Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, May 28, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, May 28, 2004 |
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Life
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International Travel Moroccan mystique Purobi Menon
The Hassan II Mosque at Casablanca.
Moroccans rate their cities according to their functions. Therefore Rabat is considered the administrative capital where the Royal Palace and Mosque are located and from where the current monarch Mohammed VI functions. Casablanca, with its European façade and modern office buildings, is considered the economic capital, Marrakesh the cultural capital, and Fez the spiritual capital since it is the oldest city in Morocco and its medina dates from 9th century A.D. Rabat is a quiet bureaucratic city with none of the buzz of Marrakesh. By nine in the evening, its streets are deserted. One enters the Royal Palace grounds through the Ambassador's Gate so called because of the various representatives who must drive through if they are to have an audience with the monarch. The king does not reside in the Royal Palace; it is only the seat of government and the political centre. The royal city is a city within a city — 44 acres of which the Royal Palace covers 10 acres. On the main gate of the Royal mosque are scallop shells on either side — symbolic of life as in Botticelli's Venus born from a shell. This is the Christian influence on Moorish architecture. Between the two shells is a small medallion with Allah inscribed in Arabic. Another emblem of Rabat is the Hassan Tower with the Mausoleum of Mohammed V by its side that also contains the tomb of Hassan II, father of the present king who passed away in 1999. Mosques in Morocco follow their own architectural style. There is always one single square minaret with a small round dome on top. This single minaret drives home the point that they were never under Ottoman rule — lapis-coloured blue domes are a distinct feature of Ottoman architecture. In Morocco, the colour green is used because it is considered to be the colour of wisdom and the colour of Prophet Mohammed's cape. Casablanca, which is the modern face of Morocco, is the country's largest city. The Spanish settled here at the end of the 18th century and from Dar el Beida, Arabic for white house, christened it Casablanca translating to the same in Spanish. Whatever problems may lurk under Casablanca's urban fabric, the memories of its clean whitewashed buildings remain. The city became the base for the penetration of French colonialism into Morocco when nine port workers were massacred in 1907 and blockade of the French Consulate provided the pretext for military intervention. In 1912, the French Resident Lyautey decided to make Casablanca the principal port of Morocco and the main seat for the European populace. It still retains this status and today from Casablanca home products are shipped towards other countries and all banks and international companies have a presence in this city. Because of Casablanca's exclusively European façade with the Park of the Arab League fanning out in the city centre, Hassan II decided to bequeath it an Islamic structure. So he built the Hassan II Mosque, inaugurated on August 30, 1993, and built next to the waters of the ocean. Designed by French architect Michel Pinseau, it possesses the tallest minaret in the world standing at 200 metres. 20,000 worshippers can be accommodated inside the mosque at the same time and another 80,000 in the courtyard. The marble for the mosque came from Agadir, the granite from Tafraoute, and the glass was imported from Venice. The mosque was funded by donations from all over the country. The city in Morocco that would capture the tourist's heart is Marrakesh. It is a walled city surrounded by 10 gates and most of the buildings are pink. The terrain is very flat and is surrounded by the Atlas mountains which give it its picturesque advantage. Due to the hot summers Marrakesh has a large number of town houses — a house with a garden and a fountain — known as Riyadh in Arabic. There are more than 200 of them (riyadhs) in Marrakesh. The Bahia Palace in Marrakesh is one such residence. Built by the black slave Abu Ahmed towards the end of the 19th century, it is representative of Moorish architecture. The palace walls are stucco on plaster, the tiles are worked piece by piece on the lower half of the walls and on the floor. The ceilings are made beautiful with motifs such as the Tree of Life but keeping in mind Islamic tenets only floral and geometric motifs are portrayed. The fountains within the courtyards are made from Carrara marble and in the earlier days one kilo of sugar was bartered for a kilo of Carrara marble. In fact one element that strikes a tourist in Morocco is the vocabulary of selling while walking the souks. Bargaining and barter are a way of life here, perhaps even now. In Marrakesh, the marketplace is the Jemaa l Fna. If one's eye happens to fall on an object the shopkeeper is quick to catch it and take you up on it — three hundred dirhams, one hundred you say, one fifty, one twenty-five, okay take it. In Ourika Valleym a village outside Marrakesh, a trader offered all his items for my watch. That's Morocco for you even today! In many ways Morocco lives by its own sense of time. The oldest and largest living medieval city exists in Fez dating from the 9th century A.D. Today its occupants number a little over half a million. As one deftly escapes the path of the mules and the horses, sights do come up. For one, there is the hand of Moulay Idriss, founder of Fez. Legend has it that if you place your palm over the hand of Idriss and utter a sincere prayer it will be answered. But we couldn't afford the time as the medina has 9,000 streets and seven gates to it. So, we moved on to the Bab Boujeloud or the Blue Gate built in 1913. The Suuq Dabbaghin or the tanneries area is where the leather that Morocco is well-known for is treated in a rather primitive manner — in stone baths with various dyes. The Suuq Dabbaghin is situated close to the Karouyine Mosque, which has 14 gates, 275 works and where 25,000 people can pray together at one time. The Karouyine Mosque is now acknowledged as one of the oldest universities in the world. As with most mosques in Morocco, entry is restricted. A golden rule in Morocco is not to eat off the streets but the cuisine sampled at a restaurant in Marrakesh was quite divine. A soup of lentils and chickpeas called Harira Marrakchia, a soft pigeon pie called b'stilla and of course so was Couscous (the national dish made of steamed semolina, wheat, maize or rice flour) with chicken and seasonal vegetables. Moroccan sweets are made of almonds, figs and dates and very sweet. The breads are very much like the Indian paratha and naan. And mint tea with sugar is the anytime drink. Morocco is a cultural experience if you open your heart to it. Shukran as they say or thank you with a hand placed over the heart.
Fact file
When to visit: December is a good time to visit. The coastal areas enjoy a Mediterranean climate and Marrakesh has an average temperature of 21 Celsius in December. How to get around: It is best to explore Morocco with a coach tour as distances between the main cities are quite a stretch and vast portions of Morocco are scantily inhabited.
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