Iframe, Morocco - a Mountain Retreat

Since I had a little time (about 2 days) before heading to Marrakech to meet Alan, I wanted to check out a mountain town. Iframe is near Fes and I'd not been there before - I've read about it being the 'Geneva of Morocco', and that it boasted cooler temperatures. Tony also had some time to kill, so he offered to come along. I have to say, having a travel companion in Morocco who speaks Arabic opens all kinds of doors.

So we took a grands-taxi to Iframe, where we were going to meet Mohammed's friend, Sayeed, who would later drive us down to Marrakech to retrieve Alan for Mohammed's sister's wedding reception. We also wanted to explore the countryside around Iframe, and to get in touch with a samsar – or a local ‘finding agent’ – to rent an apartment for a few nights.

I’d never tried that before – short term apartment rental – but apparently in Iframe and other highly visited Moroccan towns, it is quite common. Essentially the apartments are typically slightly westernized (at least in the bathrooms) and often include a basic array of kitchen- and cook-ware. The bonus is that they all have a nice sized salon – so if you’re traveling with a group of friends, you can find an apartment with as many bedrooms as you need but still maintain a common area to visit, have tea, snacks, etc – instead of regrouping in hotel lobbies. It also provides a more ‘embedded’ perspective of every-day life in Morocco.

So, in Iframe, we met Sayeed at the taxi stand. He immediately reminded me of my Houston friend and former roommate, Scott Marler. Just with a little more of a tan. Sayeed had lived in Paris for about 15 years, but opted to return to family in Morocco. He and Mohammed had been friends since childhood, so by friendly Moroccan extension, Sayeed and Tony were friends, and finally that friendship extended to me. Sayeed’s English was about as good as my French.

When we met Sayeed, he introduced us to a samsar, and we quickly found a great apartment in the top of a typical Swiss-style building, right in the center of town. We opted to explore Iframe that day, and Sayeed would show us the surrounding countryside the next day, followed by our Friday drive (of about 8 hours) to the Marrakech airport to meet Alan.

Iframe is a beautiful town – it’s polished, manicured, stately, and immensely comfortable. If you were asleep and someone somehow (magic carpet, perhaps?) transported you here before you woke, you’d have a very difficult time determining where on earth – exactly – you were. There are organized tours (read: busloads) of tourists from Fes who come for short trips of an hour to two. They get dumped right into the city center to explore for a bit, and the super-tourist bus traffic is quite steady. The tourists, interestingly, seem to number as many Moroccans as non-Moroccans, who often head to higher climes to avoid the heat of summer.

As evening came, we met back up with Sayeed. Tony was determined to cook up a traditional tajine – a typical Moroccan dish, kind of like a stew but not so liquidy. Sayeed drove us to the night market where we picked up a plethora of ingredients. This market was one of the most organized ones that I’ve seen in Morocco, and relatively well contained in the large bus station complex.

After heading back to the apartment, we insisted Sayeed stay for dinner, and Tony cooked up a really wonderful tajine. Sayeed and I were practicing our English and French, respectively. I have to say I felt a bit pampered being driven by a Moroccan and catered to by a Spaniard. The Spaniard-cooked Moroccan meal was declared a success by the Moroccan.

Next day, we explored the countryside around Iframe. It’s beautiful rocky highland area in the Middle Atlas, and home to a significant population of Berbers, of which Sayeed’s family hails. He showed us some of his family’s land, scenic and picturesque sites, took us to a place in the cedar forest populated by Barbary monkeys, and on the way back to Iframe, stopped off to show us a new government fish farming initiative.

Back in Iframe, Tony and I finished off the rest of the tajine, and headed out on the town for the night. We happened into a bar, which is an interesting tangent story. Morocco is less traditional than many other Muslim countries, but typically, Muslims are supposed to abstain from alcohol and tobacco, although that isn’t a blanket observation of Morocco – there were plenty of smokers, and no bar was every empty (though many were close to it). At any rate, bars, and often tea salons, are the empires of men. Women, while empowered more in Morocco than most Muslim countries, typically are not seen in bars unless they are prostitutes. An exception is made for foreign women who are not held to the same expectations as local women. Another exception is made for Berber women, who while they may be Muslim, tend to adhere more strongly to their traditional Berber societal standings which on the surface appear much more liberated than the typical Moroccan Muslim woman.

So we’re in a bar. And in Iframe, which is somewhat progressive thanks to the University there, I was not the only woman in the bar. There were two other younger women with friends, and three older women that were slightly costumish in dress. Turns out they were Berber performers – singers and dancers – and we were in for a performance treat that night. There were three male musicians, playing lute and drums and singing, accompanied by the three women, who alternatively sang and danced Berber style. This type of dancing is similar but a little more basic than belly dancing and is said to pre-date it significantly. During a particularly long instrumental period, the women go around the bar dancing and shaking their jingly-belts around the bar patrons, who are expected to tip a few dirhams. When they got to me, they pulled me up out of my chair, held my hands, and became especially hip-animated. It was incredible fun, and for that moment, I was a little sorry I hadn’t brought my camera. (I prefer taking daytime shots and using natural lighting.)

On the walk back to the apartment, once we were inside the courtyard to the building, we heard a weird rolling sound back out on the sloping street. The moon was full, and it was a bit chilly – great sleeping weather. We looked out of the courtyard just in time to see – I swear this is true – a dog skateboarding down the hill.

All in all, it was a great way to wrap up our visit to Iframe.