"REVEALING MOROCCO'S MOSAIC" CULTURAL TOUR - THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL, SUMMER 2009
Casablanca * Fes * Marrakech * The High Atlas * Essaouira
Each time I go to a place I have not seen before, I hope it will be as different as possible from the places I already know.
–Paul Bowles, author of The Sheltering Sky, composer, traveler, Morocco expatriate
A mere 17 miles south of Europe, across the Strait of Gibraltar, a very different experience awaits—an intriguing place of great contrast, color, culture, history, and hospitality. The late King Hassan II described Morocco’s complexity and essence best—“Rooted in Africa, watered by Islam and rustled by the winds of Europe”—and during our fortnight here, we will encounter this country’s intriguing mélange. Through various guest lectures and language training, urban and rural service learning, guided tours, cultural and spiritual performances, and intimate home-stay settings, we will uncover a layer of Morocco and Moroccans unrevealed to most visitors.
Our diverse journey will take us from the commercial pole of Casablanca with its striking modern-traditional contrasts and the third largest mosque in the world…to the Arab-African pulse of Marrakesh, “The Rose City”, and its hypnotic, carnivalesque Djemaa el Fna ("Square of the Dead")…from the soul of Fes and its inimitable medieval medina (old city)…to the spectacular High Atlas Mountains with its distinctive Berber culture and rhythm…and to the cozy Atlantic coast city of Essaouira with its whitewashed medina and impressive Portuguese ramparts. Since we’ll be covering much ground in such a short period and since we’ll be striving hard to explore, engage, decipher, and document, there is a Moroccan proverb to keep in mind: “Little by Little, the Camel goes into the Couscous.” By travel’s end, we’ll only have tasted our first few grains. Spicy, sophisticated, and no doubt delicious, but much more will remain to savor in the future.
Below are two ambient public radio dispatches on Fes and Marrakech to stoke your excitment and curiosity. Give a listen:
Audio from Elsewhere
“Sounds from the old city of Fes”
“Sounds from Marrakesh’s ‘Square of the Dead’”