My journey to Tiznit was a unique one. The first leg of the trip was a bus out of Marrakesh bound for Agadir, where I had to get on a second bus. I generally take the first bus departing to any given location. This time it was an older, funkier bus that seemed to be on its last voyage.
I was wandering the streets of Essaouira taking some snapshots when from behind me I heard from behind me, “Pssst! Pssssst!”. I turn to see Mohammad smiling at me waving me over. His shop is about 5′ x 8′ with hardly any room to turn around.There’s many photos of himself adorning the walls of him presenting his instruments to artists I don’t recognize. He excitedly shows me a picture of himself (a much younger ‘himself’) presenting a to none other than Carlos Santana. After showing me how to set up the Guenbri I coaxed him into playing for me.
Hassan has been making small wooden crafts in this tiny shop along the main ’souk’ street (a souk is a shopping area within a city) in Fes Morocco his entire life. So many generations of his family have worked in this tiny space he can’t even remember how many proceeded him. Every time I passed Hassan he had a big smile and wave for me. His work is featured in the ‘Artisans of Fes’ pamphlet.
Hajoub left school at the age of 7 and became an apprentice at a wood shop in Essaouira. He worked as an apprentice until he was 21 years old when he obtained the title of ‘Malam’ (professional wood worker). in 1978 he moved to France and worked for a good company and made good money.
After several years he missed Essaouira and his trade. He gave up everything in France and moved back to Morocco.
‘Coin Des Berberes’ is a small Berber jewelry making cooperative located In the Tiznit Morocco, on the fringe of the Sahara desert. There are few tourists that actually make it to Tiznit due to the fact that it’s rather difficult to get to. The cooperative survives by sending most of it’s work to be sold in the larger more heavily tourist visited cities of Fez and Marrakesh. 15 extended families show their wares in this shop. Some work in the shop and others out of their homes.
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to Niger river. They speak various Berber languages, which together form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Between fourteen and twenty-five million Berber-speakers live within this region, most heavily in Morocco and becoming generally scarcer eastward through the rest of the Maghreb and beyond.
The first line in my journal about Fez is: “I’m in the most amazing place I’ve ever been.”
I describe Fez as: A labyrinth that very soon after entering one of two things will happen. Either you’ll attempt to run to the nearest exit (if you can find one) or hope to forever wander throughout.
Upon arriving in Fez after a long hot bus ride from Tangier I found a place to sit and get some tea. As a tourist, especially one with a backpack in Morocco means you are never short of friends. Friends that want to give you tours, friends that know where to get the best hotel deal, friends for everything.
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