ArAbEsquE: A TAsTE of Morocco

THE WELL | TRAVEL |
| TRAVEL | THE WELL
Arabesque: A Taste
of Morocco
The North African kingdom where Mick Jagger partied hard with Agnellis and
Hermès heirs in the late 20th century sizzles anew, luring a new generation of
global nomads to captivating contemporary boutiques within timeless souks,
vibrant cultural diversions and some of the continent’s finest hotels.
cynthia rosenfeld lingers in the cities of Fes and Marrakech
320 – Prestige – SEPTEMBER 2010
scatÀ stefano/sime
kaos03/sime
minaret of
koutoubia
mosque,
marrakech
guest room at
the riad fÈs
THE WELL | TRAVEL |
| TRAVEL | THE WELL
a vendor
displays his
wares in the
souk. Opposite:
handmade
plates, fes
the medina’s 10-kilometre encirclement of
stone walls. Built between the 12th to 15th
centuries, that high enclosure was enough to
keep out invading Turks.
W
322 – Prestige – SEPTEMBER 2010
ith its bejewelled camels and belly dancers, ancient walled cities and vast windswept
deserts, Morocco has long lured foreigners to
the vast continent’s northern rim with these
first tastes of Africa’s exoticisms. Enticingly
visible from Spain across the cerulean Straits
of Gibraltar, the kingdom reveals its juxtaposition of medieval and modern to those who
take the time for an in-depth exploration.
Travel first back in time to Fes then dip down
south to indulge in the latest sybaritic pleasures of Marrakech.
High in the fabled Atlas Mountains, Fes is
actually three distinct towns. The world’s
oldest extant medieval city, Old Fes was
founded in 792 AD. New Fes is a relative babe,
established in 1273, while Nouvelle Ville is the
French colonial town that sprung up in the
20th century when France controlled Morocco as what was patronisingly known as a protectorate. Lanes barely wider than the mules
that still work them snake through the medina, or walled city, of Old Fes. That’s of course
the most interesting part, but the city’s most
in-the-know tour guide, Salim Abdellatif,
recommends starting from the top, literally,
by visiting Borj Sud, a fort built by slaves in
the 15th century. From this austere southern
vantage point, one quickly goes dizzy trying
to count the densely packed rooftops within
Around 250,000 people squeeze inside the
medina today, roughly 60 percent engaged in
cottage craft industries such as ceramics,
leather and carpets, for which Fes is rightly famous. En route into this walled world, stop to
see the descendents of transplanted Andalusian artisans continuing their ceramic tile traditions in the Potters’ Quarter. Most of Fez’s
signature blue-and-white pottery gets fired
here, beginning as colourless clay from the sea.
Craftsmen train until they can mould the clay
without measurements. Peek into the painting
studio to watch that painstaking process carried out with single horsehair brushes to best
absorb the organic pigments. After completing the genuinely educational tour, why resist
stocking up in the Aladdin’s Cave-like showroom brimming with impossibly inexpensive,
dishwasher-safe treasures and staffed by eager experts in international shipping?
Thick stone walls keep Old Fes pleasantly
cool even on the city’s hottest days. Toothless
vendors here offer chewy camel meat and
steaming sheep heads, both local specialities.
Instead, sample stacked pyramids of honey
and nut cakes fried in oil called shubakiya, or
fluffy Berber pancakes that taste even yummier laced with sugar. Both go better still
with Moroccan mint tea. Forge on to Medersa
Bou Inania. Built in 1350, this religious school
still functions, with believers coming to pray
while visitors run their hands along magnificently intricate wood and tile carvings, some
etched with Kufic script, the world’s oldest
known calligraphy.
Back in the warren of narrow lanes, watch
out for the thousands of donkey carts that
share these close quarters. Feel your way
through the fabric souk, where even the most
modern brides still come to stock their dowries, and walls appear lined by tactile rainbows. At Univers des Herbes, ancient remedies get concocted from the brightly coloured
herbs and spices lined up in jars alongside organic perfume sticks and natural dyes. Best
known among the stock here is argan oil,
scatÀ stefano/sime; opposite: perfido eolo/sime
ARTISANS
saffo alessandro/sime
THE WELL | TRAVEL |
a former riad
serves as a carpet
market, fes
324 – Prestige – SEPTEMBER 2010
THE WELL | TRAVEL |
dapper salesmen in
yellow slippers
explain that the
finest wool comes
from sheep living high
in the rif mountains
made only in Morocco from seeds spat out by
tree-climbing goats. Locals swear by the appealingly earthy scented stuff for skin softening, hair shining and even dripping some in
while cooking to intensify the flavour.
