Ibn Ibn Battuta

Marjane and the Medina: Food Shopping à la Marocaine

When I was preparing to leave for Morocco, without exception, everyone person back home who had ever visited or lived here agreed: “The food is amazing.”

Here in Fes, I have stuffed myself at some of the city’s finest restaurants, been force-fed by overzealous Moroccan housewives, and lunched at local bsarra soup stands beside paint-speckled laborers. I can confirm – it is “amazing.”

Buying food to cook at home, however, has revealed even more about Moroccan culture and the changes the country is undergoing. After two and a half months

From Morocco to Melilla: A Reeducation in Normalcy

Melilla map

The Moroccan in me could tell right away that Melilla was not normal.

With the border just a few hundred feet behind us, Jacqueline and I boarded a local bus to take us into the center of town. We were not shoved, we received a printed receipt for our bus ticket, and we actually found a seat. This being Europe, of sorts, I was not surprised to see Euros exchange hands or to hear Spanish, but the rest of this was highly unusual.

Melilla is itself an abnormality. One of Spain’s two remaining colonial outposts on the Moroccan mainland, this diverse enclave

Barack Obama and the End of the American Disappointment

Back in the US, yesterday may have been my generation’s greatest day, and I missed it. For nearly two years, I was completely immersed in the American presidential campaign while living in Washington, DC. Since moving to Morocco in September, however, I’ve had to settle for watching from a distance as this spectacular race finally drew to a close.

In Fes, as usual, misinformation was rampant in recent weeks, and what election-related “news” I received by word of mouth was uniformly absurd. Mostly, however, complete ignorance reigned. For instance, several weeks ago I asked a taxi driver, a self-described McCain supporter, what he thought of Sarah Palin, and received a blank stare in response - never heard of her.