The Pay-As-You-Go Moroccan Wedding





The costs of a Muslim wedding fall to the groom and his family, not to the bride and her family. In Morocco, wedding planning includes food, musicians, waiters...sounds familiar, right?  Once the prices have been negotiated and the money has been paid, it's time to enjoy the event?  Wrong.  All the money spent beforehand seems to have nothing to do with the amount the family is expected to spend while the ceremony is going on.

 

Here is an example: wedding singers accompany the groom, his family, and his gifts to the bride through the streets to the tent where the bride and guests await.  Each of the singers, perhaps 4, 6, or 8 of them, expect 20, 50 or 100 dirham bills will be places into their shirt collars several times along the route.

 

The Moroccan wedding singers are in the foreground.  One of the musicians is seated behind and one of the wedding ladies is the green dress

 

Pay each of the musicans liberally throughout the evening.  And all of the waiters as they bring and remove each course.

 





Don't forget the guys who may herald the approach of the wedding couple, and who will carry the bride and groom on their shoulders while doing a little dance step of their own.  Money in the collars right now, please.  After all, they are holding your child in the air.

 

 

They carry the groom on their shoulders throughout the tent while turning and waving their capes in time to the music

 

 

Pay the wedding ladies, or neggafates, who dress the bride through all of her dress changes and make sure every fold and drape and line on both the bride and the groom is perfect for picture-taking.

 

 

The wedding lady arranges the brides dress just so





Satisfied, she moves to the rear so the bride can be held aloft.

 

Then there's the photographer, the videographer...am I leaving anybody out?

 

You may as well be good-natured about it all.  You can't be stingy.  The denominations are color-coded so everyone can see at a glance how much you're shelling out.

 

Besides, the guests are free to stick money in collars, and they do.  They also compliment each other by giving money the same way to other guests who cut a fine figure on the dance floor. 

 

Relax.  Enjoy.  Dance.  Eat.  Get into as many of the pictures being taken as you can.  Just bring several thousand dhirham with you.  In small bills.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



Cooking and Eating Out in Morocco

The owner of this 5 burner stove spends a minimum of 4 hours in  the kitchen daily

One of the most striking things about Moroccan people is that they while the love most things American, they have not embraced our fast food culture.  Meals are prepared all day, every day from scratch.  Most women bake their on bread several times a week.  For mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, there is tea time at home.  Shops will close and schools empty as workers, teachers and students go on break at midday.  Families eat most of their meals together--breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Moroccan women spend 4 to 6 hours in the kitchen everyday, more if there is a special occasion such as an engagement party, or if relatives have come to town to stay for a few days.  At such times, the women will divide the tasks and work together.  For all-out shindigs like weddings, they will hire extra women and rent restaurant-size pots and serving platters.



Left over from party preparation: a propane tank, one of the stand-alone burners, and assorted pots that were too large to fit on the stove.

Prep time takes longer when everything is made from scratch. Fruits and vegetable are generally fresh, in season, not frozen or canned.  You want green beans?  You have to snap them.  Peas?  You get to shell them.  Think you'll want strawberries this winter?  I hope you remember to freeze some last spring.  The incentive to do-it-yourself is simple economics: frozen foods cost probably 3 times as much as fresh.  Who can afford that on a regular basis?

When you travel to someone's home, they would never presume that you picked up a burger and fries along the way.  They will immediately serve you tea or coffee, breads and pastries.  Then they will cook a big meal.  Then they will feed you more tea, coffee, breads or pastries to send you on your way.

Don't get me wrong, stores sell plenty of chocolate, chips and soda.  You can find all sorts of restaurants and American fast-food franchises.  There are desert shops that sell cake by the slice along with banana and avacado smoothies. There are lots of reputable street vendors whose wares are, fortunately, much better than those of  Terry Pratchett's Dibbler.  But generally speaking, there are only 3 reasons for eating out: as a necessity, as a special occasion, or as an unconscionable waste of money. 

So if you feel that cooking is a big headache, then come as a visitor.  If you're planning to stay in Morocco, you better bring your apron.

Casablanca to Rabat, Part 1

Rabat is just an hour away from Casablanca.  In theory.  Our trip started, of course, with leaving the house.  The house in Casablanca was on an inlet by the ocean.   Getting from the house to the main street to catch a taxi is about  mile walk.  There were 5 of us, counting an infant, and the small taxis in the area are only licensed to carry 3 people.  We had to split up and get 2 cabs. Given the traveller's law, which I just made up,  only one group got a taxi  immediately. It took a while to regroup at the bus station downtown.

Pleasantly, the bus ride to Rabat really did take only about an hour.  Outside the bus station, there was a long line of taxis.  Small taxis.  So we went down the block, around the corner, and to the end of that block where there was a group of large taxis.  Large  taxi's typically carry however many they can squeeze in. 

Ours took the 5 of us plus a man and another woman.  The baby, 3 women and the guy were in back.  Two of us shared the one seat in the front.  I have to give the driver credit:  he was able to shift gears the whole way without touching me, although I was practically on top of the gear box.


Then we came to an unexpected stop on the side of the road.  The driver got out to look at his engine.  The man in the back got out and flagged down another taxi.  Fortunately, we were back on the road in short order.  We even managed to pass the taxi carrying  the deserter-- the former male passenger from our cab.  Our driver yelled out to him and the man replied, both laughing as we sped by.

