A day at the Market - Inezgane Morocco

The day after I got back from Ouarzazate I decided I would take a trip to a town nearby to Agadir, Inezgane.


I think originally I had planned on going to Immouzer, but I forgot the name and when Cam said I was probably thinking of Inezgane, I figured I probably was.
 He did tell me to hide my camera and belongings when I went there, before he embarked on the not depressing flight back to England.


I checked into the luxury ( 3 star) Sud Bahia hotel just off the famous Hassan II boulevard (I will review this hotel in another post) and then went back to bed.


                                        


This is my video diary.




                      


So, as I left the hotel to withdraw more money and cry about it, I wasn't sure whether I would first visit Agadir souk or Inezgane, but when a taxi man started hassling me I figured I might as well go to Inezgane




Naturally, it was a bad idea to go with that taxi driver, not only was he way over the 50 mark (in years) and had no teeth but he had the delusional confidence to think I would go on a cous cous eating date with him and he would even pay if I didn't like his recommendation!

Somehow I managed  declined his irresistable charm, but had to listen to him trying for the whole journey.
When I got to Inezgane it was one of those "Yes! This is Africa!" moments that the European style Agadir just could not provide.


We parked up next to a busstling outdoor market where chickens were crammed into cages and sellers crouched on the curb for a spot to sell their goods. The taxi man literally commanded me to let him come to the market with me so he could drive me back but I escaped and got out of view of the car as soon as I could.


As soon as I got out I realised I had made a big mistake. I had thought because Inezgane was near Agadir, that it would be similar to Agadir, boy was I wrong.


Now, there weren't many women around full stop on this trip, maybe because it's the time of year, they come out to relax in the Summer with their families, but the women that were around in this town were covered from head to toe, and I don't mean jeans and a hijab like you find in Agadir. I mean the full Burka. I was wearing a maxi dress and a shawl. Big big mistake.

Woman in Inezgane - Image from World focus

                                               


I promised that I would try to film or photograph the souk and I did try: see effort below but I was already sticking out like a 500lb woman in a health food store.


In those kind of situations you can't really hang around, I know there was a hude indoor souk and outdoor market but I went inside the nearest one, I think it was the electricals souk on one side, and clothes & spices on the other, I tried to film a little bit around the indoor and outdoor market, basically I was holding my cam corder but couldn't see what I was filming so I apologise for the bumpy ride


                       








It was a horrible time, BUT, much cheaper than Agadir souk, I'm not sure if they have a section for ceramics and souveniers but if they do, it would be worth taking a trip down there to save money. I doubt many of them can speak English, but if your French is understandable you will be ok.




Anyway, as I was taking a gentle stroll through the souk I did see a couple of jewellery stalls, one was full of plastic imported jewellery from China or India (which I think is terrible, because thats the kind of cheap imitation jewellery that tourists end up spending money on, leaving the Moroccan artisans in more poverty) and on the other stall there was a man making a bracelet, his stall was full of wonderful jewellery and as I pointed out which items I wanted I was so suprised he did not try to sell me one single thing, now if you know Moroccans you will also realise that is CRAZY. Granted he didn't speak English and I didn't speak Arabic, but the Moroccan language of sales knows no boundaries, any other would have grabbed the nearest English/French speaker and made him sell like crazy to me.
I was charmed by his humbleness and left with some beautiful jewellery.






After I walked around outside for a while it got a bit too much, a weird Moroccan guy was chasing me, people were shouting things at me, and I just wanted to go home. No taxi's.


I mentioned before that petit taxi's only serve their own particular town and typically, there was an abundance of little blue Fiats cruising around, but no grand taxi's that would take me back to Agadir.

                              

Because I was feeling flustered and trying to escape from people following me I was walking around very quickly not knowing where I was headed, I almost wished that I asked the ancient taxi driver to wait for me.
After some minutes of freaking out I spotted a white grand taxi, I literally chased it around the corner and luckily it stopped to let someone out, I ran in, at this point I didn't even care what I would be charged to go home.


The taxi man dropped the other woman in the cab off and then headed back to Agadir, annoying me all the way.


I think he charged me 70 DH in the end which I already know was too much but I was NOT in the mood to haggle.

