AMAZING MOROCCO

Morocco was so much more than I expected.  I certainly hadn't expected to fall in love with the place.   I came to dance at La Maison Anglaise in Taroudant, because I could combine it with a visit to my cousin Sue who lives by the sea in Agadir.

The varieties of dates and spices in the souks were amazing.

The week of circle dancing just flew by.  We danced on the roof terrace each morning before breakfast. and again after dinner.  We visited the local hammam, where we were washed and scrubbed clean.  The locals go there once a week and it is a very social place.  We also had some very interesting cultural experiences up in the High Atlas Mountains.

Sunrise by the mosque, view from the roof terrace as we started dancing at 7.45am

Dancing on the roof terrace overlooking the town

More dancing on the roof terrace after dinner as the sun sets over the mountains

The Women's Berber Band came to entertain us one evening with their very loud percussion playing and crazy rhythms.  It was great fun and they got us up to dance with them.

More delights in the souk

The food at La Maison Anglaise, as everywhere else, was delicious

Anyone for a gorgeous lamp.  Morocco is a place to come with a full wallet and an empty suitcase

 

Visiting the Berber villages up in the High Atlas Mountains was like stepping back 100 years, apart from the fact that many people now have electricity.  The women spend their spare time cracking argan nuts to earn a little money.  The nuts are then processed in co-operatives to produce argan oil, very good for skin, hair, cooking.  Nothing goes to waste.  The outer husks are fed to the animals.  The hard inner husks are used for fuel.

Village street in the High Atlas Mountains

The original houses here are made of rammed earth, which keeps the inside warm in winter and cool in summer.  There were extensive floods in the area a few years ago with many houses badly damaged.  Repairs have been made using concrete blocks.  Although these give added strength, the insulation is very poor.

We went for a 4km walk in the High Atlas Mountains.  I was fascinated by the aquaduct that the local villagers had built, half way up the cliff, to share water between villages. There are some springs in the area, but the annual rainfall has fallen to around 150mm per annum.

Irrigated fields with the mountains in the background.  We saw pumpkin, maize, lucerne and tomatoes growing.  The work is done by hand, or with the help of animals. Crops are fertilized with animal manure.  The government gives subsidies to put in trickle irrigation, saving water instead of using flood irrigation.

Prickly pears grow very well and are seen for sale on the market stalls

Goats love the argan trees, but over-grazing has destroyed much of the argan forest.  The goatherds allow the goats to graze the trees as there is not much else for them to eat in many areas.

I had a day trip to Marrakech, which wasn't nearly enough to see all the sights.  But I got a taste and would love to come back and see and learn more.  These wonderful mosaics and carved stone were in one of the minor palaces.

More mosaic work and stained glass in Marrakech

My last week in Morocoo was spent in Agadir, staying with my cousin and her little dog Bertie.  We had long walks on the beach every morning.  The temperature was just perfect, and a pleasant relief from inland where it had been very hot

I will be sorry to leave Morocco and hope to come back to see more some day. 

Dancing The Mass For Peace

More dancing, this time with Brenda Kelly.  We danced her Mass for Peace collection of dances in Selby Abbey.  The same as last year, it was a very moving piece to dance.  We learned all the dances, in a local community hall, all day Saturday and again on Sunday morning.  Then, after another practice in the Abbey on Sunday afternoon, we danced the whole suite of dances through, with short readings in between.
At one point we laid poppies all around in the dance space, creating a poppy field.   At the end we stood with candles lit.
This is the second time I have danced The Mass for Peace and I am looking forward to doing it again next year,

Selby Abbey

Our centrepiece in the Abbey.  It was extra special dancing in a sacred space

'The Team'  Brenda (far right) and 3 of her regular dancers from Sussex, who all help with the organising over the weekend.

Onward from Selby, Yorkshire heading towards Scotland.  There were some beautiful landscapes to be seen from the train.  Everything  has greened up again after the long, hot, dry summer.

Dancing for Peace and Friendship

 Friedel and Saskia Kloke came to England this year for International Peace Day.
We had an afternoon of peace dances in a hall near Sidmouth in Devon, with 100 dancers.  The centrepiece and decorations were paper cranes.

