Food Fun on the Fes Festival Fringe

Eating Out During the Fes Festival 

Having a great meal and still having time to get to a concert can be a bit of a juggling act if you don't know your way around the Fez Medina. Fortunately several of the best restaurants have adjusted their hours to fit in with the festival. Between June 7 and 15 you have enough time to try every restaurant! 

The Ruined Garden at Riad Idrissy

The Ruined Garden is a delight! And the good news is that it will operate as a festival green room - where artists, journalists and the audience can mingle between concerts. Opening hours are between 12 noon and 9.30pm. For those needing to keep in touch there is free Wifi in the garden and snacks, cakes and all day brunch. And there will be no annoying background music - just great ambiance and tranquility.

13 Derb Idrissi, Sieje, Sidi Ahmed Chaoui. Ph 06 49 19 14 10 http://www.riadidrissy.com/


Dar Roumana

Dar Roumana comes highly recomended. During the Sacred Music Festival they will be open every day and offering pre-concert dinners (June 7-15). From 6pm - 8pm Dar Roumana will be offering a smaller menu (2 starters, 2 mains and 2 desserts) for a reduced price of 300dh for three courses or 225dh for two courses

For non-concert goers we will also be offering Dar Roumana's usual dinner service from 7.30pm - 9pm.

Dar Roumana 30 Derb el Amer Zkak Roumane Fes Medina Morocco +212 660 29 04 04 (mobile) +212 535 741 637 www.darroumana.com

Palais Amani

A great lunch venue from 11.30 am to 3pm. A choice of evening meals in courtyard or dining room from 5.30 until 11pm. Palais Amani offers a three-course fixed menu dinner at 395dh or a tapas menu for 120dh for the first selection; 180dh for the second.

The courtyard is great for lunch

Palais Amani Derb el Miter, Blida http://www.palaisamani.com/

Café Clock

Cafe Clock is one of the most visited cafes in the medina and because the menu is available all day, it is a perfect place to drop in for food or simply a jice or coffee. If you fancy learning to cook Moroccan cuisine, pick up some of the local Darija (Moroccan Arabic), try a little belly dancing, then check out the Clock cultural programme.  (Hint - try the Camel burger!)


Fez Café

Fabulous garden and great atmosphere await you at Fez Café inside Le Jardin des Biehn, Dinner is available both before and after concerts. And if you are having a night off they are open during the concerts.

French and Moroccan cuisine - Lunch from noon-3pm(last orders); dinner from 6pm until midnight (last orders).

Fez Cafe, Jardin des Biehn - Aqebt Sbaa, Douh
Info: www.jardindesbiehn.com
Fez Cafe: +212(0)664.647.679


Street Food

Every year since 2006 The View from Fez has selected Thami's as some of the best street food. It is still great, but there are also many new vendors with good food. The overall quality of Fez street food has grown much better over the last few years and it is recommended.


Tasting Trails - Ceremonial Food

As part of the Fez Sacred Music Festival fringe Plan-it Fez will be offering Tasting Trails through the Fez medina hosted by resident Fez Food expert Gail Leonard. 

The tour focuses on the sacred and ceremonial foods of Fez and Morocco. Tours will commence at 10am from Boujloud and run for two hours every day throughout the festival except Mondays.

Price is 450Dh per person, cash payments only. Bookings need to be made in advance with a
minimum of 4 people required before the tour goes ahead. Tours will be a maximum number of 8 people. Bookings can be made via email info@plan-it-fez.com or phone on 0535 638 708, or in person at the Plan-it Fez Office 4 Arset Manjour, Batha.

For more Festival Fringe events visit http://www.fez-riads.com/

PLEASE NOTE! - If you are opening a restaurant with special hours for pre-concert meals, and are not listed, please contact The View from Fez

SHARE THIS!

Buying a House in Marrakech?

The New York Times has just run an article on buying a restored riad in Marrakech. It comes as no surprise that they have concentrated on the very top end of the market.  While prices have dropped across the country, the Marrakech market still appears over inflated. By contrast the prices in Fez are far more reasonable.

Restored 19th century home in Marrakech - $1.3 million (11 million Dirhams) 

This traditional Moroccan house (pictured above) , known as a riad, has 4,300 square feet of space over two floors surrounding an enclosed courtyard. Dating to the 19th century, it has five bedroom suites and a multilevel roof terrace with views of the minarets of the medina, or old city, of Marrakech, according to Younes Cherkaoui, an agent with Mauresque Immobilier, which has the listing.

Built by a respected local family and called Riad L’Aziza, the house was restored about 12 years ago; it now serves as a guesthouse and is being sold furnished.

 The courtyard, divided into four symmetrical plant beds with a central fountain, has walkways, columns and other plaster-covered surfaces set with elaborate terra-cotta tilework of blue, green, gold and cream. Rooms opening onto the courtyard on the ground floor include a Moorish living room bordered with delicately carved plaster designs and a carved cedar ceiling.

Nearby are three bedroom suites with tiled walls; their bathrooms are walled in colorful plaster. The ground floor also has an office and a kitchen with a service entrance.

The second floor has two bedroom suites, each with a fireplace and a private terrace.

The salmon-colored roof terrace has three open-air living and dining rooms at different levels, along with an area for sunbathing and a spa room. Arched doorways and transoms of intricately carved cedar are found throughout the house, as are stained glass, ornate ironwork and traditional Moroccan sconces and rugs.

The riad is in the center of Marrakech in the medina, about a five-minute walk from the main square, Jemaa El Fna. Riad L’Aziza is about 20 minutes from the international airport, Mr. Cherkaoui said.


 MARKET OVERVIEW 

 In the five years leading to the international financial crisis in 2008, house prices in Morocco rose 35 to 40 percent; since the crisis they have settled in at 20 to 30 percent below their peak, said Loïc Raboteau, the head of the French and North Africa Law Department at the law firm Kobalt Law in London.

Foreign buyers typically constitute about 10 percent of the residential real estate market, and many prospective buyers have had a “wait-and-see” attitude about North Africa since the crisis, compounded since then by the turmoil of the Arab Spring, which started in 2011, said Soraya Fahim, a manager of the residential department at the brokerage CBRE in Morocco.

 Tourist areas like Marrakech and Tangier area have been the hardest hit. But the Moroccan government’s demonstrated stability and the passage of new fiscal policies have had an encouraging effect on foreign buyers, particularly from France, Ms. Fahim said.

 According to Mr. Raboteau, prices in Marrakech last year decreased by 1.7 percent while remaining stable nationally; the number of property transactions countrywide increased by 7.8 percent.

The highest-end properties are selling for about 2,500 euros per square meter currently, or about $300 a square foot, said James Price, the head of the international development team for the brokerage Knight Frank. Riad L’Aziza is priced in this range.


 WHO BUYS IN MARRAKECH

 Most foreign buyers tend to come from France, Belgium and Switzerland, Ms. Fahim said. “We’ve also noticed recently some demand coming from countries like Russia and the United Kingdom,” she added.

Moroccans living abroad also constitute an important group of buyers and investors.


 BUYING BASICS

 There are no restrictions on foreign buyers, Mr. Raboteau said. The process resembles that of France, in that notaries handle most aspects of the transaction, though foreign buyers would be advised to hire an independent lawyer as well.

“Don’t expect the notary will give you legal advice,” Mr. Raboteau said. “His role is to check the identity of the parties, draft and register the deeds.”

Buyers can expect to pay about 6 percent of the sale price in taxes and fees, he said. Mortgages are available, with a down payment of at least 30 percent.

 WEB SITES 

Riad L’Aziza site: Riadlaziza.com 
Moroccan National Tourist Office: VisitMorocco.com
Moroccan government portal: Maroc.ma
Official Marrakech travel guide: Marrakech.travel 

 LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY

 Arabic, Berber; Moroccan dirham (1 dirham = $0.12)

TAXES AND FEES

 The annual property taxes on this home are about 6,000 dirhams, or around $695.

 CONTACT

Younes Cherkaoui, Mauresque Immobilier, 011-212-6-6000-5555, mauresque-immobilier.com

SHARE THIS!

Fez Fashion Day - Updated

Fez is making its name as a place for contemporary design with an historical twist. This week features not one but three significant events. Friday May 24 is the opening of Michel Biehn's exhibition Veils and Turbans and on Saturday May 25 is Fez Fashion Day; a fashion show followed by the opening of the Fez Fabrik design exhibition. 

