Paintings from Morocco

The following images are paintings that I created from some of my photos that I took in Fes, Morocco. Getting people shots is very difficult- it is better to ask permission before snapping away and offending them. Sometimes they ask for money to be photographed. The shots of the old blind man making a version of the toothbrush cost me about 5 dirham, which I paid to his family.

The oil paintings were created in photoshop using some amazing tools from Alien Skin Software.

Painting: Old Man

Painting: Making Toothbrushes

Painting: Metal Worker

Painting: Library Doors

Painting: Window

Painting: Boy Carving

Painting: Little Boy

There's no place like home!

We had a great trip, saw a lot of exciting things and places, got to play music in places we would have never dreamed of, and met some really great people from all over the world- that still could not compare to the simple comforts of home.

We had some really great things happen:
-Finances: we had some great supporters who helped make this trip a reality! We actually came in under our original budget.

-Housing: we had budgeted a large amount for housing, but we were blessed to stay with a family who had a large house at a fraction of what it should have cost us. They treated us like family and let us make ourselves at home.

-Weather: Morocco was experiencing unseasonably mild weather, so most of our trip was in the 70's (lows at night in the 50's) with a 48% humidity level. Arkansas was in the 90's with the humidity above 70%. I just checked and Morocco is back in the 90's this week.

-Travel: despite a few uncomfortable travel situations (when you are traveling halfway around the world for almost 26 hours straight, situations will undoubtably arise.) We made it to all of our destinations, despite the language barriers. Todd and Kevin actually made money when Air France paid them for losing their guitars, then offered to send them onto Fes at no cost. That saved us a huge headache on the train.

-People: We had no idea that we would spend a great amount of time with other people from all over the world. We made friends who were from the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa, France, Ireland, South America and even several locals from Morocco. We had a great time meeting local shop owners and others who were genuinely friendly and enjoyed our visit.

Last days in Morocco

After several days of nonstop sightseeing, playing music for various events and more food than we could ever imagine, I guess our bodies decided it was time for a break. Todd and Kevin both got pretty sick and spent the last day close to the bathroom, and I just wanted to sleep late. It seems the lunch we had earlier didn't like them very well. I didn't eat the same stuff, so i was feeling fine. We had to cancel our last small concert and didn't get to see some of our new friends before we headed home.

We hired a grand taxi (a mercedes that is larger than the petite taxis which are little Renaults and Fiats) to take us to the airport so that we wouldn't have to wrestle with all of our luggage on the train, plus we could get to the airport in less than 4 hours instead of over 5 on the train. The grand taxi arrived at 3a.m. to pick us up. After about 15 minutes of trying to get all of our luggage in the trunk, we finally compromised - Todd held his Bass Guitar case in the front seat, and Kevin and I held his coffin-like guitar case across our lap in the backseat. We had maybe 6 inches of room between us to move in the back, and Kevin couldn't see forward over his case. Todd couldn't move at all, so he just tried to sleep as much as possible. We got to the airport earlier than we had planned, so we just hung out for a couple of hours before we could check our bags. Todd spent most of his time in the airport bathroom- it seems he was in worse shape than before. After about 4 hours at the airport, we finally boarded the plane for NY- Todd and I lucked out, Kevin booked our seats in the emergency exit row, which gave us a lot of room.

About 8 hours later we landed at JFK and made our way thru the baggage claim and customs just before our flight was delayed. Todd was feeling much better, and he and I found a Burger King in the airport. It was the best tasting bacon cheeseburger I have ever had! Todd also got a Dr. Pepper that really made his trip.

There was bad weather in Cincinnati, which delayed our take-off in NY, we sat on the runway at the number 20 spot to take-off. The plane was a little smaller, but it was an OK flight. Once we got to Cincinnati, we found out there had been a tornado at the airport and it had been evacuated for a while, which is what caused some of the delays. After a while, we finally boarded our last plane headed for LR. As I stepped on the plane, I felt like I was some sort of a giant or something- my left shoulder brushed up against the bottom of the overhead luggage compartments and the top of my head touched the roof (I'm only about 5'11") The plane was tiny and completely filled, along with our pilot who looked like he was about 16- It was a very long hour and 20 min. flight- but we made it!!! Too bad most of our luggage didn't.

