Once you see a Moroccan zillij masterpiece, you can spot the style anywhere. It is an art form that has been practiced for a thousand years. It is a unique specialization of Morocco and continues to thrive in Moroccan society within a contemporary creative framework.
In Hay Riad, Rabat, there is a street that has new government buildings, including the wedge-shaped Institute for Amizigh Culture. At the end of this street is a gateway, an arched transition. I cannot read the Arabic mixed with the geometric ornament on the gate’s façade. But I know what the doorway represents. It calls attention to the action of coming and going, one and two, moving between the square (worldly) and circular (perfect).
Riad 20 Jasmins is the reason why I skipped half of the Morocco Business Forum. I left the conference early on the second day to take a much needed nap. My room, the smallest and, ahem, least expensive room in the house, was towards the front of the building. I could hear medina life at all hours of the day and most of the night. People watching was off limits. My room’s window was above the alley, so all I could see was the small garden where black birds made a ruckus in the morning just after the morning call to prayer. Instead of napping I enjoyed the quiet of the riad when all other guests exhausted themselves with tours of the medina. I essentially had the salon to myself, wireless Internet access, and excellent examples of zillige tesselations, borders, and stars to contemplate.
I visited a Moroccan home goods boutique in Agdal that specializes in quality home accessories and gifts. It was hard to chose from the colorful candles, glassware, table linens, art, tapestries, and little gift items with a toddler in tow. I bought a few pens and hair sticks. I asked the shop keeper if they considered exporting their products to the United States. She said that quality control is a problem “you have to look at everything.”
And God fashioned man out of clay, like pottery…
I had a chance to observe artisans creating pottery and mosaics at a ceramics factory in Fes. You can see products and request estimates through the factory’s website at www.artnaji.net. The site also has information on the production process. If you click on the photo above, you can view my flickr photostream, which has more photos of the factory.
Tonight the Bou Regreg hosted Los Van Van as part of day three of Mawazine’s festivities. The redeveloped waterfront space is perfect for large outdoor events. The crowds near the stage included boys who built themselves into pyramids and fell roughly on top of each other. Their fractures and bruises would be wells of pride in the coming week. Someone waved the Cuban flag and the stage was decorated with a light display of Che Guvera’s face. Every time the musicians said “Morocco” the crowd would roar, understanding them selves to be an important part of the event. A bit farther back, a group of women played a Moroccan song on a small radio and watched a toddler dance. Further downstream from the stage, families wandered the renovated pedestrian walk ways. Street vendors sold fruit and kefta cooked on small grills. Families enjoyed a small dinner away from the crowds but well within reach of the music.
At the Ziggy Marley performance on Saturday May 17, night two of Morocco’s 2008 Mawazine festival, I wouldn’t risk having my camera’s flash disturb the scene. In my over ten-years of traveling to Morocco, I’d never seen a diverse cross section of Moroccan society enjoying the same social event.
In the medina you can occasionally find haute couture labels mixed-in with traditional handicraft products. But there is something wrong with the design: the leather smells, the lining is missing, the tailoring is skewed. These are the products that didn’t make it past quality control. Would-be exporters and designers who want to take advantage of Morocco’s surplus of world-famous artisan talent will have to face the issue of quality control again, again, and again.
My guide tells me that the color of Fes is blue, but I say its grey. The color of Fes is grey like the clay used to make Fasi pottery and tiles; the grey of pollution and plaster work; it is the grey of the crumbling medina walls. It is a particular shade of grey that is more a complex taupe than a simple mixture of black and white. The color of Fes is the color of creative inspiration. With 50,000 artisans and 15% of the population working in the craft trade, Fes is a specialized source of human creative energy. It is amazing what can be made with Fasi grey.
The day began with a presentation by Rick Ortez, a Foreign Service officer with the US Commercial Service who participated in reconstruction efforts in Baghdad and worked in Jordan during the implementation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The essence of his presentation can be summarized by one statement he made: “It shouldn’t be called a Free Trade Agreement. It should be called a Very Challenging Trade Agreement.” The establishment of a FTA with Morocco doesn’t mitigate the challenges of doing business between the two countries, it merely adds an incentive for both parties to work together to overcome those challenges.
Second day of the Morocco Business Forum
The first day of the Moroccan Business Forum included introductions by the Wali (Mayor) of Fes, the Governor of the Fes-Boulemane region, and the US Ambassador. The Americans invited to a brief private session with US Ambassador, who spoke directly to concerns relevant to US businesses, such as energy costs, water availability, and low-level corruption.
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