Come again on washing day

The rain last week upset broadband access for some reason but has caused much more disruption than a mere inability to blog. The floods caused 31 deaths in Casablanca last week when 20cm fell in one day.
We hired a car last Thursday and Friday for a trip to Sidi Ifni which was not without incident. The rain had stopped so we were feeling optimistic. We were stopped at the main roundabout by traffic police who told us thqt the bridge on the N10 was down and if we wanted to go to Tiznit we should head for Ouazazate and then turn right and go through Freyja. Freya itself was awash with mud so that the metalled road seemed more like piste. Crossing the river there involved what appeared to be a longstanding deviation at a washed out bridge through the river bed although the main bridge in the village which was still under construction on our trip last may was now finished. When we got to Tiznit, only 100km away, they had had no rain the deluge being restricted to the Sousse plain  (and presumably Casablanca).
On the way back Beloved thought we would avoid this detour and take the old Agadir road back which goes by the Gazell D'Or and is favoured as a grand taxi route. We got about half way home from Agadir when there was a deviation sign. Inspection showed that the bridge was washed out. It looks as though it will take some time to repair.
I could not have been more wrong about this. 5 days later we went along the road in a Grand taxi expecting a deviation but it was completely repaired with a causeway for half the width and a bridge in place for the other half. Traffic was back to normal.
By then it was dusk and we had to go back and then through Ouela Teima and down the old N10 and then round the Freja deviation in the dark.There were a lot of lorries on the road unusually so for that time of night so that there was an impression that everybody was having to go much further and take longer than usual.
This is the taxi drivers' view and for a while taxi fares to Agadir doubled. Meanwhile the traders in Taroudant Souk are bemoaning the lack of trade and the tourist buses are conspicuous in their absence.
Meanwhile the Gazell D'Or road is breached in a second place nearer to #taroudant where a small stream through on of the orange plantaions had been dammed. The rains caused a new alternative stream to form and this then had to cross the road washing it away.
The taxi drivers have improvised a transport system driving up to the bridge on each side and the the fares wade across the river on fott. On Friday this seemd to be a solution utilised on by young men and at some embarassment  as "friends" on the bank called out  "useful" advice or encouragement and waited for the to slip and fall in the water.

Fresh Orange Juice

One of the joys of Taroudant is the fresh orange juice. The Sousse valley is a major producer with industrial scale orange groves. Workers can be seen morning and night going out to the estates from the villages standing in 20s in the rear of pick-up trucks and lorries. When you go to Marjane in Agadir they have special offers on Taroudant oranges and clementines as the best.
The very best oranges seem to end up at the orange juice stalls in Place Tamouklate by the entrance to the Berber souk. There for 4 dirhams you can have a large glass of juice squeezed for you  as you wait. Small glasses are 2 dirham. This is about half the cost of the similar stalls on Marrakesh and the Taroudant stalls have the additional advantage that you can sit down in the booth at the back. We take advantage of this on a daily basis having a nice rest after a wander round the Souk before coming home. A "morning constitutional" as my grandfather would say. As the shoe shine stall is next door you can get polished at the same time and as the shoeshine also sell cigarettes singly for a dirham each wreck your lungs if you want.

Orange juice stalls Place Tamouklate Taroudant

Orange juice and shoe shine stalls Place Tamouklate Taroudant

Squeezing the juice Place Tamouklate Taroudant

Orange juice stall Place Tamouklate Taroudant

The coffee shop

The smell of the shop is wonderful. It is one of a few on the drag between the suqares selling just coffee and a few sealed packets of spices.  Pick your coffee ranging from 40dirham to 100dirham (£8) per kilo and it will be ground to your requirements and sealed in its plastic bag. The yellow sacks are 5kg bags of beans, presumably how the out of towners buy it.

Saints and sinners

The town is just about coming back to life after Eid. Most of the out of towners have gone home. The baker re-opened on Friday at first mornings only, the schools went back on Monday and more shops opened, but the butchers all remain closed- who wants to buy meat when you still have sheep at home. The market is open half-hearedly and some of the street vendors are returning but best for us the car hire agencies reopened ! So this morning we had a trip into the foothills of the Atlas , about half an hours drive.

