The Magic Fountain

Part of the rampart restoration seems to be to create a series of public spaces on the river side of town. The sculpture park is one but the fountain in Place Aout 20 by Bab  El Kasbah is one of the more spectacular.  The fountain plays mostly in the evening and whilst it is not quite up to the standard of Barcelona's magic fountain, it certainly doesn't sing to you, the changing colours make it quite special.

New Year, New Government

Today is the first day of1433. It is also the day of the official results of the elections. The biggest party is the moderate Islamist PJD. One of their platforms was to ban the sale of alcohol so Beloved will be relieved they have no absolute majority and will presumably be moderated in their implementation by coalition partners.
Happy New Year!

Yes she was

I thought our Old Friends were impressed by the Atlas and yes the Artist was as she has posted this rather wonderful photo on Facebook.

                                                                 

Election Fever?

Following the implemetation of the new constitution born of the Arab Spring there are elections today for the new lower house. These have been brought forward from next year to meet the demands for democratic reform. The constitution gives more power to the Prime Minister ,although the King retains control of most important decisions, and guarantees women social and civil rights in addition to their existing political rights. It also recognises the Berber language for the first time although it is unclear what this will amount to. Not I think as yet the equivalent of the Welsh Language Act. (See links below for details of the new constitution.)

Although there had been some discussion on news programmes prior to the holiday the campaign did not officially launch until November 12 after the Eid holiday. There was no sign of it here in Taroudant until November 18 (also a public holiday). Suddenly there were leaflets through the door .On going into town it was clear that there had been recent poster and leafleting activity. Posters had been put up for a number of parties and some leaflets were being scrutinised. We saw evidence of parties whose emblems were a pigeon, a book, a yacht and a prancing pony. There were also more general posters  exhorting the populace to vote.

The next day all sign of these had disappeared apart from some of the general "vote" posters (those on the inside of shop windows and the backs of caleches; presumably paid for sites) and one proper plastic hung banner for the yacht party. On Tuesday huge banners appeared on the town walls with the "Vote" message. When we went into Agadir on Wednesday they were raised at the major roundabouts and on the backs of buses.

Other leaflets for an ear of wheat and a scales party appeared. The ear of wheat and scales parties each included one woman in their four candiates but the other parties only had male candidates. To try and counteract this selection bias there are 60 seats (out of 395) reserved for women (elected by proportional representation from a list).

The February 20 movement which demonstrated for the reforms is calling on voters to boycott the election. I am not sure that is necessary. Everybody we have spoken to in our admittedly limited circle seems anything but enraptured by the prospect of a new government. They politely explain that the person on television is a politician setting out their programme;(the word manifesto is never used - perhaps it it is too like "manifestation" their word for a demonstration); and this is immediately and vehemently followed by "AND IT'S ALL LIES".
In general they seem to have achieved a level of cynicsm reached in Britain only after the duckhouse expenses revelations and  the demand MPs debate that they should be excluded from millionaire Chancellor  George "we're all in it together" Osbourne's depradations on other public sector pensions.

There are over 20 political parties in Morocco. They band together in 3 main groupings but it is the party that is voted for not its coalition group. Given recent experience of coalition politics in Britain I am not surprised that the view is that politicians are "all lies" as it would appear from the con/lib government that they need not do anything in their manifestos and excuse this by explaining that the coalition is a separate entity to the party.

Nevertheless the elections have some interest as a source of income. It is said that some politicians "who you never see between elections" may deliver concrete benefits to secure votes and those who have quite reasonable cars can earn 500 Dh plus a tank of petrol from various parties by ferrying people to the polls.

The contrast with British elections is that the posters are dominated by the government "Vote" campaign. Obviously I can't read the leaflets but they are quite short and I would be surprised if they contained much negative campaigning. There is certainly a complete absence of the  commercial billboards with party posters of the "Labour isn't working", "13 years of Tory misrule", "Demoneyes" variety.

