Hassan Tower and the nearby Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat were first on our itinerary on this very cold and rainy day. We struggled to keep dry under our many layers of clothing and wind-blown umbrellas but this did not keep us from experiencing two of Morocco’s most mystical places.
We discovered that construction began in 1195 on the Hassan Tower, a minaret that would reach 260 feet, accompanied by a mosque large enough to accommodate 20,000. However, what was left when the Sultan Yacoub al-Mansour died in 1199 was a minaret standing 145 feet and about 200 columns that would have supported the projected mosque. An earthquake in 1755 damaged the incomplete site, but what remains is magnificent to behold.
The group entered the mausoleum in respectful silence and looked down at the marble tomb from the gallery above and then looked upward to see a dome-shaped ceiling covered with gold leaf. Arts Education major Damelis Diaz had this to share: “My observation is that it’s a glorification of the dead, something we do not do for our leaders in America.”
Needless to say we were eager to get out of the rain and into the dry warmth of our bus, which took us across a bridge spanning the Bouregreg River to Rabat’s twin city, Sale, where we made our way to the Association Anamil Adahabiya (AAA - Association of Golden Hands). This visit along with our activities during the day in Sale were coordinated by Youness, the founder and director of the Seagull Association for Transcultural Exchange and Peace.
AAA was founded in a poor neighborhood in 2014 by Mohammed, known endearingly as “Moh,” whose vision was to begin a grassroots organization for students who have dropped out of school to learn the tailor trade. Twenty-five female and male students, ages 16 – 30, learn how to construct jellabas, kaftans and other traditional Moroccan garments and to adorn them, not with machine-made pieces, but with those that are handcrafted. Moh demonstrated for our students how elaborate trims -- for which they provide names like, snail, flower and leaf -- are made, and a couple students were able to try their hands at it. Watch the short video below to gain insight into that process.
Our group was then divided into foursomes, with each joining a local family for lunch. I was with a group that had the great pleasure of being hosted by Amel, a singer who lives with her mother and grandmother. To our delight, her great aunt, Habiba, was there with us so we were able to have a conversation with her with Amel translating. Habiba’s husband was a soldier in France around the time of World War II and died after the war at the age of 40. She has nine children and told us, “If my husband hadn’t died I’d have 24.” When I asked her what it was like raising nine children on her own, her response was simply, “Allah.”
We were so lucky to have conversations with two women, one 25 and one 83, each of whom provided us with different perspectives of life as a Moroccan woman. Shortly before Amel brought an enormous platter of tagine to the table, Habiba was ready for a nap. Amel assisted her great aunt to bed and returned to let us know that “she sleeps every twelve minutes.”
We waited for torrents of rain to pass and with great speed Amel escorted us back to the bus for a ride to the Amal Sale (Hope for Sale) Center. There, artists were waiting to perform for us: Amel, singer songwriters Amine and Badr, rapper Hamid and a dancer, Marwin. Joining us were Moore’s President Fitzgibbon along with a small contingency of board members and alumni who had recently arrived in Morocco and would be here during the duration of our trip. What a good time we all had!
Hamid began by telling us that rap first appeared in Morocco in 1996 as an activist vehicle “to speak about issues having to do with poverty, corruption and people going to jail for protesting.” He then sang, according to our tour coordinator Allen, the “adult” version of his song. Following other songs performed by Badr and Amel, Marwane sizzled on the floor with hip-hop dance moves that left us in awe. Soon, others joined him, including alumna Kathy Lister ’78 and Fashion Design student Sophia. Check out the video below to see her moves.
I think we all agreed that it was difficult to leave this totally awesome scene, but leave we had to in order to get to the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art in Rabat where "From Goya to Today: A Look at the Banco de España Collection" was on view.
