February 22, 2015

Ordinary Moroccan Life

This is a mishmash of different elements of Morocco from my eyes.

Cafe Culture: To say that cafes are ubiquitous with Morocco would not be an understatement. Morocco has TONS of cafes- each one with a unique design and clientele. They are a popular social hangout- similar to bars in North America- and are often very cheap. They are also a great place to do work- when they aren’t blaring the football match.

Moroccan cafes are the biggest example of the market not solving. There are hundreds of cafes in the same area. Often right next to each other. My favorite one, Aqua, is next to another cafe on one side and a pastry shop on the other. Yet somehow they all seem to be making money. Unbelievable!

There are four cafes on this block.

Football culture: Moroccans love football, or as we say in Canada- soccer. It is not uncommon to see kids playing in the middle of the street late into the night. People also love to watch football, especially the Spanish League. Cafes get especially packed when El Clasico (Real Madrid vs Barcelona) is on. It’s impossible to find a seat at any cafe if you aren’t there at least 45 minutes beforehand!

There is also the Moroccan Botola League, which features 16 teams from across the country, mostly comprised of Moroccan players. Rabat has two clubs- FUS (Fath Union Sport) and FAR (Forces Armees Royale), the latter which is comprised of members of the army only and is meant to represent Morocco as a whole. Other well-known teams here are Raja Casablanca, which nearly won the UEFA Club World Cup a couple years ago, Wydad Casablanca, Raja’s main rival, and KAC Marrakech.

Each team also has its own Ultras, or superfans. They are essentially cult-like supporters of a specific team, and are well-known for their antics including painting themselves, setting off flares, and plastering their name all over cities.

Street art: I’m a big fan of street art- especially murals- because I feel like they tell stories that aren’t often heard. I find Moroccan street art falls into three categories. The first is football related (pictured above), where Ultras write their name on the side of buildings. The second is graffiti, in Frenhc, English, or Arabic, which tries to make a statement. Here are some examples:

The English, although misspelled, is easy to understand, and the Arabic above it says “This is haram (sinful)”

Meaning justice for the innocent

And the third category which are murals or other street art. These are my favourite because they give an area some colour.

Music: Morocco has the most diverse music scene I’ve ever seen. Nowhere else have I been clubbing with music from all of my backgrounds- Indian, African, and Canadian. While Western music is big here, it’s much less prevalent than I expected. Arabic music from Lebanon and Cairo makes up the majority of Arabic music, although there are excellent Moroccan and Maghrebi artists. Additionally, West African music, from countries like Nigeria and Senegal is incredibly popular. There are even clubs which play music only from there. Here are some of my jams right now:

That’s all for now!

Kudos

Ordinary Moroccan Life

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Last Night in Canada