Home at Last

Across the Bowling Green

It’s nice to be home again!  Especially as we have completed the worst of our renovations and can (almost) start to live in our entire house.  For some years now it’s been 1/3 living, 1/3 storage and 1/3 renovation.  A moving feast over 5 or 6 years and we are both just about over it!  One of this year’s tasks for me is soft covers, cushions and curtains so I’m looking forward to a bit of sewing time.  The garden shed, with its new timber floor, timber blinds and paint job is ready for action since its makeover (and cleanout) before we left earlier this year.

Kookie knows we're home

This time of year is so wonderful and the island is resplendent with its fresh lavender coat.  The jacarandas are flowering madly.  We’ve had a few bush visitors already and were especially pleased to welcome a large blue tongue lizard and a scratching bush turkey into our yard.  Even the possum is still bumbling and crashing his way across our rooftop in the early evenings.  The Cap’n is now driving a mulcher instead of a boat and the kookaburras couldn’t be happier.  Easy snacks reveal themselves in the leaf compost.  All in a day’s work!  Add to this the squawk of the channel billed cuckoo in the tree tops and we’ve quite a menagerie to host.

Our Bush Turkey's cousin who has a cushie job at Australia Zoo 

This month the Café is hosting an exhibition of aprons.  I did manage to get one finished in time but made it into a quilt.  Of course!  Some years ago friend Yvonne had given us a challenge “stash buster” and since then I’d added a few similar pieces to the collection. Its “I’d rather be quilting” theme seemed just right for an apron-shaped wall hanging. When it came time to quilt the apron, I remembered back to the days of feeding hungry boys.  Bottomless pits.  “What’s for dinner, Mum”, a regular refrain, is now stitched in with lots of menu ideas too.  A reminder of fun times & their favourite meals!....

Go Really Wild for Textiles

Maison Tiskiwin Collection

Embroidery: Traditionally women embroidered their own clothes and household linens.  They preferred to work in silk threads and could incorporate fine metal threads, tassels, fringing and sequins.  Gold thread embroidery (a speciality of Meknes) and leather work was left to men. Distinctive embroidery motifs and techniques varied from town to town.  Some of the better known work comes from Fes, Rabat, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Meknes and Sale.

Weaver at work in his small studio Chefchaouen

Carpets:  Weaving and knotting techniques, designs and symbols vary from region to region.  On the whole, carpets are referred to by their place of origin (city carpets) or tribal area (Berber carpets), such as the Zenmour, Haouz and Beni M’Guild.  Learning about carpets, particularly antique carpets is a demanding study so it would be wise to seek advice before sealing a deal. 

Ingredients & Implements for Dyeing, Berber Museum Ksar El Khorbat 

Natural Dyes:  Vegetables and minerals provide the basis of the process; indigo for blue, madder for red; pomegranate or walnut for black, saffron for yellow.  Synthetic dyes have largely replaced natural dyes despite a growing call for them.  Check with an expert if it’s important to you.

Maison Tiskiwin Collection

Costumes:  Clothing is not usually sumptuously decorated. (So they say in the texts until you see the wild colours & decoration in Maison Tiskiwin!) Thus accessories such as belts, silk buttons, tassels and braiding feature fine embroidery.  Further ornamentation is added with head-dress and jewellery. The Oudaias Museum in Rabat has a very fine and comprehensive display of jewellery by region.

Kasbar Museum, Chefchaouen

Go Wild for Textiles

Embroidery in Chefchaouen Kasbah Museum

Somehow we managed to catch only glimpses of traditional textiles on our recent trip to Morocco.  More than anything we saw though, textiles highlighted the Arab-Berber cultural mix and strongly showcased folk traditions.  It is too easy to underestimate the importance placed on textiles in the lives of Moroccan people and it is inspiring to have resources such as Jardin Marjorelle and Bert Flint’s collection available.

Wool ready for dyeing in the souk Fes

Wool appears to be the most used fibre, particularly in the home-crafted carpet industry, still competing strongly against charmless machine woven rugs.  Carpets, blankets, cushions and clothing are all still woven on domestic looms.  Hearing the clack of looms as you walk through the old medina streets is quite a moving experience.

