It was during this time that the national news was becoming
ominous. The Covid-19 virus was being mentioned on the
evening news more and more often. It was decided to go on the
tour anyway…after all, things couldn’t change that much in the
next 10 days…could they?
I was super excited that my daughter, Andrea, would be
joining us and we would be sharing a room. She is my favorite
person to travel with! Because of the change in plans, the
newly booked trip now included the following airports and
complicated flights: Albuquerque-Dallas-Chicago-NYC-
Casablanca and, finally, by train, Fez, Morocco!
Four hours on a train next to a dusty man with a bucket of
fish under the seat, gave Andrea and I plenty of time to see
panoramic views of Morocco. Eucalyptus trees, prickly pear
cactus, bee farms, and olive trees all led us to our hotel in
Fez, the Hotel Menzah Zalagh. It was adorned with a huge
white horse statue out front. The rest of our tour group had
already arrived earlier and were out and about being tourists.
Our luxury room had a nice balcony with pool views and
palm trees and overlooked a dramatic landscape of the city.
Andrea and I both pinched ourselves with excitement!
“We’re in Morocco! We’re in Morocco!”
HAMMAM BATHS
Since the group was already getting a hammam bath and
massage at the Royal Medina Spa Ben Abad, Andrea and
I decided to do the same. Our hotel offered these same bath
amenities! For $40 we would rinse off the travel dust and get
The Wedding Couple - Photo by Katia
a massage too. I didn’t realize that I didn’t really know what
a “hammam bath” was until it started happening. We were
stripped down and put in a very hot, steamy room with an
ornate wall fountain of very, very hot water gushing out. The
attendant came in just as I was thinking of leaving the hot
room (I don’t like hot and I don’t like saunas) and started
to splash/pour/throw hot buckets of water over and over
on me. NO WARNING! Andrea and I both kept gasping.
On went some black rough gloves and proceeded to scrub
our body parts. A dark gooey soap made of olive oil and
macerated olives (a specialty of Morocco) was used until our
skin started peeling off. Well…not exactly, but stuff started
rolling off in black ribbons! It was sort of astounding and
a bit embarrassing. Our Bath Expert washed and scrubbed
everything, even our noses! She finally left us alone for a while
to “cook” some more. After a few minutes, she came back and
gave us each a short massage while we lay on slabs of tile
resembling ripe red tomatoes. Once again with the buckets
of hot water, this time to rinse off the massage oil. After we
were dry and dressed, she proceeded to blow dry my long hair.
By the way, combing out long hair with no conditioner can
be pretty uncomfortable. Andrea and I both agreed that our
bodies were squeaky clean even if our hair was crunchy!
FEZ FESTIVE DINNER SHOW
After a short rest in our hotel room, Addi, our tour guide
and our driver, Said, took us to a dinner show. After
traipsing through small various alleyways, we walked into
a splendidly opulent, blue decorated restaurant palace. The
ceilings were high, the chairs and tables low, and intricate
tile work covered everything. A delicious looking
long, beautifully set table was already set for us.
Live music and Amel, the house belly dancer,
performed for us. We thought the show was
done, but, wait! There was more! We were treated
to different groups of folk musicians and dancers,
a mild-mannered, comedic magician, and ended
up with a faux wedding procession with two of
our tour members dressed as bride and groom
being carried in on golden platforms! The live
music featured an unusual instrument—a pair of
400-year-old scissors! These scissors were hand
crafted and were usually used to cut leather. Our
own group of dancers joined in the revelry. All the
while, course after course of wonderfully delicious
food was served. The evening was so full that I
forgot to feel how exhausted I was.
July 2020 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 11