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On this week’s episode of Why Morocco, British-Moroccan author Saeida Rouass stopped by the studio following her TEDx Marrakech talk to chat writing her first book Assembly of the Dead, a historical fiction set in Marrakech in 1906, and what the Marrakech medina may have looked like compared to today. We also talked about the soon-to-be-released sequel Library of Untruth that sees the return of Farouk al Alami, the detective we met in her first book, but this time in Fez in 1912 at the start of the French Protectorate era.

She certainly left me inspired to consider and helped me define a writing project I’ve been thinking about for awhile. So let’s listen in as Saeida talks about historical fiction, her British-Moroccan roots and fascination with serial killers having grown up just steps away from where Jack the Ripper once roamed.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

On this week’s episode Sarah Kchirid stopped by the studio to chat about the tradition of storytelling in Morocco. Sarah’s first memories of the tradition started with hearing tales throughout her childhood in Abu Dhabi when her grandmother came to visit from Morocco. Having returned to Morocco eight years ago, the stories helped her to understand her heritage. Now she’s part of the storyteller program at Café Clock where she shares traditional tales in English alongside master storyteller Hajj Ahmed Ezzarghani in the hopes of keeping this tradition alive.

So let’s listen in as Sarah tells us about storytelling and tells us one of her favourite tales to tell.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

On this week’s episode I met with pop artist Hassan Hajjaj at one of my favourite art galleries in Marrakech where he was preparing an installation in advance of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair kicking off this week. Hassan’s the photographer beyond the pop culture images of Madonna released last year following her 60th birthday celebrations in Marrakech. Despite the fact that he’s working on three projects for the art fair and just released photos of the latest celebrities he photographed at his studio, Hassan is always so kind to take time to meet with me for an interview.

So let’s listen in as Hassan and I chat about the process of bringing his photo shoots to life, identity and the upcoming art fair.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

On this week’s episode I traveled to the Sahara Desert to visit fellow Canadian Michelle Fletcher and her partner Kamal Yassine at their sand castle – Kasbah Ait Isfoul – on the edge of Erg Chegaga, a rather untouched area of the Sahara Desert. Michelle and Kamal have spent the last year and a half restoring and renovating a kasbah originally built by Kamal’s grandfather.

I had the pleasure of staying in one of the newly renovated suites and woke up each day to the sun rising over the sand dunes and nearby village of Ait Isfoul. After coffee with a view, Michelle and I spent the days wandering through the communities, heading to the weekly souk, and just enjoying the quiet and the simplicity of life in this part of Morocco. As always with my trips to the desert, I stayed longer than originally planned, just totally mesmerized by local life, the slow pace and beauty of the Sahara.

Listen in as Michelle and I chat about building a sandcastle in a big sandbox, slow travel and slow living and what we’ve learned since moving here.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

On this episode of Why Morocco I’m chatting with Cassie Karinsky, co-owner of +61, Marrakech’s own Australian restaurant. Cassie’s an entrepreneur and has owned a few business here in Marrakech and just seems to have a go-get-it attitude – something I admire about her. She’s grateful and appreciative. She is inspired. And inspiring. And she loves to create. Her latest venture, +61, is the perfect example.

Listen in as we chat about what it takes to open a restaurant in Marrakech and what keeps her here after 13 years.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

On this episode I’m chatting with my dear friend Dana Elemara, the owner of Arganic, 100% pure organic argan oil from Morocco. Dana’s passionate about what she does and I think that really comes across in the conversation we recorded back in the autumn when she came out to Marrakech for a visit. And of course, she brought me a bottle of Arganic cosmetic argan oil and I cannot tell you how much I love her oil. In fact, it’s the only moisturizer I use on my face. And her culinary oil is just so delicious!

Listen in as we chat leaving our jobs behind to become entrepreneurs, argan oil both culinary and cosmetic and buying the oil for skincare purposes.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For the eighth episode of Why Morocco, I reached Lonely Planet’s Destination Editor for the Middle East & North Africa Lauren Keith by telephone from my studio in Marrakech. Lauren’s a former colleague and sometimes editor (did I mention I freelance write and have bylines in Lonely Planet?).

For this episode, I was keen to catch up with Lauren as the famous publication has just named Meknes one of its top 10 cities to visit in 2019. Lauren’s just returned from a weekend break in Meknes and Fez, and she tells me she’s inspired to come back more often given it’s just a quick flight from London. Listen in as she tells us about Meknes, an often-overlooked city between Rabat and Fez, and just minutes from the famous Roman ruins Volubilis.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For the seventh episode of Why Morocco, I reached Casablanca-based architect Lahbib El Moumni by telephone from my studio in Marrakech. I met Lahbib through CasaMemoire, an organization dedicated to raising awareness and safe-guarding 20th century architecture in Casablanca, when I was writing about the need for architectural conservation in Casablanca’s downtown core for The Independent. You see, Lahbib’s not just an architect, he’s also passionate about architectural conservation and public education.

We kept in touch and, recently, Lahbib and Imad Dahmani co-founded Mémoire des Architectes Modernes Marocains (MAMMA), an association dedicated highlighting the architectural and urban heritage of Morocco from the second half of the 20th century. Think brutalist, a style I’m learning to love.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For the sixth episode of Why Morocco, I headed out to the Montresso* Foundation to meet with artist Hendrik Beikirch, the artist behind the Tracing Morocco project and the upcoming Siberia exhibition opening on 5 November at the art foundation near Marrakech. His book featuring the images and stories of tradesmen and craftspeople in Morocco sits proudly on my coffee table in Marrakech and is a popular read amongst friends stopping by chez moi. 

His mural of Aziz appeared during the sixth edition of the Marrakech Biennale and it quickly became one of my favourite street art installations in Marrakech (I’m also a fan of the Mad/C installation near Dar El Bacha in the medina installed also during the Marrakech Biennale).

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include:

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For the fifth episode of Why Morocco, I stepped out of the studio and into the musée Yves Saint Laurent marrakech where I met with Mme Christine Alaoui, mother of the late photographer Leila Alaoui whose photographs are currently on display as part of The Moroccans exhibition. I met with scenographer Christophe Martin and exhibition curator Guillaume de Sanders before meeting with director Bjorn Dalhstrom to discuss the museum’s first year.

To support Why Morocco, please consider buying me a coffee nouss nouss.

For more Morocco ideas and advise, follow me on Instagram at @ms.mandy.sinclair

My other projects include: