Bslama, Morocco. ¡Hola España!

Bslama, Morocco. ¡Hola España!

¡Hola!

After nearly three fun-filled months in Morocco, we have made our way to Spain. After a great stay in Chefchaouen, we made our way further north to Tangier. Tangier´s history as an international zone is full of intrigue and interesting stories. We visited the American Legation Museum where we read letters to and from George Washington and the Sultan of Morocco, discussing the establishment of a relationship between the two countries. We also explored the kasbah and a museum with photos of Tangier´s fascinating past. Lexi and I were also able to take in a film on the life of Ben Barka, one of Morocco´s most prominent political players post-independence.

From Tangier, we hopped on the ferry to cross the Strait of Gibraltor and ventured on to Cordoba. The Arab influence in Andalucia provides a striking contrast between the European and Moroccan cultures. Churches that were once turned into mosques are now returned to churches, but the cultural and architectural impact of an Arab past lives on.

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Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

So my last post on chefchaouen just got deleted so I am going to re-write a shorter version because we have another appointment to get to, so sorryin advance that it is not as good as it could be! We left Fes on wednesday and traveled to Chefchaouen, a small town amidst the Rif Mountains with a landscape that , apart from the architecture, slightly resembles the hills/countryside of Switzerland. I really enjoyed Chefchaouen and thought it was a charming place,especially with the medina adorned in various shades of blue-a periwinkle wash being the most common painted on the walls and buildings. Our main activity in Chef Chaouen was a visit to a honey making association and a guesthouse that was called the Maison Rurale. We were initially supposed to visit a farm to watch and possibly participate in goat cheese making, but because of the L'Aid holiday this was no longer possible. At the honey association we learned how honey is made from the worker bees collecting the nectar, the transfer process, the box and screen usage, how they extract the honey and much more. I am obsessed with honey, so this visit was expecially exciting for me, which led me to buy one of everything they sold. We then walked up the road to the Maison Rurale where we ate a delicious lunch and learned how to make a fava bean soup/dip. The house grows a lot of its own food in its pretty large garden and hill full of olive trees and maybe others. We made the soup/dip using the old, historic/traditional stone grinder to separate the beans from the shell (we used dried beans). The recipe is pretty easy consisting of the dried beans, garlic, salt, cumin, water and thena little olive oil drizzled in at the end. I love cooking, so this was a fun activity for me. The cold weather has hit morocco so we all have pulled out the hats, gloves and coats, but it actually feels refreshing, so its kind of nice. Unfortunately the weather was rainy for our first two days in Chefchaouen, but cleared up nicely for us our last day. Nevertheless, despite the weather we all had a wonderful visit to Chef Chaouen!


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Meknes

Meknes

So we got back from Meknes yesterday morning and are now back in Fes. We were in Meknes for two days, which I think was the perfect amount of time. I was definitely ready to return to Fes by the end, but also enjoyed my time there. The first day we got there are went to an absolutely fabulous lunch at a family restaurant that was located in their home we believe. It was sooo delicious. We had to wait a while for it, but thats a good sign because it meant it was homemade and fresh! It was well worth the wait and I can safely say everyone had a wonderful meal! Lexi, Katie G, Katie S, and I all got various tagines and Addie got a pastilla, a moroccan dish that comes with out without meat, as well as with veggies, rice, crushed nuts usually...like tagines it really varies, but basically it is all wrapped in a filo pastry like dough and then cooked and sprinked with cinnamon and powdered sugar on top-its definitely a sight to see. We all watched with dazzled eyes as the waitress brought it over and couldn't wait to try a bite. I still dream of my tagine and I think all of us will remember that lunch. After lunch, we visited the Musee Dar Jamai, which is a beautiful palace that once was a residence now turned art museum. It is incredible and magnificant! It is in traditional moroccan dar style except much larger-like a small palace I guess they called it-with the mosaic tile, intricate wood carvings, beautifully painted wood ceilings and just overall incredible. I am totally obsessed and it is someplace I definitely would reccomend someone to visit. After the museum, we all explored the souks and market of Meknes, which were bustling and crowded full with people. It took some serious manouvering and you had to be on your toes if you actually wanted to get anywhere or to avoid getting run over by another person or a cart. After exploring the souks we went had some time to go back to a souk or store we were interested in-so Lexi, Katie and I set off to find some jewelery and sandals that we saw earlier. We then made our way back to the hotel for some down time, then returned to a street cafe for a light dinner.
The next day we ventured by grand taxi to the town of Mouley Idriss which is a holy pilgrimage site. Supposedly if you make 7 pilgrimages to Mouley Idriss it is the equivalent of a pilgrimage to Mecca. We had a great tour guide who showed us around the town and told us all about the history of both the town and Mouley Idriss himself, the first of Morocco's royal family/first king and is said to be a direct decendant of the prophet Muhammed. The tour ended with another delicious lunch that overlooked the rooftops of the town. After lunch, we headed to Volubulis or the roman ruins and walked around there as well as spend a good amount of time sitting on some stone column remnants looking out over the landcape. We then returned to Meknes and had some time to relax after our long dya of walking all about before we headed off to dinner.
We left the next morning to come back to Fes, happy with what we had seen and done in Meknes and excited to return in time for lunch at our homestays!

