The beginning of the end?

One of the attractions of Taroudant has always been the lack of traffic control. It always seemed to be that east of Agadir there were no traffic lights or similar. About 5 years ago we got our first one way street and now it is complied with except by cyclists who thik it doesn't apply to them, although Beloved was once made to get off and push by a policeman. Several more one-way streets have followed although we do not yet have the complexity of Liverpool or Birmingham's one-way system.

Imagine our horror when we returned this year and found traffic lights at the Palais Salaam roundabout. A vision of the future.

The lights are quite modern and count down in seconds although they do have stationary little green men. In the north we saw lots which had animated walking little green men which speeded up during the countdown so that in the last few seconds they were running like Usain Bolt.

Traffic controlled roundabouts seem to be on the increase. This is partly because the old french "ceder a droit" roundabouts are being replaced by British - style  "priority to vehicles 

on the roundabout" roundabouts and everyone gets confused. In Agadir they replaced a whole string of traffic lights on one road with roundabouts and then 18months later had to put lights on them. At rush hour the still need a coule of policemen on them to referee.

A Fantasia in Douar el Koudia

We were coming back from Agadir yesterday when we noticed a lot of cars on the verge and a tent such as used for festivals in a field with a large crowd. We realised it was a Fantasia so stopped and watched.

The Fantasia was in a large field parallel  to the road and seems to be designed specifically to host Fantasias, completely flat, and just the right size and shape.

We were at the far end from the tent so we were just where the riders gathered. They were in traditional dress on richly caparisoned horses. 

They were brandishing rifles/muskets rather like those carried at the moussem in Chefcheouen but these were not plain wood but intricately decorated. They all lined up, set off at a moderate canter, coming to a gallop about 3/4 of the way down the course when they would discharge the rifles in a cloud of smoke, and then pull up quickly before reaching the end. They would then walk back to the start where their ground helpers would recharge the guns and then repeat the whole thing.

 The guy in the picture is recharging two guns at once by using two ramrods in one hand.  The women sitting on the bank by us would chant as they started off.

The Fantasia exhibits great horsemanship. The rider has to guide the horse single-handed whilst brandishing the rifle in the air, and the horse must not shy or bolt when the guns are discharged nor mind the smoke which is quite dense when the explosions go off. Most riders I know would have enough trouble stopping the horses in the short distance left to them at the speed they are going let alone one-handed in smoke. Clearly a hundred years ago or more this would have been essential practice for cavalry. Nowadays technology has overtaken the need but the Fantasia remains popular. There is a commercial version put on for tourists in Agadir with dinner included as an evening spectacle excursion but this was entirely local; I think we were the only europeans watching and there was a crowded of several hundred.

Baby Cacti

The terrace plants were very pleasing when we returned, if in need of a little weeding. The monster was in flower

,the baby cacti were doing well,

 and the grand children even better. 

Things needed potting on. Of course we haven't done it. First we took a trip, and then I was having more dental work :( which entailed a couple of trips a week to Agadir so we didn't get round to it and now we leave in just over 2 weeks so it's a bit of a scramble to get done. Last week we bought yellow paint and this morning we bought pots , so maybe by next week????

A moussem in Chechaouen

On our first evening in Chefchaouen we were wandering up to the Outa el Hamman when we heard a commotion behind us. There were a lot of drums and those reedy pipes that usually signify a wedding but it wasn't a Thursday. We realised that there was a small procession led by three older men carrying flags,

 followed by the band and with a number of elderly men brandishing old fashioned wooden stock rifles/muskets?? (they ram loaded down the barrel). 

They were accompagnied by a crowd of women, children and young men and turned into the square stopping in front of the mosque. The followers crowded onto the steps in front of the mosque to get the best view and quite a crowd of excited locals gathered around them.

The flags were furled and carried into the mosque and the rifle carriers proceeded to march round in a circle. one unarmed old guy sat in the centre and they followed him in a sort of lead and response chant. 

This built up in intensity and just when it was getting a bit boring the surprised everyone by firing their guns causing a collective jump. There was a bit of a gap whilst the musicians started up again and they reloaded and then they started circling again, lead and response, with everyone holding up their rifle except for one old guy who was walking round with his on his head.

 They built up to another firing and just as the shots ricocheted around the square the rain started, exactly as if it had been a rain dance, not that you need one in Chef, and everybody hurriedly dispersed and went for cover.
We never found out what it was about..

However when we passed the mosque at the other end of the square after sunset the next day it was open with a number of equally old men sitting singing chants similar to the Sufi led celebrations occasionally heard in Taroudant. Cound these be one of the Brotherhoods for which the Rif is famous. Everyone takeing part was old 70+ I'd say. The young men just watched excitedly and took pictures on their phones.

Chefchaouen

We first went to Chefchaouen 25 years ago and I remember a sleepy little blue town with steps for streets  and the guide proudly telling us that they had a population of 35,000 and water to double that.

If you look very hard on the steeper back streets you can still find that Chefchaouen today but the main square and the area around it are now are continuous strips of cafes, B&Bs and stalls selling ubiquitous tourist crap.I expect in the summer the tourist population is nearly 35,000. Still the traditional houses are attractive. As well as having the blue windows and doors traditional in northern Morocco the Chefchaoueni colour their whitewash with blue so the walls are a paler blue. Add the stepped lanes and a couple of potted plants and the postcard and fridge magnet printers are in business.

Despite the touristic melee of the Outa el Hamman the Kasbah (entrance 10DH) entered from it is a neglected area well restored and preserved by the state agencies based there, with a display of local craft techniques and a most beautiful garden.

It was sowering during our visit, (everyone in Chefchaouen carries an umbrella in autumn), so I stayed in the jail out of the rain and contemplating the planting whilst Beloved went up the tower.

 

 The view from the tower is, naturally, outstanding. 

The Kasbah was built in 1471 by Moulay Ali Ben Musa Ben Rashid when he founded the town fleeing from the Reconquista. The town was therefore originally populated by indigenous tribesmen but muslims and sephardic jews fleeing Spain.

The Rif

The Rif appears to be a northern extrusion of the middle atlas but is in fact not geologically related to the Atlas system at all but to the mountains of southern Spain.It has a high rainfall and isvery green , more like Wales.
 It has always been a very independant area, the population,of Chleugh mixed with muslim and jewish refugees from the reconquista, speak an Amizigh language (though not the Tashalet of Taroudant) and resisted the Spanish Protectorate, forming a self-declared republic in 1921 which survived until 1925, nearly beating the Spanish who only defeated it with the help of the French and the widespread use of mustard gas. Cancer rates in the area are elevated to this day.
The area is traditionally controlled by various muslim brotherhoods, one of the largest of which has its zaouia in Ouezzine. Further north around Ketama (now Issaguen) the traditional crop is cannabis, which was actively encouraged by the Spanish during the occupation. Cultivation remained legal until the 1970s, and despite it becoming illegal and attempts to suppress it 2011 figures showed that 72% of all cannabis seizures world-wide originated in the Rif. Despite this the farmers remain poor and the area in need of development.

 http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=59037

The Rif remains fiercely independant and resisted the moroccan government in 1956 having to be ruthlessly put down by Mohammed V's government and there are still calls for an independant Rif Republic based on the 1925 boundaries.

  http://rif.livenations.net/