Morocco again24 Fes Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts

2424

La Plaza el-Nejjarine (Carpenters’ Square) is one of the Medina’s colourful public spaces, home to the stunning Nejjarine Fountain and a Carpenter’s Inn that had billeted travelers since the 18th century.Today it’s home to the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts the first Moroccan private museum of timber crafts

Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts is in a wonderfully restored funduq – a caravanserai for travelling merchants who stored and sold their goods below and took lodgings on the floors above

The Nejjarine Fountain,

best known of the

medina's mosaic

fountains, in the

alleys that lead off the square is

the Nejjarine

Souk, where

carpenters still chisel and carve

cedar wood

With carved wooden arches and a four-storey atrium covered with decorative cedar panels, the Nejjarine Museum is the actualisation and a depository for some of the world’s finest woodwork

Its treasures include wooden cots used by royalty, a collection of wooden chests from the 14th century, wooden thrones and pentagonal-shaped chandeliers

Handmade Moroccan air blower or bellow or rabous, as it's known by its various names

Handmade Moroccan air blowers. Very useful to stoke the fire or simply for decoration

the one creative craft peculiar to Morocco among Islamic North African countries is woodwork

The primary raw material of this craft is wood, in other words timber.  The most utilized kind is cedar, taken out of cedar’s trees, which are profuse in the forest of the Middle Atlas.  This fact has led to the emergence of woodwork as a rich and traditional handicraft

Woodwork is a form of artistic expression. It is also another form that unveils aspects of the Moroccan and Islamic culture and tradition, and guarantees their continuity and originality. 

Spinning wheels

Marriage is Morocco’s richest traditional event which is closely connected to ancestral traditions and customs

Ammaria is used the bride's transport by huja to the groom's house

Round Amarya for wedding and Bride throne chair

Morocco has a rich musical culture with flavors of Berber, Spanish, Arabic, and Saharan influences

 In many traditional cultures, drums have a symbolic function and are used in religious ceremonies

This flute-like instrument is called "ghita" in Arabic and "tabja" in Tamazight (Berber language). Its made from cedar wood (it smells good!) This instrument is commonly played in Morocco during special occasions

Moroccan Oud The ancestor of the lute (origin aloud)

The oud is a pear-shaped stringed

instrument with 11 or 13 strings grouped in

5 or 6 courses, commonly used

in Persian, Arabic, Greek, Turkish,

 Jewish, Byzantine, Azerbaijani, 

Armenian, North African (Chaabi, Classical, and

Spanish Andalusian), Somali and Middle

Eastern music

The Arab rababah, or

rabab, is part of an ancient family of

instruments first mentioned in 10th century 

There’s a room displaying priceless wooden instruments — lutes, flutes, tablas and an original Stradivarius

The hajhouj or guembri is the Gnawa lute

Gun support

The koummya is the characteristic traditional dagger of the Berber and Arabic peoples of Morocco

On the roof terrace of the museum, this café serves drinks only 

White jasmin

The rooftop cafe has great views over the medina

Kairaouin Mosque minaret and Zaouia Moulay Idriss II

Sound: Oum – Nia; Ah Wah 2016

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Internet Sanda Negruțiu Copyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuhttps://plus.google.com/+SandaMichaela