The Couscous Chronicles Quotes

“had to demonstrate that I had mastered the routes only a resident of the medina, the ancient city, would know. If I could not master the alleys, I would be forever hounded by the hawkers and illicit guides who preyed upon the unsuspecting, the weak, the lost, the tourists.”
― Azzedine T. Downes, The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life between Cultures

“I had to demonstrate that I had mastered the routes only a resident of the medina, the ancient city, would know. If I could not master the alleys, I would be forever hounded by the hawkers and illicit guides who preyed upon the unsuspecting, the weak, the lost, the tourists.”
― Azzedine T. Downes, The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life between Cultures

“Language has always fascinated me. My Irish grandmother was a Gaelic speaker who pronounced words in English with a delightful brogue—an accent that sometimes was more pleasant than what she had to say. The various sounds that people make are part of my lifelong fascination with languages.”
― Azzedine T. Downes, The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life between Cultures

“linguistically challenged tourist is always at a disadvantage. The merchants of the medina seem to speak every language under the sun. The only travellers they never seemed to put much effort toward were those arriving from Andalusia. Perhaps it was because the Spanish tourists bargained too much, never bought anything of import, and were blamed for the expulsion of Muslims from Spain in 1492.”
― Azzedine T. Downes, The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life between Cultures

“My fascination with language began many years prior to living in Fez. I learned early on that the way you sound either opens or closes doors in society. Some may think how you speak is unimportant, but I disagree. In Fez, sounding like a native speaker in the market means you get a fair price.”
― Azzedine T. Downes, The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life between Cultures

“Wandering is not the same as being lost, however, and being lost was something that I wanted to avoid in Fez.”
― Azzedine T. Downes, The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life between Cultures

“In the entire city, no street was wider than six feet. Each was a procession of endless people, horses, and donkeys. For me, getting lost was a daily ritual.”
― Azzedine T. Downes, The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life between Cultures

“From my room I could hear the recitation of the Quran through the night, a salve for the lonely, and later animals waking from sleep, the creaking of carts as the sleepless pushed them toward the markets of morning.”
― Azzedine T. Downes, The Couscous Chronicles: Stories of Food, Love, and Donkeys from a Life between Cultures