We took pictures of the Marahout's tomb at the end of the cemetary at Tamalackt. Behind the white wall is the village cemetery but at one end is the marahout tomb. This is aperson thought to be of some religious eminence and sanctity. They are often referred to as muslim "saints" although this has a different meaning to the Catholic sense of saint as it is implicit in Islam that nobody can intercede or intervene between a person and God. Anyway  there are a large number of these tombs scattered about the country and most of them have a moussem or festival annually when the marahout is remembered. Usually these are very local but some attract pilgrims from great distances.

The Eid markets

Tomorrow is Eid, not today as in most of the Mahgreb and Britain, Morocco is just that bit too far west an is a day later in siting the new moon. Ou friend Mohammed can be quite bitter in explaining how Gaddaffi messes everything by deciding in advance and thinking you can just predict the new moon when you have to wait for it to be seen and then it is a day late in Morocco. but then we found the calender given out by Bricoma last New Year and there it was in print - Eid on the 17th November not the 16th.

Eid el Ahdda or Eid al Khebir is the feast of the sacrfice commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Ishmael, his firstborn, not Isaac as in the bible or the Rough Guide, and reminds us how we must be willing to sacrifice that which is most precious in ourselves to the will of God. Every family must sacrifice a sheep and every family that can afford to does so. Traditionally part of the sacrifice should be given in alms.

A sheep costs 1000 -3000 dirhams depending on size; that is £80-£250. Bearing in mind that a caretaker, roadsweeper or employed labourer only gets 1200dirhams a monththat is a considerable investment.

The festival is the main one of the year and evryone returns home from the city of even from abroad. The atmosphere generally is of Xmas in the 1950s and the last couple of weeks have built up in increasing activity.

For the last 10 days or so the normal market stall have been selling fodder alongside the vegetables. Then about a week ago there was an increase in informal stalls selling knives and choppers. Bricoma expanded its range of barbeques and had 2 large gas models. (Gas barbecues are difficult to find at other times of year and are expensive. We,brought one in in a suitcase.)

On Friday wooden blocks appeared sawn from tree trunks and informal "sheep shops" opened up in peoples' garages. On saturday the increase in out of towners with suitcases became obvious with office workers from Casa returning for a weeks holiday. The porters who loiter round the square with handcarts waiting for business became increasingly active.

Sunday was the last regular market before Eid and was the major sheep market for the region. We did not go to the beast market this year as we know it is frantic but went last year and I put some pictures on the Dar Barbara Facebook page. Town was heaving with sheep being transported by every means possible. The villagers from the Atlas come in to sell sheep and then spend the proceeds on the other essentials for the festival.

Town itself was very very busy. Sheep being moved by every means possible, lorry, pickup truck,"Camel" motorbike pickup, donkey cart, hand cart, scooter, cycle basket, wrapped round shoulders, led on string.  The secret is to tie all four feet together. Once this is acheived the sheep lies supine and seemingly content and silent; but acheiving that may involve some protest or attempt to break for freedom.

Firelighters and barbcues appeared on stalls. Bakers have pyramids of more exotic sweetmeat than usual. The thing is to take a box and fill it with some from each pile like a Woolie's  pick and mix.

Yesterday the Berber souk was inpenetrable. Villagers had stayed in town and were buying sweetmeats, salt and other supplies like there was no tomorrow. Loads of informal stalls had set up sellingclothes and shoes and plasticised tablecloths and wall posters from the religous to romantic scenery to Barcalona and Christiano Rinaldo posters. Meanwhile the tourist stalls, tailors and carpenters were deserted.

Today was much calmer the artisans, carpenters, ironwrights, butchers and electric scooter stores are all closed. The villagers have returned to their villages. There are groups of happy young men in the streets, coffee shops and orange sellers. These seem to be a mixture of returnees and said artisans. In Britain before Xmas they would be in the pub. This is a much more decorous passagio but seems to serve the same purpose of getting them out of the house while the women get on with the preparations. Everywhere was closing up at lunch time. Pickups have been driving round delivering sheep to the door and the smell of smoke suggests that people are setting up their barbecues with a dry run.

