Coat hangers from Marseille...
It is good, if painful, to be reminded of the grim impact of some hotels. Here is a letter, edited, from one of our editors. She was responding crossly to the following PR announcement from a Moroccan hotel:
When we designed our Hotel , we set out to create the ultimate luxury hotel in Morocco. A project of passion, blood, sweat & tears, and a big dollop of romanticism, has resulted in one of the finest, luxury Marrakech riads available in the city. Our Marrakech luxury hotel is not really a hotel, but is more our home from home. It is a cool, romantic, sophisticated house right in the middle of the Marrakech medina, just a two minute stroll from the main square with its fire eaters, jugglers, snake charmers, and ancient story tellers.
Attention to detail is our mantra – our toiletries are imported from Paris, our water comes from Norway, and our coat hangers from Marseille. So, if you're looking for a contemporary, luxury riad in Morocco, then we are here waiting to welcome you.
Each room in our luxury Moroccan hotel has the wow-factor, with stunning rooms and funky designs. This really is…pure indulgent chic.
Our editor's comment: "And their initial handout says "situated in the affluent heart of Marrakech..." The old Arab city! the medina! where some of the poorest people still live. And they are proud to be part of the transformation/elimination of this authentic culture, have not the slightest idea of the destructions they wreak."
My own thoughts are similar, with a special plaudit for the Marseilles coat-hangers. Now that is a serious case of supporting the host-country's economy....
posted by Alastair @ 4:06 pm
4 comments
4 Comments:
Is Marseilles famed for its coat-hangers?
Given, your editor has a point. The fast transformation of the Medina in a large scale tourist resort is changing the socio-economics of the old city. At last count there are more than 700 B&B's, boutique hotels of all standards that are currently operating (legally or illegally) in the Medina. This clearly has an impact on the culture here. The workshops are being sent to the city outskirts, the popular restaurants are beeing replaced by overpriced restaurants that often serve some very poor cooking and the traditionnal organization is beeing changed, notably the hang outs for women that were traditionnaly in the neighbours courtward.
Now, i doubt your editor as had as many long talks with the poorest of the poorest here. Most of them are extremely happy to be compensated in order to leave the 10 square meter rooms they are currently living in with their family and relatives (up to 15 people take turns to sleep) with no sanitation what so ever in order to live in a modern flat.
The real problem is that they are beeing sent to new suburbs (Tamansourt, Tameslohte, ...) that are 20 to 30 Km away from where they live. Although public transport works in Marrakech and that it is relatively cheap (5 to 6 dirhams a journey), they are clearly not anticipating the toll this will take on their over stretched budget. They are also no aware of the social cost of this relocation : no real places for the women to meet and exchange experiences (i can predict the divorse rate will sky rocket just because of this), very few squares, a concentration of poverty that will make the "wealthiest" leave in a few years, the risk if they default on their 25 year morgages (and a lot will), ...
As in many european countries in the 60'S & 70's, these new model cities will fast become ghettos for the poor located at a convenient distance of the "wealthy" Marrakech. That is the real social wreak & certainly not the fact that the poor are leaving the Medina. The authentic culture your editor referers to has already survived the fact that the rich have been leaving the Medina since the 50's & that the jewish community has left the Medina in the 70's. It will survive once again ...
Sadly most items found inside the average persons closet, fridge, livingroom sideboard, or bookshelf were produced and manufactured far, far away. The only difference with these Marrakech hoteliers is that they've chosen highly unimportant items to gloat about, so the hotel must be pretty vulgar.
Water from Norway?
And the point being?
If I were to travel to North Africa again, I certainly won't want to stay in such a place.
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