PuriM In Morocco - Jewish Renaissance

puriM in Morocco
2014
The Trip log
edited by eve Kugler
photos by Michael MaTTison,
len levin anD ian sTolerMan
W
e were a group of 28 on a week-long
holiday in Morocco, like hundreds of
thousands of other tourists, except
that our tour was different because it was a tour
of Jewish Morocco.
so in addition to the mosque, the mausoleums,
the markets, the medina and other standard
sites, rafi, our Jewish Moroccan guide, who
seemed to know everything to do with the Jews,
took us into the Mellahs and the shuls and
introduced us to the few remaining Jewish
merchants in Morocco. We attended shabbat
services in a 500-year-old Marrakesh
synagogue followed by a Moroccan shabbat
cholent lunch; we listened to the purim Megillah
read to a silent congregation and celebrated with
the casablanca community at their purim seuda.
and while the once thriving Moroccan Jewish
community of 350,000 is down to a few
thousand, this country has not persecuted or
tried to expel its Jews. i found it amazing that
King Mohammed v has been nominated as a
righteous among the gentiles for refusing to
permit the deportation of Jews during World War
ii, that King Mohammed vi visited the synagogue in casablanca in 2003 following an al
Qaeda bombing, that the government provides
security at the Jewish Museum and that that the
holocaust is taught in Moroccan schools.
so we thank rafi for bringing us together with
the Jewish community. Thanks go also to the
travellers whose reports of the journey make up
this log and to Michael Mattison, len levin and
ian stolerman for their excellent photographs
that will help us remember the joys, if not the
occasional blips, of our trip. Finally, a huge thank
you goes to Jewish Renaissance and its guiding
light, Janet levin, for joining us on this
fascinating adventure and for her unflagging
patience and help in resolving problems that
occasionally arose.
Eve Kugler
parTicipanTs
anne clark
Bryan and Judith Diamond
vesna Domany hardy
lawrence Faiman
cynthia Freedman
Diane and philip greene
christina and heskel Kateb
eve Kugler
Janet levin
coral and len levin
Julian and Karen lewis
Marcel and helena Manson
avril and Michael Mattison
lewis and sheila osborne
adrienne and stephen rajbenbach
pamela shapiro
ian and suad stolerman
Bencie Woll
Day 1– Wednesday 12th March
The early arrivals are WelcoMeD To MarraKech
Well i can honestly say that travelling from
stanstead to Marrakech, the fourth largest city
in Morocco, by easyjet was a pleasure. Before
you could say 'sabah el Kheer', welcome, we
were preparing for landing. a quick glance from
the window was all that was needed to realise
that this was no ordinary destination. The low
rise mud buildings stretched out below, the rush
hour traffic was non-existent as we flew over
the local highways, and the arrival procedures
were seamless.
our tour leader, Marcel, quickly organised this
early group, seeing that we collected our luggage
and boarding us into our waiting taxis for the
short but illuminating journey to our riad, a traditional Moroccan house with an interior garden or
courtyard. ours was the Ksar anika, a delightful
17- room, 5-star accommodation in the artisan
quarter of the old city.
The journey to our hotel gave us our first
glimpse of another world. nestling in the
foothills of the snow capped atlas Mountains
this vibrant city reminded me a little of
Jerusalem just some 30 years or so ago. 'The
red city', as it is called, has a history dating
back 900 years or more, but as we drove
through the modern suburbs, little prepared us
for the culture shock that awaited us. our riad
was situated near the Mellah, the Jewish
quarter, a traditionally poor area which the Jews
had occupied beginning in the 15th century, but
which since the exodus during the 20th century
has developed into mainly an artisans’ quarter.
a welcome drink of mint lemon on the roof terrace
was just the start we needed and where we
began to become acquainted with some of our
trip companions. Back to our room for a short
rest, and we are then off to the restaurant pepe
nero, just a short stroll away. here the early arrivals dined in a private room and the a la carte
menu was to everyone's taste. The service was
attentive and the quality and choice of dishes
were excellent. a little tired now, the weary
travellers returned for a sound sleep in their
beautiful and traditionally styled accommodation.
Julian and Karen lewis
Day 2 – Thursday 13th March
We Discover The WonDers oF MarraKech
We wake up in a spacious and luxurious room,
feeling like oriental princesses under the
canopy of the oriental stucco work. and to make
it even more agreeable we are not woken up by
the muezeen’s call to prayer or the sound of
horses’ hooves on the cobble-stoned street,
which Marcel warned us to expect, but instead
by birdsong and the sound of fresh water
murmuring in the pool below. soon we are in
the hotel dining room, which has one side open
to the atrium, the blue pool, the mosaics and
plants around it. here we enjoy an excellent
breakfast of freshly squeezed oranges, home
set yoghurt, delicious pancake-like cakes, fresh
baguettes and excellent coffee.
and plants. Marcel leads us to a large herbalist
co-operative where many people work on
various aspects of producing, packing or selling
their wares.
our group is herded into a theatre like room,
whose walls are lined with shelves filled with
glass jars from bottom to top, each jar containing a different plant or spice. it is like an
alchemist’s studio. What follows is a terrific performance by a herbalist. he praises the myriad
qualities of argan oil which, he claims, can cure
everything you can think of. he praises other
herbal remedies, even being a bit vulgar in trying to convince us. some of the more scientifically minded of our group walk out in
after breakfast Marcel leads a short tour.
