Create a Home in the Timeless City of Fez: A Guide to Building a Life in Morocco's Ancient Heart

Lília: Estou gostando muito! Rica vivência muito bem descrita!

Brazil on Jun 18, 2023

F.Naftolin: This is a terrific memoir both about a personal adventure and the Morocco that is still available to visitors. The writing is easy and rewarding to the reader.
Fez is a special place because it is the home for many years of Maimonides, one of the world's great physicians and philosophers. It should be on the itinerary of all who make the long journey into the past and a world that has passed.

United States on Sep 27, 2022

M: An excellent tale of passion, perseverance, respect & fortitude. Sharing this journey & adventure in making a once beautiful home in Fez beautiful again is truly inspiring

United Kingdom on May 22, 2022

Laird Saunderson: Am going to Morocco next month hopefully depending on the coronavirus situation
and just loved this easy going book on renovation nightmares in Fez...a fun book!

Canada on Feb 29, 2020

Shirley Anne: I recently visited Fez, thus found this book very interesting with its' description of the medina, and how people live and work in such close proximity to each other.

Canada on May 22, 2019

Altamont: I had just visited Fez when I started this book so the whole unravelling of buying, securing trades, working with the people, the bureaucracy, the neighbours, the old construction, the material construction - quite quite amazing for someone coming from the western world where we just buy what we want and need..found the book gave me a wonderful appreciation of the people, the area and the couple who recreated the riad...

Canada on May 06, 2019

Amazon Customer: I was about to visit Fez and was recommended this book. It proved to be most helpful and informative when I did visit explaining so much about the culture, renovation work etc as well as it being a good story.

United States on Nov 28, 2018

ulysses4: A dozen years is barely a batting of an eyelash in the history of Fez. So don't feel this book is dated because it is 12 or 15 years old. Ms Clarke's reaction, and that of her husband to Fez was profound and life changing. Their decision to purchase and restore an old Riad in the heart of the Medina took a rare mix of courage, recklessness, determination and successful enterprise. My wife and I have only been to Fez once, and it was perhaps the most memorable part of a month long independent ramble through Morocco. We were enchanted by the artistic and cultural pungency of the city. The author went one better and nearly went native after a fashion. Despite the headwinds of local government bureaucracy and cultural barriers on both sides of the equation, the foreigners' dedication to respectful preservation and willingness to admire and embrace the city's customs and spirit earn respect and support. The craftsmen and workers employed in the project became their friends as well as their employees. It's a charming tale. One worth recording. While I wish there were more illustrations, one can find much that is pertinent on their websites and other Moroccan sources.

Her book is...

United States on Mar 07, 2018

MJ: My husband and I love to travel internationally, and have traveled on our own to some pretty exotic places. We have toyed with the idea of buying a house somewhere outside the United States. This book presents pros and cons for doing so, regardless of where one is thinking of having a home abroad.

I appreciate the way Suzanna Clarke describes her experiences without becoming overly self-absorbed. Au contraire, her self-deprecation is quite endearing and amusing. I particularly liked reading about the relationships she formed with all kinds of people; from expats, to her neighbors, bureaucrats and workers. She certainly got it right from the beginning – you can't buy and restore a home in a place like like Fez without an inshallah attitude, which she and her husband seemed to completely embrace.

Our next trip is to Morocco, and I'm very glad I read this book. It is well written and fast paced. The enjoyment of the reading experience is enhanced by the rich and interesting context one receives into Fez and Morocco through her commentary about culture, architecture, history, and religion. And I enjoyed following up reading the book with the visuals on Suzanna's...

United States on Oct 11, 2014

shiite7: I'm going to be in Morocco soon, serving in the Peace Corps, and read The Caliph's House, by Tahir Shan, before this (which I would rate as maybe 4 or 4.5 stars) - this I would give a 3.5/5.

There were paragraphs/sections I particularly enjoyed - whether because of marked wit or charm, or interesting historical insights of which I was not aware.

The book started off well, with quotes like, "Morocco has the mystique of a land from the Old Testament yet appears to be coping comfortably with modernization. Internet cafes rub shoulders with artisans' workshops; peasants on donkeys trot beneath billboards advertising the latest mobile phones", "it was a country where we felt more alive than anywhere else, our every sense engaged", "you looked the farmer or the stallholder in the eye as you quibbled in a good-natured way about the quality and price."

I was hoping of more of the same.

Unfortunately, after the first two chapters or so, the book veered off (and decidedly so) into a tome on building materials and house/kitchen renovation...at least 60% (being conservative) of the book is very detailed tidbits about building supplies and how the kitchen tiles were...

United States on Dec 17, 2010