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Arabesque: A Taste
of Morocco
minaret of The North African kingdom where Mick Jagger partied hard with Agnellis and
koutoubia
mosque, Herms heirs in the late 20th century sizzles anew, luring a new generation of
marrakech
global nomads to captivating contemporary boutiques within timeless souks,
vibrant cultural diversions and some of the continents finest hotels.
cynthia rosenfeld lingers in the cities of Fes and Marrakech

scat stefano/sime
kaos03/sime

guest room at
the riad fs

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W
ith its bejewelled camels and belly danc-
ers, ancient walled cities and vast windswept
deserts, Morocco has long lured foreigners to
the vast continents northern rim with these
first tastes of Africas exoticisms. Enticingly
visible from Spain across the cerulean Straits
of Gibraltar, the kingdom reveals its juxtapo-
sition 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 pleas-
ures of Marrakech.
High in the fabled Atlas Mountains, Fes is
actually three distinct towns. The worlds
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 Moroc-
co as what was patronisingly known as a pro-
tectorate. Lanes barely wider than the mules
that still work them snake through the medi-
na, or walled city, of Old Fes. Thats of course
the most interesting part, but the citys 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
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a vendor
displays his
wares in the
souk. Opposite:
handmade
plates, fes
the medinas 10-kilometre encirclement of
stone walls. Built between the 12th to 15th
centuries, that high enclosure was enough to
keep out invading Turks.
ARTISANS
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 fa-
mous. En route into this walled world, stop to
see the descendents of transplanted Andalu-
sian artisans continuing their ceramic tile tra-
ditions in the Potters Quarter. Most of Fezs
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 car-
ried out with single horsehair brushes to best
absorb the organic pigments. After complet-
ing the genuinely educational tour, why resist
stocking up in the Aladdins Cave-like show-
room brimming with impossibly inexpensive,
dishwasher-safe treasures and staffed by ea-
ger experts in international shipping?
Thick stone walls keep Old Fes pleasantly
cool even on the citys 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 yum-
mier 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 magnifi-
cently intricate wood and tile carvings, some
scat stefano/sime; opposite: perfido eolo/sime
etched with Kufic script, the worlds 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 dow-
ries, and walls appear lined by tactile rain-
bows. At Univers des Herbes, ancient reme-
dies get concocted from the brightly coloured
herbs and spices lined up in jars alongside or-
ganic perfume sticks and natural dyes. Best
known among the stock here is argan oil,
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saffo alessandro/sime

a former riad
serves as a carpet
market, fes

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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 ap-
pealingly earthy scented stuff for skin soften-
ing, hair shining and even dripping some in
while cooking to intensify the flavour.

CARPETS
Although serious collectors insist Persians
are superior, Moroccan carpets have their ad-
mirers. Dar Zaouia is a 14th-century harem-
house-turned-carpet-cooperative, stocked with
Arab and Berber carpets, tribal rugs and
antique kilims. Dapper salesmen in Fes
signature yellow slippers explain how the co-
operative 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 ban-
quettes at Restaurant Asmae for a standard
serving of 16 plates of Moroccan salads, in-
cluding baba ganoush and fried eggplant, fol-
lowed by the flaky pigeon pastilla at this or-
nate eatery that dates back to 1324. Moroccans
traditionally take their meals on padded ban-
quettes 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 Moroccos styl-
ish present with a few fleeting glimpses back
at its fabled past. Not long after its founding
by desert Berbers in the 11th century, Marra-
kech 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

iorio gianni/sime
intricately painted ceilings.
open-air
carpet market Next, leave the crowds behind to explore
in the rif the medinas newest cultural attraction, La
mountains Maison de la Photographie. Opened last year,

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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 deserts stark beauty.

KAFTANS
No one leaves Marrakech empty-handed. Se-
rious shoppers skip the souks and head to a
handful of standout addresses inside the me-
dina. The Australian duo behind Kasbek
Kaftans drives 18 hours across the North Af-
rican desert in search of tribal embroiderers
for their one-of-a-kind kaftans available at
Ayas (11 bis, Derb Jdid Bab Mellah; 212-5-24-
38-34-28) in the ancient Jewish quarter. The
socially conscious young Moroccan owner
works with nearby village women to raise
their standard of living, while creating sim-
ple, 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 closet-
sized 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
medinas narrow confines.
Fashion maven Isabelle Duchet-Annez
combines her French fashion sense with Af-
rican and Indian fabrics at Akbar Delights in
Place Bab Fteuh, off the medinas teeming the souk,
central square Place Jemaa El Fina, where marrakech
fruit-sellers line up alongside snake charm-
ers day into night. The second cinematic in-
stallment 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 embroi-
dered frocks and diamond-encrusted bau-
bles from sultry Brazilian designer Adriana
Bittencourt, who splits her time between the

the duo drives 18 hours

across the desert in
search of tribal
embroiderers for
their one-of-a-kind
kaftans
kaos03/sime

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