It usually takes up to 3 days for the votes to be counted so it will be some time before we know the outcome.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15738259

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15884484

http://www.majalla.com/eng/2011/10/article55226645

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jDe5yJHKl0fuZfG2Exhjd56e45ig?docId=c615ab44303a4ee4bc9e4b7e0e55b5eb

http://www.bitterlemons-international.org/inside.php?id=1458

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/11/16/elections_dilemmas_for_moroccos_protest_movement

http://www.moroccoboard.com/viewpoint/122-dr-hussein-ben-kirat-/5489-moroccos-new-constitution-and-the-prospects-of-nov-25-2011-general-elections

http://www.consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=822:post-election-reflection-moroccos-2011-constitutional-referendum-&catid=42:election-reflection&Itemid=270

http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/darius-kadivar/sitting-pretty-will-morocco-s-elections-reduce-kings-powers

All Change again at Place Tamaklate

In January I reported the changes in town's second square following the King's visit. Part of the square was used as a car park but the rest was empty apart from the orange stalls. It had been like that certainly for the last 5 years. This year they allowed additional stalls in the unused bit and by Eid eve it was absolutely full and humming with stalls. Over the feast all that changed. Lines appeared on the ground. Bicycle racks were removed. The whole has been converted into  car park together with a very official uniformed guardian who gives receipts. Which is probably necessary as the cost is 5Dh whilst the main car park off Place Assareg is only 2Dh.
5Dh is about 40p so it can now cost more to park in Taroudant than Mold!

Terrace plants

Madre does not do email or facebook so she asked me to blog pictures of the terrace plants so she can see how they are getting on. The answer is that they aren't really .Most have not died over the  summer but they can't be said to be thriving. The poor spanish bouganvillea which I nearly killed is hanging in there but has not recovered any of the leaves it lost. My bird of paradise are not flowering which the ones in Agadir are currently. The morning glory is a scraggy plant but has several flowers a day. I  planted a number of dahlia tubers a fortnight ago in the hopes of reversing the british flowering cycle. (I had taken advice from the RHS Dahlia Society) but they have failed to sprout, sob. At least the palm is happy.

Taliouine Saffron

                                                                             
                                                 

Taliouine is a place we had only passed through not stopped at so when the Artist said she wanted to buy saffron we went for the day.
Saffron like those other exotic powders,cocaine, metampthetamine and heroin, is worth more than its weight in gold. Like them it is sold in little baggies measured on electronic scales of devastating accuracy. Like them it is likely to be adulterated the further from the source the supply chain progresses. 
Coalition forces are encouraging it's production in Afghanistan in replacement for opium poppies and it is grown in Spain and Greece but mostly in Iran. However for the last 350 or 500 years depending on which historian you believe Taliouine has been a centre of production. Currently the local growers are organised into the Soukatana co-operative whose website is .http://www.oasisdemezgarne.com/lgen/Boutique/saffron-shop.htm
Saffron takes its name from the Arabic for yellow and as well as being used in cooking it can be used as a striking yellow dye. The effective parts are the stamens of the flower of crocus sativus.Each flower has only 3 stamen and they need to be removed by tweezers within 3 days of harvesting. Harvest is the last week of October and first in November and the flowers need to be picked at dawn and then processed. At this time whole families work 20 hour days;1200 people in the village being supported by the flower.
It is best to buy the saffron as dried stamens as powder or cake (a spanish finish) are more easily adulterated with either cheap tumeric colour compound or marigold leaves although stamens of other crocus may also be used. However it is often used as a powder and to do so heat the threads on a saucer over boiling water to dry them first. Alternatively steep the threads in a little boiling water before adding to a stew. A quarter of a gram is sufficient.
The village has an impressive new building the House of Saffron. It reminded me of the new vast empty centres around Bejing and the great wall in 2007 awaiting the expected hordes of Olympic tourists. There is a small exhibition in English and French, some spectacular views and a large downstairs shop selling mostly saffron but also some saffron products such as soap and body cream. We were pleased to find a particularly useful packaging of boxes of smaller sachets; ideal for small presents but you could buy larger amounts in small jars if you were rich.
On the way back we passed a large herd of 50 -100 camels which we did not stop for and some flying goats. This time the Artist persuaded Beloved to stop for pictures.



View across valley from L'Auberge du Saffron Taliouine





View across valley at Taliouine




View from thr House of Saffron Taliouine




Interior of the House of Saffron Taliouine




Interior of the House of Saffron Taliouine





Packaged saffron and saffron and argan oil soap




A half gram of saffron - enough for 3 or 4 casseroles

 

Flying goats on the road from Taliouine to Taroudant



Flying goat in closeup

The Artist's Sketches

While she was here the Artist did some sketches. They now adorn the walls of the green bedroom.




