The Man with the Fez

Almazar is the name of the shopping mall in Marrakech which houses the giant supermarket, Carrefour, along with many trendy stores such as Benetton, Pizza Hut, TGI Friday's and Virgin Megastore, as well as many other local stores selling all manner of goods from clothes to nic nacs. It also houses places to eat and cafes to chill out in, not to mention the wonderful 'les maitres du pain' which sells the best cakes in Marrkech (in my humble opinion). It is here that hubby and I often spend a little time on a Sunday afternoon, enjoying a coffee, browsing around the stores, doing the weekly main shop (only the things we can't buy at Tahannaout market, of course)...and finally we may occasionally treat ourselves to a take-away pizza for tea from Pizza Hut. Sometimes, it's nice to have a taste of home!

So it is that today we find ourselves once again browsing the stores; hubby has his eye on the new iPad 3...hmmmm...'for his work' no doubt! I just want to get the shopping and go home and bathe in the afternoon sun. Our attention is drawn, however, by a gentleman wearing a fez who is sitting at a table and attracting quite a crowd around him. As we approach I see a sign written in several languages stating 'Names in arabic - free for a smile'. Men, women and children are all taking it in turns to sit down at the table for a chat with the gentleman and to request their name be written for them. This is not just a quick inscription though - the gentleman, who later tells me his name is Baba, is a Moroccan Calligrapher who has travelled all over the world, writing the names of hundreds of people every day in the most beautiful handwriting, both for common people as well as heads of states, princes and princesses and presidents. The tools of his trade are ostrich and eagle feathers and ink. We watch as he dips the feathers in ink and then, with a steady hand and a few flourishes, he writes names on the patterned paper requested by each person, finishing them off with a swirl here and an extra flourish there. He makes time for each person, presenting them finally with their unique handwritten souvenir.

Filali Baba

When it is my turn he speaks to me in perfect English - 'Where are you from? What is your name? I've just returned from England, I attended the Olympic Games!' It evolves in conversation that Baba is a friend of Martin's boss, he knows my home town of Birmingham ('Ah, New Street Station', he says - as if it is the most wonderful place...I beg to differ!) Then he proceeds to tell me about a beautiful pen museum located in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter - this man knows places in my home town that I've never heard of! I write down my name for him and choose a mosaic patterned sheet of paper for my script. Deftly he begins to write. I wonder at first what he is writing...that isn't my name...but then I realise he is writing something in French. Now he is writing 'Katherine', my full name, but he has written the sound rather than the actual spelling...'Kh' instead of 'K'...it all adds to the uniqueness of my souvenir. Then he writes my name in Arabic beside it, and with a few flourishes it is complete. He turns it around for me to see the final masterpiece...It says in French 'Queen Katherine', followed by my name in Arabic and two hearts. He proceeds to put it in a silver frame for me as a special gift. What a beautiful souvenir. Each person is also given an additional gift...girls receive a small bracelet, boys and men receive what I assume to be a text from the Qu'ran - in calligraphic writing of course, women receive bookmarks with 'Bonne Chance' (Good Luck) inscribed on them. And all this is for free from a man who is passionate about what he does: "It is nice that names in the calligraphy of my design reaches thousands of homes everywhere," he says with a smile. He always writes titles such as 'Sultan', or 'Queen' or 'Princess' because he likes people to feel special. Well, it has certainly made my day meeting such a lovely gentleman!

My beautiful handwritten inscription