Itto’s Living Faith – The chronicles of a mother on meaningful motherhood in Morocco.

Itto’s Living Faith

Here is a look at why this blog was nominated for the 2011 Bombies.

In Morocco ‘Id el Adha will be tomorrow (unfortunately not today as in Makkah and Europe and elsewhere). So we are fasting today and I still have a lot to prepare such as baking, cleaning and gift-making – you know for Muslims these holidays are like Christmas for Christians, it is the most beautiful and important celebration every year and we remember prophet Abraham (as) and his incredible devotion to God (want to know more about ‘Id? Read here).

To all those who celebrate already today and to everyone else who celebrates tomorrow we wish a very blessed ‘Id , may Allah shower you with His mercy and make these days peaceful, happy and special for you.

To nominate a blog for the Best of Morocco Blogs, just make sure it fits the criteria at this post and then let us know about it

The Moorish Wanderer – The diary of a confused radical in Morocco.

The Moorish Wanderer

Here is a look at why this blog was nominated for the 2011 Bombies.

What would be the impact of a policy that would ensure state neutrality in matters of religious nature? Apart from the deafening clamour of Al Adl and their moderate pals of PJD, nothing much. Apart from their activists’ ranting -which are not that numerous, or shall we say not that influential- there will certainly not be roadblocks, barricades and certainly no civil war over one of the so-called “fundamentals of our country”.

We have to assume beforehand that the monarchy no longer holds extra-constitutional powers from the spiritual title of our monarch -Commander of the Faithful-. It does not necessarily mean its abolition, but whatever powers that can be derived from it and that contradict positive law are no more. Indeed, an executive authority that wields such power is sheer contradiction with the essential axioms of democratic proceedings. In facts, It has to comply with one course of action: either the monarchy keeps the spiritual title but loses any direct authority over everyday politics, anything that can be derived from that title that is, or the Command of Faithful title is to be abolished so that the Monarchy can be a fully-fledged constitutional monarchy with dynastic continuity as the main -if not the sole- source of legitimacy, nothing more. I’ll elaborate later on why the first course is first-best option.

To nominate a blog for the Best of Morocco Blogs, just make sure it fits the criteria at this post and then let us know about it!

Air Arabia offers a no frills flight from Casablanca to Istanbul for just about 750 dirham each way! If you’re a Moroccan national, you don’t even need to have a visa, they stamp you on arrival. Those from the UK, US, Australia, and other countries will need to get a visa upon arrival which ends up costing about $20 U.S.

Once you arrive in Istanbul, you can visit famous sites such as the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya in Sultanahmet and enjoy yourself in a culture that is different from Morocco’s but still familiar enough to make it a great travel destination for both first time travelers and old salts alike.

Our recommendation is to book a room at the Hotel Ayasofya. The owner Gaye Reeves has Moroccan family in Fez and comes to Morocco several times each year to visit. It’s a great place and is close enough to all of the major attractions that you can walk with ease.

So what are you waiting for? Give yourself a post Ramadan treat and visit Istanbul for a weekend or longer! The price is right and the timing is perfect!

For airline tickets go to AirArabia.com
To book a room go to http://ayasofyahotel.com/

Jess Stevens of Culture Vultures Fes is having an exhibition of the unusual and fresh work of…Jess Stephens! The show includes sculpture, art jewelery, painting and other 2D, 3D and electronic marks.

Please note that LIFE SIZE opens on Wednesday 15th of September and runs until the 25th and since we’ve already seen some of Jess’s work, we can tell you that you don’t want to miss this.

As long as we’ve known Jess she has dedicated herself to getting the word out about Moroccan artists, musicians, poets, performers, and crafters. If there was an award for Welsh women who have contributed to the growth and appreciation of the Moroccan art scene, we are sure that His Majesty, the King would bestow it upon her.

Now is a chance to see some of what Jess has been doing with her diverse talents, diverse background, and diverse self! Go, go, go!

Morocco Blogs is proud to be working in concert with Rough Guides to bring you the best Moroccan travel and tourist advice available anywhere. Look forward to more great Morocco travel information in the future from Rough Guides and Morocco Blogs!

Morocco: things not to miss in Marrakesh

For Westerners, Morocco’s perceived foreignness gives it an immediate and enduring
fascination – even though it’s just an hour’s ride on the ferry from Spain. And visiting Marrakesh, or Morocco City as early travellers called it, is a good way of getting a taste of the country. This pleasure city, a marketplace where the southern tribesmen and Berber villagers bring in their goods, spend their money and find entertainment, is packed with things to do. So we’re taking the hassle out of trip planning and bringing you the places not to miss in Marrakesh – taken from The Rough Guide to Morocco and The Rough Guide Marrakesh.

