Dar Beit Zellij

17/09/2023

The new moon of the seventh month in the Jewish calendar ushers in ראש השנה (Rosh Hashanah, the New Year). At this sacred time of the year, Jews around the world stand before God and express gratitude for life, and awe in the unbounded glory of God's creation. This joy, however, is tempered by the realization that life is fragile. The sacred power of Rosh Hashanah is magnified by the idea that God judges our behavior on this day, and we, like sheep, pass before the Shepherd, who examines each of us and determines our fate: "Who will live and who will die; who will perish by fire and who by water...who by earthquake and who by plague." (U'netaneh Tokef Prayer).

The severity of God's decree, however, can be influenced by three things: repentance, prayer, and tzedakah (donations to those in need). We at Dar Beit Zellij are grateful that we escaped the brunt of the earthquake, but we mourn the loss of life. We've given tzedakah to the needy via a GoFundMe page set up to help victims in Imlil and the surrounding villages. We urge our friends and followers to donate too.

The recent earthquake in the Al Haouz Province of Morocco has left numerous communities in dire … Seleena Johal needs your support for Morocco Earthquake Aid

09/09/2023

We offer our heartfelt prayers to those who have been affected by the earthquake, and our gratitude to everyone who is helping the victims. We feel fortunate that our beautiful Riad and our wonderful neighbors have not been affected.

الحمد لله

תודה לאל

05/08/2023

Gazing into our hallway, with arch after horseshoe arch, awakens your spirit to the infinite layers of our humanity. This awakening is beautifully described by the Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer:

An angel with no face embraced me
and whispered through my whole body:
“Don’t be ashamed of being human, be proud!
Inside you vault opens behind vault endlessly.
You will never be complete, that’s how it’s meant to be.”

NOTE: Perhaps the most characteristic arch type of western Islamic architecture generally is the so-called "Moorish" or "horseshoe" arch. This is an arch where the curves of the arch continue downward past the horizontal middle axis of the circle and begin to curve towards each other, rather than just forming a half circle. This arch profile became nearly ubiquitous in the region from the very beginning of the Islamic period.

26/07/2023

When you rise with the sun, hours before the heat of the day;
before donkey hoofs clippity-clop along cobblestone alleyways;
before hawkers and vendors open their doors and toss pails of precious water at the dust that has settled at their threshold; before the Medina awakens, you, only you, own the way.

Come and explore the ancient walled city.
https://airbnb.com/h/darbeitzellij

21/07/2023

20/07/2023

"In the veneration the countryman feels for Marrakech, there is the prestige the city has for those who live in the country and also the respect for authority and for God. What attracts him is the all powerful chief whose sway extends over the far, distant country -- the pasha to whom all the upper country is submitted and the minaret and the most marvelous of mosques; then, too, there are the souk and the hope of driving a bargain and the city of sin, for Marrakech is a city for pleasure." (Jean-Louis Mierge)

16/07/2023

At the foot of the Bougainvillea

Fallen blossoms mulch my garden bed;
Stealing my attention from the expansive Moroccan sky;
Some, easily Swept away by the Compassion of the Morning breeze;
Some, too old and too tired to lift off the parched earth, Stay and decay in a week or more.

15/07/2023

We leave the light fixture empty without a bulb, so that a bird can make a nest inside.

14/07/2023

Summer Morning in Marrakech

Wait in stillness. Patiently. Cautiously. But with the sweet expectation that the morning breeze will touch your cheek.

Come and explore the wonders of the ancient, walled city. https://airbnb.com/h/darbeitzellij

13/07/2023

The midday heat is scorching, but the early mornings are refreshing. The sun rises over the Atlas Mountains, and the new day begins. People of faith thank their God for the miracle of creation that is renewed daily. The birds serenade us with their songs, just as the Seraphs praised their Creator at the moment of creation, saying: “the whole earth is filled with glory.”

05/07/2023

After months of hard work -- and tender care--I'm proud to say that we are now Superhosts on Airbnb. Our gorgeous Riad has captivated everyone who has stayed there. https://airbnb.com/h/darbeitzellij

22/03/2023

The waxing crescent moon that is visible in the western sky today, soon after sunset, marks the beginning of sacred time for both Muslims and Jews. For Muslims, it's the beginning of Ramadan, the ninth month of their calendar year. According to the Quran (2.185), Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad:

[185] شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُ َرَ يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
(The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction; therefore whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein, and whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days; Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire for you difficulty, and (He desires) that you should complete the number and that you should exalt the greatness of Allah for His having guided you and that you may give thanks.)
The annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.

