Marrakech: Medecine At The Spice Souk

DEREK WORKMAN

03/21/13

Seeing ghosts has never been a major preoccupation for me, but if ever I find myself frightened of phantoms I know exactly where to go – to the Spice Souk in Marrakech, where Ahmed will create a secret blend of dried chameleon, iguana foot, sea urchin, hedgehog and fish bones. I’ll grind them, throw them in fire and breathe in the cleansing fumes.

Marrakech: The Last Storytellers

DEREK WORKMAN

03/01/13

Marrakech  /  Morocco News  Board -When you walk through Jmaa el Fna on a regular basis you become accustomed to all the performers that give the square such a lively and special feeling; the snake charmers, gnawa musicians, the water carriers and girly-boy dancers who flash their eyes at you from behind tasseled scarves. At one time you could have included storytellers in that list, but, almost unacknowledged, they are dying out, and it seems that there is only one traditional storyteller left in la Place, and he doesn’t perform on a regular basis now.

Marrakech: Mopeds In the Alleys

DEREK WORKMAN

01/08/13

marrakech / Morocco Board News --   As much as I love the Marrakech Old City "Medina", walking around it has been getting worse these last few years. It’s not so much the crowds, that’s part and parcel of a busy shopping area, and the occasional donkey traffic-jam is just everyday life in action – it’s the only way you can get heavy things through the narrow streets, just as the hand-carts serve a very important role in keeping the shops and riads stocked up.

Morocco: When babies Die Of Cold

DEREK WORKMAN

12/27/12

We recently heard the sad news of the death of Habiba Amelou, a baby little more than a month old, whose small body couldn’t cope with a winter freeze in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Many of the villages in the area are extremely remote, with sometimes little access to medical help.

F1 Disastrous Deals In Spain, A Warning For Moroccan Officials

DEREK WORKMAN

12/17/12

The last Grand Prix held in Morocco was in 1958, in Casablanca, when British driver Stuart Lewis-Evans, who happened to be managed by Ecclestone, died when his car careered into a barrier and burst into flames.

Marrakech: Restaurant At End Of The World

DEREK WORKMAN

11/05/12

Washington / Morocco News Board---  Camel’s head, sheep’s testicle, calf’s feet and plenty less exotic treats – all to be had at Marrakech’s famous open-air restaurant.  Paula Wolfert’s book, Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco, won the Cookbook Hall Of Fame award, twenty-five years after its publication. At the time, Moroccan cuisine would probably have seemed pretty exotic. ...

Morocco: Ethics of Photographing The Locals

DEREK WORKMAN

07/08/12

Derek Workman, goes for a stroll in the mountains and muses over the ethics of photographing local people.
I took my daily walk into the mountains this morning, up from Imlil on the steep path past the cascades and through Armed, the highest village in the valley. Being almost totally out of practice with mountain walking it doesn’t take me long to get short of breath on the steeper climbs – I blame the altitude as a way of covering up how out of shape I am – and it’s even more discouraging when a heavily-pregnant girl in her late teens skitters past me over the large rocks, wearing only flip-plops on her feet, while I’m fully kitted out in stout hiking boots.

Morocco: Artisans At Work

DEREK WORKMAN

04/26/12

The author took time off to wander the Medina in the city of fes, Morocco, to watch the artisans at work.

Morocco: Orange blossom Special

DEREK WORKMAN

04/10/12

Fez/ Morocco News Board --- At this time of year the scent of Fez is the scent of orange blossom

Making Morocco's Medinas Accessible to Wheelchairs

DEREK WORKMAN

03/06/12

Taking to the streets of Marrakech by wheelchair

“Which would you prefer, a limited experience or no experience at all?” The question is put to me by Daniella Johnson while we’re taking a coffee on the terrace of the Café de France, watching the goings on in the beautiful chaos that is Jmaa el Fna, North Africa’s most exotic and vibrant square, the heart and soul of Marrakech.

4L Morocco Desert Rally For Children

DEREK WORKMAN

03/01/12

Marrakesh / Morocco Board News-- On February 14th a group of students from the University of South Westfalia, left their home in Soest, near Dortmund in Germany, to take part in the rally, driving through France, Spain, the heat of the Sahara and the bitter cold of the High Atlas Mountains in winter, to Marrakech, a round trip of seven thousand kilometer. On the way they delivered tons of educational supplies and contributed to building a school.

Morocco: Football Magic in Marrakech

DEREK WORKMAN

02/17/12

Marrakech  / Morocco Board News-- Despite being a sporting work of art, Kamal’s footballs are never likely to see a football pitch. “Most people buy them for decoration or as gifts. One of my best customers is a friend who owns the restaurant A Moda in Bergamo in Italy. He orders fifty at a time and sells them to his clients. But I like it when an older man buys one because it reminds him of when he played football as a boy. I’ve got an original pair of 1930s boots on display and sometimes people tell me what it was like playing in them. Heavy and uncomfortable, by the sound of it!”

Morocco: The hunt for treasure among trash

DEREK WORKMAN

12/29/11

The hunt for treasure among the trash leads to the Thursday market at Bab el Khermis, in Marrakech.
When painter and writer Danny Moynihan, friend of avant-garde artist Damien Hirst, and author of Boogie Woogie, a novel that dished the dirt on the New York art world, decided to restore a riad in Marrakech’s medina, he and his wife, actress, film-maker and former showgirl Katrine Boorman - daughter of film director John Boorman – trawled the markets and souks of Marrakesh for fabrics and furniture. For "almost everything else" they went to the Bab el Khemis flea market.