Magic Car(pet) Ride; and The Man with the Yellow Babouche

Written by Paula

Almost daily as we wander the medina alleys we hear at least one vendor shyly say, “Magic carpet, flying carpet – best price?!”  We share with him that our childhood included hearing the stories of Ali Baba, Aladdin and the rest of the 1001 Nights. I ask – “Do you read these stories to your children?” “Oh yes” is always the reply, with a smile and twinkling eyes.

Well, we today we had our first magic car(pet) ride. It all started with an invitation from our calligraphy teacher, Abdullah, to join him for an afternoon stroll through the Jardin Jnan Sbil, a beautiful peaceful garden originally part of the Kings Palace, now open to the public. Our first stop was the bamboo grove, planted, we were told, by ancient calligraphers. It seems bamboo of the right size and texture makes the perfect qalam, or calligraphy pen. Indeed, Abdullah uses the bamboo from this grove to make his own qalams (or whatever is the plural of this Arabic word).

Bamboo Grove in Jardin Jnan Sbil, by and for calligraphers -- and the people of Fez

Entryway to this beautiful park

A noria, a waterwheel that lifts water for irrigation

I sat with this man for a bit; he was pleased to meet an American, and I was thrilled to meet him!

As we were walking through the bamboo forest he casually said, “Have you been to Ifrane, the Switzerland of Morocco?” Well no, not on this trip, was our reply. We actually had been thinking of going in a few days and this seemed fortuitous. He called a friend with a car and soon we were driving into the countryside toward Ifrane. About 10 minutes out of Fez he leaned back and asked – “Have you ever been to the Roman ruins at Volubilis?” Again our response was “well, no” but we knew Volubilis was not directly on the way to Ifrane. “Ok”, said Abdullah, “Let’s make a detour!”

We looked at each other and smiled – wow – we have wanted to go to Volubilis since we first got to Fez and had spent hours researching and discussing transportation options. This seemed like a magical moment, to say the least. (We may have more to say about Volubilis later.)

We made it! Volubilis

Abdullah and Paul (on the right) with ancient Roman mosaic floor

Abdullah and his friend, who drove us all here

Paula and the triumphal arch

The famous stork nest of Volubilis

As the afternoon faded, we thought it was too late to go to Ifrane; however, there was more in store. We arrived at the Swiss chalet town at sunset, and spent the evening strolling the fashionable streets, sipping coffee with the locals. This was not Morocco!  We were transported.

Large home in Ifrane, the Switzerland of Morocco!

Pointy roofs, must be, ah, Ifrane!

The Switzerland of Morocco in Winter
(photo courtesy of  yalalla.com)

The famed lion of Ifrane, carved in stone by a former prisoner

Ifrane at night -- Morocco's national crest: God, King, Country

It was midnight before we got home. All we could do was shake our heads and laugh. What a ride!

Man with the Yellow Babouche

Ever since our first trip to Morocco three years ago, Paul has been fascinated with the yellow babouche (pointy-toed slippers) seen on the feet of many Moroccan men. Not just any color babouche mind you, only yellow. We have learned since then that only men wear these yellow babouche. He didn’t buy a pair on that trip three years ago, and I figured it was time: he’d definitely buy them now. Well, time went on and he kept taking pictures of them (and including them in the blog). We learned there are many qualities of leather (some leather even coming from China), craftsmanship, and a wide range of prices. But still he made no move toward getting a pair.

 I encouraged him to ask a local for help. One of our neighbors is a young man whose family works in the tannery near us. We meet him every day as we come and go. Like most Moroccans, he is friendly and very open, and after about a week he informed us “You are now my family – you are like my parents!” (I thought, Great, at least he didn’t say grandparents.)

It was our last week before leaving Fez for good. Paul went off to explore the tannery (always a hot tourist destination, although I don’t know why – I declined this visit) and ran into Redoine, our new family member. Paul talked to him about how much he would like to buy a good quality pair of babouche and asked him where to get them. After all, his family’s business was leather! Redoine was on it – he knows everyone and said he would find us the best quality and price. We were stoked! Paul gave him his size and Redoine said he would call with the price soon. About an hour later our doorbell rang. It was Redoine. In his hand were the longed-for yellow babouche. “This is a gift for you” he said. There are no words to describe how touched Paul was. No amount of asking could persuade Redoine to accept money for them. Yet another example of the extreme generosity of the Moroccan people.

Paul wears them proudly and will be glad to show them off, if you ask (and probably even if you don’t!). Next, we have to find him a djellabah…

The photo that started it all

The Street That Wasn’t There (or Was it?)

This picture appeared recently in The View from Fez, a website for English-speakers to keep up on what’s happening in the city. The caption was something like “How well do you know Morocco – where was this picture taken?”

Mystery street, from View From Fez

Narrow streets are pretty common in the medinas of Moroccan cities, but bright colors and plants are almost unknown. We puzzled over it for a bit, but had no clue. It’s like nothing we’d ever seen here. Not that we’ve seen everything, but hey, we’ve been around!

The next day the website revealed the answer: the Fez Medina. What?! Admittedly, we haven’t been everywhere in the Fez medina, but we’ve seen a good bit of it. I studied the description and the photo, but couldn’t quite tell where, exactly, it was in Fez.

Saturday morning we were out bright and early (for us) on another Photo Club outing, this time up the mountain just outside of town. And there, as we casually glanced over our shoulders, right across from our butcher’s stall, a spot we’ve passed at least a hundred times, was The Street! It’s as if it only came into existence after we read about it. Would it be there when we came back that afternoon?

Yup, it was there; we got photos to prove it!

Mystery street found! With cats

Looking back up the mystery street

Post Script: We chatted with our butcher buddy about the street (he can see it from his stall). Turns out it was painted only a couple of weeks ago. Whew! We’re not losing our minds after all… although a disappearing street would make for a more interesting story!