For Jews, the crescent moon today begins the month of Nisan, the first month in the Jewish calendar, and the countdown to Passover, the festival of freedom. On the evening of the full moon, Jews retell the story of how a rabble of slaves was infused with a sacred purpose and grew to enter into a covenant with their God.

וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גׇר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃
וַיָּרֵ֧עוּ אֹתָ֛נוּ הַמִּצְרִ֖ים וַיְעַנּ֑וּנוּ וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עֲבֹדָ֥ה קָשָֽׁה׃
וַנִּצְעַ֕ק אֶל־יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע יְהֹוָה֙ אֶת־קֹלֵ֔נוּ וַיַּ֧רְא אֶת־עׇנְיֵ֛נוּ וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖נוּ וְאֶֽת־לַחֲצֵֽנוּ׃
וַיּוֹצִאֵ֤נוּ יְהֹוָה֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם בְּיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ וּבִזְרֹ֣עַ נְטוּיָ֔ה
(You shall then recite as follows before your God יהוה: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us.
We cried to יהוה, the God of our ancestors, and יהוה heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression.
יהוה freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm...)
Deuteronomy 26:5-8

We wish all our Muslim brothers and sisters -- رمضان مبارك -- Ramadan Mubarak;
We wish all our Jewish brothers and sisters - חג פסח שמח - Happy Passover.

08/03/2023

The Nobel laureate Elias Canetti spent only a few weeks in Marrakech, but it was a visit that would remain with him for the rest of his life. He wrote "The Voices of Marrakech: A Record of a Visit" in 1968. In a chapter called "The Silent House and the Empty Rooftops," he describes the Riad where he stayed. His description captures the emotions Lisa and I feel when we enter the doorway into our own Dar Beit Zellij.

"You step into the coolness of the house and close the door behind you. It is dark, and for a moment you can see nothing. You are like one of the blind men in the squares and passages you have just left. But you very soon have your eyesight back. You see a stone stairway leading to the first floor, and at the top you find a cat. The cat embodies the noiselessness you have been longing for. You are grateful to it for being alive: a quiet life is possible, then. It is fed without crying 'Allah' a thousand times a day. It is not mutilated, nor is it obliged to bow to a terrible fate. Cruel it may be, but it does not say so."

"You walk up and down and breathe in the silence. What has become of the atrocious bustle? The harsh light and the harsh sounds? The hundreds upon hundreds of faces? Few windows in these houses look onto the street, sometimes none at all: everything opens onto the courtyard, and this lies open to the sky. Only through the courtyard do you retain a mellow, tempered link with the world around you."

19/02/2023

In March of 2013, Lisa and I traveled to Morocco for the first time. That trip introduced us to the azure Moroccan sky, the shrill cry of “balak” (look out) from donkey drivers in the alleyways of the medina in Fez, the taste of sweet mint tea - poured by hospitable merchants, anxious to make a sale, and the cool touch of polished tiles (zellij), in souk after noisy souk in the centuries old medina of Marrakech.

Our knowledge of the history and culture of Maroc was enriched on that trip by our private guide – Moulay Omar Bahaj. Omar shepherded us north, south, east, and west, but he shared more than his tourism expertise with us; he shared his personal story, his intellectual curiosity, and his menschlichkeit—his sense of humanity. We met his wife Nora, and their two children. We enjoyed a delicious chicken tajine at their home, and before we knew it, we were becoming friends, oblivious to the years, national boundries, and religious beliefs that separated us. A decade-long friendship has grown out of that meal, and Lisa and I have returned to Morocco several times since then. During each trip, we deepened our appreciation for the colors, sounds, and magic of Morocco, and the emotional ties to Omar and Nora.

Over the years, we dreamed together of opening a Riad (a traditional Moroccan home with a central courtyard) in the heart of the medina in Marrakech. We imagined it would be a comfortable space, where guests might get a taste of the vibrant history and culture of Morocco. Dar Beit Zellij is the realization of that dream. We invite you to come and receive the gracious hospitality that Moroccans are known for. You’ll find our listing on AirBnB, TripAdvisor, and VRBO. If you have any questions, DM me or Lisa.

Marhaba (مرحباً) -- Baruch Haba (ברוך הבא) Welcome --

Mark Levine and Lisa Horowitz