“Most of the raw materials we use here are natural products, quicklime, grenadine, pigeon droppings, wheatbran, or tree bark,” says the Tanner’s Association President El Ghali Rahali.

The new generation tanneries are much dirtier, and have delocalised to the modern industrial outskirts. There are 58 today in Fes alone. Modern techniques have increased production, although purists scoff that tanning quality is not what it was with the traditional methods. The Sais tannery can process 2000 sheepskins a day.

“Here we work with sulphur, quicklime, sulphate, formic acid, sulphuric acid, and chrome; it’s a tanning revolution. In the past we needed between 40 days and two months to finish tanning a skin. Here we now need only two or three days,” says El Ghali Rahali.

Chrome-laden water from this tannery and 17 others like it in the Dokkarat district does not go in the river. Three kilometres of piping take it to Morocco’s first chrome removal plant, which opened in 2003. 50 cubic metres of water can yield around two and a half tonnes of recycled chrome.

“We can handle about eight cubic metres of water a day that come here from the Dokkarat tanneries.
This recycled chrome, once separated with sulphuric acid into a liquid form, is sold back to the tanners who can use it again. At four dirhams, or less than half a euro, it makes economic sense, too, as non-recycled powdered chrome costs between 11 and 13 dirhams a kilo,” says the director of the Sais tannery Mohammed Berrada.

The setting up of the chrome removal station is just part of a far more ambitious programme; to restore Fes’s sewage system and, between now and 2012, build a new sewage works. The project will cost 90 million euros, and should slash pollution going into the Sebou, one of Morocco’s dirtiest rivers.
Getting rid of the chrome first is vital, as it inhibits the treatment of sewage. Today around 40 tanneries still pump untreated waste into the Oued Sebou.

“Around 100 tonnes of chrome gets dumped in the Sebou every year. The chrome removal plant can only deal with around forty percent of this,” says the head of the Radeef cleanup operation Saidi Bouchra.

Eventually the plant should be able to deal with all of Fes’s tannery waste water, alongside the National Programme for Water Treatment, whose objective is to cut industrial and domestic water pollution by 60 percent by 2020.

Looking up in the Clock

We have found this fantastic blog post about your favorite cafe…..Michael and Sara were with us in january this year and in their few days here became full members of the Clock Crew…..Michael is due to be back here soon on a cycling adventure with is son. If you spot him please offer the warmest of welcomes. The post can be read below in its full form and to read other excellent stories by Michael check out

http://michaelsalinger.blogspot.com/2010/01/and-good-time-was-had-by-all-except-for.html

The Cafe Clock sucks up English speaking visitors to Fez the way the local crusty bread sops up the last bits of savory red Moroccan soup. The proprietor, a Brit named Mike Richardson strikes me as a cross between Eddie Izzard (sans drag version) and that animated chap they go to on CNN whenever they need an energetic English stereotype. Mike is far from stereotypical – though he does seem to only have two modes – enthusiastic and really enthusiastic. He has created a bohemian bastion for artists, musicians, literati and folks just looking for a good meal in his impeccably restored building down a narrow alleyway just off of one of the main drags in Fez’s medina. Mind of course, that a main drag in Fez is a pathway barely ten feet wide shared by pedestrians and donkey carts traveling in both directions. This former maître de of some of the swankier spots in London was on his way to Turkey when he somehow ended up staying in Fez. Lucky for us. Free WiFi, almond milkshakes, clean and well appointed bathrooms, jazz concerts, jam sessions, great coffee, a friendly staff that speaks English and French and a dinner menu that provided some of the best food we have had in our travels anywhere.

Sara and I stumbled across the joint our first night in Fez. I ordered the camel burger and Sara the chicken couscous. The burger came piled high with everything from pineapple to beets stacked along with the hefty camel patty inside a fresh baked bun. The last time I had camel was in Kazakhstan, and even though the folks of the steppes have a couple thousand years experience cooking up the beast they could learn a trick or two from Café Clocks’s kitchen. Sara took a bite from her dish, then another, and another and whispered to me conspiratorially, “This may be the best thing I have eaten in my life.” We flip over the handbill that originally lured us in and see that cooking classes are offered. We ask our waiter about the classes and boom shock a la ka – Mike appears like a genie from a lamp. He explains that the class starts with a visit to the market in the morning with Souad the chef, a bubbly Moroccan woman who is quick to laugh and looks like a little bit of trouble, followed by an all day kitchen spectacle with said chef ending with us eating the meals we had cooked. At whole day’s entertainment, cultural lesson and a meal to boot for only 1200 Dirham. We book our class for two days later and head off into the January night.

