Pics from the last entry

Moonrise over Beni Amar


Faisal's Grandmother's house in Beni Amar

Triumphal Arch at Volubilis

Mosiac from Volubilis

More Roman Ruins

The village of Beni Amar with festival banner

Sunset over the valley below Beni Amar

City of Taza with the foothills of the Middle Atlas Mountains in the background

Spelunking Pics

Ah, Nature!

This week I finally got to return to what I love: Nature. I left last Thursday, the 22nd to go to Beni Ammar, the village where Faisal's family is from (about 2 hrs west of Fes). I stayed at his Grandmothers house, which was this amazing old villa over looking her acres of farmland in the valleys below. The first night I spent laying on the terrace with Sue and Khadija (Faisal's Grandma) on sheepskins and pillows under the balcony where ripe grapes were hanging from a very mature vine. The moon was full that night, and we watched it rise over the hill over looking her house and looked at pictures I brought from Tucson of my friends and family and also of Jessie and Faisal and kin. The next day we woke up early to head out to Volubilis or "Oualili" in Arabic, which is the site of ancient Roman ruins from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Since I have never been to Europe, I haven't ever seen any historical sites this old before. My love fore history was definitely awakened while I wandered about the ruined houses, admiring the amazing mosaics floors which are in great condition. Sue, Farah and I strolled down the grand Decumanus Maximus, the wide, two-lane road dissecting the site. The drainage/sewage system the Romans constructed under marble slabs down the center of the road is still in working order. Not only that, but some remarkable arches were still in tact, among them the marble Triumphal Arch built to honor the Emperor Caracalla. But the highlight was really the mosaics. They depicted everything from complex geometric patters to dolphins to intricate scenes out of Roman mythology including the Labours of Hercules, Medusa, Diana, Orpheus, etc, etc. Unfortunately we were a bit rushed due to the mid-day heat and our lunch date at Faisal's uncle's home back in the village.

That night, Beni Ammar began their annual festival which looked very promising: Ganawa music, magician shows, an art expedition, and my favorite attraction, a contest for the most beautiful donkey. Unfortunately I could only stay for the first night and missed the donkey contest and the music, but that just means I'll have to return someday. Every year this festival is becoming bigger and bigger which is great because Beni Ammar is a historical place and the more people come to visit it, the more money will go into preserving it. Faisal's uncle Abdel Haq is on the board for this festival and gave me lots of information about it as well as introducing me to the rest of the board and some French philanthropists who were there for the 4th time.

I left the next day back to Fes, and because there were no taxis down the mountain to Nzala, my friend and I decided to just walk. It turned out to be quite a beautiful trek through the mountainside, through olive groves and beautiful pastures. I'll admit, I was a little hesitant at times, since we didn't really know where we were going, only that it was down, but I was in good company and seized the opportunity to take some really nice shots.

Once I was back in Fes, I was off once again, this time east of Fes to Taza to visit Hanane's sister Samira and her new husband. Despite what I had heard, Taza is a lovely little city nestled between the Rif Mountains to the North and the Middle Atlas to the south. The weather was cooler than it had been in weeks, and Samira's apartment always had a nice breeze blowing through it. The second day I was there, Samira's husband came home from work and after a delicious lunch of stuffed eggplant and tomato salad (really...I could just write about the food) we set off to go spelunking in the Groffre du Friouato. The drive itself was absolutely spectacular...I think I had my head sticking out the window like a dog the whole ride. We saw small farming villages on the way up, one which is actually preserved by Unicef as a historical site. The caves are said to be the deepest and possibly most extensive in North Africa, although they have never been fully explored to date. The main chamber is a 100m vertical drop. At the bottom of this chamber is a hole which you climb through to reach the really good stuff. It is over 500 steps to get to the hole, and then another 200 or so to the next chamber. It is a living cave, and therefor very wet and muddy. Samira stayed outside the hole and me and her husband descended below, flashlights in hand. I have never been spelunking before; the only caves I have been in have been like Kartchner Caverns in Arizona, where you can walk through on well-lit paved walkways. This was quite the opposite; it was a belly-crawling, butt-scooting, muddy good time. I could only get a taste of the amazing formations around us, due to lack of power in our flashlights; but what I did see was very impressive. Draperies, stalactites, stalagmites...I wish I had brought my camera inside! It was a little depressing though, because there was a lot of damage done to the cave. Broken off formations, graffiti, litter...not very well protected. And from everything I learned from the guided tour at Kartchner Caverns about living caves, I'm afraid this cave is in danger of losing much of its majesty due to stupid humans. Hopefully the Moroccan government will someday soon start a campaign to protect more of its natural wonders. Standing at the opening of the main chamber of the cave, I had a wonderful moment where I witnessed the beauty of God's great earth. I can only pray that generations of Moroccans and tourists alike can witness this place in the same condition (if not better) that I saw it.