After the Peace Day dancing, about 27 dancers stayed on for another 3 days of dancing in Sidholme Hotel, with a friendship theme.  The dance space was very grand and you descended a wide staircase.  We had about an hour of ballet exercises in the morning, and danced some quite intricate dances.  They were wonderful to learn, although my brain was racing to keep up with the teaching.  Because quite a few dancers already knew many of the dances, we often only got a quick run through.  I could feel my neural pathways multiplying by the minute!!

our centrepiece of 11 yellow roses, signifying friendship

View from the dancing room.  The autumn colours are starting.

The hotel gardens

Sidmouth seafront.  The cliff face in the distance is constantly crumbling away, giving the sea a brown tinge.  Houses built on top of the cliff are in danger of falling in to the sea within the next 30 years, even though they are set a long way back at the moment 

More Dancing in Greece

I returned to Greece for 10 days in September.  This time I stayed on the island of Lesvos, very close to the Turkish border.  It has been very hot, but the traditonal womens' dances are not energetic, and the occasional breeze has helped cool us.

The island is beautiful and not so over-run with tourists as other Greek islands. The vegetation is mostly olive groves and pine forest.  

 Our accommodation for the dance workshop was at Milelja Inselgarten, a beautiful retreat centre that has been lovingly created over many years by two women.  It has a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere, and the dance space is superb.

 

The main building at Milelja.  Accommodation down stairs and dance room upstairs

View from the dance room, looking out to the small town of Molyvos with the castle on top of the hill

Other accommodation is in gypsy wagons. I was lucky enough to stay in this one

Inside the wagon was extremely comfortable, with a kettle, fridge and en-suite bathroom.

Dancing in the octagon with views all around.  Sometimes we had live music played on traditional Greek instruments

Some mornings we danced outside in the shade of the oak trees

In Molyvos there were restaurants down by the harbour. Up in the old town, you could sit on the restaurant balcony with wonderful views.

Not enough room to dance in the restaurant??  No problem, you just spill out in to the street

The Mansion of Varelrsidena

In nearby Petra we visited an historical house. The Mansion of Varelsidena, dating back to the late 18th century, was influenced by the Ottoman period. The upstairs living areas were ornately decorated and had high vaulted ceilings.  The furniture was simple and easily moved, allowing spaces to be used for both daily living and sleeping.

Half way down the stairs was a platform where the matriarch of the house would give daily instructions to the workers.  The women were usually in charge of the house and land as the men were often away.

Mansion of Vareltsidena, central hall and musicians area

We visited a local home.  This is an example of some very fine embroidery, using a special technique.  It can be viewed from either side of the fabric, and is perfect either way.  Apparently the technique only works if you start in exactly the right place.

This is the Sanctuary of Messon, dating back to 4th century BC, in the centre of the island.  They also discovered building remnants  here from the Archaic period and the time of the poets Sappho and Alcaeus.   The very first 'beauty contests' were held here.  Young women were judged on their dancing, singing and poetry reading, and the best was chosen to be priestess of the temple for the coming year.

The temple was devoted to the Blissful Gods, Hera, Zeus and Dionysus.  

It is thought that the temple was destroyed by an earthquake around 3rd or 4th century AD.  A small church was built on the ruins in 5th century AD, and the area was used as a burial ground.

A DATE WITH SHAKESPEARE

 From Trentham Gardens Brenda and I moved on to Stratford Upon Avon.

Met young Will in the gardens outside the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre

lovely old buildings in Stratford Upon Avon

This is the house that Shakespeare was born in

Gold mosaic over the entrance to the Old Bank

These usually red letterboxes were painted gold to commemorate a town resident winning gold at the Olympics

Stratford has lamp posts that have been donated from all around the world,  This one is from Israel,with Fiddler on the Roof, Bottom from Mid Summer Night's Dream, and the Owl of Wisdom

The Fourteas tearoom is based on a 1940's theme.  Their hot chocolate was huge

We went to see 2 plays.  Here is Falstaff from Merry Wives of Windsor.  A brilliant and hilarious production combining old and new costuming to wonderful effect.  We also saw Romeo and Juliet - very moving and well-acted, but the costumes were all jeans and t-shirts which I found a little bland

Part of the RSC theatre buildings in Stratford.