April 29: Marrakech

Jewish Cemetary

Bahia Palace

Mell≈ah≈
Mellah

April 27: Casablanca

Today was our “Jewish” Day of the mission. We were to spend the day visiting sites funded by JFNA partner agencies. Click hhttp://gallery.me.com/efine1#100460&bgcolor=black&view=gridere for photos from the day.

First stop was the Maimonides School. A Jewish Day school attended by Jews and Muslims alike. One of the best schools in Morocco, almost all of the high school graduates attend college. Most Jewish graduates leave Morocco to attend school in either France, Canada or the United States. The Moroccan universities teach in Arabic and most Jewish students do not speak fluent Arabic (or at least enough to study) so they attend school in the United States. The students at our table were attending school in Montreal and one was hopeful to attend Georgetown.

After conversations at the day school, we moved on to the Jewish Museum. The museum is the only Jewish museum of Morocco and is part of an effort to preserve the very important Jewish community in the country.
Rafi, whose last name I’m working on, was one of our guides for the week, and has almost single handedly worked to preserve much of the Jewish community. He is a wealth of knowledge about all things Jewish in the country and is simply amazing in his passion.

Lunch was at the Jewish Community Center where we heard from Aïcha Ech Channa, winner of the 2009 Opus Prize. The Opus Prize “is a $1 million faith-based humanitarian award given annually to recognize unsung heroes of any faith tradition, anywhere in the world, solving today’s most persistent social problems.” Ms. Channa is founder and president of Association Solidarite Feminine services in Casablanca, Morocco, to help unmarried women with children gain the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure their own livelihoods. Ms. Channa’s emotional description of the change that one woman made for all unmarried mothers in Morocco was truly awe inspiring.

After lunch was a trip to the old age home of casablanca. The old age home, where Mrs. Toledano volunteers much of her time provides nursing home and housing care for elderly and disabled Jews of Morocco.

There we met Sarah.

Sarah was a beautiful older woman who had been living in the slums of Morocco before she received housing from the Jewish community. Her pride and joy was her turtle. And this was definitely a Jewish turtle:

Our last stop of the day was Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE:  Organization for the Rescue of Children). This clinic houses the diabetes clinic that our group had funded for a year.

After some time to change in the hotel, we had a Moroccan feast with the with Casablanca Community.

April 25: Fes to Casablanca

Scale in the Mellah. Click for more pictures.

Today we awoke early and departed the Palais Jamai for the final time.  Our first stop of the day was the mellah, or the Jewish quarter.  Only about 150 Jews still live in Fes, but both Ibn Danan Synagogue and the cemetery have been lovingly restored and cared for.  In the cemetery we said an impromptu kaddish for those that have no family to say it for them anymore.  The synagogue was modest and in the sephardic vein.  We were able to view the mikvah and were joined by a group of french tourists.   After seeing cats galore in the medina, I was thrilled to find a pair of mangy pups outside the synagogue.  As filthy as they were, their faces still spoke to me.

It was back on our minibus for a ride to Volubulis, Roman ruins located in between Fes and Casablanca.  It was rainy and chilly, so we didn’t enjoy the ruins as we might have.  And unfortunately, the bathrooms were the worst we encountered our entire trip (just a hole in the ground with two footpads).

We did get to see the Roman surprise and some beautiful mosaics.

From there it was off to Meknes.  We had planned time to tour, but were running quite late, so just a lunch (definitely not quick) and then it was off to the Hyatt Casablanca where we to meet up with about 30 chevre who had arrived in Casablanca before the group flight.

Dinner with Chevre was at an amazing restaurant right on the sea.  Delicious sea bass followed by an ice cream Sunday.  While Morocco is known for its pastries, I do love my ice cream.  Drinks at the bar and then to bed.  The next day we were to meet up with the rest of our chevre.

Volubulis