Monday, March 11, 2019
The Upper West Side's Power Couple spent much of the weekend on the move, flying from the Holy Land to Rabat, Morocco via Paris. The two-hour layover at Charles de Gaulle Airport was highlighted by meeting Megan, a young Mormon woman from Provo, Utah, who was on the way to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo to train neo-natal counselors, strictly as a volunteer. She does this periodically in different parts of the world, animated by her religious faith. As an officer of West End Synagogue, I have demonstrated my opposition to organized religion. In Megan's case, her LDS connection gives context to her humanitarian endeavors, but I think that her sense of decency, which was readily apparent in the time we spent together, would manifest itself without an institutional base.
. . .
After a short meeting in Rabat, our group of 16, 2 more having traveled ahead, boarded a bus for the 3-hour ride to Fes. We made a rest stop along the way outside Meknes, allowing me the chance to eat my first local food -- a Häagen-Daz macadamia nut brittle ice cream bar.
. . .
We are staying in a beautiful hotel overlooking the Medina, the old city. Before starting on a walking tour of the Medina this afternoon, we had two lectures by local academics, one on "Islam & Politics in Morocco" and the other on "Architecture, Art and Spirituality." The hour for each was very rich in information, but I had a better understanding of the discussion of politics and came up with a mini-theory while listening to comments about the Arab Spring. I'll call it Grandpa Alan's Psychological Foundation for Democracy.
For a society to accept democracy, promote it and propagate it, there has to be a high tolerance for uncertainty. Significant portions of the population must be willing to risk regime change and/or policy shifts without abandoning loyalty to the body politic. Conformist societies, whether bound by strict religious, cultural or philosophical tenets, are not likely to welcome putting their truths to unfettered majority vote.
. . .
We explored a bit of Fes's sprawling Medina, which originated in the Ninth Century, this afternoon. Tiny food stalls, wood carvers, butchers, leather hide traders, raw wool cleaners, bakers and huge displays of cheap, garish wristwatches crowded the narrow alleys, made even narrower by the frequent passage of donkeys.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
The Arab Street is a phrase roughly equivalent to John Q. Public, connoting average public opinion. Having spent a second day in Fes, Morocco's second largest city, however, I think that the phrase may be applied literally. People were everywhere; young people, old people, singles, couples, families. Does anybody stay home? And, while Morocco takes pride in a strong secular tradition, a majority of women in public seem to have their heads covered, giving a picture of a traditional/Arab/Moslem public sphere. On the other hand, only a small proportion of men are wearing the full-length caftan a/k/a a thobe, a dishdasha or a djellaba, signifying a connection to Arab nationalism, if not Moslem observance.
While the Arab Street is physically apparent, I have had no exposure yet to its ideological content. Urban Moroccans are typically multilingual, French along with one or more Arab dialects, but many of the English speakers are concentrated in tourist-related businesses. As a practical matter that means they speak nice to the Jews, because Morocco seems to be a favored destination for American Jews generally and Israeli Jews of Moroccan background who have been courted by the current regime.
The guides are forthcoming about the rich Jewish history of Morocco and take the trouble to point out some of the few physical reminders of their presence, since the mass exodus after 1948. Synagogue Aben Danan was founded in the 17th Century, located in the Mellah, the Jewish quarter established in 1438. (Note that just as the old town in every Moroccan city is called the Medina, the Jewish quarter therein was called the Mellah.) It is the only remaining synagogue in Fes, where there were once 17. As you can see (down below), it looks pretty crummy from the outside, no different than the surrounding area though.
The inside is better; it rises to the level of shabby, which is okay since no services are conducted there. According to several estimates, there are 150 Jews now living in Fes. I'd guess that there were more Jews walking through the Medina in tour groups today.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
We drove 90 minutes to Volubilis, the ruins of a 2,000-year old Roman city that once held 10,000 residents. Besides the sheer ingenuity applied to the design of public and private spaces, we marveled at the half dozen stunning mosaics unearthed so far.
. . .
