many work long, long hours in their stalls and restaurants vying for the trade of the locals and tourists. Life is not easy in Morocco.

The southern areas are drying up, rivers are not receiving as much water from snow-melt, pastures are overgrazed, forests have been chopped down and it is said that one out of seven beaches have disappeared as a result of gross tourism developments. Morocco is also drowning in pollution – plastic bags, plastic cartons and other garbage litter empty spaces - the scourge of modern civilisation. One has to look beyond this to the beauty of the country and towns. Gorgeous architecture, radiant colours, warm friendly people....I wished I could have had in-depth conversations with our travelling companions in the buses and trains, in the souqs and hotels but English is hardly spoken and my French, Berber and Arabic are non-existent.

Other impressions? The gobstopping weaving of taxis and other vehicles through intersections and in traffic circles in the towns and cities was nightmarish- and yet we always arrived unscathed with our luggage still intact in the boots that did not always close. We did not witness a single accident scene or wreckage. The younger people are dressing like their Western counterparts and using the internet and cellphones as relentlessly as our own youth. Lemon blossoms imbued the air with their fragrance while the oranges were the sweetest we had ever tasted....

It was a wonderful, balmy three weeks (barmy too at times!) and we have all left Morocco with pleasant and precious memories, a good deal richer for the experience. Worth adding to the bucket list!

Photos: Viv von der Heyden

Moroccan daylight saving starts 2 May

Time in Morocco moves forward by one hour on 2 May in line with daylight saving, ie GMT/UTC +1 hour.

Daylight saving lasts until 7 August when the time will revert to GMT/UTC.

Classic Cars in Chaouen

The owners of several Citroën 2CVs (French: “deux chevaux” i.e. “deux chevaux fiscaux”, literally “two tax horsepower”)have been enjoying the amazingly beautiful weather in the Rif. After stopping for a picnic in the forests, the cars continued on to Chefchaouen where they became something of an attraction.

Photo: Suzanna Clarke

The View from Fez team caught up with them outside the Parador Hotel where the owners were enjoying a the delights of the Rif. The tour is an annual event and the beautifully presented cars will be around Morocco until April 22nd. If you see them, please send us a sighting report and a photograph!

Lonely Planet's top 10 countries for 2010

Recently Lonely Planet released its top ten countries for 2010. To our delight, Morocco was once again included. The destinations were arranged alphabetically, so there was no special ranking, but here is the list: El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname, USA.

Predictably, Lonely Planet got a strong reaction from around the world of those who liked the list and others who thought it was a little on the tame side. A couple of commentators even criticised Morocco being included because of bad experiences that they had suffered. One, not so happy camper, detailed her objection... I completely DISAGREE with Morocco. My passport was stolen TWICE before I even left the airport. The airport personnel were very unwilling to explain directions on getting through the screen machine. All of the Americans on the flight were herded into a corner. It was VERY uncomfortable. After leaving the airport and by the time two hours had passed, I was chased by a man with a monkey, chased by a man with snakes, hit by a donkey cart, and hit by a motorcyle. Being a girl, I was once offered 500 camels for my ownership and another time I was just straight-up asked how much I cost. I was very modestly dressed although it was blazing hot outside. Not surprisingly, I left Marrakesh, Morocco the very next day.

Lost her passport twice? With that much bad karma, maybe she should have stayed home? Seriously though, as one Australian woman recently told us "I feel safer and more relaxed in Morocco than I do in Melbourne."

"Every path, every corner, a new delight"

Here's what Lonely Planet had to say about Morocco:

‘Hello, bonjour, salaam alaykum, labes?’ Street greetings sum up everything you need to know about Morocco in a word: it’s Berber and Arab, Muslim and secular, Mediterranean and African, worldly wise and welcoming. Morocco sees how the Middle East is portrayed via satellite news and the internet, and is as concerned with violent threats and abuses of power as anyone else in the modern world. But as you’ll see, most Moroccans are plenty busy working to get by, get their kids through school and greet the king’s planned 10 million visitors by 2010 with the utmost hospitality. Every visitor helps Moroccans realise these goals by creating new economic opportunities, and can make a Moroccan’s day by returning the greeting: ‘Hello, good day, may peace be upon you, are you happy?’

You can read more about Lonely Planet's thoughts about Morocco here: Lonely Planet, Morocco