Happy Days

at the beach in Tan Tan Morocco.

Home again

Hello everyone.  I am home in KW now and it is very cold.  There is also a lot of snow.  I need to motivate myself to bundle up, shovel the driveway, start the car, and go out for groceries!!!! It may happen tomorrow.

For now, I am just assimilating all that I experienced since December 10th and enjoying each amazing memory.

The Last Night in Oz

It is 11 p.m. here.  Tonight I was at Houssaine's private school and taught his class.   I hope I did an OK job.

After school (9p.m.) we went back to his house and we all said our goodbyes.  I was in tears.  This family has really been a family to me. 

They presented me with gifts.  One that I will tell you about is a ring.  It is a silver Berber ring with a design on it.  The design means "one without borders" and that surely is me.I   will wear this ring always and it will always be, not only a reminder of my Berber family, but about who I am - a woman without borders - a woman who does not distinguish people by country, colour,  religion, or language.

Thank you for knowing who I really am.

Without whom this trip would not have been possible

Thank You  Thank you  Thank you

Houssaine and the entire Baali family for being such warm, welcoming, gracious hosts.

Nihat, Kam, and Tony  for looking after things at home and everything else that needed doing. 

Also, a thank you to Shirley and Aysel, neighbours,  who were ever so vigilant.

And, thank you my friends for sharing with me, both by email and commenting on the blog.

Winding down

It's Friday evening here and I have been staying pretty close to home this week.  I guess I am tripped out for now.  It is amazing to think back at all I have seen and experienced from the seashore to the mountains and the dunes of the desert.  From the north to the extreme east and south.   

There is complete peace and calm here and no Moroccans that I know have even heard about the media reports or expect any serious stuff in Morocco.  

I am going to be busy  for the next three days.  Tomorrow I am spending time with the family.   A friend from Hong Kong and his wife will be staying in Ouarzazate on Sunday night, while on tour here, and we will meet up.  On Monday, I will be going to Houssaine's private language academy to spend time in the classes.  I also need to do some last minute shopping.  Of course there is also the task of laundry (by hand) and trying to get everything into the suitcases.

I expect to go to Casa (a long trip) on Tuesday and spend two nights there before our early morning flight on Thursday which means that today is truly my last day of complete relaxation.

But, guess what?  My mind has been wandering to far off places today and I am wondering which one will be my next adventure!!!!  Right now it is cold and so am I which makes me tend to favour a really hot tropical climate for next time.

Hmmmmmm!!!!

Safe

I feel completely safe here in my home.  But, when I check the news I don't know how long that will  last.  I only hope  that Morocco will be saved  from such   devastion.

I just received a message from a friend in Cairo......

Gail,
...Things here are surreal. I live overlooking the Torah prison with 10,000 inmates. Some prisoners overpowered the guards and took their weapons but they could not get out of the prison. Paratroopers with heavy calibre fire power were sent to support the guards and a pitched battle raged for several days. Abour 30 cons escaped. Four were caught at the vigilante barriers just below my apartment.
Tanks and armoured personnel carriers are on the steets. Looting and fire fights are commonplace. People are panic buying food. Banks are closed and ATMs are out of cash or vandalised so people are running out of money. We are breaking curfew to socialise and not let this thing get to us. So, two evenings this week I was playing music with friends and on a third, we played cards and drank a few glasses of wine.
I believe that we will have a lot more problems before things get better. Hope that all is well with you.
Peter.

Oh Oh

I sure hope that the protest here in Ouarzazate, on Sunday,  is a peaceful one!

Morocco next? Protesters start organising

Anti-government protests in Tangier, Morocco, on 30 January

© Anónimo/afrol News

afrol News, 1 February - A growing number of Moroccan civil society groups are calling for large scale protest marches in the Kingdom. As the first protests are already being organised in Tangier and Rabat, the army is regrouping.

Following the developments in Tunisia and Egypt, Moroccan youth groups have started organising the first protest marches in the country to demand political reform and greater human rights in Morocco.

The first mass protests have already been organised in Morocco. On Sunday, the group ATTAC Morocco staged a larger demonstration in the northern city of Tangiers, with protesters focusing on "the deterioration of social conditions and high basic food prices."

