Fes for Thanksgiving

Bonjour,

So after spending Halloween in Fes with family, it seemed only natural to return to Fes with our friends, Sarah and Lucy, for a Moroccan-style Thanksgiving.

We celebrated with an elegant dinner at our riad, with our equally elegant children.

As I have written before, one of my favorite things about Fes is the call to prayer at sunset, echoing throughout the medina. I'm going to try to post here a short recording (by Anna) of it, although a recording can't do it justice.



To make it in time for the prayer, Sarah and I had to fly (well, walk and run in our heels/boots, presumably unnoticed by the Moroccans -- except that they were all staring at us) from the old Jewish quarter (the Mellah) to our riad. We covered a good 40-minute distance in about half that, and the call to prayer was just starting as we raced up the stairs of the riad to the terrace.

Here are a couple shots from the old synagogue in the Mellah, and one from the terrace, overlooking the old Jewish cemetary. (Some Jewish families remain in Morocco and still attend services at the synagogue, but most families left after the French protectorate ended in 1956).

And for those of you who have been wondering why I get so excited about Fes and all of the shopping opportunities it offers, here are a few more images of one of my favorite cities in Morocco (yes, I know I have a lot of favorite cities) and the beautiful stuff I like to buy there.

Some shops.

Some sites (sights?) (see also tanneries picture at top).

And even some tired animals.

Finally, I leave you with some exciting news. While in Fes, Bob underwent a bit of a transformation: He was bathed (scrubbed thoroughly in a hammam and then contorted by the attendant into lots of fun positions. You'll have to ask him about that in person, since he seems too traumatized to write about it himself), he was shorn (shortest haircut ever), and he was clothed (in his new jellaba).

Here's the old, dirty, hairy Bob (with Tommy).

Now, introducing the new Bob (you should have heard the kids shriek when he pulled off his hood).


He looks rather grim, doesn't he? Or maybe a bit like Obi-Wan Kenobi? Or maybe he just doesn't like the direction this blog post is taking.


A bientot,

Kim

Casa Cool

Bonjour,

Casablanca is often compared to New York, while Rabat is compared to Washington, D.C. But unlike the Big Apple, Casa doesn't seem to attract many tourists.

We have been no exception: We didn't get to Casa for a long time, except for brief visits while in transit. But over the last couple of weeks, we've finally made a few trips to this city of four million, located about an hour from Rabat. And we've found it's much cooler (and, frankly, cleaner -- at least where we've been) than expected.

We discovered that, as advertised, Casa really does have upscale galleries with good modern art for sale. Below, the Matisse Gallery, which features art by well-known Moroccan artists like Nouredine Diafallah.

There are also interesting sites to see, like the Mosquee Hassan II. The mosque, exceeded in size only by the mosque at Mecca, was built in 1993 and is still controversial among some who weren't too happy to pay the $750,000,000 in taxes needed to build it.

The tower is more than 600 feet high, and the tallest structure in Morocco. And the mosque itself can seat 25,000 people, with 80,000 more in the courtyard (see below and photo at top).

Unusually, the mosque is open to non-Muslims who want to visit and view the work of the 2500 people needed to construct it.

And you can visit the 18th century fort with an underwhelming museum but a good restaurant (Maure at La Sqala) in a leafy garden, and, importantly for Tommy, some old cannons. At Maure, Bob and Anna sampled the Moroccan Jewish chef's newest creation -- based upon his mother's recipe -- and talked at length with the chef about the spices used.

While on the subject of food, Casa has a reputation for having a cosmopolitan restaurant scene, with places like the 1930s-style Rouget de L'Isle, where Bob and I had, perhaps, our best meal out in Morocco.

Naturally enough, you see lots of businesses, but many are located on spacious, palm-lined boulevards that remind us of Southern California.

And, despite a line in the movie Casablanca about the city being situated in the desert, there's also the beach, including right by our friends' house.

Here's Anna, Tommy and Lucy on the beach, shortly after Lucy and Sarah arrived in Morocco last week (and with a rather large dog that Tommy "adopted").

Despite their jet lag, here's Sarah and Lucy looking pretty awake.

One thing we haven't checked out in Casa? The hip nightlife scene.

And, alas, time is running out... it's definitely looking as if Bob won't be dancing at a cool Casa nightclub this year...

A bientot,

Kim

The Peace Place... in Marrakesh

Bonjour,

After leaving Oualidia, we headed to Marrakesh. En route, we decided we might want to start looking for a place to stay...good thing too, as it quickly became clear that many places were either closed or full because of the holiday weekend (Aid al Kabir).

And while the Marrakesh medina is fabulous, it's also pretty zany, so this time, we thought we'd try something new...

We ended up at Les Deux Tours, located in the Palmeraie, a leafy area about 15-minutes drive from the medina. This place was a huge hit with Anna and Tommy. While "peaceful" is not usually a word associated with Marrakesh, it fits here (at least until the KBATs showed up).

It had turtles and turtle ponds.

It had frogs.

It had tree swings.

It had a comfy hammock.

It had a heated (rare here) pool in an Andulusian-style garden.

It has airy bedrooms.

(Just kidding. It's just one of the resting areas or something in the garden).

It has good courtyards for studying Arabic.

And it even had convenient local transportation.

(Again just kidding, although these nice fellows were parked right outside the gate).

The next morning, we headed into the Ville Nouvelle for some very successful art shopping, because, as heaven knows, we need more stuff to have to get back to the States.

Then it was off to Casablanca to pick up Sarah & Lucy!

A bientot,

Kim

Everybody's Gone Surfin'

Bonjour,

First it was Bob. Then it was Anna.

Now everybody’s learning how.

We just spent a few days south of Casablanca in Oualidia (famous here for its fresh oysters and surfing), where we took surfing lessons.

Anna first got the bug last month after she went to surfing camp for four days with her class. And Bob had already had several lessons (well at least three of them anyway) in Skirhat (just outside of Rabat).

And now Tommy and I have gotten in on the action. And we’re not terrible at all -- everybody was up and cruising the waves. But when asked who was the best surfer in the family, this is how my family ranked themselves.

What do you do in Oualidia when you aren't surfing?

When not surfing the giant waves (or, in our case, somewhat smaller waves), you can always go out and make rather creative sandcastles, using nice bits of trash, like old feathers, beer bottles and broken chunks of concrete that you can't quite move.

Or you can enjoy the view from the nice apartment, while you read a good book.


Or you can walk along the beach.

But after a few days in Oualidia, we were feeling too relaxed, so we headed off to frenetic Marrakesh for some serious art shopping...

A bientot,

Kim (truly the best surfer in the family)