Concert in the Riad

Monday night we were fortunate to be invited along with some other musicians to perform in a private house (more like a palace) We walked once again thru the narrow, winding streets to one of the thousands of babs (doors) Once inside, it was like another world- some of the most beautiful architecture we had ever seen. The venue was small, maybe 30 people who were invited guests. A local performer was first, singing a few songs in traditional Arabic. An Australian was next, playing some folk songs on the guitar. I was able to play drums for him, then Todd and I played a couple of Long Walk Home songs, and Kevin joined us and led several others. We had the privilege of sharing the stage with the group from Canada, who then finished the night off with an amazing variety of songs. 

Trip to the Tanneries

After lunch we went back to the old medina and went thru the winding narrow streets to the Tanneries- where all the leather goods are dyed and made into beautiful works of art. The smell of the whole area is incredibly bad, once we climbed up to the top- they gave us some fresh mint leaves to hold under your nose. I thought they should have given it to us much earlier. After some haggling with the leather goods vendor, I bought a pouf- a small leather ottoman.

Lunch with the Canadian music group

Monday we met up with another music group that came to the city for the music festival. We had a great time visiting- we would share a concert stage with them later that night. They are very unique, with a blend of gospel, French, and Afro-Cuban sounds.

Pictures from the Medina

Sunday Evening in the Old Medina

Our people were very vague about this venue- in fact, we had spent the whole day in the forest and they didn't seem in much of a hurry to get us there. Just inside the gates of the Medina is a large square, where some most of the public concerts will be held. There are thousands of people just milling around and there are street performers all over the plaza. People just flock around the performers, then move on to the next one - kinda like Riverfest on Islamic steroids.

We found out that the "friends" had plans for a walk around the entire plaza- and we were supposed to find a spot and set up our instruments and play a little music while the rest of the people did the walk. We found a spot between the 2 gates (the Lion Gate and the Sun gate) and quickly set our rug out and got our instruments ready- within seconds we had hundreds of people completely surrounding us waiting to see what we were going to do. At first they were maybe 8-10 feet away from us, but they kept getting closer and closer until we could hardly move. At one point a festival official came and started yelling at the people to move back and give us some room, but within a few minutes they crowded in again. We sang and played as loud as we could, all worship songs and all about praise, and the people kept coming and crowding in to hear. Some clapped along, some tried to sing along, some even imitated Todd and Kevin by playing air guitar- after each song they would clap and try to talk to us in Arabic and even broken English. Some of the younger ones recorded us with their cellphones and took pictures.

After about an hour and a half, some of or friends pushed their way thru to the front and told us we needed to try to finish up and get our stuff out of there. We packed up and tried to make our way out of the plaza, but the crowd stayed right with us and followed us to the edge of the plaza (several hundred feet) We were able to visit with a few people, they wanted to know our names or take pictures, but mainly just wanted us to notice them and talk with them. One of the guys from the church was filming for us and became a great bodyguard to help us fight our way thru the crowd. If it wasn't for him we might still be in the plaza.

Once we got back to our cars, the rest of the friends met up with us- they were amazed that we were able to do what we did- little did we know, the reason they were so reluctant to take us there was it had never been done before, no outsiders, especially non-muslims, had ever tried to setup and sing about Jesus. Even the main friend, who planned the whole trip, thought we would be thrown out or at least asked to leave the area.( which is why he had the bodyguard around us.) We didn't even have a permit or permission to setup, but God allowed an incredible, ground-breaking event to happen and we were very blessed to have been a part of it.

I have some incredible video footage and photos, but even they do not tell the complete story of how overwhelming that event was. I am posting a couple of photos in the next entry.

It was probably one of the most significant spiritual experiences in my life- definitely one I will never forget

Sunday Morning Service

We led worship at the local body, the same people who invited us. It was a packed building and we recognized some people from the earlier concerts. It is mainly "ex-patriots" from other countries like France, Australia, Spain, England, USA, and Canada. It is such a small world- we met a mother and daughter from Conway- they go to FL just down the street. They just got in and are hanging out with our friend for the rest of the week. We immediately put them to work as roadies- they have been carrying our equipment and filming for us.


