by Geoff | Nov 8, 2019 | Art, Essaouira, Morocco
The artist’s studio overlooking the swell of the Atlantic ocean one mile north of Bab Doukalla, Essaouira, is just one part of an idiosyncratic and quietly eccentric art installation which stretches across the world. The installation has been gradually developed...
by Geoff | Nov 5, 2019 | Medina, Morocco, Ouezzane, Sherif, Sufi, Wazzan
Green is the colour of Islam and olives; Ouezzane has both in abundance. Its ancient medina, painted green throughout, is testament to both its Sufi heritage, and associated Quranic link with olive trees, and its cultivation of olive trees locally. In the Quran...
by Geoff | Nov 3, 2019 | Essaouira, Morocco
Last light of day at Essaouira harbour, when colours change and the world becomes a slightly different place. Share...
by Geoff | Nov 3, 2019 | Dâr Damânah, Hadj Ahmed Ben Abdeslam, Morocco, Ouezzane, Sherif, Sufi, Wazzan, Zaouia
Below are extracts from ‘My Life Story, Emily the Shareefa of Wazan’, the remarkable account of Emily Keene’s marriage to the Sharif of Wazzan, Hadj Ahmed Ben Abdeslam, an exalted and powerful religious leader in Morocco directly descended from...
by Geoff | Oct 23, 2019 | Marabout, Morocco, Shrine, Sufi
Walter Harris, the adventurer and author, in his 19th century travelogue ‘The Land of an African Sultan: Travels in Morocco’, described Ouezzane as “the most fanatical town that Europeans may visit”. Things may have become less frenetic...
by Geoff | Oct 20, 2019 | Joujouka, Morocco, Music
The taxi driver in the transport hub city of Ksar el-Kebir said he knew the way to Bachir’s house in the village of Joujouka/Jajouka. Liesbeth van Roij and I had decided to see what remains of the legend of the Master Musicians of Joujouka/Jajouka, and had...
by Geoff | Oct 18, 2019 | Medina, Morocco, Street art
Like most towns in Morocco, Asilah has a walled medina. However in Asilah, the walls are painted with colorful, elaborate murals. For the last thirty two years, the Asilah Arts Festival has rehabilitated and promoted the city of Asilah by fostering artists from around...
by Geoff | Oct 18, 2019 | Chefchaouen, Morocco, Sufi, Zaouia
Zaouia, Zawiya (Arabic “corner”), zâwiya, is a Maghrebi and West African term for an Islamic religious school or monastery, roughly corresponding to the Eastern term “madrassa”. The zawiya often contains a pool, and sometimes a fountain. The...
by Geoff | Oct 18, 2019 | Aisha Qandisha, Hamadcha, Meknes, Morocco, Sufi
Walls, town And port, Refuge From death, Gray sea Where breaks The wind All sleeps. In the plain Is born a sound. It is the breathing Of the night. It roars Like a soul That a flame Always follows. The higher voice Seems a shiver. Of a leaping dwarf It is the...
by Geoff | Aug 4, 2019 | Fes, Morocco
“The likeness of those who choose other patrons than Allah is as the likeness of the spider when she taketh unto herself a house, and lo! the frailest of all houses is the spider’s house, if they but knew.” Qu’ran. Paul Bowles’ novel, The...
