Back from a whirlwind journey to Fes, and from a weekend that far exceeded my expectations. Anita and David, my amazing hosts, took care of me the whole entire weekend- they picked me up from the train station, housed me, fed me, showed me around, and invited me into their lives- I felt so incredibly lucky to have met them and share my experience in Fes with these two wonderful people.
Anita and David are a couple from New York who fell in love with Morocco on a visit 5 years ago and decided to buy a dar(an old Moroccan grand home often turned guesthouse) and make it their second home. They come down for about two weeks, twice a year, to fix up the house and relax in the magic that is Morocco. When I called them up last week, they seemed happily surprised to hear from me and offered to let me stay in their home with them- someone they had met once, and briefly at that.
Friday after work I went to the train station to catch the express 6:07 train. At 5:47, I was in the ticket line to buy tickets and in my best French asked to take the 6 o’clock train to Fes. I looked down and the ticket the man had sold me, which turned out to be for the 5:15 train that was still in the station, and he motioned for me to run. I darted my way through to track three and ran onto the train just as it was pulling out of the station.
It was a bad choice. The second class section was overflowing with people, filling up every crevice of the aisleway and potential open space. I was stuck in limbo standing in a full car for the next hour, trying to read by book as people continuously tried to squeeze by, waiting for people to get off at a stop in hopes of getting a seat. Because it was not the express train I had hoped for, it made a million stops and arrived at the train station an hour and a half past my expected TOA.
Anita and David were waiting for me at the train station with smiling faces and whisked me to a taxi back to their place to clean up and get some food. Their house is located in the Medina so the closest way to get there is to be dropped off at the Bab Boujloud (big blue gate) and walk your way through the maze of streets to arrive at their home.
The Fes medina is massive and its labyrinth paths and alleyways make it nearly impossible to navigate without a seasoned local. The streets are narrow and filled with sellers, people passing through in every direction, mules lugging large loads, and push carts that squeeze their way through the mass of chaos. It is beleived that Fes is the largest urban car-free area in the world.
Winding our way to their house, when they opened the door, my mouth dropped. The place was stunning. With cathedral- high ceilings, the house had been fixed up in the traditional style with wall to wall tiles, ornate wood carved ceilings, long flowing curtains, stained glass light fixtures, and berber carpets. I was led up to my room, almost 4 times the size of my DC apartment room, where I found fresh towels they had just bought for me and a little welcome package.
I dropped off my stuff, freshened up and headed out with them to get some dinner. We made our way over to Café Clock, a British-owned notorious ex-pat hang out with good food and easy-going atmosphere. As I dined over a fresh plate of chickpeas, red peppers, and goat cheese, we listened to the sounds of live acoustic Spanish guitar that wafted in through the balcony. We talked about adventures, and religion, and our families, and ended back up at the house drinking wine until 2 in the morning, discussing everything under the sun, or the moon for that matter.
The next morning we woke at 8 and stopped into a little hole in the wall spot to get some coffee (for being a non-coffee drinker myself, Moroccan coffee is quite fresh and rich- and delicious!) and then headed over to their friend David’s dar (another David) to check out his place and say hello. David is a professor who has been living in Morocco for over 12 years, runs the American language institute, and is somewhat of an expert on all things Moroccan, especially pertaining to Fes. David showed us some of his new treasures he had picked up and led us around a section of the medina, updating us on all the local politics and history behind the architecture. We stopped in a café for beverage stop number two, where I sipped orange juice ( I actually am not an orange juice drinker either, but the fresh-squeezed delight that you get in Morocco is unlike any I have ever tasted!) and mint tea. We bid David farewell and headed off into the Medina to do some shopping. I enjoy the experience of meandering around, watching the people, and browsing the different odd and beautiful items people had for sale. I bought several funky necklaces (my weak spot) and took in all of the chaos that is the Fes medina. After a delicious couscous lunch (in more touristy cities you can find couscous for sale every day of the week, not just Fridays) we stopped back at the house for a shower before heading off to see the Sacred Music Festival.
The Sacred Music Festival is an internationally-renowned event, taking place over 10 days, with artists from all over the world. The festival was different then I had envisioned it, as most of the performances were at selected venues with fairly expensive entry fees to get in. We went to the Batha Museum to see an Indian Acrobatic Dance Troup from Orissa who flipped and turned and danced their little hearts out. While we were sitting in the back row, Anita nudged me on the arm and said “Hey you see that guy in the NYC hat over there who keeps looking over this way, he’s famous, I know that guy” I didn’t recognize the guy at all and asked if he was a Moroccan actor and she said that no, he was a famous actor from New York who played the classic “bad Arab” in a lot of movies including Three Kings, Traitor, I heart Huckabees, Vantage Point (none of which I have seen) and that he was checking me out. I had never heard of this guy, so it didn’t really mean much to me, but David and Anita became super excited and transformed into delighted school children wiggling and whispering in their seats. There was a standing section behind us, which David made his way to, and being the extremely friendly guy that he is, made instant friends with Said Taghmaui. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saïd_Taghmaoui)
After the show he introduced us and I still had no idea who this guy was, but shook his hand and smiled and chatted with his camera crew. He was doing some sort show in Fes and wanted to interview David and Anita later this week. They exchanged numbers and David and Anita remained giddy for the rest of the evening.
After the show we headed over to another friend’s dar, which was nearly twice the size, and had been converted into a full on guest house. It was owned by Kate and Alaa, a Norwegian Iraqi couple who had designed and converted the place into a masterpiece. Alaa is an architect and his beautiful craftsmanship can be seen in the way he blends Moroccan decadence with classic European design. (as you can tell I am in LOVE with these grand Moroccan houses) We sat in the courtyard and ate dinner before moving up to the rooftop of Kate and Alaa’s second home for more wine and enjoyable company. We talked and laughed til nearly 3 in the morning before winding our way home through the maze of the medina to get back home.
Sunday morning crept in a bit slower, as two late nights were wearing on us all. We drank coffee and dined on fresh breads and honey, slowing soaking in the Moroccan morning. After breakfast, Anita took me through the spice markets and down to the tanneries to see where they dyed the leather hides. We wandered lost through the streets for hours and came home for a much needed nap. Back at the house, Anita taught me how to quilt and we discussed ambitions of the different craft projects we both wanted to embark on. After a farewell dinner, I took a taxi to the train station. My bad train luck struck again. I bought my tickets and found a seat at around 8:30, for a train that was to leave at 8:50. 10:15 the train finally pulls out of the station, and makes a stop at every little town along the way. At nearly 2 am, I finally arrived back at my apartment, happy to finally be back home.
I can’t thank David and Anita enough for their generosity for taking me into their home and treating me all weekend. It is amazing that people like that exist in the world- but that is also one of the funny things about travelling, the social rules are different on the road and people are more open to meet new people and try new things. If I had met them on the streets of New York, there is no way, less than an hour after meeting, that they would invite me to come stay with them and take me in. It’s the imagined sense of global community, heightened by the vulnerability of the unknowns of a foreign land, that bring people together and are able to show the best (and sometimes the worst) of humanity.
1 comment:
Said has this GREAT scene with Mark Wahlberg in Three Kings. It's one of the most memorable scenes from the movie, I think. After meeting him, you should definitely check it out. I have it at the house. :)
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