Our Last Days in Fes
This past week, we have been busy as usual...taking in every last bit of Fes as we head up North on Tuesday. This morning, we finished up our medina restoration activities with a plaster carving workshop in the Attarine medrasa (a Quranic school which has been closed to the public for the last few years for renovation and restoration) - quite a rare opportunity!
Afterwards, we took a group trip to Art Naji, an artisan factory where Chris has been apprenticing under a zellij (Moroccan tilework) malem (master).
Charlie tries his hand at the art form, chipping away...
Omar explains the process of creating a finished zellij piece to the group
Chris tries out a new craft - his interest and talent for such crafts never ceases to amaze. Watch out New Hampshire, Chris is going to revolutionize interior design (woodcarving, zellij, carpet weaving, the works)!
This afternoon, Zoe, Chris, and I saw an impressive art exhibit presenting photographs from around the world -from Morocco to South Africa to Siberia - it was quite diverse to say the least!
Tomorrow, the students will continue their ISPs and in the evening we will attend a Moroccan rap/hip-hop concert - it should be mumtastic (a new word I have created from fantastic and mumtaz -a Modern Standard Arabic word for excellent)!
If you want to check out their music: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=175921284