Around and About

This is a photo of one of our favorite people. He is the owner of a very useful grocery store on derb Dabachi. Here you can buy such staples as Flotta ( a bright green dishwashing detergent which you have to use an awful lot of) , Crunchips (pototo chips/crisps) and rice of various varieties. He likes to help us with our Arabic and intersperses every puchase with "Bismillah'. Since quite a lot of his stock is stored high up, he spends a great deal of time on a ladder.
If either Robert or I go in on our own, he is certain to inquire about the other one.



I really wanted to take a picture of the man in the middle of these three walking down derb Dabachi. He was so dapper and chic with a white hat and matching white shoes.



This perfectly awful picture is really meant to be of the man with his woolly hat and crate full of doomed chickens being pulled through the square by the patient donkey.



When I asked the man lurking in the back of the barber's shop if I could take a photo - since the light was falling do wonderfully on the old red seats - he said "Three Euro". This seems a bit steep - about $4.50 - for a glimpse of picturesque decay. So I gave him 10 dihram, about one euro, which was much too much. If you enlarge the picture it is rather fascinating.




People sitting round not doing very much opposite the mellah market.



Inside the market a man walks to get more supplies off the truck in the street. Note watermelons on the right.

Animal Tiles

These tiles were all made by the same craftsman whose little shop is between the two rue riad Zitouns.



We have been visiting his shop for ten years and are enchanted with his images.
He spends much of his time making markers for tombs.
This camel doesn't look much like the ones I actually see in Marrakech and Essouria which have one hump. Perhaps it is a dromedary (?) - those people who know about such things will correct me.



Donkeys are used for transporting almost anything. In the late afternoon, young men zoom past Cafe France at quite a clip. Apparently donkeys don't have names like Neddy - they are just referred to as 'the donkey'.
Little children, when trying to be very naughty, call each other "Hammar' - donkey - but it's considered very rude - closer to jackass, I think.
Cats, obviously, are everywhere and I've done lots of posts about them.



I've never seen an elephant in Morocco - though this is a very handsome fellow.
These tiles offer a sort of language lesson - French and Arabic.



This bird - species unspecified - is the only one without writing. As far as I can gather the word for bird sounds like "Tweer" which sounds onomatopoeic - if that's a word.
Note the Berber architectural element.