The Tangier protest however was brutally stopped by security forces, according to eyewitnesses. Batons and tear gas were used to disperse demonstrators who had gathered in the Square of Nations in central Tangier. Protesters had chanted slogans of solidarity with the people of Tunisia and Egypt, demanding a "right to employment, housing and a decent life."

But Moroccan protesters have not given up, despite the brutal response by security forces. Today, there are reports from the capital, Rabat, about demonstrations in front of the Egyptian Embassy, with hundreds of protesters chanting slogans in solidarity of their counterparts in Egypt.

Further protests are now being prepared by a magnitude of groups in Morocco.

A group of young Moroccans is currently spreading the protest call through the social network Facebook, calling for demonstrations on 27 February "in front of the prefectures and the wilayas in all regions and central authorities in cities and villages, to demand the freedom of political organisation, the alternation of power and human rights." 

The so-called "Movement for Freedom and Democracy Now" in a statement specifies that this protest is "part of a spontaneous global transformation that aims at giving people their rightful place in society," further calling for democracy, freedom and the adherence to popular will.

According to the statement, there is a list of demands including "the abolition of the current constitution, dissolve parliament and government, parties who have contributed to the consolidation of political corruption and take immediate real action for a political transition."

The organisers further refer to "the terrible conditions of poverty, unemployment and human rights violations and restrictions on freedom of press" in Morocco. Morocco is known to be the poorest and least developed state in North Africa, facing enormous social problems.

Also other organisations are calling for protests. A grouping of the political opposition, trade unions, human rights organisations and an association of the unemployed has issued a statement calling for rallies and demonstrations to be held next Saturday, 5 February.

Also, the Labor Council of the Democratic Labour Confederation of Morocco has called for Sunday 6 February to be a day of protest. Marches are planned for in the south-eastern town of Ouarzazate "to protest the inhumane living conditions in Morocco."

As the calls for protests are widening in Morocco, the regime is increasingly insecure. King Mohammed VI has met with French government officials and his most trusted military leaders in his private chateau outside Paris to discuss the security situation.

Several unconfirmed reports from Morocco and occupied Western Sahara agree that security forces now are being pulled out from the occupied territory to be deployed in Morocco-proper in preparation of a possible popular revolt.

The reported regrouping of Moroccan troops may leave Western Sahara - a territory whose indigenous Saharawi population is always ready to revolt - open to rebellion. Security forces stationed in Western Sahara are famed for great brutality against civilians, which could bode unwell for protesters trying to organise marches in Morocco.

By staff writers

© afrol News

The Dades Valley

This valley, after Tinehir, is famous for roses.  

Taken from wikipedia

The Dades Valley in Morocco is also known as the Valley of the Roses, as it is here where the fragrant rose oil and rose water is produced for the country, and the landscapes are a sea of pink Persian roses. Their beauty and subtle aromas fill the air, and to farmers in the area, harvesting the petals of these delicate, yet perfect, crops is done with love and not seen as hard labor. To celebrate the wealth and success of the harvest, the Dades Valley hosts the annual Rose Festival.

El Kelaa M’Gouna is the only settlement in the area, and is home to the two massive rose water factories of the region. Rose water is quite an expensive commodity in Morocco and is used not only for its fragrance but in traditional cooking as well. The reason for its price tag is because of the fact that the four thousand two hundred kilometers of rose hedges can only produce one thousand four hundred liters of the product. The process uses approximately three thousand kilograms of rose petals to extract a liter of rose oil. Visitors to the festival will therefore see tons of rose petals being transported to the factories to extract the precious oils, leaving a trail of rose scent lingering in the air.

Transportation

We stopped in Tinehir for lunch and I took the opportunity to get some photos.  These are typical of everywhere in Morocco except Ouarzazate.   Oz is different in so many ways from the rest of Morocco.  It is modern, extremely clean, well laid out, lots of  living greens, and I have never seen a donkey here.  It is, however, not representative of Morocco and one would be remiss if Oz was all he saw much the same as if Marrakech was all or Agadir or...

When entering the city last night I said that it felt like a breath of fresh air.

On the way home

Back in our little red Honda rental car, on our way home, we passed a young herder and took this photo of his camels.

You can see the mountains are starting here.  Actually it is such a short distance  from the dunes to seeing the snow capped  Atlas ( just a short drive from where we took this camel photo).

