Taking it all in...
Our last days in Fes are going quickly! The daily French and Darija (Moroccan Arabic) classes have been enlightening academically as well as useful in our day-to-day interactions with Moroccans in restaurants, shops, and our cultural activities. Everyone is learning conversational Arabic at an impressive rate! After our final classes today we had a lunchtime discussion with Fatima Amrani, a noted feminist scholar who spoke about the history and current state of feminism in Islam and in Morocco as well as the recent reforms to the family code. She was a bright and engaging speaker whose lecture sparked many questions and a lot of informative discussion.
Our afternoons have been spent learning about restoration and preservation of the beautiful architecture and tilework of the old city of Fes, and yesterday we were able to try our hand at creating a piece of traditional Moroccan plasterwork – much harder than the skilled craftsmen make it look!
Last night, we were able to take in a concert of Issawa (drums, horns, and singing) music last night at a local cafe – and a few of us were even brave enough to dance.
Today we had a calligraphy lesson from a classically trained artist who works both in the traditional style and who has participated in fusion projects like “Calligraffiti”, tying together modern and ancient art forms.