Walking out of the hotel we are immediately
caught up in the crazy traffic in the narrow streets
of the Jewish Mellah. cars go in both directions
as do pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, muleand donkey-drawn carts, and horse-drawn
carriages, with pedestrians having no choice but
to walk between them, there being no
pavements. streets are no more than two meters
wide with sharp corners so that one never sees
what is coming from the other direction. it was a
sheer miracle that there were no accidents.
soon we find ourselves in the herbalists’ section
of the market with shops and stalls selling a
myriad of different spices, dried roots, flowers,
indignation. still some of us buy herbal creams
on offer.
after the herbalist we walk through the nearby
souk. The narrow alleyways are covered with a
reed-like topping similar to that used in a
succah. i am most impressed with the recycling
stalls, where obviously deft craftsmen produce
a variety of objects out of old tyres. after a while
we reach the huge and renowned square,
Jemaa el ena. some of our group shop, but
eve, pamela and i decide to sit in the café and
enjoy the sunshine.
returning to our hotel for lunch, we are served
a light vegetable couscous and introduced to
our guide for the tour, raphael el Melah, rafi
for short. Without hesitation he tells us about
himself, his family origins, why and how he
There are many reasons the Jews left Morocco
en masse but certainly not because of
persecution, as was the case in many other
arab countries around the Mediterranean.
rafi’s knowledge of all aspects of Jewish life
here is inexhaustible and he gladly shares it
with us. he has a jocular manner, exudes a
great deal of charm and easily establishes
rapport with us. he leads us to a building which
houses a 500-year-old synagogue that is still
functioning and also has a hostel for poor
became interested in Jewish Morrocan history,
what he has achieved so far and what he
hopes to achieve in the future. he has just
published a book, Jewish Life under the
Moroccan Sun.
in the afternoon rafi guides us to a street in
the nearby Mellah, explaining more about
Moroccan Jewish life and its rich historic
inheritance. of the once numerous Jewish
Marrakech community only 150 remain in the
city. rafi intoduces us to the the three Jews
who are still working in the Mellah, the kosher
butcher, a textile merchant and a seller of
electrical goods.
people the community takes care of. (see Day
3, below)
in the evening Janet and i join the jolly scottish
foursome of our group, sheila, lewis, coral
and len to go back to Jemaa el ena. again
we walk through the narrow streets of the
souk. The great square is transformed. it is
filled with people and the night life of city of
Marrakech seems to be in full swing. There
are many stands, musicians and story-tellers,
masses of young and old people walking
around. obviously this is a centre of the social
life of a lively city. young men try to lure
passers-by to the hundreds of food stalls that
give forth their delicious scents. Without much
hesitation the six of us sit under the awning of
a stall and are soon served a tasty meal. i
have my first tangine in Morocco and it is
delicious.
Vesna Domany Hardy
Day 3 - Friday 14th March
goaTs in Trees anD essaouira
Then to the city walls and in through one of the
gates. We pass the attias synagogue – one of
the old shuls that raphi is planning to restore.
We pass the old Jewish quarter with a gate with
Magen Davids on it. We go up onto the
ramparts, built by the portuguese in the 17th
century, with the old cannons and views out to
sea. poignantly, as we walk through the shuk
we come to the shop belonging to the last Jew
remaining in essaouira, Joseph sebag, the
remnant of the former community of 41,000.
after breakfast, we are on our way to essaouira,
in retrospect too late a start, with our driver,
abdul and Mustafa, his assistant. rafi gives us
our first arabic lesson – sabah el Khair – good
morning. We go through the outskirts of
Marrakech, past the new station, royal palace
and Theatre royal and out past groves of oranges and olives. rafi gives us some background on political changes and the
emancipation of women under Mohammed vi
as we pass a lot of new housing that replaced
old mud and straw dwellings.
soon the fabled argan trees appear, much
vaunted yesterday by the herbalist as a
remedy for assorted maladies. a number of
trees are being used as perches by low flying
goats. We stop at a Women's cooperative
where they shell the nuts by pounding them with
stones before they are ground for argan oil.
Then the atlantic comes into view and the blue
and the white buildings of essaouira, formerly
Mogador. our first stop is the old Jewish cemetery. very few of the gravestones have inscriptions, just the outline of a figure - with a head of
hair for a woman. The stones are set at different
orientations reflecting the different positions of
the entrance over time. in the centre is the
grave and memorial of a Kabalistic rabbi,
chaim pinto, a site of pilgrimage.
as recommended we then go to the harbour
area for an outdoor lunch of barbecued fish.
one bargains for the cost of a meal and some
of us paid less than others for this ... and got
chips as well. after a delicious ice cream there
was just time for a quick look around and
perhaps the purchase of a cedar wood souvenir.