Posted by Lindsay at 9:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

October 8, 2009

End of Fes Phase I

Hi everyone!

Fes Phase I has officially drawn to a close. We left the Medina at the crack of dawn this morning (okay, maybe 8 a.m. doesn't exactly count as "the crack of dawn") and headed off for the train to Marrakech, where we'll be staying for about a week before beginning our whirlwind adventure in the mountains and deserts of the South.

For all of us, the departure from Fes was a little bittersweet; each of us found that we had bonded with our host families to a surprising degree, and realized that we'll miss chatting with our host siblings about our lives, helping our host mothers cook dinner, and, most of all, eating that home-cooked dinner. It took us a while to get over our initial culture shock, but it was in Fes that we all grew to overcome that boundary, and it was Fes that had come to feel like home to us. At the same time, though, we're all ready for a change, and are all excited about the next phases of our journey; even talking about all the physical geography we'll cover (mountains, deserts, oases, valleys...) makes me excited!

Since yesterday was our last day in Fes, it marked the end of this first period of ISPs (Independent Study Projects). We got to see what each member of the group had been working on over the past few weeks, and the projects were INCREDIBLE. Lindsay performed part of the belly-dancing routine she'd learned--which was SO good, and looked so cool when she did it--and Lexi showed us the 3 pieces of painted wood she'd made, which were unbelievable. Somehow, she had managed to produce these beautiful pieces that looked just as good (if not better) than the wood paintings made by Moroccan professionals. As for me, I'd been pretty sick in Fes, so it was hard for me to devote as much time to an ISP as the rest of my group. But I did get some insight into the Moroccan medical system (which, incidentally, was amazing).

We're all looking forward to the next few days in Marrakech--we took a short stroll around the Medina this evening, and can't wait to see more!

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Arrival in Marrakech

Arrival in Marrakech

The group has started its "southern swing" of Morocco with an arrival this afternoon in Marrakech, "The Rose City." Check back soon for some blog reflections on the end of the first phase of Fes and initial reactions to the electricity of Marrakech.



So as you know we are now in marrakesh and have been for a few days now. I absoluytely love Marrakesh and wish we spent more time here as a whole. Its more of what i expected from morocco-with the souks bustling with traditional morrocan crafts unlike Fes which has a lot more tacky western shops/souk stores. There is everything from jalabas; leather goods; scarves;(i cant find the comma) nuts and dried fruit;to handmade rugs and antiquesè-all made here; by han by local artisans. Its also a uch greener city then Fes and i personally think parts are more beautiful; not to mention the medina streets are wider here and less claustorpheobic here.
So today we visitedr a beautiful weaving place where we saw the men creating fabric on the original old looms-i guess you could stay the old fashioned way. There were also men tending to leather peices while the man next to him stretched and made them into very beautiful and well made shoes. It was fascinating and I know we all enjoyed our visit. They make very well-made. high quality products that are all so beautiful. There were scarves and pashminas in silk and wool; tunnics; jalabas and other clothing; leather bags and shoesas well as sell tons of beautiful fabric.
After lunch we then headed to a local musicians shop and had a drumming lesson using drums that resemlble a small bongo but are the shape of an hourglass or old sand timer thing. It was a lot of fun but our fingers were defniinitely sore after all that tapping and slapping. on the drums. The teacher is a professional drummer and singer and he played with us the entire time- leading us in new beats and rhythmns-as well as showed us a bunch of his special skills and talents on the drum. I had a great time§
Tommorrow morning we hgead off to Assoira to the beach where we will be having some fun in the sun abnd surfing-in shallah.


After five fun-filled days in Marrakech, we are preparing to hop on a bus tomorrow for some time in the beach town of Essouira. The group has really been enjoying exploring a new city and having a wonderful hostess, Gita of Riad Arabesca, to give pointers along the way. We've had several tours of different parts of the medina, seeing everything from a man who turns old bicycle tires into works of art to the spice and medicine markets to exploring ancient palaces. Today, we were even given the opportunity to play dress-up with some of Madame Gita's traditional Moroccan clothing. We looked as though we were ready to waltz into a wedding!

Our time in Marrakech has also allowed us to learn more about Sufism and the complexity of Amazigh (Berber) culture and language. Today, one of our lecturers even gave us an overview of a traditional Moroccan tale that reaffirmed the well known fact that women are far more cunning than men. (Come on, we're a group of five women.) The group had a fantastic drumming lesson this afternoon in which the girls created their own beats and entertained the neighborhood for an hour.