My body may be in Fes, but my taste buds are still in the Holy Land. So, I am thankful to Professor Barry Seldes for sending me this article on the proliferation of Chinatowns in New York.
https://ny.eater.com/2019/2/
It has been tagines here until now, but I am keeping my eyes open for a good local Chinese restaurant.
. . .
CNN International and NYTimes.com have kept us well informed about Waterpologate, the buying of admissions to American colleges and universities for kids with more money than brains. https://nyti.ms/2TCPnIf
As a proletarian from the streets of Brooklyn, I can't say that I'm surprised or unhappy with this news.
In an embarrassing interview with Christine Amanpour, Lawrence Summers, president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006, insisted that nothing of this sort happened on his watch, everyone admitted to Harvard could do Harvard work. Well, it's true that Jared Kushner's father's $2.5 million donation to Harvard came before Jared was admitted in 1999, two years before Summers took charge. However, remaining in Harvard or almost any other "elite" school takes a much less rarified skill set than what is needed to get in in the first place. The ability to walk and chew gum at the same time usually is sufficient. Most of you probably witnessed this during your own higher education. I saw this in law school earlier this century.
According to the Harvard Crimson's look at the class of 2017 "more than half of surveyed seniors reported a GPA of 3.7 or greater, which is higher than an average grade of A- for every course."
https://features.thecrimson.
That's a big step up from the "gentleman's C" which used to be typical of the well-bred college boy.
The Upper West Side's Power Couple spent much of the weekend on the move, flying from the Holy Land to Rabat, Morocco via Paris. The two-hour layover at Charles de Gaulle Airport was highlighted by meeting Megan, a young Mormon woman from Provo, Utah, who was on the way to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo to train neo-natal counselors, strictly as a volunteer. She does this periodically in different parts of the world, animated by her religious faith. As an officer of West End Synagogue, I have demonstrated my opposition to organized religion. In Megan's case, her LDS connection gives context to her humanitarian endeavors, but I think that her sense of decency, which was readily apparent in the time we spent together, would manifest itself without an institutional base.
. . .
. . .
We are staying in a beautiful hotel overlooking the Medina, the old city. Before starting on a walking tour of the Medina this afternoon, we had two lectures by local academics, one on "Islam & Politics in Morocco" and the other on "Architecture, Art and Spirituality." The hour for each was very rich in information, but I had a better understanding of the discussion of politics and came up with a mini-theory while listening to comments about the Arab Spring. I'll call it Grandpa Alan's Psychological Foundation for Democracy.
For a society to accept democracy, promote it and propagate it, there has to be a high tolerance for uncertainty. Significant portions of the population must be willing to risk regime change and/or policy shifts without abandoning loyalty to the body politic. Conformist societies, whether bound by strict religious, cultural or philosophical tenets, are not likely to welcome putting their truths to unfettered majority vote.
. . .
We explored a bit of Fes's sprawling Medina, which originated in the Ninth Century, this afternoon. Tiny food stalls, wood carvers, butchers, leather hide traders, raw wool cleaners, bakers and huge displays of cheap, garish wristwatches crowded the narrow alleys, made even narrower by the frequent passage of donkeys.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
The Arab Street is a phrase roughly equivalent to John Q. Public, connoting average public opinion. Having spent a second day in Fes, Morocco's second largest city, however, I think that the phrase may be applied literally. People were everywhere; young people, old people, singles, couples, families. Does anybody stay home? And, while Morocco takes pride in a strong secular tradition, a majority of women in public seem to have their heads covered, giving a picture of a traditional/Arab/Moslem public sphere. On the other hand, only a small proportion of men are wearing the full-length caftan a/k/a a thobe, a dishdasha or a djellaba, signifying a connection to Arab nationalism, if not Moslem observance.
While the Arab Street is physically apparent, I have had no exposure yet to its ideological content. Urban Moroccans are typically multilingual, French along with one or more Arab dialects, but many of the English speakers are concentrated in tourist-related businesses. As a practical matter that means they speak nice to the Jews, because Morocco seems to be a favored destination for American Jews generally and Israeli Jews of Moroccan background who have been courted by the current regime.
