Moroccan Vocalist Karima Skalli

Moroccan Vocalist Karima Skalli who performs both Classical Arabic titles such as esmahan, farid al attrach, oum khaltoum, fairouz and others and Moroccan Andalusian song

Moroccan News Briefs

HM King flags changes

More than two years after first floating the idea, King Mohammed VI of Morocco has announced plans for a major shake-up of the way Morocco is governed.

HM the King has named a 22-member Advisory Committee on Regionalisation in a bid to devolve power away from Rabat but also to reaffirm Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara.

The committee has been given six months to come up with a plan “specific to Morocco’s needs rather than an imitation of foreign models”.

The result, he said, would lead to the renovation and modernisation of the state.

As for Western Sahara, the King said the region must not be allowed to stagnate but should be among the first to benefit from the reform.

Morocco regained the mainly desert, phosphate-rich former Spanish colony in 1975.

However, the Algerian-backed Polisario Front has been fighting for independence for decades.

Several United Nations initiatives to resolve the dispute have all failed.

The Committee, whose chairmanship was entrusted to Omar Azzimane, Morocco's ambassador to Madrid, is composed of 21 members including three women.


Four killed, 48 injured in road accident in Western Morocco

Four people died and 48 others were injured in an accident which took place on Monday near the city of Kenitra (40 km north of Rabat), local authorities said.
The accident occurred when a bus overturned near Oulad Boucheib locality on the Kenitra-Tangiers highway. A psychological support unit was mobilized to assist the victims who were admitted to the nearest hospital, the same source added.

Five Moroccans die in apartment blaze in south of France

Five Moroccans of the same family were killed Friday morning in an apartment fire at a social housing building in Nîmes (South of France), and three others are in a serious condition. The father of the family, 55, his mother, 74, and his three children (aged 15, 11, and 26) died in the blaze, whose circumstances remain unclear.

The deceased's wife and two other children, 4 and 21, were hospitalized in very serious condition.
Ten other people in the building were slightly injured and three others are in very serious condition, according to rescue services. An investigation was opened to determine the circumstances of this tragedy.

MOROCCO’S ECONOMY GREW 5.6% IN Q3 2009

Morocco’s economy achieved a growth rate of 5.6% in the third quarter of 2009, against 5.7% in the same period a year earlier, the High Planning Commissioner (HCP) reported.

According to figures published by the HCP, this growth is ascribed to the increase posted in both the agricultural value added volume ( 26 %) and the non-agricultural GDP ( 2.6%).

The growth rate of the mining and energy sectors fell short of that registered a year earlier (-5.9% against 0.3%), while processing industries posted a limited growth (0.4% against 2.6%).
Services increased by 4% compared to 5.3%, it said, adding that the GDP rose by 4.4% in comparison with the same period of 2008.


Danish Cartoonist Targeted

It is a problem that just refuses to go away for Kurt Westergaard, who must be asking himself just how long will people maintain their rage at the controversial cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that sparked a storm of Muslim protest five years ago. Danish police have shot and wounded a man at the home of Kurt's home and he is now in protective custody.



Danish media reported last night that Westergaard, 74, was at home near the city of Aarhus with his wife and grandchild when a 27-year-old Somalian man armed with a knife and axe tried to break in.

Chief superintendant Morten Jensen, from East Jutland police, said: "At 10pm a personal alarm was received from Mr Westergaard's house."

Officers found a man "armed with an axe and a knife in either hand," he said. "He broke a window of Mr Westergaard's house. He tried to attack one officer with an axe and he was shot in his right leg and his left arm." He said the man was not seriously injured and was now in custody.

In 2005 the Jyllands-Posten newspaper published a caricature by Westergaard depicting Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a fuse.

Islamic tradition says no image of the prophet should be produced or shown.

Danish embassies were attacked including the one in Damascus which was burned down in 2006 and death threats against Westergaard forced him into hiding.

In March 2008 Denmark's three main newspapers reprinted the cartoon after the arrest of three men for plotting to murder the artist.The three – a Dane of Moroccan origin and two Tunisians – were picked up in a dawn raid near Aarhus following a long surveillance operation by the country's intelligence services, the PET.

The Dane was eventually released without charge and one of the two Tunisians was deported. The other was sent to live in an asylum centre north of Copenhagen.

The Jyllands-Posten also carried a statement from the cartoonist revealing how he had feared for his life but then "turned fear into anger and indignation".

"It has made me angry that a perfectly normal everyday activity, which I used to do by the thousand, was abused to set off such madness," the statement added.

In today's Jyllands-Posten, Westergaard described the incident: "He threatened to kill me. I ran out to the bathroom where our security room is. I was worried for my grandchild. I was afraid.

"I knew that I could not match him. So I alerted the police. It was scary. It was really close. But we did it. It was good."

Westergaard was moved to a safe place last night but was unable to say what the attempted attack would mean for his future.

Faces in the medina: Vincent and Vanessa Bonnin

News that there will be a new French restaurant in the medina has been buzzing for some time. The View from Fez introduces the people behind the plan: Vincent and Vanessa Bonnin.

Top chef Vincent Bonnin

Vincent, who underwent rigorous training in France, has worked in various Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK. Vanessa trained in journalism and photography, but they've both been in the hospitality industry for some years now. Vanessa says that if you want to ever see a husband who's a chef, then you've got to work with him. They have spent some years working on yachts in the Caribbean.

Vincent has always wanted his own restaurant. The opportunity arose when Vanessa read an article in a British newspaper's property section about Morocco. The article was mostly about the Marrakech property market, and Fez was only mentioned briefly, but it was enough to pique her interest. Within days they were on a flight to Fez.

