My Marrakesh

Marrakech's Kasbek: and modern Moroccan chic

Well she knew Kasbek was special as soon as she saw the glamorous curtain and the stunning Moroccan tiled floor from Popham Design....

The boutique was small-ish but large enough to have  secrets hidden away in gauzy Mauritanian fabrics.

The special-est of all were the caftans.......The jersey ones were particularly slinky and body-conscious.

And the vintage caftans had her channeling her inner Talitha Getty....

There was fabulous ethnic jewelery to wear with your caftans (or, umm, your T-shirt and jeans). 

Oh, tribal baubles paired with a cinched, airy caftan.  So fresh and stylish.....

The lovely proprietress, Rebecca, an Australian painter, was woman-ing the fort.  The other half of Kasbek's duo, Kassie, was sipping mint tea in Tangier temporarily.

The blogging girl knew she'd be back.......to Kasbek....  Maybe you'd like to go, too?

Kasbek Marrakech Medina 216, rue Riad Zitoun Jdid +212 63775690 studio@kasbekaftans.com Open 7 days a week, 10-7

Marrakech: And living up to your breakfast potential

She loved breakfast, you see, especially outside on her Moroccan tiled table.   
She had her breakfast routine:  first a cup of coffee with plenty of hot milk and a dash of cinnamon.  No sugar.  Then toast with blue cheese or organic honey and a glass of freshly squeezed tangerine juice.  Then a little fruit, preferably with strawberries or pineapple or grapes. 

She liked to linger.......she liked her second cup of coffee......she liked to imagine the amazing and wonderful and incredibly productive things that she just might do that day.....   Anything was still possible in the morning; the day dangled ahead, shimmering in long stretches. Why perhaps it would be the day when she made it through her entire in-box in the morning .......leaving time to uncover treasures in the Marrakech souks all afternoon long.....  People had walked on the moon, after all.  Anything, anything, was still possible at breakfast.....

 

Perhaps you have ideas for breakfast at Peacock Pavilions?  Especially you and you and you and you and why you (no looking over your shoulder, I am talking to you).  Please........won't you share one of your breakfast secrets here?  Perhaps a recipe for delicious muffins or scones or coffee cakes? Or a recipe for home made granola or yummy yogurt made from scratch.  Nothing elaborate -- no blueberry soup with violets floating in the middle.  Just simple and fresh and well, feasible.  Do email your breakfast secrets to [maryam at mtds dot com] or leave a little link or a little idea behind in a comment.  Because, after all, there's breakfast tomorrow to think of and the one the day after that and the week after that....and the month after that....and....

Marrakech: Peacock Pavilions and a tale of botanical woes

Once upon a time, in a real kingdom far, far away, there was a blogging girl named Maryam who was fond of plants.  Indeed, so enchanted was she by the silvery branches of olive trees, that she bought a small olive grove in Marrakech.  Imagine that.

For a time, it seemed like Maryam and her olive trees might live happily ever after.  But, like all fairy tales, it soon became evident that things were not as they should be.  Because although the trees had the family's love, as well sun and water, they had few other plants with which to share their leafy feelings.  Lonely and depressed, olives began dropping from their branches for no reason at all.

Now Maryam wanted her trees to be happy.  So she timidly bought cypres, agave, bougainvillea, and roses......but they felt lost in the vast expanse of 8.5 acres of land.  It soon became evident that the family required help of the expert variety.  A fairy god landscaper was needed.  Maryam tried numerous tricks to evoke a fairy god landscaper. She rubbed random lanterns with genie potential in the Marrakech souks.  But......nothing happened.  She clicked her heels and tried spells purchased from magicians on the Jemaa el-Fna square.  But....the spells appeared to be broken.  In sheer desperation, she even sent a polite email to the fancy American landscaper who had done the plan for the American School of Marrakech.  But he didn't bother to reply to her - it appeared she wasn't important enough to even merit politeness.  Sigh, where were she and she and she when Maryam needed them most?

All seemed lost.....It was then that a Moroccan landscaper showed up on the land, unannounced.  He drove a pumpkin coach, err, a pickup truck and called plants by their Latin names.  Impressed, Maryam invited him to walk the property.  And - as in all fairy tales - she also told him her three wishes:  1) an Andalusian garden with drought-loving plants; 2) clipped rosemary hedges with their heady scent; and 3) an organic vegetable patch with seeds carefully sourced.  Much to her surprise, the landscaper told her that she could have more than just three wishes (Oh my!).  Maryam hired him on the spot, of course.  He asked for an advance (even fairy god landscapers get paid these days) and she said......... yes.

The months passed, and the would-be fairy god landscaper was behind schedule, waaaaaay behind schedule.  Maryam began to grow worried.  She knocked on his office door and called him on the phone, first weekly, then daily, seemingly to no avail.  Finally, when her fingernails had been bitten down to the quick, she received a message that the landscaping plan was done.  She crossed herself, made a namaste, and did a left sided and a right sided cartwheel.  She alerted the Peacock Pavilion olive trees, who alerted the sparrows, who alerted the ladybugs.  And everyone felt, well, happy, in the sparkliest way possible.

However..... it appeared their happiness was premature...... The landscaping plan turned out to be a measly set of stapled-together pages of nothing at all.  And after fruitless discussions to try to rectify the situation, the architect husband -- normally so kind -- threw the "landscaping plan" straight into the trash..........

Oh dear.  They had been swindled.

This fairytale does not have a happy ending.......but perhaps.... it is still a tale-in-the-making.  For the time being, however, sad Maryam and her sad olive trees are scanning the horizon, hoping that someone will show up soon to apply for the vacant fairy god landscaping position at Peacock Pavilions. Oh please, let it be this week or next. 

(Warning to all charlatan landscapers:  the dungeons at Peacock Pavilion are rumored to be a very scary place, indeed, absent of all light and populated only by man-eating cacti.   Don't make me take you there....)

To be continued......

PS  Take a peek at this pretty, pretty vintage Moroccan wedding blanket I sent darling Jeanine at one of my fave blogs, AphroChic.  This lovely blanket has dark embroidered strips among the fringe and the sequins.  Yowza!  I have new stock of vintage Moroccan wedding blankets - so please let me know if you would like one (maryam at mtds.com) .  I also have some delectable vintage Moroccan Beni Ourain and other carpets - I will be posting on those soon.

Peacock Pavilions: and magic room numbers

Ah magic….don’t you think there should be more of it in our lives?

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There is a history of interest in numerology and magic in the Arab world.  The number 5 has always had special significance and powers because it is linked to the hand of  Fatima and the 5 fingers.  The numbers 3, 7, 9 and their multiples are also believed to have magical properties.  (The magic square – a set of numbers placed so that the sum is the same, no matter if numbers are added horizontally, vertically or diagonally – is sometimes used to heal the sick or protect wearers from the evil eye.  I often see silver rings with magic squares in the Marrakech souks.)

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So I was thinking….that there should be magic room numbers at Peacock Pavilions.  In addition to our own pavilion, there will be 2 guest pavilions with a total of 5 guestrooms.  I thought it might be charming (and magical!) to dispense with room numbers 1, 2 and 4 altogether…….and only have rooms 3, 5, 7, 9, and 35.  Or rooms 5, 7, 15, 21, and 27… It seems to me that on a magical holiday, magical room numbers are only appropriate. 

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Hmm…What do you think? 

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(oh, eeek, I better cut this out before you become convinced that I am going to greet you at the gate of Peacock Pavilions wearing a star covered cape, a tall pointy hat, and waving a sequin-covered wand…)

Marrakech: and what to do with children?

It was Sunday, and so the American family set off.........They were headed for Marrakech's wee little fun fair, for wee little fun kids.  It's called Kawkab Jeux. 

There were tickets to be bought.

The small girl, Skylar, kicked off her shoes.

The blogging Mom also took off her hightops, well, just because.

There was air hockey, pool, and arcade games.  And even the tiniest in the group managed to have a grand time.