Then we have to leave. it was an attractive town
that would have merited a longer stay.
We return to Marrakesh but not quite in time for
Kabbalat shabbat -- they had to start without
us. But after shul the day is crowned by our
kosher Friday night dinner at our Ksar anika
riad – Moroccan vegetables, pastilla, a new
discovery, chicken and the cookies, all delicious
and enjoyed in a warm and lovely atmosphere.
Michael and Avril Mattison
Day 4- saturday 15th March
shaBBaT anD The Megillah
The synagogue service was a moving experience. We saw a small band of people struggling
to keep their heritage alive. as the sepher
Torahs were put away and we sang chadaysh
yamanoo Kekdem, ‘renew our days as of old’, we
were left with a sad feeling that perhaps the
prayer wouldn’t be fulfilled for this community,
and we were witnessing its last generation.
We woke up to yet another beautiful blue sky but
with a chill in the air. after breakfast we took a
short walk to the Bahia palace, which was completed in 1900. The palace was the home of the
wazir who lived here with his four wives and 18
concubines. The central courtyard has an exotic
garden, and the palace is sumptuous. heavily influenced by iranian architecture, it has wooden
hand-painted ceilings and ornate plaster wall
carvings.
after shul we went back to our riad for Kiddush
on the roof, followed by a sumptuous lunch. The
shul’s chazzan, a local electrical retailer, joined us
together with his sister, wife and daughter. his
wife was the caterer of our elaborate lunch which
included a wonderful cholent. The chazzan led us
in zemirot and spoke to us about the community.
in the afternoon some went for a half day trip to
the atlas Mountains. The rest spent the afternoon
relaxing on the roof in the hot sun.
after a return to shul by some for mincha, we all
went back for the reading of the purim Megillah
ester. sitting in a shul within a walled city in a
after the palace visit, the group split. some went
on an all-day trip to the atlas Mountains, some
went shopping and some went to shul. The shul
is located in the heart of the Mellah, the walled
enclosure in which 25,000 Jews lived prior to the
exodus that began in earnest in 1967. There are
now only four left in the Mellah. The remainder of
the 100-strong community lives some two miles
away in the new town where they have their own
synagogue. They ensure that there is still a
minyan here every shabbat.
There has been a synagogue on the site for over
500 years. The present structure is the result of a
substantial renovation 60 years ago. accessed
from a narrow lane, the complex is a delightful
surprise. Built around a large open central
courtyard, the synagogue occupies one side of
the complex. The remainder, which had been a
school, has now been converted to residential
use.
country whose Jews had lived for centuries in the
surrounding mountain villages, we felt a link with
the Jews of persia of centuries earlier. The main
difference in the service was that it is the tradition
of this community to maintain absolute silence
during the reading of the Megillah. only at the
end do the men jeer and shout the name of
haman while jumping up and down and clapping each other on the back. upstairs the
women watched in bemused silence.
Following shul, we took a short walk to the
main square, which had been transformed from
its relative daytime quiet to a noisy, crowded
scene, full of pop-up restaurants and street
acts. after a quick supper it was back to our
riad to pack and to bed to be ready for an early
start in the morning for our journey to
casablanca.
Stephen and Adrienne Rajbenbach
We cliMB The high aTlas MounTains
particular, we were heading for setti Fatma, a
larger Berber village of about 1,000 people, set
in the ourika valley.
as we climbed, the dry river bed on our lefthand side started to fill up as the waters from
the melting snows came tumbling down the
valley. We passed many riverside cafes and
restaurants, all offering traditional Moroccan
fare with tables set up by the river in glorious
disarray, as well as Berber women washing
their clothes. There was also the entrance to a
tomb of a rabbi from half a millennium ago,
rabbi solomon Ben hench, but it was not
possible to go in.
even the name has a ring about it – the high
atlas Mountains. Four of us in a minibus, lewis,
Bencie, len and coral, plus driver, set out to
explore them on a day trip from Marrakesh. in
truth, we could only reach the foothills of the
main range as the high atlas is one of the
highest mountain ranges in africa, topping out
with Jebel Toukba at a shade under 4,200
metres high.
after about one and a half hours, our minibus
reached setti Fatma and could go no further, as
the road ceased at that point. The prime tourist
attraction here is the waterfalls above the
village – seven in all -- although at this time of
year only four are reachable, as the higher falls,
swollen with melt water, make the upper paths
unsafe.
as you leave Marrakesh heading east, the roads
are good and run through a very flat plain. That
makes the first sight of the mountains with the
large number of snow-capped peaks looming in
front of you a stunning experience. The snow
will not finally melt until June or July. gradually,
we begin to climb, and the bumps and bends on
the road steadily increase. This is Berber country
with villages scattered around the mountains as
they have been for hundreds of years. in
When we disembarked from the bus, our driver
spoke to one of the locals telling him we wanted
to see the waterfalls. Whilst there is a choice of
going to see the first fall only (as done by the
afternoon atlas trippers from our group), we
wanted to do all that were accessible. We
accepted abdul’s offer to act as our guide, which
was just as well, as we soon found out. it would
have been nigh impossible for us to negotiate the
path, if you could call it that, without him.
were heavy? still, it was most refreshing.
