Sunday, April 9, 2017

Learning from zero - Azrou - Rabat
Hussein O'Nassr waited for us at 08:55 sharp, at the Grande Place of Sefrou. His time schedule was so precise and unfamiliar with the local time management culture that we all looked at each other thinking: "this is a change. curious to meet the guy".
The next day, we all stand at the precise time on the Grande Place. He was there, shaking our hands and warmly salute us :"Bslama" and "Bonjour" mixt with "good morning". 
The road was magnificent, up to Azrou, a small city located in the "middle Atlas" mountains, at 1250m altitude. The green scenery along with the good vibe of the team and Hussein, made the journey so smooth and pleasant. First destination was the weekly regional market, where all the tribes and habitants of the region, come to sell their goods, and you can find everything that crosses your mind: from animals, food, carpets, house accessories and just name it.
Hussein, helped us so much in the translations, especially for the carpets bargaining. Most of the traders were Amazigh (the colonial  term is Berbere). They are very sharp bargainers, they do it for thousands of years. The Amazigh are the Galois of the French, they are the natives of all the north African continent, and most of them were forced to convert to Islam only at the 12-13 century, after many resistances and battles. They didn't see themselves as Muslim but as Amazigh, with their own believes, mythology, language, and traditions. Their writing is very illustrative, looking like ancient grecque, Russian or even Indian.
The Amazigh carpets are art pieces. Charged with a whole language made of symbols, that weavers transmit between them for thousands of years. The colors, symbols, material mixtures are varying from region to region, from tribes and families. You understand the richness of those carpet. When you have one at home, you appreciate the time that the weaver spent to make it, the language behind it. A real treasure. Here are some magnificent carpets, art pieces from the region of Azrou.
Enjoy them.