We wandered around the suqs close to Riad Chi-Chi in the area near the Medersa Ben Youssef and the Musee de Marrakech and videoed craftsmen hard at work producing goods for sale in the market or made-to-order, like the lampshades in Riad Chi-Chi.
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Abdelaziz the wood turner, close Le Foundouk restaurant
Mohamed, our lampshade maker and skilled metal worker
The metal workers - making beautiful products in Marrakesh
Mustafa - skilled embroiderer
The herbalist from Paradise - with a cure for everything
Making babouches - that quintessential Moroccan slipper
Plasterers - a skill that is alive and well in Marrakesh
You'll see many of these wood turners as you wander around the old city of Marrakech - noticeable by their deft use of toes to turn wood into things useful, like barbecue skewers. Here Abdelaziz is fashioning me a good luck charm-all without electricity.
We are often asked about the lampshades in Riad Chi-Chi – you don’t see them for sale in the souks. So here is a small video about Mohamed our lampmaker. He can make what you want to-order.
He agreed to show us some of his skills - you will see lots of workshops like his as you wander the suqs of Marrakech. Later in the video, you will see another gifted craftsman fashion a beautiful copper lamp.
We visited the metal markets - some in plain view as you wander the souks - some more hidden away. It's a noisy place, but fascinating.
Using an old Singer machine, you'll see how craftsman Mustafa transforms a simple garment into something rich and stylish. Located in the old city, medina, of Marrakech.
Saïd "Maroc Telecom", so-called he tells us because he spends so much time on the phone, showing off his wares in his store near the Musee de Marrakech. He has treatments for lots of ailments and sells also an array of herbs and spices.
Short video on the making of babouches - filmed in one of the many backstreet workshops in the suqs of the old city of Marrakech, Morocco.
Morocco is famous for its intricate plasterwork. Buildings have real plaster walls rather than drywall. It is another skill that is alive and well in Marrakesh adding architectural details that make Moroccan architecture so beautiful. A short video on the skill of plastering in Marrakech.