We left Fez behind and traveled to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, but on the way stopped in Meknès, which served as the capital for 65 years during the 17th century. We arrived and were greeted by our guides Bouthra and Mustafa. After exiting the bus we looked across the boulevard that separates the Place el-Hedium from King Moulay Ismail’s walled dynasty and gazed upon Bab el-Mansour, the grandest of all imperial Moroccan gateways. 'Bab' translates to 'gate' in English and el-Mansour was the name of the architect.
Half of the city of Meknès was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755, including the King’s palace which was restored in the 18th century. Among the original structures that still remain are the magnificent Imperial Granaries and Stables for the King’s 12,000 horses. Why so many horses? “It was a symbol of power and wealth,” according to Bouthra.
The ceiling of the enormous Granaries was constructed with clay, stone, and interestingly, bamboo, which was added to help with infiltration. This enormous structure survived the earthquake but it could no longer be used because of cracks in its 23-foot-thick walls. We entered an adjoining room, where a large wheel had been powered by horses for pulling water from a deep well to water the horses. Beyond this room were the unbelievably grandiose Imperial Stables. Students were wowed by the immense arches that rose above us.
Fashion Design Major Tiffany Hall said: “I’ve never seen ruins this large before, not even in a movie. Seeing something like this for the first time, seeing it was really cool.” Fine Arts major Alexandra Piper and Photography & Digital Arts major Margaret Warburton chimed in almost in unison saying: “It was interesting to learn about the walls, the geometry and the thought process.”
After strolling through one of the largest markets in Morocco, we settled in an Artist Cooperative that is funded by the government. Over 600 artisans participate in the cooperative and split the daily proceeds equally whether they sell anything or not. Students spoke with some of the artisans and purchased a number of treasures such as damascene jewelry and sculptures, and intricately embroidered textiles.
After lunch, our journey on to Rabat continued and after checking into our hotel the students gathered for a Gender Issues in Morocco discussion with Elizabeth, a former Peace Corps volunteer who is now the Youth and Women’s Empowerment Project Manager with Crafting Love and Hope, and Badr, who also served in the Peace Corps and is now a language instructor.
“Moroccan’s beliefs are changing and moving forward is a good thing,” said Badr. Elizabeth went on to tell us about the Mudawana, a family code that was praised by human rights activists when it was revised by the Moroccan parliament in 2004. As a result of the revision, woman can now ask for a divorce and are entitled to 50% of the property from the marriage as well as her entire dowry. In addition, women get equal inheritance with men and married women now have access to family planning and abortion. The 60-minute discussion was rich with thoughtful questions by the students.