The start of the tour took us through a local
Berber co-operative of arts and crafts before
we reached the first waterfall about 20
minutes after the start. This was a fairly
comfortable uphill climb on reasonable paths.
afterwards, things became much more difficult
with a lot of zigzag clambering over rocks and
boulders. abdul had to help us up frequently
as well as showing us which rocks to stand on
and with which foot.
There was not a lot of wildlife on the walk, just
some birds and a few monkeys at the top of
the crags on the other side of the valley.
These we saw on the descent. This was much
easier to navigate although the stones and
scree caused occasional anxieties.
after some two and a half hours overall, we
reached the village again and had lunch on a
terrace overlooking the river and the village.
These Berbers have a natural refrigeration
system to keep all the canned and bottled
drinks cold, by canalising some of the small
streams to create a pool that is fed by a mini
waterfall, where they suspend the drinks,
which are cooled by the spray.
Before we returned to Marrakesh, we had a
look around the village which is in the process
of expanding its tourist potential by opening up
more of the road. on the return journey we
had more splendid views of the ourika valley
and occasional glimpses of the mountains. all
in all, it was an exhilarating day out.
at the second waterfall, several hundred feet
up to our right and perched like an eagle’s
nest, we see a cafe and, to our amazement,
abdul said that was our goal. slowly but
gradually we got there even climbing up a
rickety ladder at the steepest point by a waterfall. This part was the most daunting and
would have been a nemesis for many, but we
all coped well. Bencie needed a bit of extra
help from the guide, and her stoic dignity
came with a wonderful reward – the offer to be
abdul’s second wife!
We finally arrived at a most welcome café,
where we got a fabulous view of the highest
waterfall we could reach and a wide panorama
of the valley below as the water thundered
down. The mint tea wasn’t bad either but not
cheap. They explained that everything had to
be carried up and so was more expensive. We
couldn’t quite work this out, as there was
water everywhere. Maybe the mint leaves
Lewis Osborne and Len Levin
Day 5 – sunday 16th March
casaBlanca
We had been told that the drive from Marrakech
to casablanca would be boring – but the
undulating land, the terra cotta colour of both the
earth and the simple houses; the swathes of
green vegetation, sufficiently frequent to convince
us that there had been a good rainy season,
gave us a good impression of this north african
country side.
We drove into casablanca through the posh
district. Beautiful houses that rafi priced for us
and often were worth millions, stand either side of
avenues of palm trees and have their own
luxuriant gardens. They are an attractive
synthesis of north african and French styles,
tastefully ornate, often with crenelated walls. We
are told about three Jews who live there, a
lawyer, a doctor and a dentist, and rafi tells us
that textiles, gold and property are also popular
Jewish occupations. We see the first of the three
Jewish clubs in ‘casa’ and big beautiful houses
that had their own synagogue so the locals did
not have to walk so far. We see our first high rise
buildings in the avenue gandhi, an avenue of
houses that cost $3 million each. There is a
saudi palace – the saudis come to casablanca
for wine and women, says rafi.
First stop in casablanca is the Jewish Museum.
established in 1995 in what had been an
orphanage and then a yeshiva, its contents are a
reminder of the vibrant life the Jews once had all
over Morocco. it was added value for us that rafi
had had a major role in creating the museum
collection. Many of the pictures on the walls were
of synagogues in the south of the country that
had been long abandoned and that he had
discovered and restored. he told us about how
he talked to the local Muslims and to former
residents now living in israel, to find out, for
example, what had been the shape of the roof in
the most recent synagogue restored. We saw not
only the torah covers and rimonim that are the
staples of most Jewish museums, but the bimah
from one synagogue and two complete
synagogues. The costumes were beautiful. We
saw much silver jewellery made by Jewish crafts-
men, and the tools of their trade. rafi told us how
the hamsa had been adopted from Muslim
custom to ward off the evil eye – he evidently did
not approve!
We were introduced to the curator, whose salary
is the only contribution of the government, the
rest being provided by donation. our only regrets
were that the captions had little information and
that there was no printed material about the
collection we could take away – but this is no
doubt a result of inadequate funding.
on the road again, this time the coastal road, we
see new homes built by the government to house
those from the demolished shanty town, a visible
sign of amelioration of poverty in Morocco – and
we are told that now one-third of the population is
middle class. We see rick’s café where sam
played it again and the third biggest mosque in
the world, commissioned by hassan ii. it is
certainly an impressive site – as is the beautiful
new islamic university opposite (see Day 6).
