Thursday, March 15, 2007

Two tales of renovation in the Fez Medina


One experience common to all people doing renovations on old houses in the Medina of Fez is that the worst moments are actually just before all the pieces fall into place. You have been through months of hassles, dirt, dust, expense, frustration and sheer exhaustion - and then suddenly a room is completed. One small space that is perfect is such a joy that for a moment you can forget that there are others soon to be completed as well. Two people are at opposite ends of the process...


The end is in sight!

The door to a beautiful bathroom.

We wrote about Kleo the other day and the frustrations she had been having. Well, we are pleased to report that the work in her beautiful dar is finally coming together. Her study and bedroom are nearly finished. The master bathroom is complete and now Kleo has something to smile about, humdullilah! Mind you she had wanted a mauve tadelakt and ended up with a gorgeous blue.

Something to smile about

While the renovation has been troublesome, the earlier damage is being sorted out by Kleo imposing a firmer control on the workers and spending more time micro-managing. The end result will be one of the prettier dars in the Medina as it is not overpowered by too much decoration, but rather gets its charm from the atmosphere in the house. It feels like a real home rather than the slightly cold "museum" feeling of some over fastidious renovations we have seen in the last few weeks.

Just beginning

However, spare a thought for Canadian Mike - who after several weeks of searching has finally purchased a house in the beautiful Layounne district behind R'Cif. Congratulations to Mike - now he has four months wait while the previous owners find a new home and then he is at day one of the renovation process. We will bring you updates once he starts the long haul.

Tomorrow Mike heads to London for a short break and then back to Vancouver where he says he is going to immerse himself in studying all the things he needs to know about renovation. We wish him well and look forward to his return to the Medina.

Mike a few days ago - no house in sight - now he's smiling

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just met Mike the other day on the train from Meknes to Fes. I'm thrilled to hear he found a place that was suitable for him!

Emma said...

oh what a relief that someone else is going throught the same thing. We have spent months in rubble and what feels like turning the titanic to get moving and then suddenly, just like you say a room is plastered and my god are we actually turning the corner!"

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Anonymous said...

Renovation mean one thing: aggravation, All family members, including the pets, need some down time in the midst of a major project. Hope this article will help.