Thirty-three Moroccan Recipes Using Argan Oil

Recently the wonderful "Green Prophet" website pointed us in the direction of a publication that features some more than thirty recipes for using argan oil. While the cosmetic industry as made inflated claims for the oil as a hair and skin product (and sold it at exorbitant prices), the flavour of argan by itself or as an additive to recipes, is not to be overlooked.

The book, The Gold of Arganeraie, contains more than thirty recipes that sound so tasty they will probably have you making a dash for the kitchen to try them out. A PDF version of the book is available for download here. The book is delightfully illustrated and contains detailed information about argan oil and the women who harvest and process it.

The book has been produced with the support of  the Slow Food Foundation and the Region of Piedmont with the aim of promoting and enhancing the activity of certain feminine cooperatives engaged in the production of argan oil in the Moroccan provinces of Agadir, Taroudant, Chtouka , Tiznit and Ait Baha.

Dates Filled With Cheese and Walnuts

Adapted from The Gold of Arganeraie

For 15 dates

15 stoned dates
30 grams walnuts, finely chopped
100 grams ricotta cheese
80 grams Roquefort cheese
1 teaspoon argan oil
salt

Preparation time: 1⁄2 hour

Mix the ricotta with the Roquefort and argan oil using a whisk. Salt to taste.
Add half the chopped walnuts and put in a pastry bag.
Fill the stoned dates with the cheese mixture and finally decorate with the remaining walnuts.

And, for our Francophone readers...

Soupe orkimen
Aisha Ibnou Al Kadi

Pour 8 personnes
4 jarrets de mouton
un demi-kilo d’épeautre
100 g de fèves sèches avec leur peau 2-3 épis de maïs
250 g de navets secs
50 g de lentilles
une olive
un verre d’huile d’argan
sel, poivre

Temps de préparation et cuisson: 6 heures, plus le trempage

La veille au soir, mettre l’épeautre dans de l’eau et le laisser tremper jusqu’au lendemain matin. Faire la même chose avec les fèves, les navets et les lentilles.

Prendre l’épeautre, le peler et le piler dans un mortier jusqu’à ce qu’il prenne pratiquement la consistance d’une farine. La filtrer dans une petite passoire et retirer les plus gros morceaux.

Mettre l’épeautre dans un plat à rôti et le laisser reposer – de préférence au soleil – jusqu’à ce qu’il soit sec. Faire bouillir les épis de maïs et enlever les grains cuits.

Prendre une casserole de grandes dimensions et y mettre la farine d’épeautre sèche, les fèves, les navets, les lentilles et le maïs à bouillir. Ajouter les quatre jarrets de mouton, le sel et le poivre. En fin de cuisson, ajouter l’huile d’argan et l’olive.

La recette d’origine dit qu’il faut cuire la soupe sur le charbon chaud pendant cinq à six heures. Autrement, on peut la faire cuire sur le poêle à bois. La soupe doit être très dense et versée bien chaude dans de grands bols.

La soupe que les Berbères de l’ethnie amazigh préparent pour la fête d’Orkimen est servie le soir du 31 décembre à toute la famille et aux amis invités. On met une olive dans la soupe: celui qui la trouve, ce soir-là, est la personne la plus chanceuse du groupe.

See our story on argan oil hair rip-offs here

Great Moroccan recipes in our View From Fez Cookbook

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"The United States Should Look to Morocco For Help" - Former Ambassador

In an op-ed piece for the Christian Science Monitor, Edward M. Gabriel makes a strong case for America's partnership against extremist instability in North Africa. Edward Gabriel is the former US ambassador to Morocco, 1997 to 2001

US should look to Morocco for help with threats in Mali, Algeria, Libya

Hillary Rodham Clinton recently pointed to violent extremism in places such as Libya and Mali as a 'strategic challenge' to the United States and North Africa. The US can help meet that challenge by partnering with Morocco, an island of calm and progress in a chaotic region.

Testifying before Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that last year’s attack on US government posts in Benghazi, Libya, “are part of a broader strategic challenge to the United States and our partners in North Africa” because of growing violent extremism there.

Whether in Libya, Mali, or Algeria, Islamist terrorist attacks show the US now in a defensive position, having to react to yet another significant threat to American interests instead of taking a proactive approach.

