Arrival in Marrakech

Arrival in Marrakech

The group has started its "southern swing" of Morocco with an arrival this afternoon in Marrakech, "The Rose City." Check back soon for some blog reflections on the end of the first phase of Fes and initial reactions to the electricity of Marrakech.



So as you know we are now in marrakesh and have been for a few days now. I absoluytely love Marrakesh and wish we spent more time here as a whole. Its more of what i expected from morocco-with the souks bustling with traditional morrocan crafts unlike Fes which has a lot more tacky western shops/souk stores. There is everything from jalabas; leather goods; scarves;(i cant find the comma) nuts and dried fruit;to handmade rugs and antiquesè-all made here; by han by local artisans. Its also a uch greener city then Fes and i personally think parts are more beautiful; not to mention the medina streets are wider here and less claustorpheobic here.
So today we visitedr a beautiful weaving place where we saw the men creating fabric on the original old looms-i guess you could stay the old fashioned way. There were also men tending to leather peices while the man next to him stretched and made them into very beautiful and well made shoes. It was fascinating and I know we all enjoyed our visit. They make very well-made. high quality products that are all so beautiful. There were scarves and pashminas in silk and wool; tunnics; jalabas and other clothing; leather bags and shoesas well as sell tons of beautiful fabric.
After lunch we then headed to a local musicians shop and had a drumming lesson using drums that resemlble a small bongo but are the shape of an hourglass or old sand timer thing. It was a lot of fun but our fingers were defniinitely sore after all that tapping and slapping. on the drums. The teacher is a professional drummer and singer and he played with us the entire time- leading us in new beats and rhythmns-as well as showed us a bunch of his special skills and talents on the drum. I had a great time§
Tommorrow morning we hgead off to Assoira to the beach where we will be having some fun in the sun abnd surfing-in shallah.


After five fun-filled days in Marrakech, we are preparing to hop on a bus tomorrow for some time in the beach town of Essouira. The group has really been enjoying exploring a new city and having a wonderful hostess, Gita of Riad Arabesca, to give pointers along the way. We've had several tours of different parts of the medina, seeing everything from a man who turns old bicycle tires into works of art to the spice and medicine markets to exploring ancient palaces. Today, we were even given the opportunity to play dress-up with some of Madame Gita's traditional Moroccan clothing. We looked as though we were ready to waltz into a wedding!

Our time in Marrakech has also allowed us to learn more about Sufism and the complexity of Amazigh (Berber) culture and language. Today, one of our lecturers even gave us an overview of a traditional Moroccan tale that reaffirmed the well known fact that women are far more cunning than men. (Come on, we're a group of five women.) The group had a fantastic drumming lesson this afternoon in which the girls created their own beats and entertained the neighborhood for an hour.



Bright blue skiffs nuzzle Essaouira's 18th century ramparts overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

Al-Jimal have made their way to the charming Atlantic coastal town of Essaouira where they'll spend the next few days. With its own UNESCO World Heritage-minted medina, impressive ramparts, and a mellow vibe attracting artists and musicians, the group will have plenty to absorb at a leisurely, seaside pace. Surfing lessons are on tap for tomorrow in this self-proclaimed "Windsurfing Capital of Africa."
Posted by Alex Safos at 5:17 PM | Permalink

World Distribution of Muslim Population

From the Pew Research Center, the most recent statistics on the world's muslim population are portrayed in a very revealing map. While Morocco possesses the 3rd largest Muslim population in the Arab World (after Egypt and Algeria), its 33 million faithful are but a fraction of Indonesia's, Pakistan's, India's, and Bangladesh's: Global Muslim Population


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