It's raining in Morocco

For several days, it rained over Morocco, and specially South-East. Roads were blocked between Ouarzazate and Zagora, Oarzazate and the Roses Valley, Erfoud and Er-Rachidia, with rising rivers and roads under water.

Moroccan people were happy. Rain was coming at ploughing time, it's a good thing. Palm trees are going to grow, and oasis will be greener.

Tours were disturbed, sometimes tourists were stucked somewhere for a night or two.

Sun came bck, mud dried. There were no dangerous high waters, like in Merzouga this Spring, or in Ourika valley. Just some water, good the the harvests and the reserves.

Tinjedad palm grove under water
(source photo : www.yafelman.com)

In Mezgarne, the small dried river one scarcely noticed when arriving the Oasis was full of water, mint, beans and acras growing in our garden flourished....

In Morocco, who arrives with water brings luck !

New generation of school teachers - 2

This time, we go to a small village, in High-Atlas moutains, 70 kms away from Ouarzazate (one hour by car), in the small rural council of Tazadoute (a Berber name meaning the female monkey, monkey being Zatout). Berber and Berber speaking village, whose three Arab speaking family are actually bilingual, and therefore well-integrated. (See our page on the Berber language in Morocco)



Tazadout is in the middle of the mountains. By winter’s heart, its 42 families can be blocked a few day, even a week by the snow, making roads impossible to drive. The traditional houses, made of argil and adobe are isolating from cold, but they are more difficult to maintain, and are replaced by concrete constructions.

Brahim El Guabli is primary school teacher in Tazadout for several years. The 42 families have many children (each household counts in average 8 persons), the school is quite full.

After his lessons, Brahim supports a training program for women. He believes that school must be extended out of its wall, to meet the rural population, still highly illiterate. People must learn to read and write, and many other things. The program is large, including importance of education, hygienics, the impact of new family legal code (which is still not fully applied in the remote areas), and several workshops (cooking, embroidery…) Brahim helps the association, trains its members, teaching them their rights and obligations.

This kind of action, of small individual action, is what helps rural Morocco in its evolution. Teaching adults to read and write, as well as their rights makes them less dependant of the administration and helps to fight a corruption unfortunately still widely established.

By now, Brahim tries to have a new room in his school, for the association « Education and Solidarity ». Helped by French associations, in relations with two schools in Frence, he needs more help, to find funds and gather all the energies.



The room will be used as a multimedia library, with computers used by pupils and the families of Tazadoute. It will be also a normal library, with a dedicated space for reading, it will host training sessions (including the sessions dedicated for women), exhibitions, and will help to remedy to the derelict state of two of the three class-rooms.
It will be managed by the teachers, all members of the Association, each of them giving half a day for these activities, after school-time.

And in between, even without a room, things happen !

A few days ago, two French musicians came in Tazadoute, and organized musical workshops for the pupils… whether in the yard or in the class-rooms, everyone enjoyed it !

Aïd El Fitr Moubarak

Aïd el Fitr (orAïd el Seghir, the small celebration, in reference to l’Aïd el Kebir, which in 2006 will happen the same day as New year) is the end of Ramadan. Today, for the countries following Saudi Arabia, tomorrow for Morocco.

After the imam spot the very small bit of the new moon, starts the great celebration of the end of the fast, for three full days. During these days, one puts on his best clothes, one eats (it's forbidden to fast, even if some, after the celebration, fast for sixmore days), one does not work. Everyone who cans goes in his family, and women assault tailor's shops to get, last minute, the celebration dresses, caftans, takchitas (a sort of caftan whit an over-dress of embroidered light fabric)...

So, Aïd el Fitr is also a little bit children's celebration, they receive new clothes, usually some traditionnal moroccan ones (baldi), to please the grand-parents, and some modern ones (roumi), because moroccan children do prefer, like anywhere else, jeans and sport shoes !

Neighbours visit neighbours and settle disputes, no disagreement must remain. Almonds are given, with the specific Zakat-el-Fitr, almond the the break-fast.

And some families even use the opportunity of being together to celebrate weddings !

Sweets of Ramadan, savoured in the evening, are outranked by the traditionnal recipes of Aïd El Fitr, like dates stuffed with nuts, makroud (small cakes made with butter and almonds), Krachel (biscuits with anise and sesame) or Zlabia, sort of thread of sugar fried in oil and flavoured with cardamone.

A small preparation of Aïd el Kebir…

Hassan II Mosque hid itself in the fog

Yesterday morning, I woke up before the call for the first prayer of the day, As-Sobh, that starts the fast. The balcony of the hotel room has a view over the large boulevard Houphouët Boigny, a view I love, with the white facades, a little (a lot) used by time, one behind the other, terraces, paraboles' dishes, a mix of old building of the thirties, unfortunatly not well maintained, of traditionnal moroccan houses, and, in some places, a few modern buildings. On the right, quite near, a minaret. And in the background, just in front of us, the silhouette of the mosque, the Hassan II mosque, like a ship sailing towards the city.

But yesterday morning, in a strange milky white athmosphere, all silent, like cotton, in a heavy fog over the city, the mosque had disappeared.

Totally disappeared...

At first I thought an illusion, a last dreamm. I tried to see it, to guess in the thick mist, at least the silhouette of the minaret, usually one can spot it from a few kilometres away.

Nothing at all.

And suddenly, in the silence, the voice of the muezzin came through the fog, even stronger, even more present because it was just a voice, just a sound claiming God's greatness (these are the first words in the prayer, Allah ou Aghbar, God is Great), coming from nowhere, from the clouds and the sea. One after the other, the other mosques answered it. The morning started.

But the mosque appeared only around 1O am, as the clouds went higher. I could spot the huge green roof, and over a blanket of remaining mist, the top of the minaret. For the whole day, it was impossible to see it wholly. Always a part of it was hidden by the fog. It was hot, very hot, 32°, much more than usual in october, and that was making Ramadan harder.

in the evening, the fog was lighter. And for the last prayer of the day,it was finally possible to perceive the light, on top of the minaret.

Calligraphy in the desert

Written by the wind, gone with the sand

The quill

The feather

Alpha

The sign

The comma

The paper