"When one looks across the region, a troubling “arc of instability” stretches from the Horn of Africa to Al Qaeda’s new base in northern Mali. But it stops dead at the Moroccan border."

One look at a map of the region, however, points to an obvious partner and a durable option for meeting that threat. Morocco is progressive and stable, and has been the most consistent and oldest ally of the US in this vast swath.

In North Africa and the Sahel − from Mauritania through Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Central Africa − Morocco stands out for its stability, hard-won security, and progressive political and economic reforms. When one looks across the region, a troubling “arc of instability” stretches from the Horn of Africa to Al Qaeda’s new base in northern Mali. But it stops dead at the Moroccan border. The Saharan region of Morocco is not only calm; it is moving forward on its economic, social, and cultural future. Importantly, Morocco is working aggressively to increase power-sharing within its borders.

This contrast was brought home to me by a new report from the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council of Morocco, which focuses on proactively defining Morocco’s plans to implement a new policy in its Saharan provinces. Every policymaker who deals with North Africa should read this report, as it candidly discusses the need to regionalize power, much like the US federal system, to better serve the needs of its citizenry.

At the moment the French are taking at the front of the fight in Mali

That a constitutional monarchy like Morocco suggests such devolution of power is remarkable, but just as striking is the openness with which the commission admits the challenges to be overcome. Morocco has worked for years to create stability and economic and social progress for its Sahrawi population of the Sahara Desert and Sahel.

Now the Moroccan council is assessing what the country has done right and wrong with its economic, social, and cultural development in the Sahara region during the past several decades. It says it will conduct more than 50 meetings with all stakeholders in the Saharan provinces, including elected government officials, civil society, business, tribal sheiks, and other government and opinion leaders. No one will be barred from expressing their views, according to the council. This will form the basis of recommended measures for Morocco to enhance growth, participatory government, and cultural integration. America should support this internal initiative by Morocco and partner with it in the region.

North Africa has the lowest intra-regional trade in the world, which costs each country more than 2 percent GDP growth, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. This has enormous implications for populations that need jobs, growth, and access to global markets. Greater economic integration in the region could also contribute to more political interaction and security cooperation, including protecting territorial sovereignty and borders − a huge problem in the Sahel and a contributor to terrorism and trafficking.

The contrast between what Morocco is doing in its Saharan provinces and the turmoil in the greater Sahara/Sahel region couldn’t be starker. Morocco has proven that its political and economic openness during the past three decades has brought stability across the country, and Morocco is not done. Its leadership insists there are no taboos as it candidly assesses the situation in the Saharan provinces with an eye to the future.

This kind of thinking is what America should support – in Morocco and the region. The US has a significant opportunity to partner with Morocco to address regional issues and build a model for development that can proactively get ahead of North Africa’s problems before they get worse.

IN RELATED NEWS

The al-Qaeda-linked rebels who controlled northern Mali for 10 months have fled into the Adrar des Ifoghas massif in the Kidal region, a mountainous landscape honeycombed with caves. They are believed to be holding seven French hostages with them, kidnapped in Mali and Niger in 2011 and 2012.

Algeria on Monday also beefed up its positions on the Malian border to prevent "the infiltration of terrorist groups", Mohamed Baba Ali, a member of parliament from the southern town of Tamanrasset, told the AFP news agency.

French withdrawal

French President Francois Hollande said during a visit to Mali on Saturday that while France had plans to pull out from the country, French troops would not leave until it had driven out all the al-Qaeda-linked rebel groups. "We want to be rapidly relieved by the AFISMA African forces in the cities that we hold," the French foreign minister said.

France says it is eager to hand over security in Mali to some 8,000 African troops, gradually deploying to the country under a UN-backed plan. During Tuesday's meeting in Brussels, European officials will try to find ways to reinforce military gains [AFP]

In Paris, US Vice President Joe Biden, after meeting with Hollande, backed that demand and said the UN should make the African mission a formal UN peacekeeping operation, a plan UN officials say they are pushing forward.


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Snow Fun in Morocco's "Little Switzerland"

The View from Fez is in debt to Al Arabiya News for a timely reminder that Morocco is not all sun and dessert. The Atlas and High Atlas mountains have a great reputation for trekking and climbing, but also, for skiing. Now, Ifrane,‘Little Switzerland', is holding its first ever snow festival.

