Sound Portrait of Rabat’s Old City

A scene from Rabat in 2008. (Photo: Sarah Kate Kramer)

Our friend Sarah Dohrmann sent us this recording of Rabat’s old medina in May 2011.

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It Will Happen

The call to prayer in Morocco seems inevitable, like the sun rising.

In this clip one of us is with a group of people in the old city of Fes watching the clock and waiting for the call for the sunset prayer.  Someone says, ” I think it’ll happen,” and then one by one each mosque in the area begins the call to prayer, each one  coming in a little behind the other so that it seems as if they are singing in a round.

The King’s Arrival in Fes

Crowds are “gathered” by Moroccan Authorities to welcome the king during his drives through Fes. The king often visits the city during religious holidays, and this recording is from the days preceding the Maulid–the Prophet’s birthday. The crowd is composed of several different tradiional music groups, and children.

Dhar Mahraz Student Protest

Night time protest of students from the Dhar Mahraz University in the Lidu neighborhood of Fes. The protesters want an increase in student stipends. They raise complaints about the level of luxury some of the administration is living in, while they struggle to subsist on their educational stipends.

Rote learning: a chant

Memorization of the Qur’an is an important and traditional way of learning the holy text, practicing Islam, and an act that is greatly celebrated upon completion. For better or worse, in Morocco, the technique of memorization has been extended into secular education, and students in the majority of Moroccan classrooms study a variety of subjects using the a rote memorization technique. Below you can hear elementary students singing as they learn.

Bus Station in Ouazzarzate

The sounds of a bus station: chaos, people traveling, musicians performing, large vehicles moving.

The second hand market at Bab Boujeloud