On the day of our class we arrive at the café at 9:15 am. We again meet Souad and we pick our menu for the day. Of course we are going to make the chicken couscous that Sara raved about. Mike is having poached eggs in a corner of the room and interjects “We’re never going to take that off the menu it is brilliant!” We also pick a red and savory Moroccan soup and honey macaroons (later after we’re friends, Souad convinces us to ditch the honey macaroons for her own special recipe these made of chocolate, crushed and roasted peanuts and coconut.) Souad convinces Mike to leave his breakfast to fix us all cups of cappuccino before we set off into the marketplace. We sip our coffee and watch as the other employees file in laughing and greeting us. Others appear with big bags of fresh produce for the day. Sara and I are the only two in the class for the day – so already we are feeling special.

This town is full of cats scurrying all about and we learn that each cat stakes out its territory near one of the food vendor’s stalls and that vendor then feeds it. Occasionally there are some feline fights over territory but all in all, the vast majority of cats we see seem pretty well fed. We’ve been in the streets for about fifteen minutes and I have been asking a load of questions until finally Souad puts her finger to her lips and shushes me. We visit a camel butcher and are enlightened to the many medicinal qualities of the camel’s hump – it seems to be good for just about everything including withdrawal symptoms when one quits smoking.

We stop in at a succession of stalls, herbs, bread, couscous, vegetables, and Souad’s woven market basket is slowly filling up with the ingredients for our meal. Everywhere we go Souad laughs and jokes with the men selling and is stopped in the street by people she knows, we feel like we are being led around by a local celebrity.

CLOCK CULTURE CONCERTS:

Sunday Evening 6:30pm

Jilaliyat Popular female groupe (20dh)

Wednesda at 6:30 pm

Jam @ The Clock

No jam session during the month of Ramadan

CLOCK CULTURE MOVIES:

Thursday movie 8:30pm

Aicha Duiba directed by Fatima Ali Boubakdy with Sana Akroud, Yassine Ahjam, Siham Zoubir, Salah Eddine Benmoussa..

The movie is a comedy about women’s intelligence and its effects on the poor men Razz. The movie is in Darija (free)

Architectonic Maroc watercolour & line drawing by Mathy Engelen

Travel by Your Heart photography by Priyanka Singh

Smile photography by Omar Chennafi

Dhiker photography by Robert S. Harrison

CLOCK CULTURE COURSES:

Calligraphy Discover the sacred art of calligraphy with the master Mohamed Charkaoui. Private lessons by arrangement. Speak to café manager for details.

Fez Download

We welcome everyone to our new workshop. Let us introduce you to the Moroccan ways with Khalid (French, English and Arabic) session on culture, customs and Language. 150dh for 2hours session, speak to us 0535637855 or call into Cafe Clock

Batha Museum

According to MAP (Maghreb Arab Press Agency), Fes will held the Seventh “Jazz in Riads” Festival from 8 to 10 October. The theme of this year is named “2010: a mulmti-ethnic Year”.

The event, initiated by the international Django d’Or jazz trophy, will bestow diversity and musical openness on the program.

Festival goers will have the chance to attend conferences on Jazz music, in addition to a permanent exhibition entitled “Jazz tree”.

Concerts will be held in Batha Museum and will feature headliners such as Louis Winsberg Septet, Monica Passos Quartet, Golden Gate Quartet, Hadouk Trio and Keltic Tales Quintet.

King-Mohammed-IV

Each year, Moroccans comemmorate the exile of Mohammed V on 20th August and then, on 21st August, the birthday of his Grandson, the current King Mohammed VI.

Ten years and one day after his Grandfather, Sultan (later King) Mohammed V, was sent into exile (only to return triumphant), Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan was born, the eldest son of King Hassan II of Morocco.

Mohammed VI was born on 21st August 1963 and succeeded his father on 23rd July 1999.

Today Saturday 21st August2010, HM King Mohammed VI celebrates with his people his 47th birthday.

Café Clock wishes  His Majesty happy birthday.

The Water Clock

Dar al-Magana (Arabic for “clockhouse”) is a house in Fes, Morocco, built by the Marinid Sultan Abu Inan Faris which holds a weight powered water clock. Cafe Clock is situated on Derb al-Magana alongside the clockhouse and is so named because of this fascinating landmark.

