darbeda - page 1 of 7

Written and illustrated

Soumy Ana

Zul Hijjah 1421 -- February 2001

Casablanca:

2000-2001 ww.arttoday.com

"Darbeda. Dar--be--da."

I say the words for the first time in my life. I had never dreamt that

was the Arabic name for Casablanca. I also learn that Arabs have

different names for different places in the world that have nothing to

do with their English equivalent. Ibrâhim drove me to a cemetery

today. He explains:

"Casablanca means 'white house' in both Arabic and Spanish. It

is so because the first house built in Casa was white. It was a real

break though traditions at the time. Houses in Morocco are made of

mud, so they look brown, never white. Most of the time, in the

towns, they are painted blue because it is a less corrosive color, not

white. But Casablanca is really an emblematic name. See, even as

far as the house of the dead is concerned, the town is still partaken in

two areas: the rich quarters, and the poor quarters. Both worlds

never meet. In the suburb, diplomats have built mausoleums and

perfectly white mansions. On the opposite side of the town, the poor

are assigned a tiny piece of land, an open space with little unshaped

blocks to mark the anonymous place of the defunct. The poor

follows the Islamic tradition while the wealthy creates more and more

innovations at all levels of the society."

We are walking now in the cemetery where his parents have been

buried. He resumes:

"If people seem lost everywhere else, it is not the case here. I

mean that even though the tombs look anonymous, everybody

remembers where their dear ones were buried. People have sharp

memories as far as daily life is concerned."

I look at an album of photos I have taken through my travels around

Casablanca, and I compare different areas of the town. To me, the

white houses resemble beautiful garments put on ugly brides.

Ibrâhim agrees: