Monday's eye on Tangier-Le coup d'oeil du lundi sur Tanger

 Beautiful details of an entry-way in Asilah. The brass knocker, the giant-nail motif, the elegant red stone double arch.

Une magnifique entrée à Asilah. Le heurtoir en laiton, le motif clouté géant, l'élégance du double arrondi en pierre rose-orangé.

Image: Joelle Desparmet

Monday's eye on Tangier-Le coup d'oeil du lundi sur Tanger

hand-painted Moroccan wares in Asilah.

Objets marocains peints à la main à Asilah.

Image: Joelle Desparmet

Monday's eye on Tangier-Le coup d'oeil du lundi sur Tanger

Peering out the window at the carpet shop in Asilah. Bright colours. Neatly stacked beauty.

Une fenêtre sur l'extérieur chez le marchand de tapis d'Asilah. Des couleurs vives, la beauté bien rangée.

Image: Joelle Desparmet

Monday's eye on Tangier- Le coup d'oeil du lundi sur Tanger

Orange juice stand of Asilah. Bliss on a hot day.

Le vendeur de jus d'orange d'Asilah. Le bonheur sous le soleil brûlant.

Image: Joelle Desparmet

Wall art in Asilah

Asilah, a seaside town close to Tangier, is known for its Mural Festival every spring. I have blogged about it before (The painted walls of Morocco, The ocean-side city of Asilah) but as the walls change every year, there is always something to discover around the bend.

Asilah, un petit port proche de Tanger, est renommé pour son Festival d'art pendant lequel les murs sont peints par des artistes marocains. Je vous en ai déjà parlé (The painted walls of Morocco, The ocean-side city of Asilah ) mais comme cela a lieu tous les ans, il y a toujours quelque chose à découvrir.

A door jamb with African theme: fishing, sea shells, palm trees and exotic birds.

Un tout de porte sur des thémes africains: la pêche, les coquillages, les palmiers et les oiseaux exotiques.

A make believe explosion at the foot of a door.
Une explosion sur le seuil d'une porte

A belligerent theme with bombs dropped from helicopters, a colourful but sad reference to present events in the arab world.

Thème belliqueux avec des bombes lancées d'un hélicoptère, rappel coloré des tristes évènements actuels dans le monde arabe.

Fish fall from the sky on this life jacket-clad fisherman: an appeal for nature to be generous?

Pluie de poissons sur un pêcheur vêtu d'un gilet de sauvetage: une prière à dame nature?

An art gallery's simple sign painted by one of the artists.

La devanture simple d'une galerie d'art peinte par un de ses artistes.

Images : Joelle Desparmet

The colours of Tangier: green

Green is the colour of the sea when the summer sun filters ever deeper into it. Green is the colour of a lush oasis in the middle of the desert. Green is the colour of hope and raw beauty. Green is everywhere in Tangier.

Le vert est la couleur de la mer lorsque le soleil d'été y pénètre toujours plus profond. Le vert est la couleur de l'oasis qui jaillit du désert. Le vert est la couleur de l'espoir et de la beauté crue. Le vert est omniprésent à Tanger.

It adorns a house in Asilah.

Il orne une maison à Asilah.

The green of watermelons at a market stall contrasts with the bright primary colours of tomatoes, melons and eggplant. 

Le vert profond des pastèque au marché contraste avec les couleurs primaires des tomates, melons et aubergines.

A green chair plays the role of leaf to the flowers in their candy coloured dresses.

Une chaise se prend pour une feuille parmi les fleurs aux couleurs de bonbon.

Images: Sylvie Pellet, Joelle Desparmet

Tangier in technicolour

I am always amazed when I see the colour combinations on every day things in Morocco. 

Je suis toujours épatée par les couleurs que l'on trouve sur des objets ordinaires au Maroc.

A rag-cloth boucherouite carpet woven by Berber women.

Un tapis boucherouite fait de morceaux de tissu par des femmes berbères.

Wool and cotton cushions at a weaver's shop at fondouk Chejra in Tangier

Des coussins en laine et coton chez les tisserands du foundouk Chejra de Tanger

Cotton spools waiting to be woven into scarfs, foutas and bedspreads.

Des rouleaux de coton attendant d'être transformé en écharpes, foutas et dessus de lit.

Striped plastic shopping bags full of grain for sale at the open-air market.

De belles rayures sur des sacs en plastic remplis de graines au marché.

Plastic buckets in a rainbow of colours... 

Un arc en ciel de seaux en plastic...

...multicolour straw bottles in a shop in Asilah.

...des bouteilles en paille de couleurs vives dans un magasin d'Asilah.

...and a stunning chair at the Las Chicas store.

...et un fauteuil étonnant dans le magasin Las Chicas.

Images: Sylivie Pellet, Joelle Desparmet

Renzo's beach

Tangier is blessed with an unusual position at the meeting point of two bodies of water: the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic ocean and it has access to kilometre upon kilometre of beach stretching all the way to the Algerian border to the east and to Mauritania to the south. The Mediterranean beaches with their calm warm waters have been developed but the Atlantic shores are still almost untouched. The sea is more turbulent and can be treacherous there but a vast expanse of sand and vigorous waves are worth the detour.

Years ago, an Italian couple, dashing and charming Renzo and his beautiful and vivacious wife opened a restaurant at Briech beach near Asilah and planted lounge chairs and straw parasols in the sand in front of it.

The couple's passion for flowers is obvious as soon as one enters the small courtyard surrounding the restaurant.

Meals are taken inside or out depending on the weather, the time of day and one's mood.

One sits in the dappled shade of a simple reed-covered pergola where the breeze keeps temperatures low even in the hot summer months. There is a set menu of delicious homemade Italian fare, good local wine and at the end of the meal, Renzo throws in an amazing homemade Lemoncello, a sweet lemon liquor. 

After all that, if you can still walk, a few steps to the shore for a stroll, a swim or just plain old italian farniente.  

Images: Joelle Desparmet

The colours of Tangier: blue

Blue, the colour of the sea and the sky that surround you in Tangier but also random splashes of blue here and there and everywhere.

Indigo dyed garments worn by the Tuareg nomads....

...the pale blue flowers of plumbago coming out of a retaining wall.

A plastic covered school chair in the weaver's shop.

A quiet sun-drenched alley in Asilah on a lazy afternoon.

A white and blue striped fouta (Abanja) on a lounger at the L'Océan beach.

A striking blue djellaba on a dignified and elegant old man at the Grand Socco square.

Images: Sylvie Pellet, Joelle Desparmet

The ocean-side city of Asilah

Asilah is a fishing port and seaside resort about 50 kilometres from Tangier. It boasts an historic medina within fortified walls. 

For a small city, Asilah has quite a past:

The Phoenicians used it as a base for trade in 1500 BC. The romans came along for a while and the Portuguese conquered it in 1471, then abandoned it for economical reasons. It was taken by the Moroccans a hundred years later and was used as a base for pirates in the 19th century. From 1912 to 1956 when Morocco became independent, it was under Spanish "protectorate". 

The old city, known as a medina, underwent major renovations in 1978 and it is now in pristine condition.

The medina is surrounded by ramparts and is a car-free zone. In winter the town is almost empty, yet far from feeling abandoned, it looks serene and reclusive in a lovely way.

These photos taken in early Spring demonstrate the peaceful atmosphere of the town in the off-season. All you hear are the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the occasional call to prayer.

A young man walks gingerly down one of the alleys of the medina with a tray of bread dough balanced on his head. Few people have ovens of their own and the women knead bread daily at home, then take it to small commercial ovens to be baked and retrieve it when it's done.

A mother walks her small child home. I imagine them chatting about this and that, mother adapting her gait to her tot's tiny steps the way a mother and child do anywhere in the world.

Neighbours exchange opinions at the foot of the ancient Portuguese-era tower on the main square. The tower and the ramparts were built at the beginning of the 15th century and are still in excellent condition six centuries later.

The city is on the Atlantic Ocean seen here from the Mirage Hotel half way to Asilah from Tangier. The beach is almost deserted but there are big plans for the construction of major resorts and hotels all along the coast as was done on the mediterranean coast of Morocco. What a transformation that will be.

When the mural-painting festival rolls around in the spring, artists arrive from every part of Morocco to paint the walls and the city fills up with tourists eager to see what marvels the walls of Asilah will bear. (see a previous post: The painted walls of Morocco)

The layout...

The result: stunning!

The murals stay there until they are painted over by other artists the following year.

Images: Joelle Desparmet, Upgulf, pinterest

The painted walls of Morocco

Every year, in Asilah, a seaside town an hour south of Tangier, a mural painting festival and competition takes place in the old city, the medina. Artists from everywhere in Morocco congregate there to paint a wall graciously offered by local residents.

A striking mixture of "Bleu Klein", the deep almost indigo blue created by French artist Yves Klein, and brown calligraphy on a white wall.

A superb example of modern Moroccan calligraphy in marine colours, a reminder of the waves beyond the wall of the medina.

 A geometric, simple but unusual mix of colours.

A rather worn fruit and vegetable display from the previous year.

A friend wearing blue, holding hands with a painted blue lady in Asilah. Different cultures, universal smile and similar wind-blown elegance.

Two painted veiled women by a virtual sea. Even the outdoor lamp is hanging from a sketched branch.

Splendid Moroccan graffiti art.

Wall painting is not reserved for artists. Many houses are adorned for more utilitarian reasons.

Walls are painted with a thick mixture of lye in water and natural pigments. Additional coats of paint are added every year after the rainy season. The lye keeps insects away and the thick paint serves as a sort of insulation. In the city of Chefchaouen, the blue city, the houses, doors and even some alleys are painted in a shade of blue.

Even flower pots are the targets of budding artists

A 1930 mural in the El Minzah Hotel restaurant in Tangier, depicting music and tea drinking, two traditional pastimes in Morocco.

Similar sea inspired colours in Asilah

There is a long tradition of painted walls, doors and furniture in Morocco and people don't hesitate to embellish their houses in their very personal style. It is this confident often haphazard choice of colours that gives Moroccan painted walls their charm and beauty.

Photos: Sylvie Pellet, Joelle Desparmet