This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Dear Visitor,

I’m excited that you will visit my city. It is the fourth largest city in Morocco, but in my opinion it is the nicest.

In Fez, you must have a camera. I think it may be the law for tourists because there are so many beautiful places to visit. You’ll want to take your memories home with you.

When you visit the old medina, you will discover historic monuments and also don’t forget that Fez is surrounded by some simple and beautiful towns. You shouldn’t miss the countryside sight-seeing. You will enjoy it.

The weather in Fez can vary, you will come in summer so you have to know that it’s too hot, but you shouldn’t worry about it because there are many swimming pools and the neighboring cities are less hot.

I suggest you come in Spring since it’s better then than in the other seasons. I promise you that you will never regret visiting Fes.

Zineb
24 years old

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Dear Visitor,

I’m so glad you’re going to visit Fes. Fes is more than just the Spiritual Capital of Morocco, it is our home! It’s a very beautiful city, perhaps the most beautiful in the world.

Fes is filled with museums such as Moulay Idriss, the Batha Museum, and al-Karaouyine. the most amazing place in Fes is the old medina. Fes has the most famous of Moroccan foods such as our couscous, tajines, and harira. You should try them …

The weather in spring is the most delightful and I recommend (of course) that you should bring your camera. Fes is a very nice city. I love it so much and am so happy you want to visit my hometown! I hope you love it too.

Imane
age 17

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Dear Visitor,

I’m so happy that you have decided to visit Fes. It’s the spiritual capital of Morocco and of course it is also a very beautiful city.

In Fez, you will find traditional Moroccan clothes, shops, plus tasty and delicious Moroccan foods like Tajines and the famous Fassi Khiliaa candies.

You absolutely must visit the old medina, The weather is good, sunny in the summer and cold in the winter so you should bring suitable clothing.

In addition, there are many beautiful neighboring cities around Fes such as Sefrou, Immouzir, Sidi Hrazem, Moulay Yacoub, and of course Ifrane.

I promise you won’t regret coming to this exciting and beautiful Moroccan city. Don’t forget your camera. I’m sure you are going to have a wonderful time.

Sincerely,

Hajar, age 25

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Dear Visitor,

I’m excited you are going to visit Fez for the first time. As you probably know, it is the spiritual capital of Morocco. It is full of beautiful places that reflect an ancient lifestyle driven to its maximum. It’s a city of old civilization filled with beautiful monuments, and wonderous crafts.

It’s a city where discovering the ancient medina without a camera is out of the question.

Fez is usually hot so it’s a good idea not to bring long sleeved shirts and to wear shorts. It’s true that there are no beaches but there are many nightclubs.

You will experience elegant architecture and the finest hotels where sky, sea, and blue pools reflect the African sunshine.

You will live privileged moments. Fassi people love music and we open our doors to you so you can hear the magical sounds of the Gnawa masters, Issawa, and our incredible Festival of Spiritual Music which happens every year.

We welcome you!

Ghali
Aged 16

]]> http://moroccoblogs.com/morocco-travel-tips-from-students-at-the-alc-fez-3/feed/ 1 http://moroccoblogs.com/your-favorite-derrija-darija-moroccan-arabic-words/ http://moroccoblogs.com/your-favorite-derrija-darija-moroccan-arabic-words/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:28:50 +0000 admin http://moroccoblogs.com/?p=981 Our last poll was “What is the most useful word in Derrija (Morccan Arabaic)? Here are the results:

Which Darrija word is more useful?

* inshallah (41%)
* hamdilah (19%)
* la (15%)
* bezzaf (7%)
* shweya (7%)
* serfahalik (4%)
* meshkila (4%)
* iyeh (4%)
* barakalaufic (0%)
* falooz (-1%)

For those who don’t know already, here are the meanings of the words. By the way, we’re not sure how falooz got -1% but obviously you guys didn’t think it was very useful.

Inshallah – If God Wills It. This word is extremely useful when you wish to be non-commital in accepting invitations or don’t wish to express an opinion. Mandatory when talking about the future.

Hamdullah- roughly equivalent to “Praise the Lord”, can be said after any amazing, interesting, or not understood remark

La – No.

Bezzaf – A lot or a bunch, for instance if you ate a lot for lunch and want to turn down a meal “La, ana kla bezzaf.”

Shweya – A little. For example, Kan Eiyan Sweeya. I’m a little tired.

Serfahalic- Get away from me. Useful with touts and beggars.

Meshkila – Problem. For example: Mushi meshkila. No Problem.

Iyeh – Yes. Highly underrated in our opinion.

Berakalaufic – Blessings upon you. Shows high respect.

Falooz- Money, cash, dirhams.

