This is by far one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.  It’s a Java applet for building your own zellij (Islamic tiles common to homes, mosques, and apparently elevators, at least in Meknes).

…that Mahmood Ahmadinejad has a blog?  And that every post is faithfully translated into English (and French)?

It’s so strange - I want to like the guy for some reason.  Before his election, I really did like him.  I don’t disagree with his feelings on the US necessarily, but denying the Holocaust took it a little too far (I’m sorry - you can hate Israel and that’s fine by me, but the Holocaust happened, and denying it is simply pardoning the Germans).

What impressed me the most is all of the kind comments from Americans though.  I admit that, despite being an American, being raised by enlightened parents, and hanging with educated circles, I still view many of my fellow countrymen and women as hopelessly ignorant.  I tell people I’m from the Northeast as if it were a different country.  And yet, look at ‘em posting on the blog of the Iranian president!  If only my own president had the desire to communicate with and listen to his people.

Now, can anyone enlighten me - how well does Ahmadinejad speak (or read, rather) English?  Do you think he reads his blog comments?

As I’m sure you know by now, Morocco raised its security level to maximum a couple of weeks ago.  I wasn’t nervous at all really, given that Morocco’s last suicide bombers were too stupid to actually cause any damage (to anyone but themselves, that is).  I was even less nervous today, after a drive from Meknes to Fez, during which we were stopped at two checkpoints before being allowed to exit the highway.  The checkpoints even had those spikey things laid out which are intended to puncture tires if driven over (I will edit this post if someone please tells me what those are called).

The police in Meknes are also currently everywhere.  Hamza was even stopped a couple of nights ago for a traffic violation which I’m pretty sure he commits on a daily basis.

Okay, so I don’t actually have free time.  I’ve been working for the past few months - no, laboring, really - to create a library for the school where I work, and it seems that on Monday, we’re going to do the finishing touches.  Here’s where we were in the middle of last week:

This library is extremely special to me - not only because it’s the first English-language library in Meknes but also because it was kind of my idea (my director had a lot to do with it, of course) and I’ve been working nearly solo on book acquisitions and database entry (something which I will not forget to put on my resume - God knows I need it).

Thanks to everyone who helped me out on this project, as I know several of you read this blog - I won’t post names here, just in case, but know that the donations in particular were extremely appreciated.

If anyone else wants to donate, The American Language Center of Meknes will be thrilled long after I leave.

Well, my goodness!  In the past couple of days, two (count ‘em) bloggers have praised Meknes, setting what is probably some sort of record.   Can this really be happening?

Cat in Rabat and The View from Fez both wrote fabulous posts in praise of my adopted city which, as you know, I shall soon take my leave of.  Now, Meknes is not the typical tourist town, as I’m sure you know.  In fact, as Cat in Rabat puts it, it’s the Alcohol & Murder Capital of Morocco.

Believe it or not, there’s sort of truth in that statement.  Meknes seems to have more bars per capita than any other city I’ve been to in this country, including Casa and Rabat.  Hell, it has even more than Marrakech.  The only explanation I’ve ever heard for this is Meknes’ long time position as a military base, but even that doesn’t explain how drunk everyone is on Saturday nights.

And as for murder, well…did I ever tell you about the incident with the kefta machine?  No?

Last summer, Hamza and I were sitting in the Cafe L’Alhambra, one of our favorites, when suddenly a man saunters in, shouting, and selling photocopies of a newspaper page for 1dh each.  Hamza of course bought one.

We were absolutely not prepared for the story inside.

In the medina, near the gold souq, was a kefta shop owned by a couple of men.  Above them lived a lawyer and his wife.  For years, the lawyer had been filing complaints against the shop - for selling drugs, for making too much noise, etc etc.  Some are hearsay, others true.

Anyhow, the lawyer was finally successful in his complaints, and the shop was given some sort of notice - an eviction perhaps?  This angered the butchers, who slaughtered the lawyer and his wife (one of them allowed his girlfriend to pose with the woman’s jewelry for photos, which surfaced afterward), grinding them up in the kefta machine and paying a taxi driver to dispose of their bones in the Jnane Maamora (outside of Rabat, about an hour’s drive from here).

So the moral?  I suppose one might say that when Meknassis do it, they…oh, forget it.

I suppose it’s about time I tell you all, since I keep mentioning it in passing.

On August 1, Hamza and I are moving to the States, specifically Boston (look for some form of a Boston blog coming soon).  The Morocco Report will keep going, but perhaps less frequently.  I may even require contributors at some point.  I will also still be writing for Global Voices (yikes, but hopefully not three times per week like I am now!).

Wish us luck!

• Sarah Touahri of Magharebia.com reports that literacy education is up in Morocco.
• AllAfrica.com presents a harrowing tale of child labor in Morocco.
• There is significant controversy over Morocco’s proposed press law changes (Magharebia)
• Four tons of cannabis were burnt in Al Hoceima, according to Africaenligne.
• Reuters reports that Amnesty International is urging release of eight jailed activists.

I’m currently in the midst of the horrors of packing, so pardon my lack of posting (or lack of original posts anyway) lately. I did, however, have a lovely weekend which involved Cat in Rabat and Mr. Cat in Rabat, and a lazy Sunday involving a late night bar run (because the shops had already closed).

And then today, I broke a special record, getting my hair cut for the first time in 20 months. You heard me - I had not snipped a single hair in 20 months, mostly out of fear of Moroccan stylists. That might sound awful, but those that I would trust are out of my price range and as for the others, well - let’s just say a foreign acquaintance of mine was practically given a mullet by a regular Meknes salon.

But taa, you say - you never talk about personal stuff like this in your blog!? Whatever is going on?

You see, this particular salon was noteworthy for one thing (okay, more than one, but the others have to do with hair and tanning and would probably bore you unless you live in Meknes and are actively seeking those things). This salon was noteworthy for Rachid, the awesomely flamingly gay hairdresser.

Now please - no one take offense until after I explain why this is noteworthy. You see, in Morocco as in many predominantly Muslim countries, most hair salons are gender-specific. This particular one has always been for women only. The reason behind this is that women wearing hijab do not remove it in the presence of unrelated men, of course.

And yet today, I sat and waited for Khadija, my stylist, while several women finished their hair cuts, tied hijabs back on, and left. Huh?!

While I don’t have an explanation for this, my mother in law related a story involving Rachid - when she went to the salon last, she was asked by her stylist why she hadn’t been in so long. Eager to make an excuse, she pointed to Rachid and said “You hired a man! I can’t take my hijab off in front of a man!” Apparently the stylist responded, “Oh, no - Rachid isn’t really a man.”

In all seriousness though, what impressed me the most was that neither Rachid nor his gayness seemed to bother this predominantly hijabi clientele. I’m not exactly sure why - perhaps they really do consider him outside of the realm the way relatives and children are - but who knows?

The International Journalists’ Network reported this week that the International Federation for Journalists (IFJ), an organization which defends press freedom amongst other activities, has opened an observatory for press freedom in Morocco.  According to IFJ, “the observatory will provide instant and extensive information on events and activities concerning Arab journalists and will publish reports and statistics, commission surveys and undertake studies on all aspects of journalism in the Arab world.”

This is fantastic news, given the events of the past few years - Morocco needs its own watchdog agency!

Read the whole IFJ article here.

As I’m sure most of you know, the “New Seven Wonders” were named on July 7 (7/7/07). Check out the post I wrote on global reactions for GV here.

Now, I find the majority of sites on the list to be appropriate. I mean, the Great Wall of China? Hell yeah! Petra? Have always wanted to see it.

But Christ the Redeemer? You’ve got to be kidding. Built in the 1930s, only 100 feet high. That’s no wonder. That’s not even really an architectural marvel! Let’s just rejoice in the fact that no one in the States started a campaign for the Statue of Liberty the way the Brazilians did for their monument.
Personally, if it were up to me, the new list would contain (in no particular order, of course):

1. Petra (Jordan)

2. Fez al-Bali (Morocco)

3. The moai of Rapa Nui/Easter Island (Chile)

4. Machu Picchu (Peru)

5. The Great Wall of China (uh, China)

6. Stonehenge (UK)

7. Timbuktu (Mali)

So, I suppose three out of seven isn’t too bad (and aside from Fez, the rest were part of the 21 finalists - I’m just not that creative).

**I should add that I didn’t include the Pyramids at Giza because the whole purpose was to list NEW seven wonders, although it could be argued that they belong there (as the Egyptian government actually did), being the only existing world wonder from the old list.

***A commenter left a link to this fantastic presentation on the new 7 wonders - check it out!