By the way, how's the mudbrick house ?

Honestly, I don't really know. I'm in Fez most of the time, and Fred spends his days in Meknès.

So, you shouldn't be asking me.

No, instead, ask him.

"Titi", newcomer in Ouled Emgatel. Eats lost of mice (I hope), and is daredevil (I hope not too much, though - dogs don't like cats here)

The Hamadchas on Swiss radio

Phew, you'd think this blog has been abandoned. The thing is, I updated my French blog (slightly) more regularly. So, go there to read a recap of the year 2010 by the well, or here to see new pictures of our Moroccan mudbrick house.

I leave you with a wonderful radio program, featuring Fred and the Hamadcha brotherhood. It was made by Vincent Zanetti, from Radio Suisse Romande. It's in French, but there is plenty of beautiful music, so don't hesitate to listen to it : L'écoute des mondes.

Abderrahim Amrani and the young Hamadchas of Fez

Ouled Mgatel: And the title of my blog was prophetic

We were much closer to the well than we thought!

Let's see.

Our mudbrick house.

The driveway.

Our beautiful, but arid land.

And there it is,

our treasure,

our well!

We've been told that there was a well on our land. But where exactly ? Nobody knew.. These last two years, it has rained a lot. And there was a place, below our house, where the soil was wet, despite the heat of the summer. The boys dug, and surprise!

Water on our land means a lot of things. No more tractor bringing a water tank every other week. A green garden all year round. Easier life for everybody - for us, and for the boys who take care of the house.

"Frédéric el Hamdouchi"

A few videos of Fred, who is working on mudbrick house in Ouled Mgatel - he's brave, believe me, it's very hot in Morocco.
First, his last time on Moroccan TV(I can't remember the name of the show). And for the first time, he's singing alone :

And then, an old video put online by our friend Mickaël (thanks!)

3 days in Tarifa

Oops. I haven't written much on my blog lately. The French version is updated more regularly, so don't hesitate to go there if you want to know what I've been up to.

In June, we did a small trip to Tarifa, Spain. It was actually our first real week-end since we started to work at Luxe Radio.

I discovered the city four months ago, but didn't really have the time to visit and go to the beach. This time, we stayed three days, and it's worth it.

On the first night, we met in a bar two friends from our hometown, Leila and Benoit. It happened totally by chance, and somehow it was really crazy. (Leila made the website of the beautiful Georgian restaurant in Nancy, Chez Vassili).

Since they know everything about Tarifa, they told us what we needed to know about croquetas and canas. Yum.

And the next day, we went Plaza del Viento, and we walked along the beach. It was really nice.

Unfortunately, the vacations were way too short for my taste, and we had to go back to Fez.

But if you can, don't hesitate to go to Tarifa. It will steal your heart, and, if you hang out in the trendiest bar in town, you might just see Leila too, with her green shoes.

(Fred was sick. But with a turban on his head, he felt better).

Life in Fez : The Story of a Cemetery

A while ago, I discovered the Christian cemetery, in the Ville Nouvelle of Fez.

People buried here are mostly French, Spanish et Italian; but, in the military area, there are also a lot of Moroccans, and Sub-Saharan Africans.

Thousands of stories are buried there - I would love to know more about them.

- I know I have been writing much on the blog lately. Lots, lots of work. But I update my French blog more regularly, so if you want to see more pictures of Ceuta, this lovely Spanish/African town, go here; and to know more about our home-made (and tiny) recording studio - for our job at Luxe Radio - it's here.

Seuta/Sebta: A piece of Europe in Africa

A few weeks ago, we went to Sebta - in Moroccan Arabic, or Ceuta in Spanish.



As you can see on the map, Sebta is in Spain - but also in Africa. Going there, coming from Morocco, is really a weird experience.
We tried to cross the border with our car, before we realized we hadn't got the international insurance. We had to go back to Fnideq - where we saw the goat - to park the car in a parking garage, and then to take a taxi to the border. This time, we walked through the borders.
In Spain, taxi again, and we finally arrived in Ceuta, wonderful little city - with great tapas bars.

A few pictures to show you the cultural shock (none of the tapas bars, unfortunately).













And there, not so far away (just behind the hill), Morocco.

Fnideq's Goat

Once upon a time in Fnideq, a small town in northern Morocco, there was a car that really needed to be washed.

So the car went to the shop.

And in the trunk of the car, there was a little white goat, and that goat really needed a shower too.

But once washed, the goat started to shiver.

No problem though: she put on her cardigan.



(and then, just like that, she felt like calling someone).