Bright blue skiffs nuzzle Essaouira's 18th century ramparts overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

Al-Jimal have made their way to the charming Atlantic coastal town of Essaouira where they'll spend the next few days. With its own UNESCO World Heritage-minted medina, impressive ramparts, and a mellow vibe attracting artists and musicians, the group will have plenty to absorb at a leisurely, seaside pace. Surfing lessons are on tap for tomorrow in this self-proclaimed "Windsurfing Capital of Africa."
Posted by Alex Safos at 5:17 PM | Permalink

World Distribution of Muslim Population

From the Pew Research Center, the most recent statistics on the world's muslim population are portrayed in a very revealing map. While Morocco possesses the 3rd largest Muslim population in the Arab World (after Egypt and Algeria), its 33 million faithful are but a fraction of Indonesia's, Pakistan's, India's, and Bangladesh's: Global Muslim Population


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Marrakech, Motorcycles and Sufi Chanting

Marrakech, Motorcycles and Sufi Chanting

We're here and getting established with the help of a medina map which we highlight with our routes. Marrakech is both overwhelming in its massive material good industry and calming in its obvious catering to tourists and people like ourselves. We, for the first time since coming to Morocco, are not exceptional here at first glance. But it is hard to describe the calamatous souks and vibrant colors of Marrakech when right now my head is in the sufi world. Yesterday afternoon we had a woman come to talk to us about some of the ins and outs of basic sufism. She herself is writting a book on the femal sufi saints, so naturally our talk drifted in that direction and we had a fantastic discussion. But this evening we had a sufi chanting group come and perform for us. We sat in Riad Arabesca's zelliged courtyard lulled by the ups and downs, ins and outs and shouts and silences of the five sufis chanting for us. They were following a path of only their knowing as first one then another took up the lead, clapping a gentle beat, tapping an almost silent rhythm and singing the praises of Allah. The sufis use this chanting to lull them into a trance-like state enveloping themselves in the music and the pattern of their familiar words. It was amazing as I felt myself calming with the musical sound of the sufi poems. Any tension or worries seemed to ebb and take a place furthur back in the recesses of my mind, what might have seemed pressing and urgent felt feather-light and easily dealt with. It was a period of meditation where silence was not the object, but release in music.
After they finished their chants we sat up near them and asked them as many questions as we could think of, in French. They started at their 'zawia' or gathering house for budding sufis and teachers at the age of seven. They also attended regular school as well as lessons on the Qu'ran. Of the five men chanting one was a high school economics teacher, one a retiree who was volunteering for the religious part of the government inspecting mosques around the country, one was a music teacher, one was a taxi driver and one was an aide to the minister of the interior for Morocco. When we asked how many were in their group they said about 200, and these five came because they were the best. They also have between 100 and 150 women at their zawia, but the women and men don't sing together. Not learning about their backgrounds until after we heard them chant was really interesting, because hearing how they interacted with one and other and how they blended their voices I thought that the pursuit of sufi knowledge through continuing scholarly education and practicing of singing would be their full time job. But they only get together to sing every friday for two hours for prayers when the public can come, and special gatherings like our 'soiree'. It was an amazing experience and I think it is an integral part of Moroccan culture that can only be understood through actual conversations and hearing the chanting.

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Additional Preparation/Packing Advice

Additional Preparation/Packing Advice

1) You don't need to bring an international phone card or cell phone as public use phones are widely available (you pay by the minute and the cost is very affordable)

2) Your group leaders will be carrying a laptop which you can use for blog postings or downloading photos (don't bring your own laptop it will be cumbersome to carry and there are plenty internet cafes which come with computers you can use if you need to send an email or check facebook).

3) We suggest you bring $500- $1000 in "spending money". This will cover your snacks/beverages between meals/gifts/mementos and internet/phone costs. ATM cards work at many locations, but can occasionally not work for mysterious reasons. Do not bring more than $100 cash. Bring a money belt.

Travelers' checks are a great option for India, but inconvenient in Morocco.

4) If you have not booked your ticket yet, contact sue@aviatravel.com and be sure to get on the flight your group will be on!

5) If you have not sent in your final paperwork or tuition balance, please do so immediately (send to our Woodside, NY office).

6) Students going to Morocco will be issued a visa upon arrival. Students going to India should apply for their visas as soon as possible. You can fill out the application on-line but you need to send in your actual passport to the visa agency.

7) If you wear contacts- bring lots of solution, you might want to bring glasses too.

8) We will be meeting for pre-travel orientation the afternoon of the eleventh of September- more info on this coming soon! Both programs depart internationally on Sept 13.

9) If you have any questions you can contact michelle@global-lab.org or alex@global-lab.org or you can reach Michelle or John at 800 984 4522.

10) Keep checking the blog- new information will be going up regularly.

Morocco Semester Overview

Morocco Semester Overview

Each time I go to a place I have not seen before, I hope it will be as different as possible from the places I already know.
–Paul Bowles, author of The Sheltering Sky, desert explorer, Morocco expatriate
A mere 17 miles south of Europe, across the Strait of Gibraltar, a very different experience awaits—an intriguing place of great contrast, color, culture, history, and hospitality: Morocco was the first nation to recognize the United States as an independent nation in 1777. The Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty. Signed by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, it has been in continuous effect since 1783.



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