Gnawa

From wikipedia-

Gnawa music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

Gnawa musicians performing in a street in Morocco

Gnawa music is a mixture of sub-Saharan African, Berber, and Arabic religious songs and rhythms. It combines music and acrobatic dancing. The music is both a prayer and a celebration of life. Though many of the influences that formed this music can be traced to sub-Saharan Africa, and specifically, the Western Sahel, its practice is concentrated in north Africa, mainly Morocco. (See Gnawa for more details)

Contents  [hide] 1 Music 2 Rituals 3 Gnawa music today 4 List of Gnawa maâlems 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

[edit]Music

In a Gnawa song, one phrase or a few lines are repeated over and over throughout a particular song though the song may last a long time. In fact, a song may last several hours non-stop. The norm, though, is that what seems to the unintiniated to be one long song is actually a series of chants, which has to do with describing the various spirits (in Arabic mlouk (sing. melk)), so what seems to be a 20 minute piece may be a whole series of pieces, a suite for Sidi Moussa, Sidi Hamou, Sidi Mimoun or the others. But because they are suited for adepts in a state of trance, they go on and on, and have the effect, that they provoke trance from different angles.

The melodic language of the stringed instrument is closely related to their vocal music and to their speech patterns, as is the case in much African music. It is a language that emphasizes on the tonic and fifth, with quavering pitch-play, especially pitch-flattening, around the third, the fifth, and sometimes the seventh. This is the language of the blues.

krakebs or Qraqab

Gnawa music is characterized by instrumentation. The large heavy iron castanets known as qraqab (or krakebs large iron castanets; Ar. قراقب) and a three -string lute known commonly as a hajhuj (or gimbri) are central to Gnawa music.(Schuyler, 2008) The rhythms of the Gnawa, like their instrumentations are distinctive. Particularly Gnawa is characterized by interplay between triple and duple meters. The “big bass drums” mentioned by Schuyler are not typically featured in a more traditional setting. (Schaefer, 2005)

Gnawa have venerable stringed-instrument traditions involving both bowed lutes like the gogo and plucked lutes like the gimbri (Ar. چنبري; also called hajhuj, Ar. هجهوج or "sentir" Ar. سنتير), a three-stringed bass instrument. The Gnawa also use large drums called tbel (Ar. طبل ) in their ritual music. The Gnawa hajhuj has strong historical and musical links to West African lutes like the Hausa halam, a direct ancestor of the banjo.

Gnawa hajhuj players use a technique which 19th century American minstrel banjo instruction manuals identify as "brushless drop-thumb frailing". The "brushless" part means the fingers do not brush several strings at once to make chords. Instead, the thumb drops repeatedly in a hypnotically rhythmic pattern against the freely-vibrating bass string producing a throbbing drone, while the first two or three fingers of the same (right) hand pick out, often percussive patterns in a drum-like, almost telegraphic manner.

[edit]Rituals

Gnawas perform a complex liturgy, called lila or derdeba. The ceremony recreates the first sacrifice and the genesis of the universe by the evocation of the seven main manifestations of the divine demiurgic activity. It calls the seven saints and supernatural entities (mluk, Arabic: ملوك) represented by seven colors, as a prismatic decomposition of the original light/energy. The derdeba is jointly animated by a maâlem (master musician) at the head of his troop and by moqadma or shuwafa(clairvoyante) who is in charge of the accessories and clothing necessary to the ritual.

During the ceremony, the clairvoyante determines the accessories and clothing as it becomes ritually necessary. Meanwhile, the maâlem, using the guembri and by burning incense, calls the saints and the supernatural entities to present themselves in order to take possession of the followers, who devote themselves to ecstatic dancing.

Inside the brotherhood, each group (zriba; Arabic: زريبة) gets together with an initiatory moqadma (Arabic: مقدمة), the priestess that leads the ecstatic dance called thejedba (Arabic: جذبة), and with the maâlem, who is accompanied by several players of krakebs.

Preceded by an animal sacrifice that assures the presence of the spirits, the all-night ritual begins with an opening that consecrates the space, the aâda ("habit" or traditional norm; Arabic: عادة), during which the musicians perform a swirling acrobatic dance, playing the krakebs.

The mluk (sing. melk) are abstract entities that gather a number of similar jinn (genie spirits). The participants enter a trance state (jedba) in which they may perform spectacular dances. By means of these dances, participants negotiate their relationships with the mluk either placating them if they have been offended or strengthening an existing relationship. The mluk are evoked by seven musical patterns, seven melodic and rhythmic cells, who set up the seven suites that form the repertoire of dance and music of the Gnawa ritual. During these seven suites, seven different types of incense are burned and the dancers are covered by veils of seven different colours.

Each one of the seven families of mluk is populated by many "characters" identifiable by the music and by the footsteps of the dance. Each melk is accompanied by its specific colour, incense, rhythm and dance. These entities, treated like "presences" (called hadra, Arabic: حضرة) that the consciousness meets in ecstatic space and time, are related to mental complexes, human characters, and behaviors. The aim of the ritual is to reintegrate and to balance the main powers of the human body, made by the same energy that supports the perceptible phenomena and divine creative activity.

Later, the guembri opens the treq ("path," Arabic: طريق), the strictly encoded sequence of the ritual repertoire of music, dances, colors and incenses, that guide in the ecstatic trip across the realms of the seven mluk, until the renaissance in the common world, at the first lights of dawn.

Almost all Moroccan brotherhoods, such as the Issawa or the Hamadsha, relate their spiritual authority to a saint. The ceremonies begin by reciting that saint's written works or spiritual prescriptions (hizb, Arabic: حزب) in Arabic. In this way, they assert their role as the spiritual descendants of the founder, giving themselves the authority to perform the ritual. Gnawa, whose ancestors were neither literate nor native speakers of Arabic, begin the lila by bringing back, through song and dance their origins, the experiences of their slave ancestors, and ultimately redemption.

[edit]

Farewell

We bid farewell to the young men who work at the camp cooking, cleaning, and looking after the guests and got in the 4x4 with Ali for another fun filled ride back to the auberge.

BUT on the way Houssaine, unbeknown to me, had arranged for a special stop in the small village of Khamlia.  Khamlia is the home of Gnawa (also spelled Gnaoua) music in Morocco and I have been looking forward to hearing it played authentically, without fusion, for years.

We were greeted and escorted into a room and given time to look at all the memorabilia on the walls.  Photos from 1900 to the present, instruments, documents etc.  This room was a museum to Gnawa. Then a troup of five musicians came in and they entertained us for more than an hour with chanting, drumming, and dancing.  I was brought to tears.  The beauty of the music was enchanting and the spiritual nature, clear.  

Tea and nuts were served to us.

Another  historic moment in my life.

Early in the morning

I was the first one awake and took a few shots of our camp.  The one with the yellow "door" open is my room.  I tried to take a picture inside, but it was just too dark.  The nomad tents are dark brown and keep all light out which is great in the summer heat. Beds were mattresses on the floor.  The sand was covered with richly coloured berber rugs.  There were as many blankets as needed.  I only used what was on the bed, but Houssaine told me he used four more!!!!! Some Berber, eh?

Also looking up at our dune just after sunrise.

Inside and let the drumming begin

The fire, now only hot coals,  has been moved inside. Here are a few photos.  The dark one is without a flash and as it was in reality.

Houssaine is an accomplished Berber drummer and was anxious to start.  Ali, in the yellow headscarf,  our regular driver, and another Ali, the owner are all ready, but the drums are not.  Apparently, they need to be heated up before use.

Eventually, both the men and the drums were ready.  They also had castanets, which were the forerunners of the Spanish type.

Tea and drumming for quite some time.  I absolutely loved it.  If I closed my eyes it almost put me in a trance.  Fortunately, it always stopped in time.

Later, dinner was served at a nearby table - salad, bread, olives, tagine, coffee or tea, and oranges for dessert.

More drumming.

Outside to view the stars, but too chilly to stay out for long.  Also, the sky was not as clear as it could have been.  None the less, some constellations were pointed out to me. I felt sorry for any tourists in the area, though, especially if this was their first desert experience because the sky with the thousands of stars in 01 was the most awesome sight to behold.

I left the men and retired to my tent for a little shut eye.  I hoped that more drumming would lull me off to sleep.

