Teas and Mohammeds

If there are two things in Morocco that there is much of, it is mint tea and men named Mohammed. Yesterday evening was spent in the Medina. John and I wandered around for a bit and then went to the Bab B'shloud, or Blue Gate, to meet our friends Mohammed and Mohammed. After a while it can get a bit confusing, even they admit it. I can name half the taxi drivers I have had soley by grouping them into one Mohammed or another. I think you get the point that Mohammed is a very popular name not only here in Morocco, but in the Islamic world. Earlier we had walked around the streets of the medina near or house looking in shops and doing some price spotting. It is good to go into shops and ask prices and see about how low you can get them without being intersted. Because so many shops sell similar items, if not the same thing, it is a good way to know what you should be paying for things in the future. No matter where you go, the fact that you are white automatically gives you an inflated price. We met our friends Mohammed and Mohammed at the main entrance to the ancient city to see a couple of shops and then go to a cafe. First we headed off to a shop that had a collection of not only Moroccan but American music as well. Looking in through the door from the street all you see are flowers, but peek inside and there are two men smoking sitting among a pie of records and a shelf of CDs. Unfortunately none of the records were for sale because he had a good collection of American music. Some of the old vinyls included Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Stan Getz, Lou Rawls, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, and even some old bands my dad would recognize with names that could only be products of the 1970's. Over on the CD rack I was excited to find Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble. I explained to Mohammed that he was from Texas, my home state. Among the CD's were more western bands like the Beatles and then some Moroccan Sufi music (religious traditional music). While in the store the proprietor I presume ("Um, are you the proprietor of this establishment?, Brian Regan anyone), put in a DVD and motioned for me to come listen to some American blues. I recognized the song as a version of "Green Onions" by Booker T and the MGs, but played by Ray Buchannan as he informed me. After finding out that the records were his personal collection and not for sale, John decided he wouldn't be buying any and we left for our second stop. Our time in the shop was an enjoyable part of the day, listening to familiar music and sharing a common interest with some Moroccan men that 'roll their own cigs' if you get the idea. Walking down an adjacent street we walked into an empty storefront and Mohammed flipped on the light. We were at his store. When we first met Mohammed he told us he had opened up a small shop in the medina but we had not yet seen it. It is a nice, neat shop that is small but more open than many of others. He sells shoes, jewelry, leather products, seats, and cloths made on the looms nearby. After sitting for ten minutes or so we learned none of our other friends from school would be joining us at Cafe Berber, so we headed off ourselves. At the cafe, the Mohammeds ordered Morocco's ubiquitous mint tea. I decided to try the coffee for the first time, and John, I think leaning toward something cold in this hot country went for a Sprite. The coffee exceeded my expectations and had a good flavor that wasn't as strong as I expected. But what made it good was the creamyness of the milk here in Morocco that was added to it. This recalling of the events of yesterday brings me to the tea which I have not talked much about. Here in Morocco mint tea is the drink of chioce and can be found anywhere. Anytime of the day wherever you go you are bound to see someone having a glass of mint tea. Walking by cafes you don't see many people having a meal, but what you can see all day are men sharing tea or coffee while talking for what could be hours. The lunch hour is flexible up to the full three hours between noon and three o'clock. At home we have tea with breakfast and either lunch or dinner, but anytime of the day at home could turn into tea time depending on how Jamal feels. Around town there are a couple of ways you might see the tea. The tea can be soaked in the mint leaves in the tea pot, which is your own personal pot that will make about three glasses. Or the tea might be poured into a glass stuffed with mint leaves. As far as sweetness goes, at one extreme I have felt like I was drinking a stick of Wrigley's Spearmint gum, but usually at home there is a good mix of tea and mint flavor. Unlike in America, hot drinks here are served in small glass cups. These seem to conduct heat better than ceramic mugs with handles for whatever reason, but that is just how it is done. After the cafe we finished our evening on the roof at home, then dinner and bed. Now you have more knowlegde of mint tea than you probably ever cared too. You also know a little bit of Moroccan culture as well, so long.

~Andrew