Built by the French in a European style, Ifrane was once a summer resort for colonial families and has long been a popular winter destination for ski-lovers. But this year, the local authorities decided to hold the town’s first ever snow festival in a bid to widen the resort’s appeal and attract larger numbers of tourists.

“This festival has many objectives for the local population in the fields of tourism, culture and development. This is the first year we have done this initiative and we will see what further steps we may take for next year,” said chairman of the provincial council, Abdallah Ouhadda.

Visiting Ifrane in winter? Rug up, it gets very cold! 

The event, which took place on Saturday (February 2), attracted thousands of visitors, both from Morocco and abroad. Alongside a colourful parade, one of the main highlights of the day was the ‘snow princess’ contest, which saw ten girls aged between 8 and 13 compete for the coveted title.

Local girl Zineb Azira, who won the prize, received her crown from Ifrane’s provincial governor.

“I am very happy because by winning this title, I brought pride to Ifrane. I am very happy to win the title of snow princess,” she said.

The idea of organizing a snow festival in Ifrane was first mooted two years ago, to boost tourism and promote the region’s rich Amazigh culture. One of the organizations behind the competition said the aim was educational. The chairman of the Toutrit - or ‘garden’ in Amazigh - Association, said organizers wanted the younger generation to be proud of their local heritage and more aware of environmental issues.

“Why a snow princess and not a snow queen? Because we wanted to play an educational role in this province for young girls and boys. The other objective of this event is to help local development in the region and also the marketing of local products,” said Abdelkader al-Achni.

Michlifen

Twenty kilometers away from Ifrane, the Michlifen ski resort is popular with urban dwellers who want to escape the cities and enjoy some outdoor exercise.

But as well as winter sports, Ifrane’s cool summer climate means the region continues to attract tourists all year round, as residents from cities such as Fes and Meknes seek to escape the scorching heat of the summer months.

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A Moroccan Cooking Lesson ~ humour

Driss was making a breakfast of fried eggs for his wife, Fatima Zohra, when she burst into the kitchen.

"Careful," Fatima Zohra cried, "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my goodness! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my word! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful ... CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

Driss stared at his wife in amazement, "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

Fatima Zohra smiled sweetly and calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."

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A Day in Sidi Ali - the search for Sufi Ben Salem

Sidi Ali

Sidi Ali, a small mountain town north of Meknes, hosts a pilgrimage once each year during the week following the Prophet's birthday. The traditionally Hamadsha event now includes ritual events from a number of groups, most notably the Gnawa and Jilala. These groups work with spirits, helping those who are possessed by saints or spirits to develop and reinforce their lasting relationship, leading to blessings, health, money, or the removal of specific symptoms. People rent houses and hire groups to host ritual events, and the town is loud, full of these musical activities day in and out. Simultaneously, each group can be hired to take sacrifices down the hill, progressing to either the tomb of Sidi Ali Bin Hamdush (for the Hamadsha) or Lalla Aisha's cave. Pop music blares, competing with these (popular) ritual sounds, and the entire place is inundated with energy. Chris Witulski reports for The View from Fez.

Chris Witulski (standing, second from left) with Hamadsha Brotherhood 

A Day in Sidi Ali

Today started with my first shower in what felt like ages. It took some time to find some soap, but it was certainly worth the wait. I arrived in Sidi Ali with the hope of finding Ben Salem, an older Meknesi Gnawa ritual leader who supposedly taught everyone of a certain generation in this part of the country. I had realized last night that I already knew him - he is the older guy who I had met in Sidi Ali two years ago playing with Abd ar-Rzaq, a Fessi malem who I've worked with for a few years now. He was sweet and funny then, and he continued to be sweet and funny now. I walked down the streets that he had pointed out to me the evening before, asking for some help. Of course, people living there simply see Gnawi walking all over, so they are rarely helpful in understanding which are which. It was a miserable failure and I gave up, hoping to find him sitting at a cafe.

