So this morning as the rain began again, I visited the rooftop of the medersa, the school attached to the main mosque here in the old walled city of Meknes. These tiles form part of its roof. Below the roof, the intricate carving of vines, lines, and Arabic letters form the walls of the inner courtyard around. Around the courtyard; the students simple rooms are alligned. This madrasa is one of the very few Muslim holy places that non Muslims...including Quakers...are not allowed to enter.
But the rain continued all day, so my planned visits to the villages and Roman ruins outside the city were put on hold. Instead I went over to the Ville Novelle and bought myself a light weight jacket to stay warm, had lunch at a restaurant whose love of cats I did not appreciate, and with the help of Simo, the excellent host of the riad where I am staying, fugured out how to buy a bottle of wine...have to go to a supermarket in the new town...cab ride back and forth...one cab driver was listening to prayers in Arabic, but I figured that was like listening to Focus on the Family while riding through Colorado Springs.
But if you think this is easy, I am typing on a keyboard on which I have to remember that the a, the m, the w, the z, the , and the . are on different keys. Of course, that must be easier than writting in Arabic script backwards, but actually the spaces are set to go from right to left if you are using that script on Word.
