Wedding Season

We’re in Fes, a city that’s been called the San Francisco of Morocco to Marrakech’s L.A. It’s further north and sits in a gorgeous valley surrounded by gentle hills, it’s stunning, it’s a bit snooty and intellectual – in short, it’s a city with a chip on its shoulder. Our half-day, whirlwind guided tour with Hicham, a doctorate student in Moroccan poetry, is intense and overwhelming, from the take-no-prisoners reek of the famed tannery, to the maze-like medina, which lives up to its reputation for being the world’s largest labyrinth. Oh, and did we ever see a lot of heads – camels’ heads hanging from hooks alongside huge slabs of meat and the testicles to prove the viand is male (Moroccans prefer to eat male versus female meat), and lambs’ heads stacked and so freshly chopped that their eyes still haven’t glazed over (I took Sam’s word on this one).







Anyway, given that it’s June – the universal wedding month – we decided to share a few tidbits we learned about Moroccan weddings from our tour in Fes. So, that “queen for a day” thing holds true here, too, and with a throne to prove it. The bride is paraded around for all to see and acknowledge in an enormous throne made of cedar wrapped in metallic embroidered fabric. Hicham explains that many brides look forward to this pomp as a chance to silence the wagging tongues (i.e., Moroccan women are merciless in their gossip about young, unmarried women walking around in the company of a man). From our photos, you can see how the carved, wooden throne of yesteryear (the 14th century, to be more precise) has given way to the gaudy incarnation of today. It’s a blessing that UNESCO has stepped in to keep people from perverting the architecture of the city in the same manner. The feasting that accompanies a marriage is well understood, but to get a handle on the actual quantities of couscous we’re talking about, take a look at the tubs in which it’s prepared. Families don’t buy these iron tubs for the occasion, they rent them and then return them unwashed to the square where they are rinsed out in the public fountain and then the ironsmith goes about repairing any damage. We think one of these would make a pretty smart-looking tub in our home-to-be.