On Tuesday I am heading off to the Moroccan-Algerian border to Ouijda (wij-da) and there is plans in the works for a wedding in Tangier the north and a trip to the Sahara in the south. But nothing is ever for sure in Morocco; plans change a quickly as they are made...so all I can say is "insha Allah" or God Willing.

Al-Zowaaj - The Wedding

Just like any wedding anywhere in the world, the details of the Moroccan wedding are toiled over for monthes ahead of time...but I'll just fast forward through all of that madness to the actual wedding day.

Traditionally, the day before the wedding is the Henna party where the bride's feet and hands are elaboratly decorated in Henna tatoos by the "henniya" or "henna lady" as I like to call her. Jessie and Faisal decided to combine the two celebrations into one and did the Henna ceremony during the wedding ceremony. On the table infront of the bride and groom, milk and sugar are placed in beautiful metal containers; the milk to keep their marriage pure and white and the sugar to keep it sweet. Scented orange-blossom water is sprinkled on everyone, and burning ‘oud (insense) is carried around for all the guests to smell.

So on the night of Jessie and Faisal’s wedding, we arrived around 8:00 pm which although instructed to come at this time, we were extemely early. Apparently the Moroccan wedding doesn’t really get going until midnight or so, which indeed was the case. Fatima Zahra and I socialized with the other guests and listened to the first band play. They were very talented; I couldn’t believe that the music they produced was live! Then, we snuck away to sneak a peak at Jessie while she was waiting to be dressed by her two “ngafa”, who are hired women that dress the bride in her many different gowns throughout the evening, do her henna tatoos, and announce her and the groom’s entrances with a load, booming, sing-song chant that is traditional to Moroccan celebrations, and finishes with a loud ululation. I ended up staying with Jessie in her dressing room until she was ready to make her grand entrance around 11:00 or so. She looked absotuly radient, literally like I would expect a queen to look She wore a delicate pistacio green gown and loads of gold jewelry with green jewels topped with a matching gold crown and transparent gold veil flowing down from her hair to her back. Her hair alone was a masterpiece. I was thrilled to get this time alone with her to shower her in camera flashes. The Moroccan bride most always rents her gowns from the nagafa along with the spectacular accessories. She will change throughout the night between an average of 3-9 dresses and matching jewelry and tiaras. Truly, the Moroccan bride is a queen for the evening.

Once she was finally ready, she and Faisal were placed in their respective “mida” (padded, silver, circular carrying caddies) and drums and trumpets blarred as Faisal was lifted by four of his friends and Jessie by the hired “zerzaya” high above the guests to shoulder height. They swayed to the rhythm of the music of the “deqayqia”, a traditional Marrakesh band, and paraded through the guests who were crowded around them, making their way to their wedding canopy. Faisal was clapping playful to the music and Jessie was smiling with such genuine happiness, waving at everbody in a gentle, one-handed, princess kind of way. After maybe five minutes or so, they brought them back to the ground and one of the nagafa assisted Jessie with her flowing skirts as she and Faisal triuphantly made their way to their wedding canopy. This is when the henna began.

Throughout the wedding celebration, the bride and groom basically sit under their canopy and almost like Santa Clause in the mall at Christmas time, sit there and smile as everyone takes turns coming and sitting with them to snap photos and say “mabrook” and tell them how wonderful they look.

We were served fresh juices and small tarts and cookies at this time. In preperation for a Moroccan wedding, the family will make literally thousands of different types of cookies to serve through out the festivities. I had a chance to get in on some cookie-making action with Faisal’s mom, and believe me it is very hard work. These are not your average roll-out-the-dough-and-cut-out-a-shape kind of cookies, but intricate designs that may take hours at a time for just one style.