Afterwards I realised it was Inezgane I wanted to go to afterall, but because I didn't know my way around I went to the wrong part, this is the part I wanted to go to 

Image taken from Trip Advisor

and this is more or less where I ended up 

After I got back, so relieved to be back in Agadir, I went to my favourite place, the beach. Where I sat for a while before the men made me so mad I left. They will invite themselves to sit right next to you. NOT going to Morocco alone again.

Bijoux du Maroc

Berber woman in traditional jewellery, image taken from google. 

Ok, so I should start with WHY I'm in Morocco.


I was going to explain it in a video but it's actually easier to write it.

So I started Amaziah Jewellery - which sells fair wage jewellery from over Africa, and with some of the most beautiful and traditional jewellery around, where better to go?


Morocco is in the north of Africa, and although it has a high Arab (well, now mixed) population, the original inhabitants of the north are Berbers. There are many different tribes of Berbers, Tuaregs and nomads that all originated from the same clans.
                                                      
In Agadir, where I am at the moment, it is the southern part of Morocco and called the Souss region, the people here are called Soussi.




Jewellery in Morocco 

Jewellery has always been very important to Berber and Tuaregs, and for more than simple cosmetic reasons.


First of all, a man or woman is identified by the jewellery they wear, both representing the tribe or clan they come from, and signifying the wealth they possess. 

A woman will receive jewellery from her mother until she marries. For her marriage, her future husband will commission his mother or sister to provide jewellery for her and these will be kept  by her as dowry and added to throughout her life.

These big brooches, called fibulas, are worn by women to signify their status. For a single woman one brooch is worn to show she is unmarried, whilst a married woman will wear a brooch on either side of her chest. 

The size of the fibula will represent her wealth, and also serves a functional purpose of keeping clothing in place.

Berber jewellery, as well as being made from beautiful stones and beads, will always be silver, as gold is considered evil. Necklaces are important, the traditional assemblage in the southern oasis valleys features talismans of silver, pink coral, amazonite, amber, Czech glass and West African ebony beads.

 A woman will also wear bracelets, fibulas anklets, earrings and headdresses. Some pieces will be worn every day, others – the finest – will be saved for occasions such as festivals, pilgrimages and funerals

Necklaces contain charms bought from magicians or holy men. They provide protection from the evil eye, will ward of disease and accidents and help to ease childbirth. Silver is believed to cure rheumatism; amber (a) is worn as a symbol of wealth and to protect against sorcery; amazonite (b) and carnelian (c) stones are used for divining fortunes and shells(d) , traded from East Africa, symbolise fertility, coral also symbolises fertility and is thought to have curative powers (e)

 A   B   D

C 

E

  Talismans feature stylized motifs of animals, sun, moon and stars, all of which are believed to have supernatural powers. 

The most common protective jewellery worn in Morocco today is the Khamsa (Arabic) or Hamsa (Hebrew)

The meaning of the name is five or five fingers, it is used by Berber, Jewish and Muslim communities in Morocco and some other parts of the world.


The Jews refer to Hamsa as "The hand of Miriam" who was Moses' sister whilst Muslims refer to it as "The hand of Fatima", daughter of the prophet Muhammed. In Islamic tradition, the hand of Fatima "represents the hand of God, divine power, providence and generosity


Some Khamsa's can be seen with the evil eye in the centre in order to ward off bad/evil eyes.


Going to Morocco and seeing the jealousy & sometimes witchcraft that goes along with it, it is easy to see why people adorn themselves with protective jewellery to ward off evil eyes.


Tuareg Jewellery


Tuareg jewellery is practically the same as Berber jewellery, as they all originated from the same nomad people. Tuareg means "those with turbans", and are now often mostly found in the most southern parts of Morocco, Sahara, Mali, Niger & Mauritania.


Whereas traditionally Berber woman wear jewellery, it is the Tuareg men who traditionally wear symbolic jewellery. The most well known Tuareg cross represents the different clans/tribes that its members come from. The Southern Cross from Agades or Iferwan was originally worn only by men who transferred it from father to son at puberty. It hints to the virility and strength of the young men in relation to their traditional nomad lifestyle. The cross represents saddle pommel of their camels or in a wider view, the four cardinal directions.

Traditionally a father would transmit the cross to his son saying "Son, I give you the four directions, as no one knows where your path will end."

Tuaregs also use compasses to find their way in the desert which are hung on pendants and aligned with the stars.  

Stay tuned for the opening of AMAZIAH JEWELLERY ONLINE where I have traditional and vintage Berber & Tuareg jewellery for sale!