There were huge jungle gyms to climb and balls to be thrown.

For the very brave, there were even wild stallions to ride.

It was worth the price of admission just to have a go at the world famous Jum Ping.

As you can see, Jum Ping was only for the highly skilled. (Grown ups should not attempt this without supervision.)

When she tried to get into the rides for the "big kids," the genie with the magic lantern looked suspiciously at the blogging Mom and sent her away. Sniff.........

When it all got too exhausting, parents and their stuffed pets could sit for a spell.

Sadly, after an hour or two it was time to head home. But not before sagely partaking of nutritious food groups.....

Kawkab Jeux 1, Rue Imam Chafaï - Kawkab Centre Harti, Marrakech Tel: 024 43 82 29

http://www.kawkab-jeux.com/

Peacock Pavilions: and feng shui me

Jayme Barrett was the mind/body editor of a magazine.

She had been featured on television and radio.   

Her book had been on the best seller list. 

She lived in Los Angeles.   

She was visiting Marrakech.

She was leaving the following day.

The blogging girl sat at a long narrow table with 15 others.  They were there to learn from Jayme how to feng shui themselves, their homes, their lives. 

Jayme spoke to them in a way that was reassuring, telling them they wouldn't need to throw out all their things, they wouldn't need to buy expensive props, they wouldn't need to start over.  She spoke and they listened. Questions were asked and answered.  Heads nodded around the room. 

There wasn't enough time. (Wasn't that always the way these things were?) And so during the break, the blogging girl asked, Please, before you leave Marrakech, would you have time to come for a consultation at Peacock Pavilions?  It needs some help, you see.  It needs some care, you see.  It needs an added insurance policy.  It needs feng shui. 

Amazingly, Jayme said yes. 

So, the next morning, the two of them set off for Peacock Pavilions.  They walked through the olive grove.  They walked through the three pavilions.  It seemed...........(Could it be?) that Peacock Pavilions was already quite feng shui.  The entrances were where they should be, the rooms were oriented in the right ways, the beds could be placed correctly, the bathrooms were just as prescribed.   There were things that could be done to make things better, to improve things, to keep the chi in the rooms, to counter the fast flowing straight hallways, to adapt the exuberant windows.   But overall, overall, it seemed that the feng shui stars had aligned themselves positively over Peacock Pavilions. 

So thank you, clever architect Chris.  And thank you, sweet feng shui Jayme.  And perhaps most of all, thank you....Oh, thank you, kind universe. 

P.S. Anyone coming to Marrakech from the US? Kind courriers desperately needed. Thank you.

Peacock Pavilions: and from here to eternity

The list for Peacock Pavilions was long, very long.

It went something like this: 1) 10 beds; 2) 10 mattresses; 3) 30 sets of twin sheets; 4) 15 sets of queen sheets; 5) 10 nightstands; 6) 814, 436 bath towels (approximate figure); 7) a gazillion dishes; 8) poufs, more poufs 9) 2 whole kitchens; and 10) several miles of swimming pool tile.

Right, she said to herself, with a tone of brisk efficiency.  This is not a problem, she chirped with enthusiasm.  I am 100% on top of this, she stated with confidence as she walked out the door.

She returned with this.

It was bisque.  It was fragile.  It was useless. 

Sigh. 

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P.S. Many thanks to Design DNA for this lovely post on my husband and Peacock Pavilions.  He was tickled pink.