The muwaqqit Abou al-Hassan Ibn Ali Ahmed Tlemsani was responsible for building this water clock which was finished on 6 may 1357. The clock consists of 13 windows and platforms designed to carry brass bowls. The bowls have been removed since 2004 and the clock mechanism is presently being reconstructed by ADER, a foundation for the reconstruction of monuments in Fes.

The motion of the clock was presumably maintained by a kind of small cart which ran from left to right behind the twelve doors. The cart was at one end attached to a rope with a hanging weight, at the other end to a rope with a weight that floated on the surface of a water reservoir that was drained at a regular pace. Each hour one of the doors opened. At the same time a metal ball was dropped into one of the twelve brass bowls. The rafters sticking out of the building above the doors (identical to the rafters of the Bou Inania) support a small roof designed to shield the doors and bowls.

Dar al-Magana is just one of the many wonders awaiting visitors to Fes. Opposite the water clock is the Bou Inania Madrasa, another ‘must see’ historical site on your tour of the Medina.

Take a pause from these stunning architectural sites and refresh the senses with a mint tea atop the terrace of Cafe Clock. Those musicians, singers and jugglers amongst you are welcome to play throughout the cafe all day.

Nestled high above the cafe, just shy of the terrace, is a space the cafe has set aside for prayers. It might be the only cafe to have its own dedicated prayer room. It’s just one of the measures The Clock has taken to ensure everyone who frequents the cafe feels welcomed and comfortable.

The prayer room is perfectly situated for employees, workers and clients who wish to answer the call to prayer during cafe hours. There are woven mats, handpainted caligraphic inscriptions praising Allah on the wall, a Koran and ample space for several worshipers to conduct their prayers in comfort and with peace.

All Calligraphy was executed by Mohammed Charkaoui.

Photo by Omar Chennafi

mmmm.....tasty Camel Burger

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/interactive/2009/jan/12/camel-burgers-fez-morocco

Press the link above to see The Guardian newspapers’ online Cafe Clock slide show. If you haven’t yet tried a Camel Burger a taste sensation awaits…

But what is Issawa and when did it start?

The Aissawa (also Aïssâwa, Issâwa, Aïssaoua, Issaoua) is a religious and mystical brotherhood and order founded in Meknès, Morocco by Muhammad Ben Aïssâ (1465–1526), best known as the Chaykh Al-Kâmil (translated as the Perfect Sufi Master). The terms Aïssâwiyya (`Isâwiyya) and Aïssâwa (`Isâwa), came from the name of the founder, designate respectively the brotherhood (tariqa, litt. “way”) and its disciples (fuqarâ, sing. to fakir, litt. “poor”).
The Aïssâwa are known for their spiritual music characterized by collective songs of religious psalms accompanied by an orchestra of percussions using polyrhythm. Their complex ceremony, which use symbolic dances bringing the participants to ecstatic trance, take place in the private sphere during domestic rituals nights (lîla-s), and also in the public sphere during celebrations of national festivals (the moussem-s, which are also pilgrimages) and touristic (folk spectacles) or religious festivities (Ramadan, mawlid or birth of the Prophet).
The founder of the Aïssâwa brotherhood remains a somewhat enigmatic character whose genealogy is always prone to controversy. His hagiography sends to us the image of a sufi master and legendary ascetic of a considerable spiritual influence. His mausoleum is today in the Zaouia that he built himself in Meknès, a holy house where today several people come to pray and to participate to mystical and religious acts of piety, individual or collective. Muhammad Ben Aïssâ was initiated with the Sufism by three masters of the tariqa Shadhiliyya/Jazûliyya : `Abbâs Ahmad Al-Hâritî (Meknès), Muhammad `Abd Al `Azîz At-Tabbâ (Marrakech) and Muhammad as-Saghîr as-Sahlî (Fès).
The spiritual doctrine of the Aïssâwa follows the mystical tradition historically preceding, the tariqa Shadhiliyya/Jazûliyya. This religious teaching, appeared in 15th century in Marrakech, is the most orthodox mystical method appeared in the Maghreb. The Aïssâwî disciples are held to respect the recommendations of their founder : to follow sunni islam and to practice additional psalms like the long prayer knowns under the name of “Glory to the Eternal” (Al-hizb Subhân Al-Dâ `im). The original Aïssâwa doctrine doesn’t mention extatics and rituals exercices (like music and dances).
The Zaouia of Meknès is the main spiritual center of Aissawa. It was founded by Muhammad Ben Aïssâ at the end of the 15th century. Construction resumed three centuries later by the sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah. Often renovated by the Ministry for Habous and the Islamic Affairs and maintained by the municipal services, the site is open to the public every day of the year. It shelters three principal tombs today: the tomb of the founder Chaykh Al-Kâmil, the tomb of his disciple Abû-ar-Rawâyil and the tomb of the supposed son of the founder, Aïssâ Al-Mehdi.

