House-Hunting Help

David Amster, we’ll call him the house whisperer of Fes, meets us at Dar Seffarine at breakfast for a day of house hunting. Having David along, given his decade in Fes and innumerable restoration projects in the medina itself, is like touring the Metropolitan with Thomas Hoving. We meet up with Aziz, David’s recommended simsar, or real estate agent, and proceed to wend our way through the medina and six houses in a matter of hours. Under David’s tutelage, we begin to train our eyes to distinguish between old (16th -18th century) and new (20th century) wood, tile and plaster work. We get a feel for what it might cost to repair a sagging ceiling as compared to replastering a wall. We learn not to be too expressive about what we might like and don’t, at least not in front of owners and Aziz. We learn the unwritten etiquette of improving a view from one’s terrace, i.e., get permission from the neighbors before cutting a hole in a wall. David is undeniably a restoration master, but his take is never too dogmatic; he realizes that for foreigners to continue to restore the medina, the homes must be livable as well as beautiful. That’s to say, he doesn’t bristle at talk of installing Western bathrooms and kitchens.

Even though he and Aziz have worked together a lot – and we met several friends of David’s who’ve bought houses (some multiple homes) with Aziz – David is quiet in his appreciation of a few of the day’s best offerings. He winks and “ooohhhs” under his breath in a charming, conspiratorial way, making us frankly even more excited about the prospect of finding a real gem. Of course, gem must be qualified because these homes all need significant attention. David, through careful questioning, seems to have a good idea of the project we’d be up to. This year is not meant to be only about plaster dust, after all.




As much of a treat as the pre-lunch prospecting was, the real pleasure comes in touring three of David’s 5-6 current projects as well as seeing a riad that two Australian journalists are renovating, and just in walking the medina with David, who is stopped every twenty paces by someone who knows him and has a question or a quick sallam m’allekam greeting. He truly is like the medina’s mayor, clucking at work that’s being done in a slip shod manner and proudly pointing out neighborhood improvements that he and his crew are undertaking for the betterment of all: a small fountain repair here, a new carved wooden screen for the Koranic school there, a wall finished in traditional malik (?), rather than cheap cement.

After the day, which ends in a jolly dinner with David and his friend Helen, a semi-retired English teacher from Cape Town, who teaches at the American Center and who recently bought a home in the medina, too, we feel much more informed (daunted and excited) about what owning in Fes might entail. In just a few days, David has introduced us to a number of people from all over the world – from Boston to Brisbane – who are undertaking these projects and despite the challenges (procuring a carte de sejour, negotiating sales with multiple owners, finding skilled workers, etc.) it seems like a very welcoming, helpful community of creative people laboring to save and enjoy some great old houses.

Two quick asides. First, we enjoy hearing about Moroccan teenagers from Helen, who says they have many of the external trappings of American teens (baggy jeans, baseball caps, gel-spiked hair, iPods and cell phones), but that they are painfully unaware of the world beyond Fes. They are myopic, have no sense of world politics or culture and are very afraid prejudice against Muslims in the West. She did say they know who Tom Cruise is and love Celine Dion and Cat Stevens.

Second, it’s clear our naive house hunting has become the source of much amusement at Dar Seffarine. Each morning we’re teased about not having bought a house yet and everyone asks after the days’ marathon searches. I secretly think there might be some money riding on whether we throw in the towel or actually make a go of it.