A green cloth for collecting gifts

While in the fortress square, I stumbled across Abd ar-Rahim Amrani's son, Abd al-Rafiʿ, who invited me to join his Hamadsha group for a descent from the taxi stands to the tomb of the Hamadsha patron saint, Sidi Ali Bin Hamdush. A young muqaddim dressed in red (who I recognized for some reason) was leading a group of 4 guwwal (large clay drums held on the shoulder), 2 tarija (small clay drums held in one hand), and 4 ghita (oboe-like very, very, very loud wind instrument). He also had two or four younger kids holding a large green cloth to catch monetary gifts from passers by and two flags preceding the group. A few Moroccans were trying to find the person with the best video device (my iPhone won, until it ran out of space). Putting in the wax earplugs that I bought from the local pharmacy, I felt prepared to do this all day long.

We kept stopping and starting, moving slowly from the tents near the pharmacy to the main square, down through the tight market, and to the closed tomb of Sidi Ali. They constantly paused to bless people who had put money in the blanket, using familiar refrains to those that I hear during Gnawa and Hamadsha events, with familiar rhythmic intensity. At one point the muqaddim looked up and blessed an older woman who was looking down from a high window.

The guwwal and tarija players stuck with the hadra rhythm almost exclusively, though the ghita players shifted cleanly between a small handful of distinct songs. The sound shifted constantly as different people swapped instruments or slightly changed their accents. The 5 (or 10?) beat rhythm was always drifting toward a 5-beat swing until the muqaddim would take a drum and emphasize what he wanted to hear - calling everyone to attention, at least until it drifted away again. When everyone stopped moving, the ghita players went into the loud ornamental playing over a held drone that showcases both impressive circular breathing techniques and ear-splitting volume. This went on for a little more than an hour and a half, until we reached the tomb, which was closed for renovations.

Malem Rida Stitu and his group

I wandered around after this, trying desperately to find Ben Salem. While descending, I passed Malem Rida Stitu's group, Gnawis from Tangier, who wanted me to sit with them, but when I arrived up at the cafe again, they were gone. I saw Yassine (a young Fessi Gnawi) and Said (Rida's brother) during the short walk, who told me that they had a house "down at the bottom". I wandered to find it, but failed. While bothering people on the road, asking if they'd seen a Gnawa group (of course they had), a woman gave me bread that was blessed from the baraka of the events at Sidi Ali. I eventually found some members of Stitu's group and Yassine's friends at the same cafe, where I sat for a while.

I went with Stitu's group to the main square, where they began to perform parts of the dakhla, the outdoor entrance portion of the Gnawa ritual (after lots of picture taking, of course). There were a handful of gifts involved, with what I assume to have been family members carrying three or four covered woven baskets (the kind used to roll bread dough) from the square to Lalla Aisha's cave. The descent was fairly normal, but without as much starting and stopping, just fighting through the tight sheep stalls that line the muddy roads to the cave. The Gnawa follow a very different path than the Hamadsha, with the end goal being Aisha's cave.

By now it was well after dark, and I continued to look for Ben Salem, wandering up and around the houses higher up the hill. On the way, I saw Abd al-Rafie again, who (1) wanted to play pool, (2) wanted to bring me to Abd al-Latif, a Hamadsha performer to whom I still owed a visit, and (3) just seemed to need a reason to wander around. The pool hall was packed, so we continued on to the house where Abd al-Latif was performing in a Hamadsha Ashiya. They had just finished, but I wandered in and got to meet (and re-aquaint myself with) some of the group. I helped them carry some olives downstairs and continued my search for Bin Salem and Abd ar-Rzaq.

After asking at a few more houses, I saw a flash of what could be Abd ar-Rzaq's black, white, and grey scarf disappearing into a door. I asked, and the confused girl who was in front of the house let me go in. (I assume that there aren't many Arabic speaking white people correctly identifying Gnawa musicians from outside of houses in Sidi Ali.)

Bin Salem and Abd ar-Rzaq

I walked in to find Bin Salem and Abd ar-Rzaq sitting outside of a small room where Hamid, Rzaq's brother, was playing the final bits of a ritual. He was working through the women's portion before ending with Aisha. I talked to the two malems sitting with me. Bin Salem, I learned, grew up with Abd al-Latif wld Sidi Amara, who I met in Marrakech. They look like brothers, but are not. He traveled the country when he was 20 or so for what sounded like about a decade or two before settling down. He now lives in Casa, and is proud of the fact that he does not own a phone (which will drive me crazy when I try to find him again). He broke five. That was enough to convince him that these new-fangled gadgets just weren't worth the trouble.