The hypnotic rhythm and dance is truely magical so make you keep your dairies free for sunday nights at the Clock…………

Tahir Shah in the restored library of Dar Khalifa, and its original pool Photograph: Ingrid Pullar

Shah lives in Dar Khalifa year-round now, with his Indian-born wife, Rachana, daughter, Ariane, nine, and son, Timur, seven. There are many extraordinary things about the house, but not the least is its location.

The drive to Dar Khalifa – a left turn from a leafy suburban street with handsome art deco houses – plunges you, as though through some kind of time warp, down a sharp dip and on to a dusty road that leads through the heart of a ramshackle bidonville, or shantytown. The rusty corrugated iron, mud-covered breeze blocks and miserable-looking livestock seem emblematic of third-world desolation.

A glimpse of the pool across the shaded patio at Dar Khalifa. Photograph: Ingrid Pullar

The view from the roof of Dar Khalifa reveals the contrast at its starkest: the house and its grounds are an oasis of green with the sapphire pool at its heart; beyond the wall lies a dystopian landscape of smouldering rubbish and villagers fetching water from the town pump.

Shah is enthusiastic about his neighbours. “It’s a functioning community. There’s no crime. The thing that makes me cross is when people ask me if it’s safe. I wouldn’t let my wife and children live here if it wasn’t.”

I feel a flash of shame as he says this, because precisely the same question occurred to me the first time I drove through the shantytown. Later, I wandered through it at night and in spite of the contrast between the shabby slum and the tranquil luxury of Dar Khalifa, there was no sense of siege. In daylight, the bidonville is a motley jumble of houses, a few shops, a wonky-looking mosque and a man selling vegetables from a cart. Like shantytowns across Casablanca, it houses the low-wage workers without whom the city would grind to a halt. Still, it’s the raw side of life in a developing country that most visitors and even many residents would prefer to ignore.

“The people who are most shocked are rich Moroccans,” Shah says. “I’ve heard visitors shouting ‘Shauma!’ – shame. They think this is a side of Morocco that visitors shouldn’t see.”

During the period when Dar Khalifa stood vacant, resourceful residents of the bidonville had tapped into its water and power supply. During the first months of occupancy, Shah’s water bill was €1,000 a month.

“I came back one time during Ramadan and the whole bidonville was lit up like a Christmas tree. I said to the caretaker, ‘This is fabulous, it should always be like this.’ And he gave me a funny look and said, ‘Do you really?’ I think he thought I knew they were stealing my electricity.”

With the djinns banished, the house refurbished, and relations with the bidonville now clarified, Shah has turned his energy towards setting up a recycling project for the shantytown. A team of Americans is about to visit to advise on suitable schemes. He’s paid a blacksmith to build a machine that will turn the glass bottles into glasses, and a hot press that will make discarded plastic bags into tarpaulins. The intention is for the recycling to be self-funding, but Shah has invested his own money in it and now he’s letting rooms in Dar Khalifa to visitors to generate cash for the project.

The success of The Caliph’s House has already made the house the object of literary pilgrimage – the American ambassador and his wife have popped out to take a look. Future visitors will be subsidising recycling.

For most writers – introvert, neurotic types – I imagine hosting paying guests would be purgatory, but Shah seems energised by novelty and drama. Sightseeing around Casablanca, we are accosted by an angry sorceress at a shrine who objects to my video camera. Shah is unfazed. He rhapsodises about the crumbling art-deco buildings in the city centre and over the roll-top baths in Casablanca’s junkyards.

So far he’s had half a dozen guests, all readers of his books. I tell him it’s like going to Darrowby to stay with James Herriot, or Provence to stay with Peter Mayle. “So far, it’s a bit like Misery. We’ve had the hardcore fans. I’m hoping we’ll get more people who have no idea who I am, or who my father was.” ‘

Article found in the Guardian Online edition – Sunday 25th July 2010 – and written by Marcel Theroux