MOROCCANS IN MANILA

Mention Morocco to any individual and immediately, they conjure up exotic images of grand mosques, starry nights in the desert, romantic escapades on a dromedary's back, a cacophony of smells and sounds in a busy market place,  or a wistful love story of a helpless heroine desperately falling for a masculine sheik as pictured in those paperback romance novels. Whatever it is, Morocco is on my bucket list.

I have had the privilege of meeting and touring the ambassador of Morocco; His excellency Ambassador Fassi along with his friend, Mr Jacinto around Intramuros. Eventually, it led to two more tours when his wife and son swung by Manila during Spring break and when his in-laws arrived for a short holiday. Another opportunity came up when I received a call from Ms Lulu Casas to guide guests of the Rustan's Group of Companies around a rainy Manila at the height of the monsoon season.

Head of delegation is  Mr Khalid Fathi (Director, Moroccan National Tourist Office in China), Mr Mchachti Adbelaziz and wife Mrs Belmoudden Kharmisssa, Mr, Charhaoui Youssef, Mr. El Azali Soufiane, Mr Issarghine Badr and Mr. Chaaroun Zakaria. Unfortunately, the only English speaking member of the group and the lady guest opted to stay in the hotel and the gentlemen who went on the trip neither spoke nor understood any English. I don't speak Arabic but broke ground with my faltering French and passable Spanish. That's how the commentaries were   delivered and we got the tour underway. This was a fun group of young guys accompanied by a more mature gentleman who served as our interpreter. I spoke in Spanish and he would relay the commentaries in either French or Berber. We stopped in the parking area near Harbor Square at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex after  going through the Mall of Asia and the sites at CCP. It was odd for me to witness non-Filipinos to whip out their mobile phones and start taking selfies. That was really amusing but i made an offer to take their photos with the marina as their backdrop.

From there, we went to the Rizal Monument where obligatory photos were taken and they even had photos taken steering a calesa. the rains remained intermittent but the group's mood was lightening. someone asked if there were mosques in Manila. I took my queue from there and asked the driver to take us to Quiapo where the Ahlan Wassalan Grand Mosque is located. Apparently, they had wanted to do morning prayers in the mosque where our Muslim brothers welcomed them with open arms. Then it was off to Intramuros where I showed them around San Agustin church. They were receptive to seeing the church, taking photos in the contemplation garden. Meanwhile, my interpreter showed a lot of interest in the details of the vestments and the religious artifacts. Apparently he is himself, an artisano... a jeweller by trade. It had started raiining again so this group called it a day and headed back for a luncheon with Ambassador Tantoco at Rustan's in Makati.

The second group of Moroccans happened to be a smaller group. This time, they spoke English and so there was no language barrier at all. My guests on this Sunday were Fatim Zarah Ettalbi, her brother Mohammed Ettalbi and Houda Touil. Zarah is a fashion designer whose line of clothing is making its maiden appearance in Rustan's super stores. Her fashion label is Zain. It introduces traditional Moroccan design aesthetics updated to fit the modern woman. The luxe label aims to preserve traditional weaves and embroidery that will help empower women in Moroccan rural areas.

Designer Fatim Zarah Ettalbi and her collection. *photo from Metro.Style

I met them at the lobby of   the Ayala Museum to view the Gold of Our Ancestors collection which I am very proud to show to visitors to the country. They marvelled at the craftsmanship of the jewelry pieces and inspected the details on some featured pieces under magnifying glass. Right next to the gold collection is the textile exhibit which we pored over with sheer interest. At the start of the exhibit, we started talking about the embroidery and the detail of the head scarves. The Arab influences in the design did not escape them. It actually became a point of interest in our discussions. 

Moroccan designer Fatim Zarah Ettalbi. Photo from Metro Style*

The Moorish- Spanish connection and the Hindu-Arab-Spanish-Manila connection as far as influences could not be denied. They observed this fact when I showed them around the Ayala Museum's dioramas. These Moorish influences reached Manila when Hindu  and Arab traders introduced the Islam religion way before the arrival of the Spaniards around the tenth century. On their part, The Moors were in Morocco up to the time that they conquered Spain for eight hundred years. And so the cross-cultural exchanges continued unabated. The design influences in Spain and the Philippines has many similarities... even words for garments surprisingly sound almost alike. The Moroccan word for trousers is sarawal... is it any different from our own term salawal?

We then went to the National Museum of Anthropology where I showed them the textile exhibits. We talked about the same back-strap looms and the embellishments on the Muslim garments from the south of the Philippines. Apparently, we follow a certain pattern in the manner of adornment and design very uncannily similar to theirs. That made the tour more meaningful on my part. Distant  as Morocco and Manila may seem...there is a continuing thread in our histories that bind us together! Zain is now available at Rustan's. 

                                               

*photo from Metro.Style