Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Rock the kasbah

The only real thing to see here in ouarzazate is the taourirt kasbah and the studios where they shot a lot of films like gladiator, kingdom of heaven, etc. Many of the Arabian or desert-y movies are filmed here, so they call it Ouallywood.

I took some really beautiful shots inside the kasbah and wandered through the adjacent town that 1500 ppl still reside in. it never seizes to amaze me to see how some people live. But they can have the poorest living conditions... with satellite tv.

I went to the ensemble artisanal across the street to see if maybe, yet again, I might find a carpet I like. They have these in every city- it's supposed to be a coop for the workers who make carpets, clothing, souvenirs, etc. You can watch them making their crafts, and it's supposed to be an educational experience, as well as a program supporting the makers, since you're buying directly from them. But call me cynical, they had all the same shit sold everywhere, at much higher prices, and I felt like they had only put the women making carpets there as a prop to justify us paying so much more. When I walked through, i actually finally found a carpet that I LOVED, but it was only 2x3, overpriced, and too big to carry.

What really threw me off was when he tried to sell me an Indian scarf that I KNOW is made in India, because I bought one there--- the ones you can buy on the streets in the city for $5 each, well he tried to sell it to me for $20!!!! I thought, if he's trying to pass that off as hand made by them, and justify its price, it's all a scam. That completely changed my mind and I left as quickly as I could.

I'm not meant to have a Moroccan carpet.

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