Thursday, July 7, 2011

Smah lee, twaddart filhay al-sinaee.

Dammit, summer school, you're supposed to be easy. Today I had an oral presentation and a two-hour exam. Then I had to film and edit a 15 minute video project. And then I had to start my daily homework.

But I still had time for an adventure yesterday. I met with my language partner and told her I wanted to find the industrial section of the old market, which I had passed by on a previous occasion. She said she'd never heard of it, so I had to explain what they did there, which led me to learn the words for iron (hadeed) and wood (khashab). We made our way through the meandering alleys of the old city until I found the industrial area. It's very cool to see people making beautiful tables, doors, grates, bed frames, and more by hand (and machine, depending). Unfortunately, I also saw small children helping their parents with the work, handling electric saws and blowtorches with skill (but without protection). I took some pictures and talked to a man who was shaping long metal rods into spirals to include in an artistic grate. I didn't understand a word he said but he showed me how he used a hammer and an anvil to shape the rods.

In the industrial section of the city is a little corner with three or four shops that sell traditional instruments, including flutes, various string instruments, and many types of drums. It was mid-afternoon, however, so the store owner (mool al-hanoot) was nowhere to be found, so unfortunately I couldn't talk to him or buy anything.

However, as we were leaving the industrial area, a man called me to look in his shop. I went in and saw that his store was full of objects and jewelry, all made of metal. He led me into the back of his shop and showed me how he makes the pieces by hand. He took a dull metal pot and placed it in a vice in his workshop. Then he took a tool that looked like a blunt knife, and rubbed vigorously at the pot until it took on a polished, blue hue. Then he took a small spool of metal wires, as thin as human hair. He took out one of the wires, placed it on the pot, and began hammering gently at it until it flattened and stuck to the pot. He hammered intricate patterns on the pot, drawing swirls and flower petal designs. It was very cool to watch.

Then of course, he said, "Please, choose anything, I'll give you a very reasonable price." I was very tempted, but my language partner gave me an impatient look, so I said I would come back. I say this to every shopkeeper, but I have a feeling I may keep my word this time.

Today at the language center we hosted a group of traditional musicians who sang, danced, and played a Moroccan version of castanets made of metal. One of the performers played a ganbaree, which I talked about in a previous post. His ganbaree, however, was hooked up to speakers, and the sounds it made were really cool, similar to a bass guitar. I wish I could have learned more but I had to leave early to catch a taxi to my home stay.

1 comment:

  1. Ahh! I've always wanted to see how people make objects out of metal. That must have been awesome to see in person.

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