Archives for 2014

Life in Gueliz.

I know that Gueliz is not the most exciting neighborhood in Marrakech, but last year it was where Mike and I called home. Despite having a few parents express sympathy that the school housed teachers in Gueliz, I actually grew to like the place. Gueliz is the modern French built area of the city so it lacks the unique character of the medina. However, I think it still retains it’s own charm.

We were in easy walking distance to two grocery stores, the bank, good restaurants, several cheap cafes, and my yoga class. The train station and fruit/veg market were only a 20 minute walk away (although in opposite directions), and like I’ve said before, Marjorelle Garden was just down the street. Oh, and a good ice cream place was just a block away as well. Walking down the street you were just as likely to see horse drawn carriages and donkey carts as you were to see beat up taxis or brand new Mercedes.

Clearly, I took this picture right after garbage day. Throughout the week garbage piles up and spills over the dumpsters on a regular basis. It smells terrible but keeps the stray cats happy.

For me, I preferred living in the wide streets and open spaces of Gueliz over the cramped and labyrinthine medina. Whenever I felt overwhelmed on medina excursions, returning to Gueliz was a relief. (I know that there are amazingly peaceful riads within the medina, but let’s be honest, those places are not realistic choices for private school housing.)

One of our favorite neighborhood places was a cafe called Mike’s Cafe. Ok, just kidding. It’s Frescobaldi but Mike was there so often that it earned a little nickname amongst our friends. The food is nice, though not amazing, but the real appeal is in the laid back atmosphere, people watching, and familiar waiters. (When one of the waiters got a new job, he made sure to say goodbye to Mike. So sweet.) We often spent long weekend breakfasts there sipping mint tea and grazing on olives and French bread.

Our last Frescobaldi breakfast.

It’s funny how a place can start out feeling so foreign and different and then transform into a home, especially in the course of one year.

xo, jill

Beyond the studios.

Having spent our first afternoon exploring Atlas Studios, Mike and I split the rest of our time in Ouarzazate at the pool and exploring the Taourirt Kasbah. (There is a UNESCO ksar, Ait Benhaddou, just outside of Ouarzazate, but this is not it. We weren’t organized enough to get ourselves out there.)

The Taourirt Kasbah dominates one end of town and is equally impressive inside and out. Of course, that’s just my opinion. Several people on TripAdvisor were disappointed that the rooms are unfurnished. Honestly, that’s very typical. I was once told by a guide that in the Muslim tradition, furniture and belongings of previous rulers/families are removed and destroyed. That’s why most fortresses open to the public are unfurnished. I tried doing a little research to verify that claim, but couldn’t find anything. Thinking over all of the fortresses I’ve visited in UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, and Morocco, only a couple had items in the rooms (Sheik Zayed’s former home in Al, Ain, for example.) I’m curious if anyone else has found this to be true.

The kasbah is indeed a labyrinth inside and you won’t learn much without a guide. We weren’t in much of a guide mood that day, so we opted to wander the rooms on our own. Here’s a taste of what the kasbah is like, courtesy of a tourism company:

“The Kasbahs inside Taourirt are best described as a cobweb village of sun-kissed buildings elaborated with multi-level towers and turrets rising out of closely packed ksours (one family Kasbahs), ramparts with geometrical drawings and a series of alleys and gateways. 

I could not have said it better myself.

Of course, there were some cute kittens around too.

Here’s a little bonus of my disappearing pants!

Ouarzazate was a great weekend getaway.

xo, jill

Well, maybe more like Burbank?

Even when you live in a top tourist destination like Marrakech, it’s nice to get out and about and see something new. Back in  May, Mike and I needed to get out of town so we hopped a bus headed to Ouarzazate. I’ve since been told that taking a coach  to Ouarzazate is not the safest choice, and I have to agree. A good chunk of the trip involves driving through windy roads without guardrails through the Atlas Mountains. I spent a lot of time trying to evade motion sickness and not looking out the window. It was a long way down. So, should you embark on a trip to Ouarzazate, I highly recommend hiring a driver or driving yourself. Once in town, your own private mode of transport will be much appreciated as well. The fabled bus running between town and the studios (I’ll get to that in a minute) never materialized while we were there.

Another way to visit Ouarzazate is as part of a Sahara Desert excursion. Ouarzazate is known as the Door to the Desert so most desert excursions stop here on their way to the dunes. I believe these stops usually involve a meal, a walk around town, and quick museum stop. Some may also include a trip to a nearby kasbah. Mike and I felt like we’d had plenty of amazing desert experiences in Rub Al Khali, so we prioritized other experiences while in Morocco. I still feel ok with that choice, but I do sometimes wish we’d had an extra few days to sneak out there. (Most trips involve a 12 hour day in the car which also made the excursion less appealing. Plus, riding camels is something I refuse to do again.)

Because we were not en route to the desert, Mike and I focused on Ouarzazate’s other nickname, the Hollywood of Morocco. Quite a few films have been shot here including Lawrence of Arabia, Babel, The Mummy, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. There are two film studios in town and we elected to take a tour at the larger one: Atlas Studios. While it was fun to visit a film studio, the tour itself was a bit comical. Our guide was not too interested in his job. Although you’d expect to spend some time gawking at the sets, our guide was quick with the yallah-s. Spoken with his inflection, it definitely meant, “Hurry up!!!”

The commentary on the tour made us chuckle as well. It was a lot of:

Guide: Here, they filmed the English Patient.

Visitors: Really? Wow!

G: But not the famous movie, the tv show.

V: Oh…ok.

G: Here, they filmed Ben Hur.

V: Oooohhh…

G: But not the famous one. The 2010 Canadian mini-series.

V: …

There were also a few closed sets that were in use. When someone would ask what was filming there, the guide would reply, “Oh, some American movie.” as if we wouldn’t be interested. I’ll have to keep my eyes open over the next few years to see if I can spot any familiar scenes.

I had no idea before arriving in Morocco that it has such a strong relationship to Hollywood. While we were living there quite a few celebrities were nearby filming, including Nicole Kidman who reportedly looked into enrolling her children in my school. Also, one of my students had Tom Cruise’s people over scouting her house as a possible film location. I’ll have to actually watch the next Mission Impossible to see if it made the cut. In addition, one of the teachers at my school is also a well respected working actor in the Moroccan film industry. Exciting stuff.

xo, jill