A selection of turbans from Michel Biehn's extensive collection

Veils and Turbans - Friday May 24 at 7 PM at Dar Batha

Renowned designer and author Michel Biehn will be exhibiting around 50 veils and 50 turbans from the Islamic world from his extraordinary collection at the French Institute's Dar Batha until June 3.

He points out that while both veils and turbans are "nothing but a rectangle of fabric", they have a deeper symbolic significance.

"Veils are an issue in France," Michel says, referring to their being outlawed in 2010. "But I find it quite irrelevant. It's up to the individual - I don't see why the law should interfere. However, I am not making a political point, just showing a selection of costumes."

"As a whole, a veil protects the mystery of a woman. Whereas a turban is worn very differently. It symbolises potency...Everyone is now hooked on veils, and no one talks about turbans. If we want the world to work, we need both those energies."

Designer and author Michel Biehn

Fez Fashion Day - Saturday May 25 at 5.30 PM at Jardin des Biehn

Fashion styled by Alfred Berlin

Fez Fashion Day kicks off this Saturday with the showing of the work of two international designers - Alfred Berlin and Moi Anan. Sponsored by the French Institute, their clothing and accessories will grace the long, tiled runways of Jardin des Biehn. This is followed by the opening of the Fez Fabrik exhibition. Fez Fabrik is a newly created association which aims to encourage liaisons between international designers and local artisans. Six designers will contribute pieces to the exhibition, ranging from textiles and unique accessories through to unusual jewellery.

Alfred Berlin's section of the fashion show will be "a funky mix of past and present," according to the designer. "Inspirations came from how, in the old Medina of Fez, people mix traditional Moroccan clothes, such as kaftans, jellabas and babouches with contemporary street-style looks like Nike and Adidas." Accessories will feature strongly. "I'm trying to establish my brand based on recycling left over leather from Italian factories. It is about using hand made products, done by the young artisan generation."

Fashion styled by Alfred Berlin

Alfred's design background includes studies of theatre and costume at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma where he won a scholarship to continue his studies in sculpture and textile design at the Royal College of Fine Art in Belgium, which led to him being accepted at the Royal Academy of Arts in Antwerp. He has collaborated with numerous internationally recognised designers, including Antonio Marras and Kenzo, Giafranco Ferre and Studio Pollini.

Moi Anan's latest fashion collection

Moi Anan's vibrant and beautifully tailored designs were a stand-out at last year's Fez Fashion Day. His carefully tailored styling spans Thai tradition and Western modernity and has been shown at Paris Fashion Week. This new collection consists of more of thirty pieces, offering a sophisticated approach where traditional fabrics are given a new and unusual treatment.


Fez Fabrik exhibition - Saturday May 25 at 7.30 PM at Jardin des Biehn

Talisman jewellery by Michel Biehn

Following the fashion show will be the opening of the Fez Fabrik exhibition, featuring the work of six international designers - Nina Galbert; Catherine Gailliard; Lilou, Michel Biehn, Moi Anan and Alfred Berlin. This is also the inaugural event for Fez Fabrik, a new non-profit association dedicated to increasing opportunities for international designers and local artisans to create work together.

Striped hand-loomed throws by Nina Galbert

Through her business the Artisan Project, Nina Galbert has been sourcing and collaborating with local artisans for the past two years. The pieces in this exhibition are traditional, hand-loomed weaves and throws, with an emphasis on stripes.

Catherine Gaillard will be showing leather bags, which feature mixed colours and prints, while the jewellery of Lilou has a very contemporary approach, using materials like neoprene and silk. Michel Biehn will include a leather bag he has personally embroidered.  "It's got elements of the old world and the new world put together," he says. He will also offer a collection of talismans.

What: Veils and Turbans
When: Friday May 24 at 7 PM until June 3 
Where: French Institute, Dar Batha

What: Fez Fashion Day
When: Saturday May 25 at 5.30 PM
Where: Jardin des Biehn

What: Fez Fabrik exhibition
When: Saturday May 25 at 7 PM until June 16
Where: Gallery at Jardin des Biehn

SHARE THIS!

Travel Writing About Morocco ~ The UK Independent almost gets it right

Over the years The View from Fez has run an occasional series on travel writing about Morocco. We have given bouquets to the best and brickbats to the worst. It's been a while since our last travel writing story as a majority of travel stories lately have been well researched and written. 