Peacock Pavilions: and Modello Designs

Back in September or October, a strange and wonderful thing happened.  I received an email, which started off a conversation, which went something like this:

Her:  Hello, hello.  My name is Melanie.  I am a professional painter and decorative artist.  I have been reading your blog. And I have a blog, too.
Me:  You’re not by chance the Melanie of Modello Designs, are you?
Her:  Well, yes I am actually.  I was writing you to see…
Me: (interrupting her) Oh, I love your work…so intricate, so feminine, so fresh.
Her: Oh thank you.  I was writing you to see if a group of decorative artists and I could come and help custom stencil and paint some beautiful designs on your walls or ceilings at Peacock Pavilions.
Me: What?
Her: We would do it for free.
Me: What?
Her: Yes, you see, every year for the last few years, we have been picking a house -- a palazzo in Italy, for example -- that we make the subject of a painting and stenciling trip.  This year I thought it would be fun if we could come help paint Peacock Pavilions.
Me: What?
Her: We could help pay our way, too, to stay at your place.  So it would be some extra cash for you.
Me: What?!
Her: We could paint/stencil just about whatever designs you wish.  You would be our pro bono client.  What do you think? 
Me: Is this some kind of trick question?
Her: What?
Me: Did my rascal-y brother put you up to this?
Her: What?
Me: Am I on one of those hidden camera shows?
Her: Ummm....No, no.
Me: Well, in that case…… all I can say is……..yes, yes.

And so dear friends, they are coming.  In May.   Peacock Pavilions won’t be quite ready yet but Melanie says that if there are beds to sleep in, electricity, plumbing and good food…….that that might be quite enough.  And Melanie is flying out for a consultation next month.  Next month.  Imagine......Peacock Pavilion guests sleeping under a gorgeous hand stenciled ceiling or two.......  And you won't believe what we are painting.........?!  Click here to see the inspiration.  So, so lovely.  Am I or am I not, the luckiest girl in the world?

Melanie's other beautiful projects and stencils in images above and below.  The stencils she develops for Peacock Pavilions will also be available to the public.  eeeek,  I am so excited that I could just about pee in my pants except, ahem, that wouldn't be polite:)

The National Geographic: and my Dad will be so pleased...

I grew up on the National Geographic.  I remember thumbing through the pages and saying to myself, Maryam, when you grow up, you will go here, and here, and here, my eleven-year old finger tapping pictures of places more amazing than anything I could ever imagine. 

So it's a little thrill for me to see this blog mentioned in National Geographic Traveler this month.  Oh, my Dad will be so proud.  Take a peek right here.  Written by Mary Beth LaRue, this Marrakech Destination Guide includes some good links to good stuff.  The blog of my dear Marrakech friend, Elizabeth, is in there, too.  How fun!

Thanks also to Erik Gauger for his out-of-nowhere mini-review of my blog right here.  I think Notes From the Road must rate as one of the world's most beautiful travel sites.  Erik's photos are  stunning,  like this one here and this one here .  But my favorite are his moleskin journals.  See what I mean here.

Speaking of cool people doing cool things, I have been working with designer Jennifer Hill on the Peacock Pavilions website (Coming soon!).  I loved Jennifer's work and so I shamelessly propositioned her to help bring my vision of the PP site to life.  Jennifer is coming to Marrakech in July and has already started working on what is undoubtedly going to be among the prettiest illustrated books on Morocco of all time.  Read about it here on her adorable blog.

Image from my foyer:  a table made of an old contraption you tie onto a camel on which I have placed small-scale models of mosques, churches, and stupas from places I have been.  Roses from the garden in vintage Moroccan water tumblers purchased to hold flowers at Peacock Pavilions.

Marakech: and love is in the air....... (sing it, baby)

Oh my.  Why it's enough to make a blogging girl blush....  the amorous glances, the whispered nothings, the romantic interludes....

During the day and, ahem, during the night..... 

It's all taking place here at Peacock Pavilions.  In fact, umm, rather regularly these days. 

I am not really sure whether you want to hear about such, cough, racy escapades.  This is a family blog, after all.  But I'm throwing caution to the wind.  Because surely after all this time together (I mean you and me, of course), I can confide in you matters of the more......shall we say, intimate kind.   

And let's face it, a little action, is good for the soul.  (Now don't get all puritanical on me.  It's perfectly natural.)

I still remember when Karim first looked at me in that way....sigh.

And you must admit, he is very attractive.........

Yes, it's mating season here at Peacock Pavilions, and the peacocks are really strutting their stuff.

No wonder the peahens are feeling a little weak in the scaly knees.....