The guides are forthcoming about the rich Jewish history of Morocco and take the trouble to point out some of the few physical reminders of their presence, since the mass exodus after 1948. Synagogue Aben Danan was founded in the 17th Century, located in the Mellah, the Jewish quarter established in 1438. (Note that just as the old town in every Moroccan city is called the Medina, the Jewish quarter therein was called the Mellah.) It is the only remaining synagogue in Fes, where there were once 17. As you can see (down below), it looks pretty crummy from the outside, no different than the surrounding area though.
The inside is better; it rises to the level of shabby, which is okay since no services are conducted there. According to several estimates, there are 150 Jews now living in Fes. I'd guess that there were more Jews walking through the Medina in tour groups today.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
We drove 90 minutes to Volubilis, the ruins of a 2,000-year old Roman city that once held 10,000 residents. Besides the sheer ingenuity applied to the design of public and private spaces, we marveled at the half dozen stunning mosaics unearthed so far.
. . .
My body may be in Fes, but my taste buds are still in the Holy Land. So, I am thankful to Professor Barry Seldes for sending me this article on the proliferation of Chinatowns in New York.
https://ny.eater.com/2019/2/
It has been tagines here until now, but I am keeping my eyes open for a good local Chinese restaurant.
. . .
CNN International and NYTimes.com have kept us well informed about Waterpologate, the buying of admissions to American colleges and universities for kids with more money than brains. https://nyti.ms/2TCPnIf
As a proletarian from the streets of Brooklyn, I can't say that I'm surprised or unhappy with this news.
In an embarrassing interview with Christine Amanpour, Lawrence Summers, president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006, insisted that nothing of this sort happened on his watch, everyone admitted to Harvard could do Harvard work. Well, it's true that Jared Kushner's father's $2.5 million donation to Harvard came before Jared was admitted in 1999, two years before Summers took charge. However, remaining in Harvard or almost any other "elite" school takes a much less rarified skill set than what is needed to get in in the first place. The ability to walk and chew gum at the same time usually is sufficient. Most of you probably witnessed this during your own higher education. I saw this in law school earlier this century.
According to the Harvard Crimson's look at the class of 2017 "more than half of surveyed seniors reported a GPA of 3.7 or greater, which is higher than an average grade of A- for every course."
https://features.thecrimson.
That's a big step up from the "gentleman's C" which used to be typical of the well-bred college boy.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Except for the total failure of the credit card system at the elegant Hotel Sahrai last night, which delayed our departure after dinner for almost half an hour, this trip has been trouble-free. Until now -- 11 PM, local time.
This morning, we visited a large, open air tannery in the Medina. In a remarkable display of self-control, my young bride and I purchased only one leather jacket each. Hers was available off the rack; mine would be ready in 4 hours, custom made, I was promised. This was not completely outlandish. In 1992, I had a very similar leather jacket made for me in an afternoon in Buenos Aires. In fact, it wasn't until 8 PM when two men hustled into our hotel's dining room with the new jacket. Forgetting to put the zipper slide on the right side, the American way, in spite of my reminder, I could live with. But a fit across the chest closer to a wet suit didn't fly. A telephone conversation with the boss of the leather shop evoked the improbable promise of another jacket tonight. That's why I am sitting in my hotel's lobby, waiting and writing this, having delivered America's Favorite Epidemiologist into the arms of Morpheus.
It is 11:27 PM and I'm going to play Free Cell for awhile.
Friday, March 15, 2019
It is 12:11 AM and I'm going upstairs to bed. We leave for Marrakech via Beni Mellal later this morning, with or without a jacket.
. . .
At 7:35 AM, I go down to breakfast, stopping at the front desk to see if there has been any overnight delivery for me. No, sorry, said the nice young lady on duty. I show her the leather shop on the Internet and explain what's going on or actually not going on. I turned away from the desk to look for Nabil Akabli, our extremely competent master guide, to place the problem in his hands. Just then, I see one of the same guys from last night heading in the door, with a big smile and a package.
You must come and see the two of us in our sharp new, black leather jackets.
Synagogue Aben Danan
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