Weaver at work Kasbar Myriem, Midelt

Traditionally, women produced domestic items whilst those offered for sale were worked by men. That is not to say that women don’t sell but I imagine it must be emotionally difficult to sell family heirlooms in tough times. Aside from usual woollen items, men wove exotic silk fabrics such as the fine brocades produced in Fes.

Try to stop at one!  Moutwatering carpets at Kashar Myriem, Midlet

Information: A quick search revealed a couple of interesting resources.

• Amazigh Textiles in Morocco (which in turn points to a number of interesting references)
• Harris, Jennifer (Ed).  5000 years of Textiles British. London: Museum Press, 1993
• Kasbar Myriem is a woman's cooperative for local Berber women supported by Franciscan Nuns.  The quality of their work is amazing. Some basic info here

Tanneries in Fes

Go Really Wild for Flavours

Ingredients & Couscous Steamer, Ait Benhaddou

Learn to cook with Mr Action. Fresh seasonal vegetables are his secret. Layer them “just so” in the base of a *cooking tagine then cover with chunks of meat. Flavour variety is added with preserved lemons, olives, mint or eggs. Add your blend of 7** secret herbs and spices (better yet the prepared mix of 35 available in the souk) then put over a slow fire until done. Serve with lashings of fresh bread to soak up the flavoursome gravy. Mr Action also serves homemade couscous (semolina), a time consuming process that had us all making “notes to self” that the “instant” supermarket variety would be ok – unless you were preparing dinner for a Moroccan!

*Don’t confuse a cooking tagine with a decorative one. The decorative ones, whilst most attractive, can contain lead (in the glaze).   

** Garlic, saffron, turmeric, coriander, cumin, pepper and salt

Care for a date or two?

Pigeon b’stilla in Fes as guests of Dar Hatim's gourmet chefs.  Pigeon meat, eggs, almonds and raisons mixed then flavoured with lemon, saffron, sugar and cinnamon. All wrapped in a light pastry (warkba) and baked. Rich, crispy and very delicious!

Really fresh sardines, Essaouira

Seafood feast in Essaouira. Grilled lobster, sweet sole, prawns and fresh sea bass.

Mint Tea in an Azib (seasonal shelter)

Mint tea is the beverage of choice, a sweet concoction of green tea, mint and sugar. Alcohol is rarely served but can be found in tourist areas. Bars line streets and in the evening customers, mostly men, face out to“people watch” and gossip. I’d prefer a pomegranate champers to a beer but sometimes that’s all there was on offer. Wine is produced locally and we made the effort to sample a few bottles.

Local camel butcher, Fes

Salads were plentiful, many with a citrus or tomato base were garnished with olives, fresh chillies, green or red capsicum, red onion and coriander just for added oomph! Served with lashings of olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Sadly we often looked at, rather than ate, salads due to poor water quality. We always, always drank bottled water....

Bread - always fresh and so, so tempting. Available every day in many varieties.

Baker's shop in Essaouira

Go Wild for Flavours

Grains and other household necessities for sale in Fes

One thing about travelling in Morocco is that you are readily served fresh local foods - not watered down "westernised" versions but real, healthy, hearty foods. Some of our favourite flavoursome experiences were:

No Harira? Then try snail broth at a local street stall perhaps...

Harira is a flavoursome and fragrant soup. We were never served the same twice as it is considered a household speciality. Traditionally, harira is made from a concoction of lamb or goat, fragrant spices (home secrets) and lentils. Chickpeas, tomato, onion, coriander and parsley add further flavour to the base. Served with chunks of bread and eaten with relish.

Camel burgers on the grill in the Meknes souk

Camel Burger. Try this souk snack made with camel meat grilled over open coals, garnished with smoked, roasted tomatoes and onions served on a locally made (and very fresh) bread roll. Add a little harissa (red chillies, capsicum & pepper sauce) if you dare!

Delicious Tagines and Couscous
served in our desert camp, Merzouga

Tagines under Saharan stars. Slow cooked stews of meat and veg looked superb and tasted even better.

Seafood selection for the outdoor grill, Essaouira