open-air
carpet market
in the rif
mountains
326 – Prestige – SEPTEMBER 2010
iorio gianni/sime
CARPETS
Although serious collectors insist Persians
are superior, Moroccan carpets have their admirers. Dar Zaouia is a 14th-century haremhouse-turned-carpet-cooperative, stocked with
Arab and Berber carpets, tribal rugs and
antique kilims. Dapper salesmen in Fes’
signature yellow slippers explain how the cooperative works: carpet-weavers produce at
home throughout Morocco, then bring
finished pieces here for sale. Prices are
controlled by the government, they patiently
explain, while holding up a well-worn list of
prices per square metre and educating each
arrival that the finest wool comes from sheep
living high in the surrounding Rif Mountains.
Shopped out, sink onto the plush banquettes at Restaurant Asmae for a standard
serving of 16 plates of Moroccan salads, including baba ganoush and fried eggplant, followed by the flaky pigeon pastilla at this ornate eatery that dates back to 1324. Moroccans
traditionally take their meals on padded banquettes that allow sated diners to stretch out
and sleep, but for overnight accommodations,
check in at Riad Fes, a traditional courtyard
house reinvented as a 17-room inn furnished
throughout with locally sourced antiques.
Next, head south towards Morocco’s stylish present with a few fleeting glimpses back
at its fabled past. Not long after its founding
by desert Berbers in the 11th century, Marrakech was mostly gardens. Today, visitors still
enter that medina by passing the sacred olive
trees of the Agdal Gardens en route to the
19th-century Bahia Palace. Jaws drop on sight
of its ornately carved cedarwood walls and
intricately painted ceilings.
Next, leave the crowds behind to explore
the medina’s newest cultural attraction, La
Maison de la Photographie. Opened last year,
SEPTEMBER 2010 – Prestige – 327
THE WELL | TRAVEL |
| TRAVEL | THE WELL
the three-storey courtyard house holds more
than 1,000 photos of old Morocco from the
19th and early 20th centuries. They include
the first one snapped in the country, in 1862,
as well as haunting images of Berber traders,
Jewish women (because Muslim women
could not be photographed) and young slaves,
many by famous European photographers
drawn to the Moroccan desert’s stark beauty.
KAFTANS
No one leaves Marrakech empty-handed. Serious shoppers skip the souks and head to a
handful of standout addresses inside the medina. The Australian duo behind Kasbek
Kaftans drives 18 hours across the North African desert in search of tribal embroiderers
for their one-of-a-kind kaftans available at
Aya’s (11 bis, Derb Jdid Bab Mellah; 212-5-2438-34-28) in the ancient Jewish quarter. The
socially conscious young Moroccan owner
works with nearby village women to raise
their standard of living, while creating simple, sophisticated frocks and sandals suitable
for the beaches of Koh Samui and St Tropez.
Moroccan carpet scraps are reinvented as
black-tie-worthy evening bags at the closetsized Lalla, conveniently positioned across
from Stephanie Jewels, a bling box filled with
delicate hand-wrought gold pieces as light as
fairy floss. Refuel one flight up at Terrasse des
Epices, a gourmet rooftop escape from the
medina’s narrow confines.
Fashion maven Isabelle Duchet-Annez
combines her French fashion sense with African and Indian fabrics at Akbar Delights in
Place Bab Fteuh, off the medina’s teeming
central square Place Jemaa El Fina, where
fruit-sellers line up alongside snake charmers day into night. The second cinematic installment of Sex and the City was filmed in
front of the festive turquoise door that leads
into KiS, a new, by-appointment-only lifestyle
showroom stocked with ornately embroidered frocks and diamond-encrusted baubles from sultry Brazilian designer Adriana
Bittencourt, who splits her time between the
the souk,
marrakech
kaos03/sime
the duo drives 18 hours
across the desert in
search of tribal
embroiderers for
their one-of-a-kind
kaftans
328 – Prestige – SEPTEMBER 2010
SEPTEMBER 2010 – Prestige – 329