Oct 23, 2009 - A busy week!

Salam!!! Its been a while since I last updated! I know that you must be curious all the details of the wedding right? Unfortunately, the morning of the wedding I awoke very early with the unmistakable grumbling deep in the stomach that can only mean one thing when you are living in a developping country. There were 600 guests present all wearing their most beautiful kaftans and looking amazing! There was traditional music playing and people dancing the entire evening! (Think belly dancing for 8 hours!) Waiters in suits distributed more desserts than an army could eat the entire night!!! Now we know why those bakers started working two weeks before the wedding! The bride wore 5 different outfits including the traditional Fesi garment with the enormous heavy headdress and the groom wore three different outfits. ... The groom gave the bride a huge dowry of perfums, shoes, clothes, beautiful gold jewelry and diamonds! Everyone had an amazing time and then slept all through Sunday.Salam!!! Its been a while since I last updated! I know that you must be curious all the details of the wedding right? Unfortunately, the morning of the wedding I awoke very early with the unmistakable grumbling deep in the stomach that can only mean one thing when you are living in a developping country. There were 600 guests present all wearing their most beautiful kaftans and looking amazing! There was traditional music playing and people dancing the entire evening! (Think belly dancing for 8 hours!) Waiters in suits distributed more desserts than an army could eat the entire night!!! Now we know why those bakers started working two weeks before the wedding! The bride wore 5 different outfits including the traditional Fesi garment with the enormous heavy headdress and the groom wore three different outfits. ... The groom gave the bride a huge dowry of perfums, shoes, clothes, beautiful gold jewelry and diamonds! Everyone had an amazing time and then slept all through Sunday....

Oct 16, 2009 - Couscous Friday!

Salam! Its been another busy week of classes here in Fes! Yesterday we had a fascinating lecture on the complicated linguistic situation in Morocco! So there is Classical Arabic which is from the Quran and only used in the Quran so it is a frozen language that no one actually speaks in normal life and that you cannot change because it is sacred. ... Then there is standard modern Arabic which is a standardized modern version of Arabic that all Arabic speaking countries agree on and use for business.Salam! Its been another busy week of classes here in Fes! Yesterday we had a fascinating lecture on the complicated linguistic situation in Morocco! So there is Classical Arabic which is from the Quran and only used in the Quran so it is a frozen language that no one actually speaks in normal life and that you cannot change because it is sacred. ... Then there is standard modern Arabic which is a standardized modern version of Arabic that all Arabic speaking countries agree on and use for business....

Oct 4, 2009 - Msa L Kheer

Msa L Kheer! Good Afternoon! Yesterday our group went on a mini excursion to see the Medina of Meknes and Volubilis.Msa L Kheer! Good Afternoon! Yesterday our group went on a mini excursion to see the Medina of Meknes and Volubilis....

Oct 1, 2009 - Balik Balik!

Salaam w Allekum! I'm in Fes!!! I'm also using a Moroccan computer which has a completely different keyboard so forgive my typos! For example it is very hard to use the period and comma so I probably wont just fyi Let me first tell you a little bit about my host family! They are amazing! I have four siblings! Yeaseen is 6 and very fun! Suhair is 19 and speaks excellent English! Our older sister whos name is really hard and I havent figured out yet is 22 and is getting married on the 17 of October and WERE INVITED TO THE WEDDING!!!!!!!!! I am so excited to get to see a real Moroccan wedding!!! They are supposed to be absolutely amazing!!!! Her fiance is 26 and is also currently living with the family! Our older broter Yunes is 24 and we dont see very much of him We live in a beautiful apartment a block outside of the Medina which is an incredible location! Our family is quite wealthy actually Lets just say that we have a live in cook named Fatima. ... ;) All of this means that at any given time there are at least 6 and as many as 15 people in our house which makes for an exciting environment to say the least!!! On the first night our Moroccan Papa as we call him came to pick us up from school and we met the whole family! The last two days we have had class all day and then hung out with the family at night! We get to help with wedding preparations!!! Yesterday we helped make little hors doeurves!!! We have gotten to know Yeaseen Suhair Fatima and the Aunties the best but everyone is really kind and fun!! Today after class we went to the festival for Mouley Idriss who is a Muslim saint and the founder of Fes so it was a huge gathering in the Medina!! We saw a parade of dancers musicians donkeys camels and of course the bull on its way to be sacrificed in the Mosque!!! The Medina was so incredibly packed with people it was a little insane but incredible energy!! So you're probably curious what balik balik means. ... It means "Watch out! A heavily-laden donkey is barreling down the street towards you and if you don't jump out of the way you will be crushed!!!!" So it's really important!! Donkeys are the only way to carry heavy things in the Medina's narrow streets! Overall I am definitely enjoying Fes so far!!! I hope ...

Oct 1, 2009 - Fes

The imam was early this morning- about 4. After a breakfast of bread jam coffee or very sweet mint tea we walked back down the hill to the bus station and eventually left Chefchouen on a packed bus for Fes. ... At 0900 Drys arrived with an official guide Mizzouzi- a 66 year old randy goat who gave uis the Fes tour of a lifetime. ... Everyone we passed knew him and he knew everyone.The imam was early this morning- about 4. After a breakfast of bread jam coffee or very sweet mint tea we walked back down the hill to the bus station and eventually left Chefchouen on a packed bus for Fes. ... At 0900 Drys arrived with an official guide Mizzouzi- a 66 year old randy goat who gave uis the Fes tour of a lifetime. ... Everyone we passed knew him and he knew everyone....

Sep 27, 2009 - Souriez, Vous Etes a Casablanca

Bonjour! I am in Fez, Morocco! We left for the airport at 7 am on Friday and after a long day of flights (From Istanbul to Madrid and Madrid to Casablanca) I found myself on the continent of Africa! We had to wait in line at passport security for two hours.Bonjour! I am in Fez, Morocco! We left for the airport at 7 am on Friday and after a long day of flights (From Istanbul to Madrid and Madrid to Casablanca) I found myself on the continent of Africa! We had to wait in line at passport security for two hours....

Aug 16, 2009 - Fes, Morocco

Our introduction to the medina in Tangier did not prepare us for Fes. ... The medina in Fes is, according to the guidebook, the oldest living medieval medina in existence. ... Leather processing is an important industry centered in the Fes medina. ...

Aug 13, 2009 - The great train adventure

Our first journey on a Moroccan train has cured Jerri of her "romance with riding the rails".Our first journey on a Moroccan train has cured Jerri of her "romance with riding the rails"....

Jul 23, 2008 - Fes

July 23 2008 This morning we have our first breakfast in Fes. ... Hamead drives us around the outskirts of Fes. ... Fes’s tiles are unique, because the region contains a grey clay instead of the more common red. ... We also went by some reed farms, which are used to make the roofs in Fes. ... As we walked by a pharmacist, Hamead asked if we had been in a pharmacy yet in Fes. ...

Jul 1, 2008 - Meknes - Fes

In the morning we visited Meknes most impressive site, the Granaries. From here we continued to Fes. ...

Jun 18, 2008 - Moroccan medinas and mountains

We spent a few days traveling through the central part of Morocco – over the majestic Tizi nTichka pass in the High Atlas Mountains, lunch in the town of Ouarzazate, through the Valley of the Roses, overnight in Boumalne du Dades in a little inn right on a babbling creek, wading through the natural spring-fed river that cuts through the Todra Gorge, exploring the old kasbahs of Berber villages and then finally on to Fes. ... Fes is the oldest living Islamic city in the world. ... We spent our time in Fes just wandering the medina, eating tagine and soaking up the street life. ...

May 22, 2008 - The Sahara to Fes

a close to 10 hour bus ride from Rissani to Fes. ... It was freezing cold and we arrived at about 530 am in Fes. ... Finally, in true Fes fashion, we got lost in the maze of the old medina. ...