We went back to the house that they were renting and sat for a while. It was a complete floor, a very large space made up of two long rooms and a third area near the staircase. It was about a spacious as the dirt floored incomplete basement where I watched a ritual the night before, and much larger than the tight room where Hamid's event had been a few minutes ago. I loved Bin Salem's energy, his happy demeanor. He laughed easily and often, showing his toothless gums as he slapped his knee and repeated whatever funny things he heard to those around him. He left an impression on me two years ago, and I was glad to see him again. (At the end, however, I learned that he was not "that" Bin Salem the Gnawi. My search continues...)

In the end, I have a few new great recordings, with those two trips down the hill standing out as really special. I also have a lot of new thoughts about pilgrimage, pop music, and religious economies in this tight little packed mountain town.

Chris Witulski is an adjunct lecturer and PhD candidate in musicology at the University of Florida. As a Fulbright grantee, he is currently living in Fez, where he is completing research on the relationship between ethics and aesthetics in Islamic popular music in Morocco. He maintains a blog: www.chriswitulski.com and can be contacted by email at chris.witulski@gmail.com.

See a two-part description of the Hamadsha at Sidi Ali

Part One           Part Two 

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Moroccan News Briefs #84

Grumpy Englishman sets fire to his  hotel room in Agadir

A fifty-seven year old Englishman set fire to his room at the Hotel Oasis in Agadir on Saturday after management refused to let him enter with a prostitute. The hotel management initially believed it was a terrorist act, before it was realised that the unhappy tourist intentionally burned his room before leaving.

The fire was brought under control before it spread to other rooms and fortunately there were no casualties.

According to the newspaper Assabah, the Englishman will be sued for "endangering the lives of others and destruction of private property".  He was remanded in custody and will be referred on Monday to the prosecutor in Agadir.

Moroccan Medical Plant Exports

Medicinal and aromatic plants are a natural resource that can play an important role in the socio-economic development of certain economically depressed areas. In Morocco, experts believe it may well provide a viable source of income for the local population.

The medicinal and aromatic plant industry continues to diversify its agricultural production and at the same time their is advancement in the technologies it uses and the variety of products produced for export.

There are more than 4,200 varieties of medicinal and aromatic plants in Morocco, 826 which are used traditionally and just 30% sold.  90% of these plants are found in the wild and only 10% are cultivated.
The essential oil is extracted from the volatile oil aromatic plants by distillation with steam.

The international market for essential oils and aromatic extracts is growing significantly - annual turnover is estimated at approximately 19 billion dollars. More than 35,000 species of plants are used worldwide, mainly in the food industry, herbal medicine, cosmetics, perfumery and the pharmaceutical and hygiene industries.

Morocco is ranked as the 12th largest exporter of medicinal plants; one of the richest sources of medicinal plants in the world, due to the extraordinary diversity that includes nearly 400 species known for their medicinal or aromatic properties. The industry says there is potential for even greater export quantities.

Currently Morocco earns nearly $25 million for farmed medicinals and $37 million for those gathered in the wild. There are nearly 30 exporters in Morocco, a number that is growing, but it is considered still relatively low given the potential of the market. As the industry continues to grow, the government agencies responsible for the protection of national forests and range lands are faced with a challenge - how to conserve biodiversity and natural resources while creating an environment in which rural villages can participate in gathering wild plants to enhance their livelihoods.


Fez in World History published

The Al Akhawayn University publication Fez in World History: Selected Essays, was presented at the Leighton Museum in London during an event entitled “London Celebrating Fez”, organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in the UK.

The book was introduced by Said Ennahid, Co-Editor of the publication and Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Civilization at Al Akhawayn School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS). Among the distinguished members of the attendance were Her Highness Lalla Jumala, Morocco’s Ambassador to the UK; Lahcen Haddad, Moroccan Minister of Tourism; Susan Miller, Associate Professor of History at the University of California at Davis, Faouzi Skalli, Anthropologist and Ethnologist and head of Fondation Esprit de Fès, and Said Ennahid, Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Civilization at Al Akhawayn School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The closing of the event was crowned by an Andalusian music concert featuring the Briouel Orchestra.

Fez in World History was a major part during the event which celebrated the 1,200th anniversary of the founding of the ancient Moroccan city of Fez.