Vanessa Bonnin

They had a week to find a property, and of course, were told it couldn't be done. But once you're on the right track, things have a tendancy to fall into place, and this is just what happened. The house is in Derb Moulay Ismail, just off Tala'a Seghira, so is a perfect location for a restaurant.

There's a way to go yet. The house has to be renovated, and Vincent and Vanessa are now in the throes of applying for various permits. But within a year or so, the medina could have its first ever French-run restaurant, which will be called Restaurant Faracha, meaning butterfly in Arabic.

Restaurant Faracha will specialise in Mediterranean brasserie-style food, with an emphasis on Spanish, Italian and Greek fare. Vincent plans mid-range prices that he thinks will appeal to tourists and residents alike. If you'd like to try Vincent's culinary skills, head for the Majestic where he's currently working as head chef.

Majestic: 0535 729 999

New Year greetings

The View from Fez wishes all its readers a very happy, peaceful and prosperous 2010!

Jordi Savall at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

As always, The View from Fez brings you news of the Fes Festival. We start with Jordi Savall, world-renowned Catalan musician and composer who will perform at Bab el Makina at 20h30 on Wednesday 9 June.


Jordi Savall is long been one of the foremost figures in early music, ranging from medieval, to Renaissance to Baroque. He is largely responsible for bringing the viol (viola da gamba) back into play. Savall was recently awarded the National Prize for Culture by the Catalonia National Council for Culture and the Arts. This will be his second appearance at the Fes Festival.

Pliny described Jerusalem as 'by far the most illustrious city of the Orient', and in this latest piece presented by Jordi Savall, Jerusalem - la ville des deux paix, the music retraces 3200 years of the history of this sacred city. Jordi calls it a magical journey, outside of time, of Sufi music and Hebrew lamentations.

Savall will be accompanied in Fez by his choral groups Hesperion XXI and Capella Reial de Catalunya as well as various guests, representing Spain, Morocco, Iraq, Greece, Israel, Galilee and Armenia. This prestigious melange of Jewish, Christian and Muslim musicians echoes the foundations of the city they celebrate. Jerusalem is presented as a welcoming city, and although peaceful at the moment, it lives in hope of reuniting the two 'peaces' of its name.

Music by Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras; story and text by Manuel Forcano.

See the Festival programme here.

Fez facelift

In addition to all the splendid new fountains gracing Fez, there are also plans afoot to upgrade the central square, Place Florence.

Plan for a re-vamped Place Florence, with Boulevard Hassan II on the right

The square, less well-known as Place Yacoub al-Mansour, does look pretty seedy at the moment, with its dusty trees and bare concrete. It's not at all in keeping with the elegant swathe of palm trees and fountains along Boulevard Hassan II, so this will be a very welcome addition to the Ville Nouvelle.

This plan has been submitted by the Mikou Design Studio, owned by Fez-born sisters Salwa and Selma Mikou. It's gratifying to see yet another proposal from Moroccan women architects and urban planners - Aziza Chaouni's plans for the tanneries and R'cif (see the story here) is another example.

Artist's impression of the new square

Mikou Design Studio explains that Place Florence is situated in a strategic area in the new town, and has important pedestrian flow. The remodeling of the square aims to create a space for encounters and meetings at a pedestrian scale and the scale of the neighborhood, but also a place clearly identifiable as a representative part of the modern Fez.

"This symbolic place evokes Florence to the people of Fez, inspires and moves them", says the design team.

"It is a vehicle for dialogue between cultures and recalls the journey of architectural forms. In designing the square, we were inspired by a strong and symbolic figure in the Florentine urban landscape, the octagonal form of the Baptistery of San Giovanni. We felt it essential to bring strong architectural elements to Place Florence to give it an urban presence and limit it spatially.

Salwa and Selma Mikou attended school in Paris and Lausanne, and received their diplomas in Architecture and Urban design in 2000. Since then, they have worked in Paris, Doha, Los Angeles, Seoul, Beirut, Rabat, Kuwait and London. They founded Mikou Design Studio in 2005.

Architectural gem opens in Fes

In July, The View from Fez reported on progress at Dar Bensouda (see the article here). We're pleased to announce that renovation is now complete, and the house has opened as a guesthouse this week.

From looking like this only a few months ago ...

Dar Bensouda courtyard July 2009 (photo: Suzanna Clarke)

... it now looks like this:

December 2009

Well-known Marrekchi hotelier and renovator par excellence, Abdellatif Ait Ben Abdullah, has been careful to retain as much of the original decoration as possible, resisting the urge to replace worn mosaics or paint faded plasterwork. His diligence has paid off. Not that it's all finished yet; there'll be a garden and pool come summer.

There are a number of bedrooms ranging in price from Dh916 to Dh1838 (in high season), all with beautifully-appointed bathrooms and air-conditioning/heating. The restaurant is open to all, not just guests, and will be a welcome addition to fine dining in the medina.

plasterwork, carved and painted doors, and mashrabiya (wooden trellis work)

New Year Celebrations
If you'd like to see the house but are not staying there, the restaurant will be open on new year's eve and will feature Sufi music til dawn. Here's the menu:

Welcome cocktail
Assorted Moroccan salads
Stuffed briouates
Chicken pastilla
Tanjia Marrakech-style
Chocolate pastilla with dried fruit
Mint tea or coffee with honey pastries
1/2 bottle of wine and water

Cost per person: Dh850

the central fountain reflects the columns

Bookings for dinner: Mahmoud +212 535 638 949; for accommodation: Fez Riads

Photos: Catherine Bendayan

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

Season's Greetings from The View from Fez

May all of our readers have

a wonderful,happy and

peaceful festive season.