I thought we had reached our destination,  butwe got out of the taxi and just stood on the sidewalk for a minute.  It turned out, we had not actually reached our  destination at all.  We crossed the street and got into a horse-drawn carriage.  We clomped along in  the surrey with the fringe on top  for a few blocks and got out.  No, this stop wasn't it either.  But we were close. 


After going to a store to pick up a couple of things, we walked a few more blocks and, voila, we had finally arrived.  Our one hour trip had taken about three hours.  But we were feted guests, plied with food and tea and more food throughout our visit.

Postscript:  A daughter in Casablanca had no key and was going to be locked out of the house when she got off from work.  Two of us (one being me, of course) had to get back to Casablanca and were unable to spend the night.  So we reversed the process. With good connections we managed the trip in 2 hours, well in time to meet the daughter whose waitressing shift ended at midnight. Although sadly,  in our haste, we didn't get to ride in a horse-drawn carriage on the way back.

 

Eid al-Fitr in Marrakech

Ramadan, the month of fasting, ends at sunset.  The Eid (eed), or celebration, begins at night.  I bring a gift of decorative holiday cookies to my downstairs neighbors.  With cookies and orange soda, we wish each other  Eid Mabrook, blessings of the holiday.

The time for fajr, the morning prayers, runs from about 4:30-6:00.  That is the time the sky begins to lighten, but ends as the sun actually comes up over the horizon.  At 6:00 loudspeakers from the street are urging everyone out of their homes with "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar...".

By 7:00 a wide boulevard is packed with people for 2 long city blocks. They cover over the dividing islands and cross each side of the street.  Lines of parked cars completely and effectively block each end of the site. People fill every inch from curb to curb, sidewalk to sidewalk. One block is for the men, one block is for the women. I see a few policemen scattered about. They are not needed for this celebratory prayer.

There are thousands of people here. Ten thousand? Twenty? When I stand directly in the middle of the street and look straight ahead, I cannot spot the imam out of all of this crowd. To my right, the sun is bright white and still low, just clear of the rooftops.  There is a breeze; the air is still cool.  It is only about 80 degrees.  That feels cool, because later on, the forecast is predicting a high of 110. 

Woven plastic matting has been unrolled in the streets.  On top of that, people place their prayer mats and sit on the ground.  Those who have some physical difficulty bring stools or chairs.   For the latecomers, the places on the matting are taken.  No matter.  They lay their prayer rugs directly on the ground to sit on and then to stand on to pray. The rugs always touch or overlap as the Muslims will stand to pray not singly, but as a unit--touching shoulder to shoulder and toe to toe.

In the midst of these thousands of people, two friends come up to me out of the crowd.  A moment later, I spot a 3rd friend over to my left.  I introduce each to the other.

In the normal Friday congregational prayer, there is always first the khutbah, or sermon, then the prayer.  For eid, the order is reversed.  The loudspeakers, strung from light poles along the street so that all can hear,
have stopped the chant and the voice of the imam, who remains invisible in the distance to me throughout, begins the prayer.

By 8:00 the family downstairs has received it's first holiday visitors--nephews, sister, cousins. We eat cookies, drink coffee.  We share soup and a traditional square bread layered, pastry-like and fried.

I go upstairs again.  It's geting hot, and I go online to check the weather.  At 8:30, it's 91 degrees. 

Eid Mabrook, from Marrakech.

Taxis in Morocco

There are 2 types of cab in Morocco.  One is the Big Taxi (teksi kabeer).
It takes assorted individuals going in roughly the same direction and charges them all separately, all the same price. There is no meter.  You will not be dropped at the door.  You will be let off on the corner, around the block from, or a block away from your destination, so that the cab driver can take the best route for the next passenger.  

If  you are travelling as one large group or need to carry large items or luggage, you can be sure to get some deluxe (high) price that you will have to agree to at the outset. You may be able to negotiate a bit, but you are at a disadvantage.  You need to get somewhere, the driver doesn't.

The big taxis are usually some version of Mercedes Benz, or they are occasionally a variety of very small minivan.  The Mercedes drivers take that whole "6 passenger"  idea to heart, as they firmly believe they can fit in 6 passengers, not including the driver.  So 2 passengers  get to sit on one seat in front next to the gear shift box, and 4 more are squished into the back.

At the Big Taxi stands, you may find guys who work as cab fillers.  I don't know what they're called, but when you approach the stand, they will ask where you're going and direct you to whichever cab at the stand is headed in your direction.  You then get to sit and wait till the cab fills (and you're squished) before leaving.

If for some reason your taxi is not full at the start of the trip, don't worry.  The cabbie is always on the lookout for people along the way going his direction.  He will pick them up, so you can get squished then.

You  may think, "well, at least it's a Mercedes". Think again.  The window in the back may or may not open.  There is no air conditioning, or heat for that matter.  Get the picture?

The other type of cab is the small taxi (teksi sa-reer),  These have meters.  They will drop you at the door --that usually costs more--or take you to the nearest taxi stand and you can walk from there.  The small taxi's have a strict 3-passenger limit.  Babies and small children are counted, even if you keep them on your lap.

Families or friends often have to split up, flag down 2 taxis, and regroup at their destination. Of course, finding 2 taxis when you need them means it may take a while for all of you to get where you're going.  And, yes, if there are only one or two of you in the cab, the driver will stop for additional passenger(s) along the way.

There is no central company office that will dispatch a cab to your house when you call.  I had one driver tell me that he would come when I call, but he would immediately start the meter when I called him.

I live about a mile from the closest taxi stand.
  
Taxi! Yo, taxi!