Al Akhawayn University and Fondation Esprit de Fès had organized in 2008 an international conference to explore the global dimension of the city through a multidisciplinary lens. A meeting of several Moroccan and international scholars in Ifrane then triggered an intense intellectual debate that extended several months afterwards and culminated in the publication of the book in 2011.

Fez in World History: Selected Essays (2011) is co-edited by Said Ennahid and Driss Maghraoui, Associate Professor of History at SHSS, and is published by Al Akhawayn University Press.


Fez folk let their hair down

Dancing - even in the kitchen!

Thursday night was party night in Fez and Fred and Cathy opened the doors of Riad Laaroussa to some of the most strangely dressed individuals seen in the Medina for some time.

Cathy and Fred  tabletop dancing

Vanessa Bonnin and Karina Dubner 

The women of Riad Laaroussaa drum up a storm 

Morocco aims to accommodate  one million Spanish tourists in 2015 

 According Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, speaking in Madrid this week, Morocco wants to attract one million Spanish tourists in 2015. The Kingdom has received nearly 800,000 Spanish tourists last year, an increase of 4% compared to 2011 and "our ambition is to happen in two years, one million tourists," said Mr. Haddad at the opening of the 33rd edition of the International Tourism Fair, FITUR 2013.

The Spanish tourism market, which attracts visitors from around the world, is "very important" for Morocco given the geographical proximity and cultural growth of tourist flows between the two countries despite the economic crisis in Europe.  Spain is the second largest source of tourists to Morocco after France. The aim is to increase the number of Spanish visitors to the Kingdom, but also to forge new partnerships with tour operators to introduce Spanish combination products between the two countries in order to attract tourists from emerging markets such as Japan, India, Brazil, China and several Latin American countries.

Fez welcomes Koreans

Regular readers will be familiar with the positive impact on Fez tourism of Suzanna Clarke's best selling book A House in Fez. Locals and guest house owners are quick to tell you of the number of visitors who have read the book and been drawn to the Medina. This week a Korean family arrived with copies of A House in Fez in English and Korean. They were thrilled to not only get their books autographed but to also be invited to tour Riad Zany.

Suzanna Clarke explaining the restoration details

The mother and two children already have a close connection to the city, as the son, Garam is working in the Fez Municipal Library as a volunteer, setting up computer systems. The mother, Meehee an architect, said she had been inspired to start working on traditional Korean houses after reading Clarke's book, which she described as "famous in Korea!". A House in Fez is published in English, Korean and Polish.


Great Britain's media push in Fez

The View from Fez team are in debt to several readers for bringing a strange headline to our attention.

"The Embassy of Great Britain opens regional newspapers in Fez" 

It seemed too good to be true and, of course, it wasn't so. It was, we believe, a translation error in a local news outlet. To our knowledge the good folk at the British Embassy are not about to put the frighteners on Rupert Murdoch by bursting into print. But it seems the Embassy of Great Britain wants to develop its relations with the regional press in Fez. The communication team at the embassy, ​​led by Hugh Cleary, this week met a group of journalists from different media for a debriefing on "British cooperation with Moroccan civil society and political activity, economic and local culture".  The discussions focused on the constraints of the regional press and its contribution to the anchoring of the freedom of expression and democracy, including the young and promising experience of private radio stations. Sadly the British Embassy appears not to have involved the social media in the exercise. Two other English language social media sites told The View from Fez, that they had not received an invitation to the event.

From reports that filtered out, the GB Embassy is not about to open an office or a representation of Britain in Fez such as those in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech and Agadir. Mr. Cleary is reported as saying that that meeting with the press  is part in regular contact with the actors of civil society, particularly the media. Hopefully they will include the major players in the social media scene in the future.

A big week for the Hamadcha Sufis

The seventh day after the celebration of the Prophet's birthday is a special one for the Hamadcha Sufi groups - the celebration of their Saint, Sidi Ali ben Hamdush. A highlight this year was an all-night ceremony. The View from Fez was fortunate to be able to participate in the event and bring you these images.

The Fez Hamadcha group 

 Abderrahim Amrani - Hamadcha leader

Frédéric Calmès in full flight! 

Tightening the drum skins

Photographs: Sandy McCutcheon 
and Yassine Houari (pictured below)

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