After the henna was completed, Jessie and Faisal exited, again to the chanting of the ngafa, to change into their second ensemble of the evening. Faisal actually had more freedom then Jessie since he wasn’t changing this time around, and was out among the guests dancing and socializing. Tom and Sue were the first ones up and dancing. Slowly more people trickled onto the lawn and got into the groove of the Marrakeshi music. Faisals two friends Mohsen and Yasseen were especially entertaining with their shoulder shimmying, hip shaking, loud clapping, Middle Eastern style dancing that really got everyone up and dancing with them. Faisal’s dad Mehdi was out there with us, busting out the Lebanese dance moves. Faisal’s dad Mehdi was out there with them busting out the Lebanese dance moves. Faisal’s friends from high school created a big circle where one person, or sometimes two girls, who be in the middle dancing and everyone else clapping and swaying around them. I don’t know what it is, but Moroccan women ALL know how to dance superbly. I tried to dance too, but it was extremely difficult due to the yards of fabric of the traditional kuftan I was wearing and my heels sinking into the grass. It didn’t matter though, because it was so much fun.

Then Jessie and Faisal made their second grand entry, again with music and the chatting of the ngafa. Jessie’s second dress was a beautiful white gown with silver embroidery in the sheer top layer. After posing under the canaopy for a while, they came and joined our table to eat their wedding feast with us. I was so thrilled that they came to sit with us; it felt to special and intimate to be able to share their wedding meal with them. The first course was chicken with apricots, and was served in a large dish in the center of the table, where we all ate from with bread. After the chicken dish, they hired waiter brough out another equally large dish with meat in an onion sauce topped with plums and almonds. Both were incredible delicious, as all Moroccan cuisine has been. Finally, they cleared away all out plates and even changed the table cloth, only to serve us a generous platter or fruit to cleanse our palettes.

Then the bride and groom were off again to the dressing room to prepare for round three. Now, the reason that most brides rent all their dresses, is because like in the US, Moroccan wedding dresses cost from hundreds to thousands of dollars…and paying for 3-9 of them can become extremely expensive. However, Jessie’s third dress was hand-made especially for her by Faisal’s Aunt Sayeedam who makes jelaba and kuftan for a living in a shop she owns in the medina in Rabat. The dress was a beautiful brownish maroon with intricate embroidery and complemented with gold jewelry. Faisal was wearing a traditional Fesi jabador with matching cape or “silham”, crowned with a “riza” on his head, traditional Moroccan shoes called “belgha”, and a dagger (“khanjar”) at his side. He really looked like he stepped out of 1001 Nights or something.

Then we enjoyed Moroccan mint tea and some of the hundreds of wedding cookies. Some were like baklava, some flavored with orange-blossom water, many with marzipan, etc, etc. The finale of the evening was Jessie entering with her last dress, a traditional Berber style wedding garb with accompanying bright orange head-dress and an abundance of Berber jewelry framing her face and neck. Somehow she pulled this very unique style off, and looked smashing once again.

A note on the Berbers: For those who don't know, the Berbers are the decendants of people who inhabited Morocco since Neolithic times. (Basicallly the equivalent of what we think of as "Native American" in the states). Amazingly, throughout Phoenician, Roman, Arab, French, and Spanish invasions, the Berber people have held on to their traditions and culture.

It was past 4:00 a.m. at this time, and we started saying our goodbyes, and ended up being one of the last guests to leave. Fatima Zahra told me that this was actually an early end to the wedding, and usually people don’t leave until 7 a.m…at least in Fes. But Jessie’s dad was off to drive to Casablanca with Yasseen and Mohsen to catch his flight and Sue, Fatima Zahra, and I headed back to the Hotel Majestic. Jessie and Faisal were also to be staying at the Hotel Majestic (a wedding gift from his uncle Abdel Haq) but ran into some problems at the front desk. In Morocco, a man and women cannot share a hotel room with presenting their marriage licence. Despite all of us arriving at 5 a.m., clearly from their wedding, they still insisted on the certificate before letting the very tired bride and groom retire. But it was Abdel Haq to the rescue, who went to Faisal’s mom’s apartment, located the certificate and brought it to them. When I was finally ready for bed, the sun was up and the bustling of the street below our balcony had already begun.

I lay in bed still exhilrated from the nights events, with one thing on my mind…

I love Moroccan weddings!





Faisal and Jessie making their entrance

Fatima Zahra, Jessie showing her henna, and me.

Faisal and Jessie with his parents and aunt Sayeeda.

The Marrakeshi Wedding Music Troop

Faisal and Jessie with her parents.

