Magic Windows, Marrakesh and Elsewhere

All photos taken Feb and March 2013

Windows, like doors, always hold a hint of mystery...

a moment of transition between inner and outer.

This window is in the Artisans' Ensemble in Marrakesh

as is this one. How Moroccans love colored glass as I did when we lived there.

Decorated window and door frames abound.

Here at Sherazade, the little old hotel we love in the medina right near Djemma ElFna, the windows have safety grilles. How many patterns can you see?

More windows at Sherazade --here facing the courtyard.

As above.

A nice austere window at the Bahia Palace.

Last two windows in hotels in Tiznet

and Essouira.

Vanishing Marrakesh

Dusk falls over the big square which isn't square at all but sort of kite shaped.

In the early morning Djemma Elfna is almost deserted. At night it is exotic and strange.

There are snake charmers, food sellers and story tellers. Needless to say, I can't follow a tale in Deriga (the local dialect) though the rapt attention paid the teller of tales convinces me that I'm missing something wonderful. So  The Last Storytellers by Richard Hamilton came as a joy. There is a sweetness and a magic to these tales spiced with gruesomeness of Grimm and  the bawdiness of A Thousand and One Nights. The pure of heart mostly triumph as they should. Most of the stories were new to me and I gobbled the book up in one day. Highly recommended!

A blessed and joyful Ramadan to all our friends  in Marrakesh.

In the Mellah Market

February at the Market.

Mother and son.

Choosing the perfect fish!

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Light at Susie's House

One of the magical things about Morocco is how light......

is tossed from a lamp casting shadows ......

 seeps in though internal windows.....

 falls slap onto oranges in the courtyard

  and bathes the pale roses by the pool.

Blue and red glass in the fanlight brighten a quietly colored room.

So  very many cushions in the salon!

 and how sharp the shadows of the olive tree in morning light. 

In the evening the candles flicker on a sheepskin rug in the courtyard.

All the photos in this post were taken in February at Riad Villa el Arsa, my friend Susie Scott's very old guest house in the medina where we stayed part of the time we were in Marrakesh. 

At the Jardin Majorelle/Friday

I think a visit to the Jardin Majorelle should come top of the list

  of places to visit on your weekend break to Marrakech

Even the little ticket office has bags of charm.....

and introduces you to bleu Majorelle and the yellow and the green.....

 the colors are what blow you away.....

 even the very young are enchanted.....

 by the fishes in the water and the trees reflected from above

 a nasturtium and that blue again

 Ah!

and the palm trees with the wispy white clouds.......

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Thursday Wanderings

After a rainy night, a walk down rue riad zitoune djedid

An important soccer game on TV!

 In the park with grandpa

A mysterious figure passes the fabric shop....

Courtyard/Dining Room from Above

Painted doors, window grilles, cut plaster work..........

We often used to eat in the courtyard which was open to the sky. Our dining room furniture was all made locally. The table was inlaid with all sorts of little natural pieces of tile in basically pinks with little tinges of green.

Another picture of the courtyard with traditional tile and the chairs which were made down the road on derb Dabachi. 

A Snack for the Birds

Before we had Mimi and all the cats, Robert used to feed
the little birds on the roof.........
note the really traditional color of the paint.

Pavillion/Jardin Majorelle

Such amazing shadows cast by the bamboo on this little pavilion in the Jardin Majorelle.

A Peaceful Nap

How wonderfully color coordinated these friends are!

And here are Blinky, Ollie, Mondo -- and their mother's tail.
Nothing so much fun as jumping in and out of a basket!

Madrassa Ben Youseff

     photo by Robert Schmid

The central courtyard seen from two different angles.

What a wonderful place this must have been to study and meditate.

Just outside our Door

Musicians often wander playing music in the derb.  Here is one right outside our house.

His music is haunting and lovely.

This shot was taken very early in the morning when few people are about. 

I think this man is on his way to the mosque.

Buying Food

Larkspur and roses early in the morning at the covered market near the metalworkers' square.

The butcher was happy to pose in his shop. His turkey sausages are delicious.

My favorite place to buy fruit and vegetables.

It's all astoundingly fresh and plentiful.

You can buy chickens there too and rabbits and fish.

Lots of the stalls have hand-painted signs.

Here the light shines through the slats onto the workers' bikes and mopeds.