The Majorelle Garden

The Majorelle Garden, or Jardin Bou Saf, is a meticulously planned twelve-acre botanical
garden, created in the 1920s and 1930s by French painter Jacques Majorelle, and now
owned by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. The feeling of tranquillity in the garden is
enhanced by verdant groves of bamboo, dwarf palm and agave, the cactus garden and
the various lily-covered pools. Don’t miss the pavilion – Majorelle’s former studio is now a
museum of Islamic arts exhibiting Saint Laurent’s fine personal collection of North African
carpets, pottery, furniture and doors.

The Koutoubia Mosque

The symbol of Marrakesh, the Koutoubia’s twelfth-century minaret is a dramatic
landmark in the otherwise architecturally sparse Djemaa el Fna square. At nearly seventy
metres high, the minaret is visible for miles on a clear morning and is the oldest and most
complete of the three great Almohad towers. Work on the minaret probably began shortly
after the Almohad conquest of the city, around 1150 – you’ll see in it many of the features
that were to become widespread in Moroccan architecture.

The Bahia

By far the most ambitious and costly of the mansions north of the Mellah was the Bahia
Palace, originally built in 1866–7 for Si Moussa, a former slave who had risen to become
grand vizier. Visitors enter the palace from the west, through an arcaded courtyard which
leads to a small riad (enclosed garden), part of Bou Ahmed’s extension. The riad is decorated
with beautiful carved stucco and cedarwood, with salons leading off it on three sides. The
eastern salon leads through to the council room and then through a vestibule – where it’s
worth pausing to look up at the lovely painted ceiling – to the great courtyard of Si Moussa’s
original palace.

The Djemaa el Fna

There’s nowhere in Morocco like the Djemaa el Fna – no place that so effortlessly
involves you and keeps you coming back for more. You’ll be fascinated by the remedies
of the herb doctors, with their bizarre concoctions spread out before them. Or for a more
traditional entertainment there are performers, too – the square’s acrobats have for years
supplied the European circuses, though they are perhaps never as spectacular as here,
thrust forward into multiple somersaults and contortions in the late afternoon heat.

The contest will run for the entire month of June and the winner will receive 2 nights accommodation at Dar Othmane in the Fes Medina.

It’s a simple contest, just tell us about your favorite Morocco destination. Read all the details of the June Morocco Travel Contest

This entry comes from Charlotte who blogs at Bishaha.

Picture Essaouira: a breezy town where, like in any other seaside village, the heart of the city lies at its outer edge. Imagine a broad ‘corniche’ – a boulevard made for promenading, for seeing and being seen – running alongside a sprawling beach that gives way to sparkling blue water. Just across the road, the visitor finds a long stretch of restaurants and hotels, each decorated with its own take on the white-and-blue theme that dominates this coastal town.

Picture a bend in the road as the corniche curls to the left, heading for the town’s port, and picture the ochre walls of Essaouira’s medina rising up on the right – showing a glimpse of the white-and-blue theme that continues inside these old Portuguese walls. The corniche finally ends on a large square flanked by ramparts, another large stage set up at its far end, across from the bank. On the other end – the seaside end – imagine a few evergreen trees and small kiosks, where merchants grill fish and offer simple meals of sardines and shrimp to hungry tourists. There is no more beach; the water reaches right up to a concrete wall along the sidewalk. Picture a mix of tourists and local families seated on that wall, enjoying the last light of the day, and imagine groups of boys boisterously diving into the water, one after another, their dark, wet skin glistening in the sun. Feel the wind in your hair as you head into the narrow medina streets, and smell the saltiness in the air as it mixes with the smell of grilled fish and other seafood emerging from the restaurants and ‘snacks’ that line the street. Hear the seagulls clucking to one another as they fly overhead.

Picture three tourists – an Arab, a Berber, and a Gawriya – taking a stroll through Essaouira’s port at sundown. Dark blue wooden rowboats have already been anchored for the night, tied to another they are like a flock of ducks on the water, floating safely in a little walled basin close to the medina. Further down, larger fishing boats (likewise blue) have been moored along the single dock that comprises this port. Weathered men with browned faces and worn shirts haul the last fish from their vessels; though large and visibly heavy, they grab the silver, slippery bodies by the gills and carelessly toss them into carts waiting on shore. Along the Portuguese ramparts that protect the dock from the sea, other men – and the occasional woman – sell the day’s catch to passers-by. Sardines, crab, eels, stingrays with leopard-print skin.

