by Geoff | Jan 1, 2020 | Gnaoua, Marabout, Marrakech, Morocco, Shrine, Sufi, Zaouia
A gaggle of older men in djellabas were sitting outside of the main entrance into the zaouia of Moulay Abdel Hussein, the grandfather of Moulay Brahim who’s tomb and zaouia resides a little further south in the foothills of the Atlas mountains. Both...
by Geoff | Nov 16, 2019 | Gnaoua, Morocco, Music
“You will fly over the ocean,” he continued, “by the power of baraka, the blessing of Sidi Moulay Brahim, tair lajbal, indicating the spirit bird that flies over the Atlas Mountains” Memoir of a Berber by Hassan Ouakrim The young girl got up from the cushion...
by Geoff | Jun 26, 2019 | Essaouira, Marabout, Morocco, Shrine
Sidi Kaouki is a small town on the windswept Atlantic coast of west Morocco. Some 25 miles south of Essaouira, its long golden sands and dashing surf make it a favourite for surfers and windsurfers. There is a collection of stylish hotels, surfing and windsurfing...
by Geoff | Aug 3, 2016 | Marrakech, Morocco, Northern Africa
‘Saints’ in Morocco have a very different interpretation than those in Europe. In Morocco saints can be ordinary people who had a lifetime of ‘doing good’. Saints can be either rich or poor, educated or uneducated, employed or...
by Geoff | Nov 15, 2014 | India
Richard Lannoy, author, photographer and mystic, who spent many years living in Varanasi, provided an article for the Times of India in 2012 explaining the relationship between pilgrimage and tirthas in Hindu faith. Understanding this relationship is fundamental...