Yes that is a goat in the basket. It seems quite happy and its main concern was to get is head round to eat the herbage. This made the bike wobble so there were alarmed bleats until the owner steadied the bike where upon the goat calmed and silenced.

The Berber Souk

The Berber Souk has it's main entrance off Place Tamaklate behind the orange stalls on the opposite side off the square to the Arab Souk. Again the nomenclature "Berber" is lost in history. Entering from this side the souk seems much more mundane and of less interest to the tourist than the Arab Souk. Stalls sell everyday plastic and kitchen items vendors sell cake from trays and there are small stalls selling honey and oil in reused plastic containers. To the left are the furniture makers and the sound of saws and smell of wood dust and varnish. But  if you persevere to the rear of the market you come to some of the most expensive and quality handicraft and "antique" shops in Taroudant selling old Berber jewellry , swords and carpets.
Here also are basket makers of a high quality, vegetable stalls and most tempting of all - the spice market. Seemingly every spice known to man is piled into colourful pyramids, although Ihave not yet found rosemary. Also there are dried fruits, apricots, raisins, sultanas,figs, myriad different types of dates, and there are the sweetmeats, biscuit-like small cakes, which are so necessary for any wedding or feast, at this time of year  essential for Eid. Some stalls have elaborate gift baskets and boxes to be filled for just such an occasion. They are tempting to take home but fill them with the dried fruit as the sweetmeats are made to be eaten quickly , as you go round the market is as good as anything and do not keep well. Alos there are stalls selling different sorts of olives including my favourite chillied olives, and preserved lemons. The recycled bottles containing red sauce hold the chilli sauce which with olives and preserved lemons are the essential ingrediaents of a classic chicken tajine.

Spice stall, Berber Souk, Taroudant. 13.11.10

Coriander and mint for sale berbe souk Taroudant 13.11.10



Spices and grainsBerber spok Taroudant 13.11.10

Taroudant Town Walls

Taroudant has complete town walls currently being restored with a grant from UNESCO.  There are numerous postcard quality photos on the web  seemingly taken early on a summer's morning by the lack of traffic. The tourist buses from Agadir stop regularly at a particular stretch so that everybody can get off take a photo and get back on.
They are perhaps best seen by cycling round or for the less energetic a trip in a caleche is popular.
The walls are made of pise, sunbaked bricks from local clay, so they appear to grow from the land. Strangely  the new walls seem to me to be more yellow coloured and less red than the unrestored walls.
Bab Taghout is progressing. A whole new entry arch is being constructed next to the old gate. Thankfully the original doors do remain but some of the bricks in the newly restored entrance already have bits chipped off, presumably fron vehicles driving into the. That is no surprise. Originally there was one "in" arch and one "out". Now there is only one arch open designated an "out". Traffic arrives at the roundabout ouside and gets confused. As the cyclists, scooterists and donkey carts are certainly not goin g round to another gate and ignore the no entry sign -it is Taroudant's first although now not the only one, so they may not understand the meaning - and so cars vans and lorries decide to follow suit. That is OK until the meet someone sailing through the other way knowing they have right of way. Hence the attrition on the unfinished new gate.



Taroudant Walls awaiting repair 




Taroudant Walls before repair



Crumbling walls next to Bab Taghout



Taroudant Town  Walls



Where the tour buses stop

The fourth Nasruddin story:-

"How old are you Mullah?"
"Forty"
"But you said thqt last time I asked over two years ago"
"Ialways stand by what I've said".

The Arab Souk

Taroudant has two souks commonly referred to as the "Arab Souk" and the "Berber Souk" although any ethnic distinctions are lost in antiquity. The Arab Souk is the larger and lies between the main square, Place Assareg, and the smaller square ,Place Talmoklate. It contains the main daily fruit and vegetable market, as opposed to the small local ones such as that outside Bab Taghrout or the vast weekly market, and the fish market. Most of the tailors are there too both for mens djellabis and women's caftans andcoats. However there are also a number of stalls catering more to the tourist trade with traditional handicraft goods such as babouches and leatherwork, jewellery,carpets and ceramics.  Tour parties from Agadir get escorted round here by their guides,and there is a feel of a smaller Marrekesh although the scale is such that one cannot be lost for long as an exit to one of the squares will be round the next corner. Nevertheless when I leave clothes at the tailor's for alteration I always have some difficulty finding the same one again and must mark my landmarks carefully. If it is a diffrent day or time of day and neighbouring stalls are closed showing just shutters rather than more memorable goods a panic sets in as to whether I will ever see the particular garment again.