We turn into the city centre, where the stamp of
former French rule is very clear in hassan ii
avenue and the Boulevard de paris. We all agree
that the palace of Justice, and the gardens in
front and opposite make as handsome a city
centre as any we have seen.
for those who want to be done in 15 minutes – as
usual rafi made us laugh. There also is a kosher
butcher and a baker who did a brisk trade with
our group in hamantashen Morocco style – with a
hard-boiled egg for haman’s eye.
We leave the coach at the original Jewish area.
We visit the Beth el synagogue – which has a
beautiful façade and interior – with a collection of
windows by an israeli artist that we all love.
originally the algerian synagogue, it is now the
place for weddings and bar mitzvahs. and then to
the street of six synagogues, modest buildings
but all having daily prayers – one for those who
get up early, one for those who get up later, one
We also visited a Jewish community centre. With
plush furnishing and leather sofas it seemed
more like an exclusive club than the more austere
versions we are used to. We heard that this was
one of the targets of the 2003 bombing. The
Muslim security guard and caretaker were killed
along with the bomber. a hotel where 125 israelis
were staying was also bombed, though they were
all out at the time. it was heartening to hear that
the following saturday King Mohamed vi came to
synagogue to express his condolences and
outrage and that on sunday one million Muslims
demonstrated their disapproval. The government
put in measures to protect the Jewish community
which are still in place.
Then to the luxurious Kenzi Towers hotel to
prepare ourselves for the purim sedeu.
Janet Levin
our unForgeTTaBle puriM seuDa in casaBlanca
imagine a huge red and white circus marquee,
decorated with balloons and clown mannequins, with a relentless, maximum volume
rock beat driving familiar simcha tunes,
presided over by rabbi Bano resplendent in
his red ringmaster's jacket and top hat, leading
the sometimes frantic dancing and passing
round the room dispensing whiskey and
champagne, and you are somewhere close to
picturing the atmosphere we found when we
entered the casablanca Jewish cultural
centre, with over 500 of the local Jewish
community, for the annual purim seuda.
Delightful children danced in colourful fancy
dress, and they stood round the centre dance
floor in awe as the fire-eating cabaret acrobate
performed their amazing balancing act that took
them so high that the man on top had to finish
on his knees to avoid the roof of the tent. The
rabbi and local community welcomed us as we
joined in the dancing and singing, punctuated
by waiters serving frequent courses of
couscous, meat and fish. The energy and joy of
this purim celebration was simply unforgettable.
Stephen and Adrienne Rajbenback
Day 6 - Monday 16th March
on The roaD: The hassan ii MosQue, raBaT, MeKnes
in order to make a good start to a busy day
ahead we leave Kenzi Tower hotel in
casablanca right after breakfast. The streets are
quiet, rafi informs us, because on a fine spring
sunday, many people leave the city early for a
day’s outing. We stop at the atlantic ocean in
the front of the new mosque named after the late
King hassan ii. The mosque, completed in 1993,
is one of the largest in the world. it can accommodate 25,000 worshippers, and another 80,000
can pray on the surrounding plaza. its roof
covering the courtyard can be opened when
needed. on the other side of the enormous
paved plaza stand the low, beautifully decorated
arched buildings of the islamic university. The
mosque cost $750 million. initial funding came
from saudi and Qatar oil sheiks, but to complete
it, a tax was levied on all Moroccans of all faiths.
The tall minaret looms high above the mosque
complex. even if it is out of proportion to the rest
of the building, it is tastefully decorated with
green tiles, white, lacy, two-dimensional
Moroccan stucco arches and topped with a
green tiled pyramid shaped roof. it not only
commands a view over the whole casablanca
area, but far over the atlantic ocean, which
washes its feet, and far beyond. it is the tallest
religious building in the world. rafi comments
jokingly that on a clear day one could see the
statue of liberty from here.
some of our group decide to see the inside of
the mosque with a local guide while during that
time the others opt for a walk along the ocean.
having seen many mosques in my life, i choose
to walk. i feel these huge enterprises have less
to do with faith than with the political
manipulation of faith.
Back on the bus, we pass the supposed rick's
café made famous in the film, casablanca. so
much part of a legend, it doesn’t matter that the
film was shot entirely in hollywood. Then we are
on our way to rabat, situated on the coast north
of casablanca. The French established rabat
as the capital of the country in 1912.
The bus circles the city’s wall and the lavish subtropical vegetation of the king's palace until we
stop next to the Mausoleum, the tomb of
Mohamed v, who led Morocco to independence
from French colonial power and is the grandfather of the present ruler, Mohamed vi. rafi
tells us that Mohamed v is going to be honoured
in israel as a righteous among the nations for
saving the Moroccan Jews from deportation
during World War ii, a unique honour in the arab
world. however, his successor, hassan ii, was an
authoritarian ruler, not friendly to the Jewish
population. During his reign, which coincided with
the six Day War and the anti-Jewish climate of
that period, most of the Jews left the country.
even though rafi says otherwise and now
blames the Zionists for the great exodus, i
remember the stories of a friend of mine who
was living and working in rabat at the time. she
has told me how dangerous and menacing the
atmosphere was for the Jews as well for the
British who were seen as israel’s allies.