Jessie, Faisal and me about to eat the first course of thier wedding feast.

The third ensemble.

Faisal, Jessie, their parents and Faisal's sister Farah.

The fourth ensemble: Berber style dress.

Farah, Jessie, Faisal, me, Tom and Sue.

Faisal with Yasseen and Mohsen.

For your viewing pleasure...

I finally got the photos uploaded and figured out how to post them...so here's a few highlights corresponding to the last post:

1. A small side street in the Kasbah des Oudaias district in Rabat.

2. One of the beautiful waterfalls at Ourika in the Atlas Mountains outside of
Marrakesh.

3. Hassan II mosque from a distance in Casablanca. The minaret is the highest in the world at 210m, the mosque itself is said to be large enough to fit the Notre-Dame or St Peters comfortably inside it.

4. Artisans working under the fig tree in a couryard in the old Medina in Rabat.

5. The Kutubia Mosque in Marrakeshm built in the 12th century.

Tourist Time

I traveled 10 hrs by train from Fes to Marrakesh. The city was full of tourists from everywhere you could imagine, and for the first time since I've been here I felt like one too. It was a very different experience, but enjoyable all the same. We took a carriage ride around the city, past the royal palace, through the winding narrow streets of the old medina, around the famous Kutubia Mosque which was built in 1158, and finally through the Square of Infinity. The Square of Infinity is maybe the most famous attaction in Marrakesh, where all the street performers congregate in a see of acrobats, snake charmers, monkeys, and musicians. We returned here a couple nights later at night, and it was even more chaotic then. We took a day trip up into the Atlas Mts to a place called Ourika. It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. Tucked away in lush green mountains is this little community built around natural spring water that gushes out from little spots all over the mountains. There is a beautiful clear river that runs parallel to the main road and it dotted with small, rickety wooden bridges to cross to the other side. Small cafes and vendors are set up on both sides of the river and actually all the way up the mountain as well. We hiked about 30 min. or so to reach the first waterfall site. It was Sunday, and the trail was crowded not only with tourists but also with local people trying to escape the heat, much like how Summerhaven is crowded with Tucsonans in the summer. It was so magical, with an almost tropical feel. Fresh fruits, vibrant flowers, carpets layed out for picnics in the shade...so sureal.

We then traveled to Agadir, the most touristy and wealthy location in Morocco, about 4 hours by bus southwest of Marrakesh. It was a lot like San Diego, but filled with European tourists. The hotel/resort we stayed at, Le Tripoli, was very posh but extremely cold in comparrison to the wonderful and accomadating staff we had at Hotel Ibn Battouta in Marraekesh. We had bought a tangia, which is a dish made only in Marrakesh and famous here. Hanane and Rob told me that it was the one thing I HAD to have while I was there. So after lugging it four hours to Agadir, we devoured it in the hotel room before heading to the beach. The water was absolutly perfect...but it was a bit crowded. Agadir is a very new city, rebuilt after a devasting earthquake in the 60's. For this reason, it really didn't feel like Morocco to me, and I didn't like it much. The next day we were off back to Rabat.

I stayed in the Hotel Majestic with Tom and Sue (Jessie's parents) until the wedding. Faisal took us exploring through Rabat. First we explored the old medina where we found a little courtyard of shops where men were making belgha...traditional Moroccan leather shoes. They were very sweet, working hard under the shade of a 40 year old fig tree, and one man was singing to himself in the most amazing voice. I wish I could have recorded it. Then we went to the Kasbah de Oudaias, an extremely old area where all the houses are white with blue trim and look out into the ocean meeting the river. Very picturesque and lovely. Then we explored the gardens of the Ouidaia, which were so beautiful and full of cats and lovers exscaping the heat. Then we came back to Faisal's home for a traditional Friday lunch of couscous (kuskusu in Moroccan) with all his extended family who had arrived for the wedding. Then we went back out to see the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, which also houses the tomb of his son Hassan II (father of the present King) and his brother, Prince Moulay Adellah. It was a spectacular building with intricate tiles covering ever inch of wall and majestic archway and columns. It is ironic however, that this tomb is so venerated and elaborate, since doing so in Islam is forbidden. It seems though that whereever you are, money can make or break any rule.

I can't wait to tell you all about the wedding. It was the most amazing wedding I have ever seen, and one I will remember always. Until next time, peace be with you.