The three tourists walk down the dock as it tapers to a narrow tip, braving strong winds and the pungent smell of seagull droppings. When there is no further to go, they climb the steep ramparts, a few meters in height, and stroll back toward the medina. Here and there they stop and look out over the oddly-shaped concrete breakers that prevent the waves from eating up these walls. The two men smoke a cigarette as the woman leans into the wind and watches the sunset.

Picture a scene at Essaouira’s yearly Gnaoua festival – a group of brightly colored musicians up on stage, swaying their heads just so, the tassels on their skullcaps effortlessly circling their head like propellers, dancers bending forwards, backwards, on the rhythm of the music. People from all walks of life seem to have gathered here this evening. You see European women in bright, revealing sundresses, and old jellaba’d men in white skullcaps. You watch dreadlocked tourists making the acquaintance of Moroccan Rastafarians as you are shoved around by overly energetic local teens. There are homeless children who try to sell single packs of tissues for a dirham each, veiled Moroccan mothers who have brought their own plastic stools to the concert, and young Moroccan girls who feel a bit intimidated by these large crowds and the cover they give to boys that are up to no good. You stand there amongst them all and watch them dance, no trace of the distance that usually separates strangers. Temporary friendships are made as Moroccan girls dance hand in hand with Dutch women, and eager local boys copy the dreadlocked Europeans who dance with an air of complete liberation. Look up: the airborne traffic of seagulls is as busy at night as it is by day. Illuminated by the street- and stage lighting, their winged bodies create a beautiful contrast against the black of the night sky.

Picture another sunset – this one on the Scala, the ramparts that protect the medina’s northern flank from the sea. Picture the ochre of the walls, highlighted by the light of the receding sun, contrasting beautifully with the deep blue of the ocean ahead. Watch families promenading up and down the ramparts, taking photographs of their children astride old canons that still stand at the ready between the turrets, keeping a watchful eye over the ocean. You reach a walled circular lookout point and hear gnaoua music, so you climb up the walkway and enter this space. Groups of local boys have gathered here to watch the sunset. They sit high atop the walls, and stand in the openings between the turrets. You spot the source of the music: on the far end, along the wall, a group of young men sits on the ground. One of them has a sintir and plays to the rhythm of the qraqeb, the metal cymbals that really define the gnaoua sound, worked by a few others. On either side of these musicians sits a boy, singing gnaoua melodies. You sit down and let yourself be carried away by the hypnotic tunes, and you look at their clothing – their Nike sneakers and Ed Hardy T-shirts creating an interesting contrast with this ancient-sounding music.

Picture a French-run coffee bar housed in an old stone building beside the medina walls, its large patio separated from the garden beyond by pillars spaced a few meters apart. It is about eleven o’clock at night, and as you walk by you are drawn by its inviting lantern light. You take a seat on one of the tan leather couches sprawled across this space and order hot chocolate. You lean back and listen to the tribal house, played by the DJ there in the corner. You wonder how this place can exude such calm, when the music’s beat reverberates through you at maximum volume. A few daring European tourists move toward the center of the patio and begin to dance – they twist, curl, grind, and shake in perfect harmony with the DJ’s rhythms, their limbs moving so freely, yet in such perfect coordination with one another. When you peel your eyes away from them, you notice that the music has attracted a crowd – a wall of onlookers now encloses the patio. Suddenly, the dance floor fills up, local boys taking over, once again enthusiastically mirroring the wild movements of dance around them. The crowd swells and swells – people on their way to see Cheb Khaled in concert, drawn in by the tribal rhythms just like you were. The crowd swells and swells and swells – and right when it’s at its peak, the dance floor clears out, the DJ winds down his session, and out steps a simply clad man with a large drum. Behind him, four others jump out. They are dressed in simple pants and wife beaters – all in white – and you get excited, because you see “essaouira capoeira” emblazoned on their shirts. And indeed: two by two, the men crouch, do a brief shake of hands, and jump out in a dazzling show of capoeira moves. Limbs are everywhere as they twist and turn in feigned fighting, a back-and-forth in perfect harmony, never touching another, but always keeping that tension alive.

