Somehow, despite spending a lot of time in Fez this year, I had never been to the local Hammam (public bathhouse). Until last night.
As a pampered foreigner used to the modern luxury of daily, private, ablutions, it can be easy to come up with a plethora of excuses for not trying out the neighbourhood Hammam; "There's a bathroom in my house/hotel" or "I am not sure about the etiquette of communal washing or how clean it all really is ?", but the truth is that everyone should visit a Hammam at least once.
So, when Najib, an always-hospitable local purveyor of lamps and other tourist souvenirs, suggested I join him as a remedy for my recent insomnia, I grabbed the chance to go with a friendly guide who would show me the ropes and make sure I did not make any gaffes. I should say at this point that I am not a complete neophyte when it comes to the rituals of islamic bathhouses, having enjoyed several atmospheric visits to a beautiful 15th Century hammam in Bukhara, Uzbekistan and a much less interesting, but very necessary, trip to a more modern bathhouse in Kabul, Afghanistan. I have also lived in Japan and spent many a happy time in their onsen hotsprings, so I was curious to see how Fez's version would compare...
Well, it was less atmospheric and architecturally interesting than my Uzbek experience, less naked than the Japanese version (hence the soggy underwear) but still, thankfully, cleaner than the Afghan foray. After sitting on the floor of the hot room sluicing myself with buckets of water and being scrubbed with sabon beldi (traditional black soap) and a coarse mitt to get steamed, scrubbed and very clean, I was led into the cooler room next door and pinned down in what seemed like a series Moroccan wrestler moves, but was actually called a massage.
The verdict: great experience but on a regular basis am more likely to head to the gleaming new 2 million Euro Nausikaa complex in the Ville Nouvelle for a more modern & luxurious take on the traditional hammam.
Friday, 1 December 2006
Wednesday, 29 November 2006
Anatomy of a sale
Today I bought a house. Being greedy, it was actually my second in Fez, but that's a different story.
Having found this one quite some time I go, I nearly lost it to one of several people who are queuing up each week to buy into the ancient medina of Fez. You have heard of fly-drive holidays, but the new phenomenon here is the FLY-BUY holiday as Ryanair brings in 3 planeloads of passengers per week, many of whom have been motivated to visit and search for a house by recent newspaper property articles and television programmes.
After living in the medina for several months straight and looking at an estimated 250+ houses throughout this year, my eye is a little better trained and I think I have developed a good understanding of what I like in a Dar Beldiya (Traditional House), but seeing a lot of houses can also induce Purchase Paralysis - the inability to make a decision due to the feeling that there might be something even better hiding behind the next alleyway, the next studded wooden doorway....
Luckily, I was snapped out of my indecision by a timely telephone call from our resident renovation guru alerting me to the imminent competition and the simple realisation that I would be very unhappy if I lost the house to someone else was enough to spur me into action and all was then concluded in little more than 12 hours;
Yesterday:
9pm - Visited house to establish selling price with the owner. Told him I would think about it
11pm - Received timely call and decided to go ahead
11:30pm - Paid 2nd visit and agreed to buy, fixing another appointment for the next morning
Today:
10am - Returned to the house with the Adoul (local notary equivalent) who checked the owners documents and drew up the sale contract. We agreed to a 4 month period for them to find a new house and move out and I handed over a cheque for almost 25 percent of the final purchase price.
We both signed and the house is legally mine.
The Adoul keeps hold of the house deeds until the 31st March when the final act of sale is signed, keys are handed over and the rest of the money is paid.
Sounds easy ? In a way it is, but caveat emptor - the real action is not in the buying but in the long, complex and expensive process of restoration, a side of the coin that is easily underestimated especially when we are talking about a city that has changed little in over 1000 years !
Having found this one quite some time I go, I nearly lost it to one of several people who are queuing up each week to buy into the ancient medina of Fez. You have heard of fly-drive holidays, but the new phenomenon here is the FLY-BUY holiday as Ryanair brings in 3 planeloads of passengers per week, many of whom have been motivated to visit and search for a house by recent newspaper property articles and television programmes.
After living in the medina for several months straight and looking at an estimated 250+ houses throughout this year, my eye is a little better trained and I think I have developed a good understanding of what I like in a Dar Beldiya (Traditional House), but seeing a lot of houses can also induce Purchase Paralysis - the inability to make a decision due to the feeling that there might be something even better hiding behind the next alleyway, the next studded wooden doorway....
Luckily, I was snapped out of my indecision by a timely telephone call from our resident renovation guru alerting me to the imminent competition and the simple realisation that I would be very unhappy if I lost the house to someone else was enough to spur me into action and all was then concluded in little more than 12 hours;
Yesterday:
9pm - Visited house to establish selling price with the owner. Told him I would think about it
11pm - Received timely call and decided to go ahead
11:30pm - Paid 2nd visit and agreed to buy, fixing another appointment for the next morning
Today:
10am - Returned to the house with the Adoul (local notary equivalent) who checked the owners documents and drew up the sale contract. We agreed to a 4 month period for them to find a new house and move out and I handed over a cheque for almost 25 percent of the final purchase price.
We both signed and the house is legally mine.
The Adoul keeps hold of the house deeds until the 31st March when the final act of sale is signed, keys are handed over and the rest of the money is paid.
Sounds easy ? In a way it is, but caveat emptor - the real action is not in the buying but in the long, complex and expensive process of restoration, a side of the coin that is easily underestimated especially when we are talking about a city that has changed little in over 1000 years !
Monday, 27 November 2006
I blog, therefore I am ?
I never kept a diary, nor had an imaginary childhood friend to whom I confided my innermost thoughts, so it is with some surprise that I find myself with a blog. With the internet providing some people with the latest opportunity for their Warholian 15 minutes of fame, have we arrived at the moment in history where it can be said;
I blog, therefore I am ?
Not being sure if I am entirely comfortable with the concept of exposing, advertising or extolling my daily life and thoughts to whomever has access to the web, but I can see the advantages too since friends & family can log on and read my latest updates and I shall start by treading carefully and see where this technological yellow brick road leads me.
I blog, therefore I am ?
Not being sure if I am entirely comfortable with the concept of exposing, advertising or extolling my daily life and thoughts to whomever has access to the web, but I can see the advantages too since friends & family can log on and read my latest updates and I shall start by treading carefully and see where this technological yellow brick road leads me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)