The lavish Mausoleum, was build in 1971,
clearly with no expense spared. Designed by a
vietnamese architect, it is enclosed on three
sides by a high wall. The fourth side of the
Mausoleum is open to the ruins of the hassan
Mosque built by the andalusian ruler yaacub el
Mansur of the almohad dynasty in the 12th
century. it was levelled by a great earthquake and
apart from its partially preserved tower only the
huge expanse of pillars and the arch holders,
312 in all, now remain witness to its majestic past
glory. There are two entrances with guards clad in
red on white horses stationed there.
after admiring lavish islamic Moroccan
craftsmanship covering the walls of the
Mausoleum, we leave for the Jewish Mellah in
the rabat Medina. rafi explains the importance,
role and origin of the Jews in this region. They
have been settled and resettled many times but
the few left today live mostly in the town sale,
now a part of rabat, on the estuary of the river
oued. The high salt content of its waters, the
result of their proximity of the sea, made it
important for the salt trade, which was the king's
monopoly and which he granted to the Jews.
Further protecting the Jews, he sanctioned the
building of the Mellah next to the palace. The high
wall around the Medina has a separate entrance
to the Jewish Mellah, which we visit to see the
last remaining old synagogue.
rafi turns our attention to the famous horse
stables and the pool for the arab horses built
several centuries ago.
after leaving rabat we stop for a lunch at a
motorway cafe and head for Meknes. There we
visit the large food market in the old Mellah. We
are all enchanted by the displays, colour and
richness of this market, which is obviously not a
tourist Mecca but the place where local people
shop for their daily food. The produce is always
fresh. There are cages with live chickens and a
meat market. Most of us cannot bear the crude
aspect of the display of raw meat with all the
animals’ body parts and heads on sale.
in the old Jewish quarter of the city we are
welcomed to the now quiet Talmud Torah by the
last Jew living there.
We are all tired and after one more hour on our
bus we arrive in the ancient town of Fez,
beautifully situated on many hills along the river
valley with protective walls all around.
our hotel is in the modern part of the town, not far
from the Bensadoun synagogue that rafi has
managed to get opened up for us, despite the
The andalusian wall of the casbah has a
beautifully decorated gate in the alhambra style.
We go through it and enter a beautiful garden
above the river. here it is peaceful and we relax
and sip refreshing mint tea brought by the cafe
keeper. Back in the bus and crossing the river
late hour. Modern it might be, but its delicate
Moroccan-style stucco tracery is really beautiful.
We have supper at the nearby centre
Maimonide, where members of the small, but still
lively, Fez community are also dining.
Vesna Domany Hardy
Day 7—Tuesday 18th March
The Mellah anD The MeDina oF FeZ
We started the day with a visit to the large 700year-old Jewish cemetery, just outside the
Mellah. The graves point in all different directions. rather than placing stones on the
graves, visitors burn a memorial light. so many
visitors come to the grave of yehuda ben attar
(1655-1733) that a chimney was built at his memorial stone to channel the smoke of the many
flames. another notable grave is that of the
martyr soulika who was beheaded in 1834
when she refused to convert to islam and marry
a Muslim notable.
We drove to a huge gate leading into the Mellah
which is located just outside the walls of the
royal palace. i found this gateway reminiscent
of uzbekistan. The Mellah in Fez was built in
1438 and was the largest Jewish quarter in
Morocco. We acquired a charming Moroccan
guide to lead us through the narrow winding
streets, with another young man in the middle of
our group; rafi brought up the rear to make sure
no one got lost. We saw two synagogues both
with memorial lights but no ner Tamid. The first
was abn Danan built in the 16th century. rafi
was instrumental in its recent restoration paid for
with funds from unesco and germany. it is
decorated with Moroccan tiles and has a small
area on the side where worshippers wanting a
mitzvah would gather. of particular interest was a
mikvah for men located below the synagogue,
which they accessed by lifting a small square
metal cover in the middle of the sanctuary.
The second synagogue was slat al Fassiyine. its
name means synagogue of the people of Fez,
and there are beautiful plaster carvings on its
walls. rafi told us that he visited the shul after it
had been bought by a Muslim who had installed a
toilet in the recess where the scrolls had been
kept. When rafi told the man that it was a holy
place, he moved the toilet. The main road had
signs directing people to both synagogues.
The medina is quite far from the Mellah, so we
drove there. The Fez medina is more than a
thousand years old and 250,000 people live and
work here today. Women wore both Western
clothes and long local garb, while men wore
mainly western clothes. a few, including our
guide, wore the maimom, a long, light grey
Berber gown with pointed hood.
Walking in the medina means negotiating narrow,
twisted and hilly alleyways that are paved with
ancient cobble stones, dodging the occasional
donkey. We passed stalls selling live chickens
and sheeps’ heads as well as cakes, meat,
vegetables, leather goods, woven braids and
electrical goods and kitchen wares from china.
