Last night in Ifrane

The time has come to bid Morocco and Al-Akhawayn goodbye. I had a very successful stay here, and I am glad I came. Alas, one last stop awaits me, then home...

Here are some of my last pictures from Ifrane and school...


Graduation night, with my professors, Prof. El-Youbi on the left, and Prof. Louati on the right.



Campus this evening, empty as I am one of the last to leave.


Where to now? A sign I pass each time I walk into town from campus.

Fes: The Old City and Market

The imperial city of Fes dates to the end of the 8th century CE. While Marrakesh was lively and crowded, I found that I enjoyed the labyrinth of the winding streets, and the divisions of the souqs: the henna souq, the tannery and leather souq, the silversmiths. Fes is also home to the oldest university in the world, and still is a center for artisans and religious scholars. Amazing...

Marrakesh, Part IV: Djema al-F'naa

For the last installment of my Marrakesh trip, I have included photos of the souq (market) and the large square, Djema al-F'naa.


"Prepare yourself....you're not ready for the heat"

"I just want to buy some gorgeous little things"
"We gave them all the mod-cons"
"She went into the shop with all the old dried up things"

"Down here they are just hanging around on walls....on peasants' walls"
"It's like everything is on-heat"


"If you were starving you would eat this"...."I'd eat it if they took the face off first"
"I think it's fish"



"People keep taking things"..."I had to haggle them up....2000 dirhams!"
"Nothing is for certain...not for any of us....cheers sweetie"

Marrakesh, Part III: Madrasa Ali ben Youssef

This 14th century Qur'anic school was another example of the beautiful medieval architecture in Marrakesh.

Marrakesh, Part II: Palais de la Bahia

One stop we made on Saturday morning was the late 19th century Palais de la Bahia. The tile work and gardens were beautiful, and it was amazing to find this impressive building in the middle of the hectic medina. Some pictures......

From the first courtyard, with pomegranates waiting to ripen in the fall

Inside the residence

Even the floors were intricate

Marrakesh, Part I

A nice bonus of my program here at Al-Akhawayn is that a few trips are included and arranged by the school. This past weekend, we went to Marrakesh. I think I will spread my posts out, as I saw a lot, but today I'll start with the journey down from Ifrane, where the university is, to Marrakesh.

As you drop down out of the Middle Atlas mountains, the terrain flattens and the heat rises. The pine trees and mountains give way to dry rocky landscapes and palms, mixed in among the olive trees and cactus that surround villages.

This was a shot just before entering the city of Marrakesh. The temperature was near 45 Celsius, or around 113 Fahrenheit

As the urban space develops, so too does the traffic, of which a large portion is motorcycles and donkeys.

"It was my turn on the donkey!!!"

As you approach the center of the medina (old city), you will see from some distance the large minaret of the Koutoubia mosque, built in during the reign of the Almohads in the late 1100's. This tower is contemporaneous with the Giralda in Ishbiliyya (Sevilla, Spain), and has many resemblances to that minaret as well.

More to come.....

Faux Wedding

For a dash of culture, the program put on a simulated wedding, with two volunteers from the students here to play the bride ('aroos) and groom ('ariis). They were dressed and hennaed by the professional wedding attendants who took the task very seriously, and the bride's henna was amazing. The groom had a more modest henna--a large dot in the middle of each palm. Being Morocco, mint tea was involved, and it made for a fun break.

Trip to M'diq, Morocco

After a stressful week of school, I took the invitation from a group of friends to head north to the Mediterranean coast for the weekend. The drive was long and hot, and I will say Fes is a difficult place to maneuver a car, but very rewarding. The mountains were stunning, and the beach at M'diq was clean and full of small waves to play in.

Some pictures from the trip.......

a. b. c.
a. a view of the Rif mountains between Chefchaouen and Tetouan

b. our fleet of Romanian-made Dacias (I wouldn't recommend a Dacia as your next car)

c. my friend Marshall (a UW Jackson School MA student) and I showing our Husky pride--Go Dawgz!

d. e. f.

d. the building where our friend Hatim's family has a vacation flat, just a short walk to the beach

e. flowers at dusk

f. the white-washed houses of M'diq

g.

g. view from the beach at dusk facing east towards Tangier; the Spanish enclave of Cueta is only 20km north of this beach, and just across from Gibraltar

Yawm al-Istiqlal

Or Independence Day, in English. Some of the students pushed for a 4th of July BBQ here. They found great watermelons, but kebabs, rice, and Halal hot-dogs are not your typical tastes of America.

As I was walking back to my room to start my night of studying, I walked past the mosque on campus, and the minaret in the setting sun was so pretty, I thought I would put up the picture.

24 Hours in Ifrane

Some pictures from Ifrane, Morocco...


I have settled in, taken my placement test, and am getting ready for classes to start tomorrow. I will be jumping in to an advanced Arabic course with only 2 other students, so I will be challenged and rewarded (Insha'allah) by my efforts.


I was in the town, about 20 minutes walking from campus, for dinner last night. There is a Syrian, named Hassan, in town who cooks some great falafel, shwarma, and hummus, all washed down with hot, sweet mint tea.

I am expecting an interesting few weeks here, so more to follow....