Our latest poll asks you about Moroccan Beauty. (on the right sidebar)

]]> http://moroccoblogs.com/your-favorite-derrija-darija-moroccan-arabic-words/feed/ 2 http://moroccoblogs.com/marko-in-morocco/ http://moroccoblogs.com/marko-in-morocco/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:48:40 +0000 admin http://moroccoblogs.com/?p=274 Marko in Morocco is not (as far as I can tell) a Peace Corps Volunteer blog. Instead it is a blog by a 2008-2009 Fulbright Fellow in Morocco.It has not been updated as of this post since September of ’09, but this essay by Marko is one of the better that we’ve read lately.

Speaking Darija with Ambassadors and Policemen

When I first recognized the power of Moroccan Arabic (also known as Darija), I was still incapable of saying more than 5 words of it. I was working as an intern for the House Committee on International Relations on the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Nonproliferation. I had just finished a semester studying in Morocco and was only a week into my Archer Fellowship, in the fall of 2006. I had bumbled my way through language classes and a friendly homestay in Rabat, but in reality my knowledge of the language and culture of Morocco was still very nascent.

And then, a week after arriving in DC, I was summoned to meet a coalition from the office of the Moroccan Ambassador to the US. From my tiny office of three, way out in the neglected Ford Building, we heard that the chairman of our little subcommittee was about to have an impromptu meeting with the leaders of a Moroccan political wing dealing with the Western Sahara. Somehow, with my extremely limited knowledge of the country and its dynamic political atmosphere, I was pegged as the resident expert on this sensitive and complicated issue. I was asked to attend the private meeting and to receive the Ambassador and his colleagues.

When I greeted the bevy of thirteen in their native tongue, they were more than delighted to hear the familiar tones of their dialect ringing through Rayburn’s cool halls. Although I could say little more than “How are you” and “Welcome to the office”, the change in their sentiments was palpable. I realized that simply using Darija instead of English of French made them take my welcome to heart. No major strides were made during the meeting, but I felt like everyone was put at ease and, at the very least, the Moroccan representatives came out feeling amused and intrigued by the surprising phrases coming from the new intern. What if I had known more Darija and could have really conversed with these people?

Now, after a year living in Rabat as a Fulbright Fellow, that day on the Hill seems anecdotal and far away. I’m conversant in Darija and Moroccan issues to a degree I couldn’t imagine back in 2006. But that brief event helped to shape my motivation in a way I couldn’t pinpoint at the time. It made clear to me just how influential my time abroad could be later in my career.

My Archer experiences inspired me to pursue a little-known and narrowly used language that is very dear to my hear. Moroccan Darija is unlike any other form of Arabic. Moroccans can understand people from all over the Middle East and North Africa, but the rest of the Arab world rarely understands Moroccans unless they speak in the formal manifestation (classical Arabic, called Fus’ha). Particularly as a foreigner, it makes an enormous impact that I speak the local language instead of French or Fus’ha. Within the strict hierarchy of languages in Morocco, it is almost inconceivable that a native English-speaker would take the time and effort to learn the “dirty” language of the streets instead of operating in French. But everyone loves that I speak Darija.

One of my interactions that exemplifies this phenomenon was with Said the policeman. I was in a rental car with some visitors from Dallas, and we didn’t exactly know our route. We made a couple wrong turns and were looking for signs when a very stern looking police officer flagged us down, blowing his whistle adamently, and instructed us to pull over. He approached the window and I greeted him before he started his tirade in French. I responded in French, politely explaining that the driver couldn’t understand, and I asked him if he wouldn’t mind conversing with me instead. He agreed, and continued on his rant about our double infraction and the large sums of money would have to forfeit. At this point, I turned to the irate man in uniform and I asked him in Darija if he wouldn’t mind speaking with me in Arabic, claiming not to understand French very well. The tone and color of his eyes changed immediately and he warmed to me completely, in a single instant. We chatted about where I was from, how I learned Darija, and in the end Said told us that we were always welcome in his city. He advised us on the best route to our destination and even leapt over a median to stop traffic and assist us in making an illegal u-turn to continue on our way.

I can’t help but wonder what kind of exceptions and u-turns we can make in other international interactions just by showing that we’ve made the effort to connect with the other person’s culture. I think back to that day in Rayburn and wonder: if my two phrases of Darija at the time could set that coalition at ease, how would they have responded if I could have had a full conversation with them? More importantly, I’m inspired to posit that peace and stability, at the most elementary level, stem not from grandiose theories and convoluted formulas but from the individual efforts made to understand and connect with other people. Very basic yet symbolic endeavors- like choosing to speak the language of the people rather than the language of the powerful- can make a major difference on the world stage.

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