Picture Nass el Ghiwane in performance on the beach. It is close to one AM, and all of Essaouira seems to have come out for this show. Nass El Ghiwane are the Moroccan Beatles, if you will. They sang politically sensitive songs in the 70s, to the great frustration of the late King Hassan II. Though the group is no longer complete (courtesy of a few deaths), their poignant lyrics and use of traditional North African instruments and rhythms has lent them everlasting fame. Their songs are played everywhere and known by everyone – tonight, all generations are present, and all sing along with equal enthusiasm. You dance with the friends you came with and the new ones you made, joining their singing with the few lines that you know. This is the largest crowd you have seen yet at this festival, but the atmosphere is communal, friendly. Once in a while, a wave of running boys stirs the crowd – a new fight has broken out, and excited onlookers chase the brawling pair to the waterside to fight in peace.

And finally, picture the sparkling water, starry night, and perfect music, all of which fill you with a tranquil happiness you hope to hold on for a long time to come.

Zaineb – 16 years old
My favorite Moroccan holiday is Ramadan because it changes our lives for a month every year. In that month we live a different way. Our time schedule changes. We study from 9am to 4 pm. We cook a lot of delicious dishes. We pray a lot, we sleep a little bit but we enjoy doing it. All the families get together. We visit our relatives and a lot of great things like that.

The most important event this month is the fasting. Every day Muslims get up before the al fajr prayer. They eat somethiningand then they stop eating and drinking until the evening call to prayer. Ramadan is a time of reflection and worship of Allah. Muslims make greater efforst to follow the teachings of Islam and to avoid bad things.

Ramadan ends with another great holiday which is Eid al Fitr. So in fact, Ramadan is my TWO favorite holidays in Morocco!

Dounia Age 15

Mother’s Day is celebrated in countries around the world but not always on the same day. In Morocco we cleebrate it on the 2nd Sunday of May but in some countries it is celebrated on the 8th of March which coincides with International Women’s Day.

More important than the date is the feeling behind the celebration. Many people celebrate Mother’s Day in different ways; for example, children prefer to draw cards themselves or to make hand made gifts to show thier respect and affection for their mothers. Grown up children honor their mothers by buying gifts and having family gatherings. Some also thing that it is the right time to aplolgize for all the trouble they’ve given their moms and to let their moms know they are dear to them.

I love my Mom and Mother’s Day.

Salma Age 16

I like L- Fitr best because its the first day when we eat after 30 days of Ramadan fasting. It’s special too since my father visits all of our relatives and my mother cooks a lot of traditional sweets (like kaob gzal, briwat….mmm) It’s an interesting holiday too because it is the only day of the year when I wear my kaftan. It’s also the day when people buy new kaftan’s and djellabas…and parents give money to their kids! It’s a very happy day!!!:)

Hamza 15 Years Old

Eid al-Adha or Eid al-Kabir is one of the most important holidays in Islam. The name is from the Islamic Hadith and means ‘feast of sacrifice. This Eid marks every year the end of the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. It falls on the 10th month of Dhu al Hijjah, the last of the Islamic calendar after the station on Mount Arafa.

This holiday commemorates Ibrahim’s submission to God, symbolized by the episode in which he agreed to sacrifice his son Ismael at the order of God, sending it the last time a sheep through the Archangel Gabriel to replace the child as a sacrificial offering. In memory of this total submission to the God of Ibrahim, the Muslim families sacrifice a sheep or a ram, but sometimes other animals like cows or goats, in the slaying, lying on the left flank and his head turned towarad Mecca, then offer the prayers and the Sermon of the Eid.

Majda 16 years old
Achoura is a famous Moroccan Holiday where children buynew clothes and lots of toys and they play with tambourines and drums. Also families visit each other and cook couscous with six or seven kinds of vegetables. Girls have special habits on this day, they cut their hair and sing songs and give alms. Some families don’t celebrate Achoura because they don’t have children.

(All comments are printed with permission from the students.)

]]> http://moroccoblogs.com/moroccan-holidays-by-moroccan-students/feed/ 0 http://moroccoblogs.com/morocco-travel-contest-entry-1/ http://moroccoblogs.com/morocco-travel-contest-entry-1/#comments Mon, 31 May 2010 07:09:42 +0000 admin http://moroccoblogs.com/?p=800 Below is the first entry for our Morocco Travel Contest.

The contest will run for the entire month of June and the winner will receive 2 nights accommodation at Dar Othmane in the Fes Medina.

It’s a simple contest, just tell us about your favorite Morocco destination. Read all the details of the June Morocco Travel Contest

Oasis in Marrakech

by Rebecca Roberts

From the Djemma al Fna in Marrekech, force your way through the crowds promenading along Rue Prince, take a left into the winding narrow alleys of the medina, turn this way and that, past one backpacker hotel after another, past the mul hanuts selling Danon and toilet paper and egg sandwiches and sugary packaged cookies and American toothpaste and anything else you might need, past the rubble of construction either coming up or going down, and eventually, if you’ve meandered correctly, you come upon the Sindy Sud, one of my favorite places in all Morocco.