After church, some people took us to the forest for a picnic. It is a park just outside the city. We just relaxed all day and the kids played- the people who took us didn't seem too concerned about time. It took us awhile to unwind after our busy schedule, but once we did it was a very good time.

Saturday night concert

We got back to town just in time to play our 3rd service at a small house gathering. It was a small group of people, but as is North African culture, there was lots of food and a great time of visiting. After the meal we led a quieter time of worship than our previous concerts. Here is a pic of the rotissarie chicken, like almost all local food, it is served in a common dish and everyone uses small bits of flatbread to scoop out the bite and just eat from the main bowl.

Volubilis

(Cue Indiana Jones theme music) We left  Moulay Idriss and toured the Roman ruins, some of the most beautiful and well preserved archaeological site in Morocco. The city was built around the 3rd century B.C. and was abandoned around 280 A.D. There are some incredible mosaic tiles still preserved. We could have spent about a week there exploring.

Trip to the countryside

Saturday our friends took us for a tour of the countryside and a visit to a nearby town "Moulay idris" (sp) which is a very remote and holy city. It is somewhat closed to most outsiders, and we stood out "big time"! We were able to walk thru a lot of the city and even get a view of the mosque from above the city. This is a very significant place historically and spiritually.

Second Worship service

Friday was spent relaxing around the house (details on our accomodations will come later). Kevin worked on the slides for the upcoming service at the church and Todd and I hung out with our new best buddy, a local North African man who has been with us most of the week. He plays guitar, so we spent most of the afternoon taping him as he played some great music for us. For security reasons I can't give much details on his story or life, but he is the real deal.
The main friend picked us up for the worship service and on the way, he enlightened us on how things work here- you have to be very flexible to survive. It seems that a communication error had another church group using the courtyard and sound equipment, and the workers who were supposed to have the main part of the building renovated and cleaned up hadn't quite finished their job... so we just adapted and had the worship service in the small P room. About 25 people besides us, crammed in this little room and we had CHURCH! It was an incredible experience- some of the youth from the night before joined us as well as some others from Canada, England and a few other countries sang and worshiped as we had to play above the French Gospel Choir amplified rehearsal out in the courtyard. Kevin's planning kinda went out the window, as we had no slides or anything, and he just led from the spirit. I think we may have played a few songs on his original set list, but the rest was totally improvised. It was so great to have that freedom... more later.

First Worship concert

Thursday night we led worship for a local youth and singles group at a friend's apartment. There were about 15-16 people that showed up, mostly teenagers and young adults from the body. It was an incredible time of worship and really reminded us of the real purpose of the trip. The kids were amazing and drowned us out vocally. We worshiped for about 2 hours, before the unoffical curfew prompted some to call it a night.

Visit to the New Medina

Our friend took us to another open air cafe on the street "Hassan Tani"- which is the street that leads to the king's palace.

Todd an I had the fish platter- which had Marlin, Seoul, Tilapia and some other mystery fish that was very tasty. Kevin had roasted lamb.

We then went to the King's palace gates (see top photo) and then walked thru part of the market in the "new" part of the city (it is only 400 years young) It was a very different atmosphere than the other market. A little nicer stuff, but a little pricier as well.

Visit to the Medina (old city)

 


We made a visit to the old part of the city - 1200 years old. It was an amazing place, with strange sites, smells and sounds that really causes culture shock. After entering the huge gate to the city, we ate lunch at a place called  "Le Kasbah", an open air cafe near the gate. Kevin and I ate "Tajine"- a stew like dish with meatballs and fresh eggs that was really good.
Todd ate the "Couscous" which he said tasted like cornbread and cabbage topped with raisins.


We finished the meal with the traditional hot mint tea.

We ate on the 3rd floor and had a great view of the city and got some great pictures and video.

After lunch we ventured into the narrow streets that are lined with shops that sell just about anything imaginable. Things like fruits and grains, fresh cut meat, live chickens, severed camel heads, jewelry, rugs, trinkets and our favorite... musical instruments! Our friend helped us haggle for some goods, it was more like full contact shopping. We would have been broke within a few minutes without her.

We made some friends in the jewelry shop and the handmade musical instrument shop. They were eager to try their English.

Settling in

We got on a train and rode about 20 min. to another train station. Todd and I hung out with the luggage at a open air cafe while Kevin went and looked at a couple hotels for future travel. We got on the train to the city at about 2:15pm. It was about a 4 hour train ride. The first hour and half was thru slums and really poor areas- tons of trash and poverty everywhere. The whole area looks a lot like Mexico or West Texas. Once we got into the country is was very beautiful, lots of orchards and farms.

Our friend picked us up at the train station and we had an exciting ride thru the city- evidently there are very few traffic guidelines, every man for himself, and the pedestrians (who have the right of way) just bolt out in front of cars anywhere they want. (our friend said if you hit them it is an automatic 5 year jail time.) She took us to the villa where we are staying. It is very nice, the couple is probably in their late 50's. Our friend then took us out for supper with another friend of hers. I was still a little sickly, so we went to a sandwich shop called "So Sweet". it was pretty good but everyone smokes EVERYWHERE so the smoke was hard to be around. We got back to the villa at about 9:15 and we crashed! We had been traveling nonstop for about 28 hours straight.

After a good shower and breakfast we feel much better. We have been checking email and updating the blog.
Our friend is going to take us to the Medina (old part of the city) for some sightseeing and stuff today. We have to go to the local airport and pick up the guitars, also. We have a pretty busy schedule the rest of the time.

Arrived in Morocco

Well, we survived the big part of the trip. We left Atlanta and went up the Eastern coast - right over Atlantic City Boardwalk, New York City, Boston, Nova Scotia then arced over the Atlantic (which is really huge) then came in under Ireland and England right into Paris. Todd and Kevin lucked out and had lots of room around them, I was crammed in next to a really nice Indian girl traveling to India. It took right at 8 hrs to fly that part. We taxied around the Paris airport (which is also huge) for about 30 minutes before the plane finally let us off with only about 15 minutes to get Todd's boarding pass and get on the plane.

It was crazy- I got held up at the security checkpoint and had everything searched and everybody was yelling at me in "Paris-talk", while Todd was running thru the airport with no shoes on trying to get back to the plane, and Kevin had went ahead to try to get the plane to wait on us. Everything worked out, but we were literally the last 3 people that boarded. The 2 guitars didn't make it on that flight.

We were told on the plane to Casablanca that the flight was about 50 minutes- we must have misunderstood, because we kept flying and flying- turned out it was a couple of hours and 50 min. The first 30 minutes of the flight was one big roller-coaster and I got pretty airsick. I really thought I was gonna have to use an airsick bag, until I picked it up and it looked like it had already been used a little. I sat next to a little old Moroccan woman who couldn't speak English. She just tried to be sympathetic by nodding and hand gestures. Todd once again had a bunch of room around him.

We just found the guitars and they are being shipped to the Fez airport for us, so we are leaving the Casablanca airport and heading to the train station. -Michael

We're off!!

Everything went pretty smooth from Little Rock to Atlanta. Todd didn't get a seat assignment for the flight from Paris to Casablanca. We have a small window of time to get that resolved when we get to Paris.-Michael

We're trying to stay mobile & wear ourselves out for the upcoming nine hour plane ride. Once we get the Paris, and then Casablanca, we'll have a whole day ahead of us! So, this flight basically needs to serve as a night's sleep for us. We'll see how well that goes. Our connection in Paris is fairly tight, and we'll need to get things straightened out with his seat assignment, so pray for no delays! -Kevin

All-Star Blues Revue at FOTR

We had a great time jamming on some old Blues standards at the Fellowship on the River Picnic. This was our 4th appearance at Toad Suck Park.

Morocco here we come!

Kevin, Todd and I will be traveling to North Africa to play some concerts in preparation of the 14th Annual World Sacred Music Festival. Visit www.long-walk-home.com for more information and touring schedule.