Menagerie of life on the streets of Morocco

The rhythm of the music keeps time with the racing of my heart as I soak in the sights and sounds and smells of the cramped medina streets. Drums beat as the call to prayer from the mosque ahead is mixed with the rap music flowing out from a music shop. Hundreds of colors swirl around me as my eyes scan the narrow lanes I pass, and the smell of orange oil mixed with burning incense reaches my nose. I glance through the crowd, in awe of the bustling interactions taking place – bargaining, laughing, crying, learning, and living. I place the viewfinder to my right eye and snap a progression of candid photos, trying to capture all the beauty and life within one moment. It is simply impossible. Human senses are simply not equipped to handle this much living.
Morocco is a country of mystery and oriental intrigue to most Americans. We see Humphrey Bogart wooing Ingrid Bergman while fighting Nazis in Casablanca, picture men in long blue turbans riding camels through the desert like in the film Lawrence of Arabia (which was filmed in Morocco), and flocks of women covered in black headscarves. But do we really know the real Morocco?
This January, for the first time, Whittier College sent a group of students to Morocco for Jan Term. The group, team taught by Gary Libman and Marilyn Gottschall, spent three weeks in the north-east city of Fez, living with Moroccan families, studying colloquial Moroccan Arabic, and discovering what it is to be Moroccan. Although we had taken a course in the fall to make us knowledgeable of the history and culture of Morocco, nothing could have prepared us for the rich culture we were submerged into. Here are the top 10 most interesting things we learned about while in Morocco:
(10) Transportation. Camels are not the normal mode of transportation. Contrary to popular movies, most Moroccans do not ride camels on a daily basis. Morocco is a modern developing country, driving old Mercedes and European-made cars through the city. In the old medina, however, cars do not fit in the narrow streets, so donkeys and motorbikes are seen frequently.
(9) Languages. Most people our group encountered spoke more than two languages! In Morocco, classical Arabic and French are taught in schools from a very young age, because both languages are national languages, and colloquial Arabic (Darija) is spoken at home. When entering into secondary school, students are given the option of more languages, including Spanish and Berber (the native North African language). In my household in Morocco, Classical Arabic, French, Darija, and English were all understood and basically spoken.
(8) Henna. Henna is a type of natural dye that is used to color hair and decorate hands and feet with intricate designs. Only women wear or use henna, usually during festive celebrations such as marriages. More and more it is becoming a tradition of the past, as many younger Moroccan women look towards Europe and stop using traditional henna.
(7) Food. All I can say is bread, bread, and more bread! Every meal is eaten with bread, with tea or coffee. Pork is not eaten in Morocco because it is forbidden in Islam, but Chicken and Beef is common. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, like Europe, and children come home from school to eat with the family. Most meals are eaten off of one mutual plate, with bread being used as a type of utensil, instead of forks. Moroccan tea is served with every meal and most families finish lunch with some type of citrus.
(6) Dress. The styles in Morocco are very westernized and diverse. Most people in the younger generation wear similar clothing to those in Europe and America, with modesty guiding their tastes. It is unusual to see girls in skimpy clothing, but it is not unheard of in some of the larger cities. Headscarves are common, but not mandatory, and many women opt not to wear them. Others pick out colorful scarves and pin them with flashy brooches, adding a western style to the traditional garment. Most men take up the European styles, with “fake” designer jeans being a popular wear as well as French-style barretts.
(5) Music. Music is very popular and diverse in Moroccan culture. Moroccans have adopted much of the Western music, such as Akon and Celine Dion (both extremely popular), but have also stuck to their African roots. At any given cd shop, one can find Western and Moroccan forms of rap, hip hop, rock, and heavy metal, European pop, Chaabi and Arabic dance mixes, recordings of the Qur’an, and Sufi mystical music. Each has their own place in society and music frequents the streets where ever you are.
(4) Hammam. A hammam is a public bath house where Moroccan men and women (at separate times) go to wash off, clean up, and gossip with friends. Most of the group was able to experience the hammam at least once during our trip. There are three rooms – a cold room, a warm room, and a hot room – with benches lining the walls. Water is brought to you as you sit on the benches and, using a cup, you wash and soak in the water and steam that fills the room. People usually stay in for hours and, for women, this is an arena for socializing that they do not usually have out on the streets.
(3) The medina. The old neighborhood of every city in Morocco, the medina is the center of Moroccan life. The medina is usually a neighborhood of narrow, twisty streets, used to confuse the colonizers and tourists alike. Within the medina you will find anything you are looking for from shoes to food to tea pots. Within each medina, there are areas for different types of craftsmanship, usually with a fountain and mosque nearby.
(2) The call to prayer. This was one of my fondest memories of Morocco. The call to prayer is recited from every mosque minaret in Morocco, which is usually about every mile or so away from one another. The call is done five times a day, in accordance with the second Islamic pillar. The verse begins, “Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest. God is the Greatest.)” and ends with “la ilaha illallah (There is no God but Allah.)” The call to prayer is the profession of the first pillar of Islam, which is the profession of the faith.
(1) The people. The best thing about Morocco is its people. Moroccans are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They will go out of their way to help a stranger and treat every person they encounter as their brother. In the public sphere, people may come off as rude and pushy, but really this is just the way to get around. There are no such things as lines, just pushing, yet there I never once saw anyone get angry. Instead, they are kind in almost all aspects of life. These people exemplify what it means to be a good neighbor, whether the neighbor is from another town or another country.

Malika's husband and I dressed up as "Saudis"




Hamman time!


Cameron eating our $1 egg sandwiches and fries in a pretty Medina alley


My Monkey!!!

Photos of Casablanca friends

My favorite photo - Mehdi and I


Zouheir, Cameron, and I


Zouheir, me, Mehdi, Dami, and Amine


Mehdi and Dami


.....because it is funny to see the Kernel in Arabic......