Saturday, 15 October 2011
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Ourika
The valley of the river Ourika, at one hour from Marrakech. Maybe a bit less beautiful than expected, but worth seeing nevertheless.
What called our attention: the fragile bridges built in spite of scarce supply of wood.
We entered a house, too.
A kindness: fresh water for those who eventually pass nearby.
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What called our attention: the fragile bridges built in spite of scarce supply of wood.
We entered a house, too.
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| Utensil to serve water for washing hands to guests. |
A kindness: fresh water for those who eventually pass nearby.
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Monday, 1 August 2011
Marrakech
The deepest moment: Marrakech. A chaotic place, for sure, because of its traffic, but still the streets of the medina are much larger and less maziful than in Fes.
Al-Koutoubia
The central mosque, al-Koutoubia, used to be called so because of the sellers of manuscripts. But nowadays it's hard to find any books there, except for just one guy selling Qurans and devotional items.
The interior of the mosque is rather modest. Just an inner court with some orange trees, a fountain for ablutions, the white interior type "forest of columns". By the structure it could be vaguely comparable to the mosque of Cordoba, but much more simple in decoration and inner details.
It is also bigger than the other madrasas; there is plenty of rooms for students and teachers, offering much better conditions than elsewhere. Some of them have small exposition of objects of everyday usage related to the studies.
Bahia Palace
Of lesser historical interest, but a charming place too, is the palace al-Bahia, a late-19th-century residence of vizirs serving the Alawid Sharifs, and then also of the French resident in Marrakech. The irregular complex contains several courtyards, walled gardens and pavilions, one of them reflecting a non-Moroccan, rather colonial taste; the whole is richly decorated in somehow decadent, but warm and cozy style. The impression of domestic comfort is multiplied by the sight of some fireplaces, probably a sign of westernized (or pretending-westernized) lifestyle.
Majorelle Garden
The Red City also has many gardens, al-Menara of course, but perhaps the most famous one is due to the painter Majorelle, belonging later on to Yves Saint-Laurent. Jacques Majorelle started to create it in 1924 with an idea of botanical garden, a collection of plants from five continents. Thus, the influence of Arab gardening tradition here is feeble or none. It's a purely European idea of garden, closely related to the European art of its time.
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Al-Koutoubia
The central mosque, al-Koutoubia, used to be called so because of the sellers of manuscripts. But nowadays it's hard to find any books there, except for just one guy selling Qurans and devotional items.
The interior of the mosque is rather modest. Just an inner court with some orange trees, a fountain for ablutions, the white interior type "forest of columns". By the structure it could be vaguely comparable to the mosque of Cordoba, but much more simple in decoration and inner details.
Madrasa ben Youssef
The madrasa, that could seem quite similar to the ones in Fes and other towns, is nevertheless the highest artistic achievement of its time and genre, as well as a strongly photogenic monument due to the pond occupying the central part of the courtyard.
It is also bigger than the other madrasas; there is plenty of rooms for students and teachers, offering much better conditions than elsewhere. Some of them have small exposition of objects of everyday usage related to the studies.
Of lesser historical interest, but a charming place too, is the palace al-Bahia, a late-19th-century residence of vizirs serving the Alawid Sharifs, and then also of the French resident in Marrakech. The irregular complex contains several courtyards, walled gardens and pavilions, one of them reflecting a non-Moroccan, rather colonial taste; the whole is richly decorated in somehow decadent, but warm and cozy style. The impression of domestic comfort is multiplied by the sight of some fireplaces, probably a sign of westernized (or pretending-westernized) lifestyle.
Majorelle Garden
The Red City also has many gardens, al-Menara of course, but perhaps the most famous one is due to the painter Majorelle, belonging later on to Yves Saint-Laurent. Jacques Majorelle started to create it in 1924 with an idea of botanical garden, a collection of plants from five continents. Thus, the influence of Arab gardening tradition here is feeble or none. It's a purely European idea of garden, closely related to the European art of its time.
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| Yves Saint-Laurent memorial. |
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Sunday, 31 July 2011
Fes
Considered the spiritual center of Morocco. Spirituality doesn't appear on the photos, of course. I spent two hours, without knowing it, at the zawiya of Mulay Idris tomb. I didn't take any pics, I didn't think about it.
What else then? The Karawiyyin, considered the oldest university in the world. Like many things in Morocco, it's a female foundation, created by a heiress of a rich merchant family, Fatima al-Fahri. The mosque, like all the places of worship in Morocco, closed to non-Muslim tourists.
The souk full of curiosities and oddities.
The famous tanneries, looking colorful from upstairs, but exhausting for those who work in them.
What else then? The Karawiyyin, considered the oldest university in the world. Like many things in Morocco, it's a female foundation, created by a heiress of a rich merchant family, Fatima al-Fahri. The mosque, like all the places of worship in Morocco, closed to non-Muslim tourists.
The souk full of curiosities and oddities.
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| Selling camel meat. |
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| Bottles containing rose water (?). |
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| Pastilla, a kind of dough fried like this. |
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| Wool. |
The famous tanneries, looking colorful from upstairs, but exhausting for those who work in them.
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