It's been quite an experiential weekend here in Fes.
My homestay roommate and I got to experience a traditional Moroccan hammam or bath. Conveniently located almost directly below our host family's apartment, and for the low price of 37 dirhams apiece we were promised a cleansing, relaxing and rejuvenating experience. This hammam, the hammam ziat, was probably built a few hundred years ago and certainly looked it. Descending the narrow winding stairs, we entered a changing room lit by dim flourescent lights where we stripped down to our underwear, before entering the bathing room. Sitting on an ancient tile floor we were handed bucket after bucket of steaming hot water with which to rinse ourselves. This lasted only a few minutes after which the hammam attendant motioned for us to lie on the floor for a rub down with a mysterious brown grease. This was followed by an extensive "massage" session in which I was less massaged and more twisted, streched and realigned by our faithful attendant. Having had every joint in my body prodded, pulled and popped, our attendant proceeded to the next stage which entailed vigourously rubbing every surface of my body with what felt like sandpaper. It's difficult to describe what goes through your mind lying next to naked on a dirty tile floor in a dim, subterranean, steaming hot room while a strange man speaking a foreign language literally scrapes off the top layer of your skin. All in all the hammam did actually deliver, I left feeling cleansed, rejuvenated, lightheaded from the heat and richer for the experience.
Another personal first for me has been fasting for Ramadan. I got up at 3:30 this morning to join my host family for iftar, the pre-sunrise dinner, which consisted of homemade yogurt, a soft cheese, jam, nutella, eggs and bread. So far fasting has gone well although it has made concentrating in class a tad bit harder.
The final first of this post gets a little grittier so those of you with daintier constitutions may want to skim over this last portion. I have had my first encounter with foreign gastrointestinal parasites and the experience has not been beneficial. There is something deep and poignant about the moment when look down into the hole you are squatting over and notice that, yes, indeed, you are defecating your own blood. Perhaps it is the full realization of your own individual humanity, or a reminder of your own physicality. Anyway, stay posted for other details of my bowel activity.
In case anyone had forgotten today also happens to be the end of my teenage years. It is my birthday and perhaps there was a larger meaning in the fact that I ended my second decade of existence evacuating my own essence. I, for one plan to ruminate on such while continuing my daylong fast.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
I'm sitting the courtyard of a villa in the ville nouvelle of Fes. As part of our orientation we're taking classes in derija or Moroccan Colloquial Arabic at the Arabic Language Institute of Fes (ALIF) which is housed in a converted villa. Alif is a 10-15 minute taxi ride away from our homestay which is in the Medina of Fes.
The Medina of Fes is an amazing place. It's right out of the middle ages with winding streets, high buildings and arched Moorish doorways. Since its Ramadan, the Medina is fairly sleepy throughout the day, empty during the breaking of the fast (around 6:30) and then comes alive from around 8:30 until midnight. The Medina contains more than 200 mosques, medersas (schools), fountains and hammams (traditional baths.) The large number of Mosques in the Medina adds a particular flavor to Ramadan. One cannot ignore or mistake the setting of the sun each evening, as the call to prayer (which signals the ftour or fast-breaking) is blasted from every minaret of the Medina and often accompanied by fireworks, whistles bells and general noisemaking.
The Medina is the spiritual and historical heart of the city as well as a major center for commerce. Walking down the winding cobbled streets of the Medina is not a spectator sport; the flows of people going about their business are like a stream in which your every step and movement is taken with a heightened awareness of your surroundings. This experience is only heightened by the high walls of the buildings along the streets which can widen and and narrow at a moments notice. On top of this the streets are lined with stalls crammed full of everything ranging from traditional rugs, djellabas, teapots and souvenirs to Gucci knock-offs, Qurans and foods of every sort and description. Every turn brings new sights sounds and, above all, smells.
As you may imagine, life in the Medina is an experience unto itself. During Ramadan, the busiest hours of the day are from 8:30 to midnight, but since many Moroccans choose to stay up all night for the iftar the "dinner" which occurs before sunrise during Ramadan, you will often hear shout yells, singing and music until early in the morning. It is not uncommon for us to hear children playing, cats fighting or motorcycles roaring past as we are going to bed. Although this may sound unpleasant, one need only wait a few minutes after which the noise blends into the background and simply becomes part of life in the Medina during Ramadan.
The Medina of Fes is an amazing place. It's right out of the middle ages with winding streets, high buildings and arched Moorish doorways. Since its Ramadan, the Medina is fairly sleepy throughout the day, empty during the breaking of the fast (around 6:30) and then comes alive from around 8:30 until midnight. The Medina contains more than 200 mosques, medersas (schools), fountains and hammams (traditional baths.) The large number of Mosques in the Medina adds a particular flavor to Ramadan. One cannot ignore or mistake the setting of the sun each evening, as the call to prayer (which signals the ftour or fast-breaking) is blasted from every minaret of the Medina and often accompanied by fireworks, whistles bells and general noisemaking.
The Medina is the spiritual and historical heart of the city as well as a major center for commerce. Walking down the winding cobbled streets of the Medina is not a spectator sport; the flows of people going about their business are like a stream in which your every step and movement is taken with a heightened awareness of your surroundings. This experience is only heightened by the high walls of the buildings along the streets which can widen and and narrow at a moments notice. On top of this the streets are lined with stalls crammed full of everything ranging from traditional rugs, djellabas, teapots and souvenirs to Gucci knock-offs, Qurans and foods of every sort and description. Every turn brings new sights sounds and, above all, smells.
As you may imagine, life in the Medina is an experience unto itself. During Ramadan, the busiest hours of the day are from 8:30 to midnight, but since many Moroccans choose to stay up all night for the iftar the "dinner" which occurs before sunrise during Ramadan, you will often hear shout yells, singing and music until early in the morning. It is not uncommon for us to hear children playing, cats fighting or motorcycles roaring past as we are going to bed. Although this may sound unpleasant, one need only wait a few minutes after which the noise blends into the background and simply becomes part of life in the Medina during Ramadan.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Early Days
Well folks, I'm in Morocco.
After a long day of flying from BWI to Madrid and then Casablanca I have arrived. From there my fellow IES participants and I took a bus to our hotel in Rabat, located on the wide, well-populated and scenic Rue Mohammed V. After shopping around for cell phones and operating ATM's we were treated to a walking tour of Rabat as well as a visit to the local Marjane, Morocco's answer to Wal-Mart. Because of Ramadan, many of the local markets, restaurants and shops are closed so for the next month Marjane may be a constant stop. We had a picnic dinner on the river boardwalk of Rabat, conveniently as the rest of the city was breaking their fast, with fireworks ululations and the call to prayer. The past few days we have been visiting local sights in Rabat, such as the ornate and gigantic mausoleum of Kings Mohammed V and Hassan II, as well as being introduced to the local culture with an opulent couscous lunch at a host family's house in the Medina or old city. (A little awkward as none of them could eat.)
We are now in Fes, resting up in a hotel before we join our host families tomorrow. Again, because of Ramadan, the daily schedule of the entire country has changed. In the cities, people go to work around 9 or 10 in the morning, and leave around 3. Shops close around 4 and people return home to nap before breaking the fast at sundown around 7. At around 8:30 all of the shops, cafes and restaurants reopen and entire families come out to sit, walk, eat, shop and socialize until around midnight. After a short sleep many people reawaken about 4 am and eat a large meal before sunrise, which holds them through the day. As such, must of the life of the city occurs between 8:30 and midnight, and is the best time to sit in a cafe and enjoy a sugary mint tea.
Unfortunately, I have misplaced the cord which connects my camera to my computer so I cannot share pictures right now. Look for those as well as more posts (once I find reliable internet) in the next few days.
Until then,
Toshiro Baum
After a long day of flying from BWI to Madrid and then Casablanca I have arrived. From there my fellow IES participants and I took a bus to our hotel in Rabat, located on the wide, well-populated and scenic Rue Mohammed V. After shopping around for cell phones and operating ATM's we were treated to a walking tour of Rabat as well as a visit to the local Marjane, Morocco's answer to Wal-Mart. Because of Ramadan, many of the local markets, restaurants and shops are closed so for the next month Marjane may be a constant stop. We had a picnic dinner on the river boardwalk of Rabat, conveniently as the rest of the city was breaking their fast, with fireworks ululations and the call to prayer. The past few days we have been visiting local sights in Rabat, such as the ornate and gigantic mausoleum of Kings Mohammed V and Hassan II, as well as being introduced to the local culture with an opulent couscous lunch at a host family's house in the Medina or old city. (A little awkward as none of them could eat.)
We are now in Fes, resting up in a hotel before we join our host families tomorrow. Again, because of Ramadan, the daily schedule of the entire country has changed. In the cities, people go to work around 9 or 10 in the morning, and leave around 3. Shops close around 4 and people return home to nap before breaking the fast at sundown around 7. At around 8:30 all of the shops, cafes and restaurants reopen and entire families come out to sit, walk, eat, shop and socialize until around midnight. After a short sleep many people reawaken about 4 am and eat a large meal before sunrise, which holds them through the day. As such, must of the life of the city occurs between 8:30 and midnight, and is the best time to sit in a cafe and enjoy a sugary mint tea.
Unfortunately, I have misplaced the cord which connects my camera to my computer so I cannot share pictures right now. Look for those as well as more posts (once I find reliable internet) in the next few days.
Until then,
Toshiro Baum
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