Getting the fire started

To ward off the night chill a fire was started.  We sat around, chatted, and waited for the flames to die down before moving it into a big tent.  We had the camp all to ourselves which was really superb. 

Walking back down to our camp

The Moroccan Algerian border

I forgot to tell you that while on our 4x4 ride, we got close to the border.  This border has been closed since 1994.  In this photo we are about 20km from Algeria.  I was told that what I see in the distance is a natural rock wall which divides the two countries in this area.

There are nomads living here almost on the border.  Talk about living in the middle of nowhere!

A stroll

Once we reached camp both Houssaine and I went for a walk.  He climbed part way up one dune and I looked up!  Some goats from a local nomad's herd were also out climbing.

The fun begins

Wow, wow, and more wow!

Our driver, Ali, was fabulous.  When we left the area alongside the dunes and got riding the dunes it was more fun than any amusement park ride I have ever been on.  I laughed and even screamed at at times. I felt like a kid.  All four of us had a ball.  We did get stuck once, but Ali and the boys got us out easily, without me even leaving the vehicle.  What a wise choice it was to opt for the 4x4.

The light sprinkle of rain soon stopped and the sun came out.

Fennec Fox

As we drive alongside the dunes for about 1 km we come across two little girls each holding up a little animal and waving for us to stop.  We did and found they had two Fennec fox (desert fox).  This is the smallest species of fox and are native to the Sahara Desert in Africa.  The average adult weighs less than five pounds.

Our 4x4

All the arrangments have been made to get us to our camp.  I have opted out of going there by camel and have chosen the 4x4.  

The ships of the desert - camels and more camels

 A camel having lunch outside the front wall of the auberge.

More camels a few feet away.

Strictly speaking, these one-humped animals are dromedaries not camels, but...

It does rain in the desert!

I didn't get to spend Christmas day on the dunes at Erg Chigaga, but now I am going to the much bigger dunes at Erg Chebbi.  I was there in 2001 and it was an awesome experience.  My excitement was mounting.

About ten in the morning we headed out for the approximately five hour drive.  Along the way I recognized nothing.  Finally, I asked Houssaine if there was another road that we might have taken in 01, but no there is not.  Everything is so different than I remember it.  It seems so much more built up now.  I knew that there was a new paved road right into the villages alongside the dunes, but didn't expect this much development along the way.  Each town we went through was still very Moroccan with no tourists to be seen that day.

Once there the paved road, much to my joy, did not take away from the rustic, natural villages.  In 2001 when the paved road ended we drove 40 or more kms on the hamada (rocky desert) and then the last 20 on the sand.  This time it was a paved road right up to the village we were stopping at with only a short drive to the auberge(hotel)  in the village of Hassi Labied.  There are a few small villages alongside the dunes.  Hassi Labied, Merzouga, and Khamlia are the ones I know of.

.  Unkown to me, Houssaine had planned this wonderful stop for lunch and to make arrangements with the owner (friend) for our desert experience. 

Surprise, surprise, surprise......raindrops in the desert.  There was just a little sprinkling and the people were so thankful.  Actually it was a good thing because it would keep the sand from getting into everything and I mean everything.  Last time I even had sand in the underwear I was wearing.

Some photos from the auberge.  There was even a rainbow.  There are several photos to show the changing colours of the sand as the sun moves.If you double click on the photo with the flowers, you will see a great view.

  Some people opt to stay in an auberge rather than rough it at a bivouac (camp), but why would one come all this way and not sleep right on the sand.

We had an excellent lunch of a roasted chicken, fries, Moroccan salad, bottled water, fresh bread, two cokes, and one tea all for the princely sum of 100 dhs, approx $10.00 for the three of us.  French fries in most of Morocco are super delicious  - made with real potatoes and blanched in oil before frying mmmmmmmm  the real FRENCH fry.

There was a group staying at the auberge who were there learning about the dunes in preparation for a car rally.  The race is for women drivers only.  One group stays for a week with trainers knowledgeable about the terrain.  This group were flying out that day and another was arriving for a week.  Information - AÏCHA GAZELLE RALLY

17/3/2011 - 2/4/2011 This competition is the standard reference for women's motorized adventure. It is open to amateur or professional women only who are then immersed in the Moroccan Sahara for 10 days on their 4X4, motorbike, ATV or truck.     » ... + info