We visited a number of artisans’ workshops,
where we saw how consistently beautiful goods
were made. We went in to a pottery workshop
where we saw how artisans created beautiful
mosaic plaques, tile bowls, plates and tangine
dishes. We saw how they began with the white
stoneware clay of Fez. i was impressed that olive
pits were used for kiln fuel. small square tiles
adrienne and stephen who were detained by a
persistent salesman on an upper floor of the
leather showroom. The staff brought them to our
next stop, a metal workshop where we saw
amazing, manually engraved brass items.
it was good that we had a break for lunch in
between so much walking. This was a sevenvegetable tangine and fresh fruit at le patio Bleu,
a restaurant in a wonderful old house with a
courtyard.
glazed in different colours were cut by hand with
a small chisel. The skill was amazing and
fascinating to see. This stoneware clay is safer to
cook with than the terracotta products. in the
showroom some people bought pottery items.
continuing our walk, i noticed sheep or goat
skins being cleaned and stripped of their wool in
small workshops, and later we visited a tannery
where we saw huge vats that are used as part of
the process of preparing skins for soft leather
bags and clothing. avril bought an elegant, soft
white leather jacket with black trim. The one faux
pas of the hectic day was that we left without
We also visited a carpet workshop, where salesmen put on a bravura sales pitch that went on far
too long and which many of us resented. We quietly congratulated Janet on having purchased a
carpet back in Marrakech.
lastly, we saw the university of al Karaouine
founded in 857, surprisingly by a woman—Fatima
al-Fihiri, and considered the oldest, continuallyoperating university in the world!
Before we set out, rafi had warned us that we
would be walking for five hours, and so we did.
it was a long and tiring but worthwhile and eyeopening day.
Judith Diamond
Day 8 – Wednesday 19th March
our lasT Day in FeZ –‘The alps’ anD a Magician
Fez for us was a city of contrasts. going from the
modern city with its wide boulevards and smart
cafes to the medina with its cramped alleys,
where the only mode of transport was a mule,
had been like a trip back in time. now, on our last
day in Morocco, we were making another
strange trip, this time from the sand, terra cotta
and palm trees of north africa to ‘the alps’.
after an hour or so our coach started climbing
gently through rolling hills and it became
evident that we were approaching an area
frequented by the better off. We saw some fine
villas, evidence of the recent development of
the ifrane region into a popular holiday resort –
for skiing in winter and for its cool climate and
gardens in summer. We saw a striking modern
hotel that we were told was owned by the King.
There was also a royal palace – with a
nine-hole golf course, said rafi.
We also passed the al akhawayn university
established in 1993 – very modern, with a
teaching system based on american practice
and english the language of instruction. its red
tiled chalets looked very inviting. anyone who
saw the film Maroc will remember how
desperate the children of the well-off, Jewish
and Muslim, were to go abroad to university.
perhaps this fine institution is an attempt to
persuade them to stay at home.
We stopped in the centre of ifrane, and immediately drank in its cool, clean air, walking in its
quiet streets, with some taking a coffee in the
cafes around. We could understand its
popularity. We heard that ifrane had been
founded in 1929 by the French administration
as a ‘hill station’ for colonialists who could not
stand the heat in the city. The style of the
houses and the plants and trees were certainly
reminiscent of european alpine villages.
From ifrane we drove to some fine cedar woods
and again enjoyed the opportunity to stroll away
from city streets. The Barbary monkeys that
live there certainly know that coaches are likely
to mean treats and plenty came to be admired
by the animal lovers among us.
Back in Fez, we went our different ways: to the
shopping mall (‘a complete waste of time!’);
anne and the Diamonds went to the Dar Batha
Museum of Moroccan arts and crafts, and said
they really enjoyed its palace setting and lovely
garden. a few took a hammam, which was a
great success. i went with rafi to see a couple
of possible hotels for next year’s trip, bearing in
mind the problems we had with the ramada.
one of those he showed me looked absolutely
beautiful, with a wonderful view across to the
Medina, and nice looking bedrooms. Then i
looked at the reviews! Different problems but
just as bad... We still have some work to do to
find the right place.
With the early start to catch our homeward
plane needed for the next morning we were not
enthusiastic to attend the evening of Moroccan
entertainment offered for the last night, but it
was better than the usual tourist offering. The
musicians and the belly dancers were not of top
grade – but the magician was ....magic!
Janet Levin
haMMaM – relaXing Moroccan sTyle
Following the recommendation of my widely
travelled daughter-in-law, i decided to try
hammam and with little difficulty, persuaded
anne and Judith to join me signing up for the
hammam offered in the ramada hotel, cost 100
dirhams. We arrived at the sign-in desk, and a
young Moroccan woman led us to a room with
benches on one wall, lockers on a second and
told us to strip, totally. There is no modesty
among Moroccan women who look upon this activity as a fun social occasion. and so it was for
the three of us. First up was a sauna, which i
found at once relaxing and invigorating and
where we stayed as long as we were able to tolerate the heat. i was the first of the three of us to
give in. i was led into a room where i found myself standing ankle deep in lukewarm water. The
room had wooden slats on which to lie down and
could accommodate four people at one time.
anne and Judith soon joined me.
