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Moroccan American News, Views and Opinions
MARYAM MONTAGUE
Who is this American woman, Maryam, in Marrakech anyway?
I'm a human rights and democracy specialist -- a job I'm passionate about and which makes my parents proud. What could be better?
I'm also a writer. My first book -- part memoir, part Moroccan design treatise -- will be published by Artisan Books in 2009. My wonderful agent is Jill Kneerim of Kneerim & Williams. As a freelance writer, I also pen articles about Moroccan design, shopping, restaurants, spas, gardens, as well as other wowza lifestyle experiences. I've worked for a number of magazines and newspapers. Guidebooks And I also source beautiful Moroccan goods for stores and individuals. Textiles are my obsession.
When I am not working, I love spending time with friends in our rug-filled Berber tent, and shopping for the interiors of our soon-to-be Marrakesh boutique hotel, Peacock Pavilions (www.peacockpavilions.com).
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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Friday, March 19 2010 09:59 |
 There was a boulevard in Marrakech named after his grandfather -- a man who had put his life on the line for a noble cause, fought off marauders of a terrible kind, and protected those who needed it most. You know the sort: a risk-taker, a gambler, a hero.The grandson was a lawyer, by profession. The type who used to fly first class from country to country, meeting clients, brokering deals, and doing the complicated things that lawyers do. But he was more than that, much more.
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 02/25/2010 --- The 4th Fez Festival of Sufi Culture will be held from 17 to 24 April in the palaces, riads and Andalusian gardens of the city of Fez around the theme "Mysticism and poetry”.
The festival will , according to the Association of Fes Festival of Sufi Culture, continue to show Morocco as the land of the ancient home of Sufism and promoter of dialogue among cultures, but also as a bridge between the East and the West, symbolized by the mediating role that Morocco has always played, especially in its modern history.
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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A day, perhaps, like other Mondays. Except the Taliban came to town.
20 suicide bombers were said to be on the prowl.
I heard a rocket go by. I heard an explosion. I heard the sirens. I heard the helicopters.
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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Quietly imposing.
Unusually striking.
Impossibly elegant.
The men, yes the men.
Of Afghanistan.
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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 Here's the thing: I don't like artificial flavors. I prefer the genuine article -- the real deal, the bonafide, the true. Because life is really too short, isn't it? So forget the make believe. Forget the supermarket fakery, the Stepford Wife veneer. Even if it's painful...say no to lying to yourself and to others. Say no to pretending that things are different than they really are. You might be surprised at what happens. It might taste strange at first. But then again, in the long run, it's likely to taste better.......... and be better for you....
And in that spirit....a recipe for real Vanilla Extract. |
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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 No one told me that this Marrakech dream of mine would take so long and would cost so much.
No, no one told me that I would spend my days hoping but my nights worrying.
That along the way that there would be casualties. That there would be feelings hurt, relationships ruined, workers let go, and bank accounts depleted.
That there would be moments of panic, sheer panic. The kind that's left me gasping for air and grasping for money.
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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 Ingredients (specialty food store or purchase online):
1 French director, 1 French camera man, 1 French creative director +
2 Moroccan production directors+
1 German sound guy +
1 Moroccan clothes stylist, 1 French accessories stylist+
1 Moroccan makeup artist + NO hairstylist (whoops!) +
20+ crew members and clients (grips, handlers, fixers, other-people-who-do-important-stuff ) +
2 huge trucks filled with fancy equipment
In a separate bowl:
1 slightly confused American family living in Marrakech |
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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Sometimes life takes the strangest turns. Especially for middle aged American girls (event,this) American girls living in olive groves in Marrakech.
And perhaps that's why a stylist is here, a director is here, a casting agent is here, and quite a few other people wielding large equipment are here . And perhaps that is also why an ad agency has been calling me to talk contracts.
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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 03-03-2010 12:14:48-- Oh you may have at your fingertips the vespa riding fellas from Domino's Pizza.
And that flower-of-the-month-club with its variety of orchids delivered right to your door.
And that nice boy down the street who shovels your drive way when the snow is blowing in gusts.
And those darling doorbell ringing girl scouts who entice you with their thin mint cookies.
Oh, you're lucky all right. I'll give you that. Yes, I'll give you that.
But here in Marrakech we have...........henna home delivery.
What you say?
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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 On your way to Morocco? Hmmm...what to wear?
Perhaps it’s better to ask what not to wear in Morocco.
Much simpler, as there are really only two rules:
1) Be careful of going too native
I had an email from a mother recently. She and her 17 year-old daughter were coming to Marrakech and were determined not to be “ugly Americans.” Internet research had indicated that Moroccan women wore caftans, and with that in mind, could I suggest an online caftan purveyor, so they could hit the ground running. |
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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 Another day here in Marrakesh. Another secret to tell. I think some of you might have guessed already. My secret is this: I’ve had plastic surgery. (This is the part where Geraldo Rivera moves the microphone closer…) Yes, it’s not right for everyone but it was right for me. I suppose I could have chosen to live looking the way that I did. But really, why? Why try?
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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I am waiting. Waiting for so many things.
Including the bus.
A bus came but it was going the wrong way.
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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I'm too busy.
I'm too busy to blog.
I'm too busy to answer emails.
I'm too busy to sleep.
I have so many balls in the air that -- although I dart from side to side to try to catch them all -- one falls. And then another....
I long for the ability to do things well, to do things properly, to do things as they should be done.
But I settle for less. I settle for mediocre. Because I am too busy to do otherwise.
In my next life, I'll have time.
There will be hours on end ....
to pay attention to details. To making things perfect.
To embroidering. Fine little stitches, one after another.
Embroidering fabric.
Or perhaps...
embroidering my life.
Just right.
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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Morocco: Nobel Prize awarded for the slipper
 What's not to like about a country which raises the slipper to a higher art form? Seriously, I think that these Moroccans are onto something. I mean, it's nothing short of genius to develop slippers for walking outside as well as those for wearing inside. Hooray for Morocco! Morocco for president! Okay, I might be getting a little carried away but surely you understand my enthusiasm.
Take a look at these white slippers on the right. Aren't they lovely? Two years ago, I bought ten pairs in the Marrakech souk and gave them for Christmas presents. I wrapped them in cellophane, tied them with raffia and made special tags with images of Morocco. I swear, I was the most popular girl that year... |
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MARYAM MONTAGUE
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I met her last Fall in Marrakech, Delphine Warin. I had been searching for someone to teach me something about photography, and all roads in the Red City pointed to her. During our first lesson together, she opened her old Nikon and explained in lilting French about aperture and shutter speed. She then took my camera and put it in manual mode, saying simply, From now on, you will only be working in manual
And so that's what I did. And that's what I still do.
But beyond what she has taught me, I admire Delphine's own incredible gift. She has that rare ability to capture the soul, the actual soul, of a person; the part that hovers beneath the surface, far beyond the forced smile. The part that is accessible to few. Delphine takes her time. Her camera sometimes doesn't come out for hours when she is working; she is busy knowing -- really knowing -- her subject before the click of the button ever happens. She is a woman concerned with essence.
Delphine has just been feted in Paris for her new book, Les Yeux Grands Ouvert or Eyes Wide Open, a photographic portrait of blind mothers. The images and words are poetic and unforgettable. Here a few photographs of a Moroccan mother and an Algerian mother -- a tale of the seeing blind.
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