Never in my life did I, a middle-aged divorcee from the American Midwest, think I would have a “regular” hotel in Marrakech ~ one where the proprietors not only remember my name but which room I prefer. They indulge my desire to speak my still-fledgling Darija when it would be so much easier to communicate if I gave in to their fluent English. And they never, ever speak French to me. They always ask about my latest Peace Corps project. They always seem genuinely happy that I’ve returned.

It’s a budget hotel, to be sure ~ 60 dirhams (about $7 USD) for a single room, 100 for a double, sinks in the rooms but toilets and showers in the hallway. But it’s a cut above the others in my price range, with its clean sheets and clean floors, its always hot showers and its vibrantly tiled rooms.

And the rooftop! The rooftop is the main reason for my delight in having the Sindy Sud as a halfway point between my organization’s headquarters in Rabat and the dusty southern village where I live and work. Filled with lush green trees and plants clustered around several seating areas, it’s an oasis from the earth-hued, dusty grimy medina below. It is quiet. It is away from the crowds. Fellow travelers may make small talk, but they will never, ever ask you, “Ca va, gazelle?” It’s a serene place to read a book while sipping fresh orange juice, waiting for the call to prayer to rise from the several mosques clustered in the Djemma square.

Many Peace Corps volunteers quickly develop a distaste for Marrakech, especially the Djemma area. The crowds, the cost, the touristiness of it all. Even more, the racism and sexual harassment shown to many of our volunteers is indeed often unbearable.

But I have a routine here I’ve come to enjoy. My bus pulls into the station, I argue with various taxi drivers until one agrees to work the meter instead of charging me three, four, five times the actual price. I dump my bags at the Sindy Sud, peel off my sweat-drenched clothes, shower away the rigors of travel, start up my podcast downloads via the free wifi, and head out to feast on a 20 dirham falafel sandwich with fries. On my return, I make small talk with Hicham or Rachid while they retrieve my room key. I head back up to the roof, now cooled with the sun’s setting, or retire to my room, to the novel concept of clean white sheets, and the distant hum of the crowd.

This is my Marrakech. Not the snake charmers and storytellers and dark bustling souk of the Djemma, not the bus tours or European restaurants and shops of Gueliz. Not even the western-style superstore Marjane, a beacon of light for expats craving curry powder or alcohol or “real” cheese.

Just a small, inexpensive, family-run hotel that feels more like a home away from home than any Holiday Inn Express ever could.

]]> http://moroccoblogs.com/morocco-travel-contest-entry-1/feed/ 1 http://moroccoblogs.com/is-your-blog-the-bomb/ http://moroccoblogs.com/is-your-blog-the-bomb/#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 20:35:50 +0000 admin http://moroccoblogs.com/?p=772
While the Best of Morocco Blog awards are already handed out for 2010, it’s not too early to start thinking about how you can win the coveted BOMBie awards for 2011. Is your blog the bomb?

We will begin taking nominations in November of 2010. Here is what we require for your blog to be submitted.

1) Your blog must have been active in posting about or in Morocco in 2010.
2) Your blog must not be blatantly commercial.
3) Your blog must be family and Morocco friendly.
4) Your blog must be cool.

Okay, that last one is pretty subjective. If you are nominated, even by yourself, and you meet the other criteria, we will put you in the polls.

Let’s look at the other criteria though.

Active posting means that you have at least 12 posts about Morocco or in Morocco in 2010. We know that some of you like to think hard and only publish one article a month. No problem. But you must have at least one for every month. If they are all in October, no problem, but there must be 12 2010 posts.

Blatantly Commercial. We don’t mind if you have a riad or guiding business or if you sell tons of ads in your sidebars, but we do mind if every post is geared towards making a sale. We try to make a few bucks now and then here too, but the vast majority of posts are informational with no agenda but bringing you great information. We like it if your blog is similar.

Family and Morocco friendly. Family friendly means that you can look at your website with our Aunt Khadija. She doesn’t want to see nude pictures or read offensive words on every other line. Morocco friendly means that you aren’t bashing Morocco, Moroccans, or Islam. We don’t want to censor you, but we love Morocco, the Monarchy, and Islam so we simply won’t publicize your blog if you are saying nothing but nasty things. Frankly, it’s just in bad taste. Save that kind of dribble for FOX news.

And that’s it. Pretty easy really. So, is your blog the BOMB? If so, let us know about it so we can review it and let lots of people know what you have to say.

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