Two attendants, both young women, supplied the
treatment. on lying down we were immediately
sprayed with lots of comfortably warm water with
something akin to a hand held shower. This went
on for some minutes, after which the young
attendants massaged and scrubbed our bodies,
front and back with a thick black cream called
black soap. as we had elected to include a face
treatment, we then sat up and water was sprayed
over our heads and face. This was the only part
of the hammam i found uncomfortable. Then
followed a face and head massage and hair wash
and more spraying with water.
i understand why Moroccan women look on
hammam as a social get-together. That i shared
mine with anne and Judith enhanced the
pleasure of hammam for me. The entire process
was extremely enjoyable, incredibly relaxing both
physically and emotionally and i was sorry it did
not last longer than the approximately 20 minutes
we were there. a different experience that left us
with a lovely feeling of well-being and was a great
way to end our tour of Jewish Morocco.
Eve Kugler
soMe eXTra Days in The DeserT regions
i had arranged to stay
in Morocco for a few
extra days with my
three accompanying
relatives so that we
could see something
of the scenic desert
areas. rafi had set up
the hire of a large car
and driver to take us
around. in Morocco
the car was described
as a van which was
initially a cause of
some concern but that turned out to be the vernacular for ‘people carrier’. We had a spacious
and comfortable vehicle with an excellent, english-speaking Berber driver who doubled as a
guide.
Midelt and fossils
it was quite a long ride from Fez to the small,
dusty town of Midelt and there was not much to
see on the way other than distant views of the
snow-topped atlas mountains and a lively openair market. The imposing Taddart hotel near
Midelt had generously-sized and romantically
styled suites, with washbasins and baths carved
from the fossil-containing rocks that abound in
the area. in the evening there was a good buffet
dinner; the tasty wild boar option would have
turned off some tour members, but there were
ample alternatives. in the morning we visited
the geological museum
adjoining the hotel
where fossils could be
purchased. later we
stopped at a factory
where unique ornaments and furniture
were made from the
fossil-bearing rocks.
Merzouga and the
camels
The route to Merzouga
was scenic; we
stopped several times to see canyons and other
features including Berber villages. a highlight
was the visit to “rafi’s synagogue” in errachidia
where the local key-holder came to meet us. it
was only partly furnished, but it was a privilege
to see this shul with its plaque commemorating
rafi’s role. in the town of erfoud we changed to
a small 4-wheel drive vehicle for the approx. 1hour off-road journey to the impressive large
hotel Kasbah Tombouctou at Merzouga, near
the sand dunes. This ride was on flat bumpy
tracks with striking views across the multicoloured sands. a few yards from the hotel we
mounted camels for the one hour ride on the
dunes with excellent Berber helpers; we were in
time to see the sunset, with terrific views and all
told, a fantastic experience. The ride was
mostly very steady and only a bit scary when
the camels stood up suddenly, but we hung on
and avoided being deposited back onto the
sands. other groups camped in the dunes
overnight but we went back to the hotel in
time to clean up for dinner, another very good
buffet but without boar, wild or otherwise.
Ouarzazate, Berbers and Hollywood
in the morning we returned to the ‘van’ in which
our luggage had been stored overnight and it
was then a fairly short and very scenic drive to
the spectacular desert town of ouarzazate,
with its huge kasbah and film sets. We toured
the Kasbah and saw its magnificent
decorations. on the way there we passed
through an impressive gorge and numerous
striking Berber villages, each with its own
Kasbah and mosque, with wonderful views
over mostly mountainous terrain. We struggled
over slippery stepping stones to cross a rocky
stream with assistance from local Berbers to
reach the iconic village of ait Ben haddou
located on a steep hill; there we visited a
Berber house and ruins alleged to be those of
a synagogue, outside of which a hebrew book
was displayed. We continued on the road to
ouarzazate where we stayed in the luxurious
“le Berbère palace”, truly a 5* hotel
recommended by Marcel in contrast to
alternatives that he described as ‘basic’. The
next day we visited the Kasbah and a film
museum which was very touristy but of some
interest, with remains of sets and other memorabilia from mostly third-rate hollywood epics,
and numerous other sites of interest. in the
afternoon we completed the journey back to
Marrakech on very winding, steep mountain
roads with spectacular views of the mountains
of the high atlas and many photo opportunities
(a pdf file with images from the whole trip can
be obtained from ian@stolerman.org.uk ). We
felt completely safe due to our highly skilled
driver and arrived in Marrakesh in time to see
huge flocks of birds flying at sunset. The small
almas hotel was comfortable and good value
and we had a fine dinner in the nearby café de
la paix, before flying back to london on the
following morning.
Ian Stolerman