A small part of the massive Fez Medina

However, this week we came across a piece on Fez by Stephen Bayley from the UK Independent. It is certainly well written, however, at times pedantic. Stephen's piece has all the hallmarks of an embedded journalist. His reflections, while sitting with a "large glass of Celliers de Meknes syrah and a view of the kasbah" - are amusing, if not always accurate. He starts off with a bold assertion about the name of the city...

It's Fès, not Fez. The latter is a hat of Turkish production, a dark red truncated cone with a tassel, not much favoured by the locals, despite what some guidebooks tell you. And Fassi is what the citizens of Morocco's fifth city call themselves. The confusion with the name is one of several misunderstandings about this astonishing place. Nineteenth-century orientalists, French expeditionary soldiers, drugged-up Americans of the Beat Generation (who enjoyed a cannabis jam known as majoun, taken internally) all knew Fès, but it has not secured a place in popular imagination in the same way as Marrakech.

For the record, the name of the city is Fes or Fez (Arabic: فاس‎ Moroccan Arabic: [fɛs], Berber: Fas,). If you are French you can write it Fès. The point is that as a transliteration from the Arabic, you can take your pick. As a local photographer put it, "Fes, Fez or Fas, we don't mind - jeeb laz ou l'caz - come for something good, or just leave!"

Access was always a problem: the erratic rail link from Tangier and Casablanca was an impediment to all but the intrepid, then British Airways failed to make a service from Gatwick work. Now a twice-weekly flight by Ryanair from Stansted gives us all the chance to be an explorer.

It is obviously a long time since the intrepid Stephen Bayley travelled by train to Fez. The services between Tangier and Casablanca are inexpensive and go almost hourly. There are also good (CTM) bus services and if you feel like a treat, a trip from Casa to Fez by car is available for around 1,500 dirhams. Ryanair is not the only airline and flights from a number of European cities make coming to Fez, either directly, or via Casablanca a low cost trip.

Part of the huge slipper souk in Fez

This is not a city abandoned to the fey pleasures of frivolous European travellers. Instead, it teems and squirms: urgent but polite, and elegant while often rough. The souk combines filth and mystery with the medieval sense which only a sweating Satanic blacksmith in a carbonised vault and a man next door specialising in severed goats' hoofs can bring. Even lawyers sit in cubbyholes in the souk.

It is this orientalist view where the writing gets carried away. For a start the Medina of Fez contains many souks (markets) - slipper souks, vegetable souks, ceramic souks, leather souks and so on - and "filth and mystery" are in the eye of the beholder. Rubbish collection in Fez is on a daily basis, which few cities in Britain or Europe can claim. And few of the lawyers I know would appreciate their offices being described as "cubbyholes"!

Fès food is an anomaly. There is a weird mismatch between what's abundantly available in the souk and what appears on menus. The souk teems with sellers of herbs, spices, fried fish, lemons, escargots, goat, tripe and artichokes, but restaurant menus are repetitive. Boiled salads – including nerveless cauliflower – are served in miniature tagines they were evidently not cooked in. Insipid grey "chicken in sauce" appears everywhere. I looked in vain for harira (the ethnic soup) or méchoui (a whole cooked lamb) or any sense of freshness and precision in the cooking. Solemnly, our guide said, summoning-up unhappy memories of things ill-digested past: "In Fès, one does not eat fish." Still, smells memorably define the souk. Lemon verbena is an insistent presence, but so too is donkey.

This is perhaps the strangest observation in Stephen's piece. That he couldn't find harira is a mystery as is his failure to find fabulous food. Maybe he needed to escape from his guide and the up-market restaurants and check out the food stalls and street food cafes. While many of the so called "palace restaurants" serve up the kind of tourist fare he mentions for coach loads of package holiday tourists, there are wonderful alternatives both in the Medina and the Ville Nouvelle.

One of the many food souks

That someone actually told him that "In Fès, one does not eat fish", is beyond belief. Not only are the fish markets stocked with wonderful fresh fish, but there are also local treats like the fresh trout from the Atlas mountains, John Dory fillet tagine with saffron and lemon confit, lobster, spider crab and the famous Oualidia oysters.

Fresh fish in Fez

Always there is music half-heard through walls. And the lingering memory of wondering if I have ever felt more clean than after the hammam. We soon learnt that the medina is not as un-navigable as they say. After a day you can find your way and there are no risks, apart from the chance acquisition of a carpet.