 



Courtyard Dar Barbara







Lion Fountain Dar Barbara






Fountain Dar Barbara





Morning






Palais Salaam






Fountain Palais Salaam

Thet are amazingly detailed. The originals are little more than A5 in pencil and watercolour pens (which I'd never Heard of). The details are like something out of Klimt in my view. Can you matck then to the pictures?














Knifegrinders, perfume and socks

The run-up to Eid seems to have been slightly less frenetic this year. Whether that is because Eid is on a Monday and the returnees from Casa had longer to stage their journey or whether I just have adjusted to the chaos I don't know, but I don't think I've seen one single sheep in a bicycle basket this year.
We went and got our knives sharpened on Thursday. When I was a child in the 50s the rag and bone man used to come round regularly with his horse and cart. The clothes went for papermaking and the bones for glue and the attraction was that he may give you a goldfish in payment. (Beloved ,being a city boy, will see this as further evidence  I lived in the sticks.) Synthetic fibres put an end to him and now our old clothes may well end up on the 2nd hand stalls  which spring up prior to  the holiday. Sometimes the rag and bone man would have a knifegrinder with him but I can't remember whether it was at any particular time of year. Here it definately is so and several knifegrinding stalls appear round one entrance to the souk. The grinders are electric these days. You hand the knife over and are given a square of card with a number. Come back an hour later and your knives are wrapped up and tagged so you get the right ones back. They are now very very sharp.
Thursday was relatively calm, as was Saturday although there was a proliferation of stalls selling the good old festive gift standbys of perfume and socks. Yesterday was bedlam. both Place Tamoklate and Place Assareg were wall to wall stalls;largely clothing, some knives and grills still, although that was mostly last week, and lots and lots of exrtra fuit and veg. It was impossble to belive it could all ever be sold let alone eaten.
The exit from Place Tamoklate towards Place Assareg was entirely blocked. Vehicles and bikes were entirely stationary and the crowd could hardly move -I was reminded of the fatal stampede at home just before we left. Still every one was very good-natured and in holiday mood. Beloved dropped his wallet and everybody pointed this out and even managed to squeeze enough space for him to bend down and pick it up, intact of course. Only the caleche drivers breached the spell desparately trying to get their frightened horses out of the melee and in one instance using his whip on the crowd in the attempt.

Today of course it is the complete opposite. Town is deserted apart from a few confused tourists sitting in front of the Hotel Roudani wondering what happened to the promised souks and if lunch is going to be obtainable

EID MBOURAK



Place Assareg Sunday 6.11.11, the day before Eid.



Place Assareg, Eid, 7.11.11

 

Place Tamaklate, Eid, 7.1.11




A deserted Bab Taghout, Eid, 7.11.11.



Coings

My tajine cookbook included a recipe for "coings" which had me quite baffled. Thank heavens for the internet which told me they were quinces. It is the quince season so I experimented on our old friends.
The quince which looks like a distorted pear is a devil of a fruit. They needed to be peeled,cored and quartered but they were resistant to peeling being harder than a swede. The paring knife was not up to quartering or coring and I had to use my main kitchen knife which was a bit scary at the coring.Then as the recipe book said they discoloured horribly to a nasty dark brown but miraculously colour was restored when heated in butter. The end result was very eatable so here is the recipe.

Lamb with quinces and apricots.

Lamb lean in chunks
2 diced peeled onions
375 ml water
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
stick cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne or equivalent in harissa or other hot sauce
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
smidgin of powdered saffron or if unavailable colour powder
salt and black pepper to season100g dried apricots
3 tablespoons castor sugar
a quince per person
100g butter

Place the lamb, half the onion, water and the spices in a casserole dish. Bring to the boil and then turn to a low heat and simmer for an hour.
Meanwhile peel, core and quarter the quince. Fry in butter for 15minutes with the rest of the onion and add the apricots and sugar. If you want the tajine really sweet you can add some honey as well. Add the mixture to the casserole and simmer a further half hour.
Add more chopped fresh coriander to serve.

The tajine should be quite dry, check towards the end of cooking to make sure it does not burn. The meat should be tender and infused with the spices.




Lamb Tajine with Quince and Apricots



Uncooked quinces.