The Arab Souk Taroudant



Arab Souk Taroudant



Babouches in the Aab Souk Taroudant

Entrance to the Arab Souk Taroudant

Entrance to Arab Souk Taroudant

Leatherwork in Arab Souk Taroudant

Now for the third Nasruddin Story:-

Nasruddinbought a large number of eggs and at once sold them at a price lower than the cost.
When asked why he did it he said: "Surely you do not want me to be known as a profiteer?"






Arab souk Taroudant





Market Day

Steve went to the weekly market just outside the walls today. He went on his bicycle as did a few other people.

Bicycle park atTaroudant market 7.11.10

It meant the square was even busier than usual. A magician drew some of the crowd away from the storyteller but the snake charmer was unwatched.

A magician performs in the square

Fresh produce comes in from the countryside whether by the lorry load, a few vegetables brought by a woman or a donkey cart.

Produce arriving by donkey cart - the carrots were huge

It is the tradition that  one cannot stop telling Mullah Nasruddin stories until seven have been told. Here is the second:-

Every week Nasruddin arrived at market with an excellent donkey which he sold.The price was always very low below the value of the animal.
A wealthy donkey-trader approached him.
"I do not understand how you do it.My servants force farmers to give me free fodder; my slaves look after the donkeys without payment; and yet I cannot match your prices."
"Quite simple" Nasruddin replied. "You steal fodder and labour. I merely steal donkeys."

The storyteller

Tahir Shah laments the passing of the traditional morroccan storyteller in the age of television but they are alive and kicking in Taroudant. Two work together in the square and draw a large (male) crowd every morning particularly on Sunday which is market day. They act out the stories together with limited props like fake guns and clearly an amount of comedy routine although I, of course, cannot understand a word.

Crowd watching storyteller in Plcae Assareg Taroudant 4.11.10

Storytellers Taroudant Place Assareg 4.11.10

Tahir Shah comes from a family of Afgani extraction exiled round about WWII. His grandfather lived in Tangier but his father, Idries, brought up the family in Tunbridge Wells. Tahir Shah moved to Casablanca a few years ago and renovated an old house which he writes about in "The Caliph's House" and "In Arabian Nights". His father Idries Shah was a Sufi and wrote both about Sufiism and numerous "teaching stories" in the Sufi tradition for both children and adults. I am currently reading his collection of traditional stories about Mullah Nasrudin. Here is one of them:-

The Mullah went to see a rich man.
"Give me some money"
"Why?"
"I want to buy..an elephant"
"If you have no money, you can't afford to keep an elephant"
"I came here",said Nasrudin, "to get money, not advice."

Put out more Flags

November is the holiday season in Morocco. Nov 6 is a national holiday to commerate the "Green March" to reclaim the Western Sahara and Nov 18 is National Day. Of course this year Eid el Khebir is expected on Nov 16 and that is usually a 2 day public holidayso there is an abundance of closed banks etc. In recognition of these national holidays and in anticipation of a possible official visit from the King which, I understand, has been postponed on 3 occasions already the town and road from Agadir are decorated with flags at every crossroads and roundabout

Flags at the roundabout ooutside Taroudant on the agadir road

Flags at Taroudant Bridge on the Agadir road

Even the smalest market stalls put out hand flags and shops sprout flags and banners.

Flags outside Wafa bank and Hotel  Taroudant

Everything in the Garden's Rosy

When it was 53C in August Moha sent a worrying text that despite watering the plants had died. This appers to be somewhat premature although clearly he has replanted some. I did not plant Morning Glory. The courtyard is particularly pleasing , some of the roses are in flower, the hibiscus hedge is beginning ti look like a hedge and the tree survives. Moha has planted some little floers between which have magenta flowers and look just like a medieval mead. The argave isdoing relly well.