But you have doubts. Why, when mint tea is so popular, has no one made a teapot which pours efficiently? Most times, the liquor escapes more readily from the loose-fitting lid than the congested spout. And what is the psychology of a modernising country which insists on making Berber slippers, camel saddles, leather accessories, djellabas and carpets which no one ever willingly buys?

One does feel sorry for Stephen and his loose-fitting teapot, his lack of harira and the fact he didn't understand why people buy djellabas, carpets and slippers. About 90% of the goods produced in the Medina are bought by Moroccans, many of whom (whose teapot lids fit better) do like to wear slippers and djellabas. The Fez Medina is a living, working Medina with thousands of artisans producing goods which are consumed. That a camel saddle might look like an exotic addition to someone's European apartment, does not mean it's not needed on a camel.

You can read the full text of Stephen Bayley's piece here: Keep it under your hat, but Fès is for real

Other travel writing stories
SHARE THIS!

The Majlis Trio in Fez

France's Majlis Trio hold their first Moroccan concert at Riad Zany

Thibaut Rocheron (percussion) Léo Fabre-Cartier (oud) and Aline Haelberg (violin) 

Friday night in Fez saw a large crowd turn up to Riad Zany for another concert. This time it was the premier performance in Morocco of the Majlis Trio. Rain had been threatened, but thankfully the night remained pleasantly warm and dry.

Provide the music and Moroccans will dance!

The rich repertoire of traditional oriental music from Turkey, Greece, Syria, Egypt, Azerbaïdjan and Arab-Andalusian music from the Maghreb was enthusiastically received by both Moroccans and visitors from France, Australia, America, Poland and The Gambia. It was also pleasing to see several on the ball guest house owners bringing their clients for the evening.

As promised the music was accessible and enthralling with splendid performances by all three musicians. A good sound balance and the near perfect acoustics of the riad ensured that even the most subtle grace notes were crystal clear and not lost beneath the percussion.

Seated on chairs, carpets and cushions, the fifty or so visitors were treated to mint tea and an array of chocolate confections and cakes. As an Australian visitor put it, "To witness such fine music in such a beautiful setting was the highlight of my overseas holiday".  Polish members of the audience had brought along Polish translations of A House in Fez, for Riad Zany's owner, Suzanna Clarke to sign.

A section of the audience enjoying the concert

If you missed the concert, the popularity of the trio is such that a second concert will be held at Fez Cafe on Sunday (May19) with an entry fee of 30 dirhams per person.

Reservation for dining is essential
Le Jardin des Biehn
13 Akbat Sbaa Douh
30110 - Fez Medina - Morocco
Port: 00212 (0) 664647679
mail: contact@jardindesbiehn.com

SHARE THIS!

Friday Night in Fez ~ A Musical Treat

A reminder that tomorrow (Friday March 17) at 8 PM, a musical treat is on offer at Riad Zany in the Fez Medina. The Majlis Trio, from France, will be performing a selection of their rich repertoire of traditional oriental music from Turkey, Greece, Syria, Egypt, Azerbaïdjan and Arab-Andalusian music from the Maghreb.

This is a rare chance to experience a wide range of music in a beautiful setting. Léo Fabre-Cartier (pictured left) and fellow musicians, Aline Haelberg (Pictured above - violin and alto)  and Thibaut Rocheron (percussion), from France will be giving their first concert in Morocco. They have appeared together many times in France as the Majlis Trio.

Leo says that because the music the Majlis Trio plays draws on very different styles, the points of rhythmic and melodic convergence mean that they are "accessible to people from different cultures".

If you are unsure of how to get to Riad Zany, then see the information below about where and when to meet a guide.

Information

What: Concert by the Majlis Trio from France
When: Friday May 17 at 8 PM
Where: Riad Zany, 5 Derb Ronda, Laayoune, near the R'Cif vegetable souk.
Pick up: Cinema Amal at 7.50 PM (please be on time!)
Cost: Donation for the musicians
More info: 06 72765657 or theviewfromfez@gmail.com

UPDATE: The popularity of the trio is such that a second concert will be held at Fez Cafe on Sunday (May19) with an entry fee of 30 dirhams per person.

After the concert Fez Cafe is putting on a special menu for 220 Dirhams with the chef delivering a tasty menu.

SHARE THIS!