X. Living in A Thousand and One Nights

29 September 2009

I arrived in Meknès at 10 o’clock at night in the rain, after a fifteen hour bus and train trip from Taroudannt. It wasn’t supposed to be that long, but we missed the connection and had to take a later train which turned out to be a bit of a milk run train. I found a taxi and told him where I was going. Another driver overheard and told him that he couldn’t take me all the way there because taxis are forbidden (mamnuaa in Arabic sounds so much more dire!) in the old city.

So the driver dropped me off at the Square of the Rubble, which is bordered on one side by one of the most beautiful city gates in the Arab world, Bab Il Mansour. I can’t see it very well in the dark, although at least it’s only spitting rain by now. I walk across this huge, wide-open cobblestone square where there is music and men dancing and vendors selling everything from belts to perfume to prepared food and fruits and vegetables at 10 o’clock at night.

I walk to the corner of the square to the old city wall. There is a tall, narrow arched gate, more like a short tunnel, and I walk through it into another century. The street is narrow, paved with cobblestone-like bricks and the building walls tower above and seem to close over you. It is lit by small hanging Moroccan lanterns of lacy metalwork. There are even tinier alleyways (!) leading off into the gloom. Along the way, I pass massive wooden doors with metal studs and huge metal latches, beautifully tiled archways and intricate, decorative metal grates on the windows. I pass lots of cats about their nocturnal business, unafraid of me. I pass a few people mostly dressed in djellabas, long traditional robes, the women’s brightly colored and elaborately embroidered. They don’t pay any attention to me, despite the racket of rolling my suitcase along over the uneven street. The route to the Riad Bahia is well marked, but I ask a shopkeeper closing up shop (at 10 PM!) where the Riad is, just to be sure. He walks along with me until I can see its door, then says good night and heads back.

The door to the Riad is really more of a portal, maybe 12 feet wide, and 15 feet high, with beautiful, but practical metal studs and other reinforcement. A tile sign says Riad Bahia, and below it is a big doorbell with a sign that says, “Ring, please”. I feel like I’m in the Wizard of Oz… I ring the bell, and after a minute, a man pulls open this huge door, and I walk into A Thousand and One Nights.

I have the impression of great space, bounded by dark wood and pink stucco, with an array of potted plants, multicolored tiles, carpets, and antique Moroccan copper and brass ornaments. The interior is somewhat dimly lit, by traditional Moroccan hanging lanterns, with a tiled floor with Berber and Moroccan carpets scattered here and there. The man leads me into a large lounge, with traditional low benches around the walls, covered with embroidered cushions and carpets. Low, carved or painted dark wood tables have books and Moroccan decorative art. He offers me mint tea, and while he goes to get it, I wander a bit, with Saïda on her leash.

I am in the “riad”…the inner courtyard, which goes up three stories and has balconies around it. This one is covered by a modern retractable roof of some kind of plastic, but it exudes the atmosphere of a long time past. It is full of potted plants, vines growing up the wall, low cushioned stools with a small blue and white tiled fountain singing away in the center. Saïda steps in to drink the water (it’s safe here) and commune with the plants after her long journey. I am enthralled.

We do the passports and official paperwork for my stay over mint tea, and then he leads me up a tiled staircase with a monstrous dark wood banister to the next level, then we turn and take another staircase in a different direction to a roof terrace, full of potted plants, little sitting alcoves with cushioned benches, wall hangings, tile work and lacy metal railings painted white. We go up several steps in one direction, then turn and go up a few more in another…it is a constant surprise.

We end at a room next to the retractable roof, with a lacy white railing and a carved wooden door with an eight pointed star on it. The door handle is at about knee level, he turns the knob and I am home for the week. My bed is covered with a traditional purple and gold striped cover, there are red Berber carpets on the floor, an elaborately painted chest and a camel saddle bench. A huge mirror elaborately framed with metal curlicues makes the room seem bigger than it is. Moroccan hanging lanterns light the room.

The bathroom is incredible, and makes me feel as though I have moved into Topkapi Serai (the sultan’s palace in Istanbul). The doorway is a pointed arch with two elaborately painted and stained glass arched doors. The bathroom is elaborately tiled in a harlequin pattern of blue, green and white tiles half way up. The counter is even more colorfully tiled and has a sink and faucet that look like gold and like they belong in a 16th century palace. Carved wooden doors hide the cupboard under the sink. The mirror is framed in turquoise painted wood, decorated with flowers and fanciful designs.

The windows are arched with stained glass and dark wooden shutters, open to the night and the tranquility of the terraces. My main window looks out on pink flowering vines, huge dracaenas, bougainvillea, and,

somewhat incongruous amid all these tropical plants, a blue hydrangea beginning to flower. They are all in pots or tilled garden beds along the walls.

Saïda in the front window

The Riad is altogether charming, fanciful, and enough to make one want to just stay here forever. It is serene, despite the fact that it is in the heart of a large city. In the old, walled heart, but still a very busy, modern city. Welcome to Meknès.
My "office", comes with cat