The first time I discovered the desert, it was a
too long time ago, in Tunisia. A week of holydays, in low-season, I was with a teacher invited to give lessons, nice moments, Tunis, Sidi Bou Said, La Goulette, all that, and during the week-end we go down south to see the sand.
Nice.
Big.
Yellow.
That's all. Return to Paris on the Monday, nice memory, but I preferred the beach.
The second time was in the south of Africa. A long journey, a month, and within this month, three weeks of semi-desert and varied deserts, one after the other, Karou, Damaraland, Moonscape, Etosha… and, at some point of time, after ten days of desert, we arrived on the coast, in Swakopmund.
Of course, we had never been thirsty, our bus was somehow air-conditioned (but not dust-proof), and that was winter there, so easy conditions.
But I will never forget the marvel of being able to simply see the water, this huge quantity of water, to feel again humidity on our skins, the change of the light, and our pleasure of a simple walk on the beach.
Desert is dryness and lack of water. Without the desert, there is no oasis, just a simple normal garden.
What does that have to see with the jinn ? Just a second …
In south of Morocco, I see more and more hotels and inns with swimming pools, whether in
Merzouga, in
M'hamid, or even in
Tazarine, one has to offer a large swimming pool to attract tourists. And that's the same in the riads of
Marrakech that must have at least a small pool.
Let us leave Marrakech apart for now.
Swimming pools in the middle of the desert, or just nearby, are an ecological nonsense. They use a large amount of water which would be much more useful somewhere else. The water, still, in the sun, evaporates much quicker than the running water of a small river. Swimming pool is not adapted to the living conditions of the deep south.
Morocco suffers from drought. South receives its water mainly from melting snows, and the rains, even when they are heavy and catastrophic like in Merzouga last year, are just a small part of the reserves.
And why do you travel in the south ? Just to be warm ? Or to experience the desert, and discover another way of life ?
You cannot experience the desert while swimming in a pool every evening. Desert takes you step by step, it needs several days, it is a dry and hot air, sounds, winds, lights… swimming pools do not belong to this world.
All Moroccan, Arab-Andalusian and Berber civilisation, architecture, gardens, traditional cultures were prepared and built in order to spare water. Fountains in the larges patios of the riads, irrigation canals are small running waters, moving, protected by the shadows of the plants. Water movement as well as the shadows prevent evaporation.
There is not still water in Morocco. It is avoided as much as possible, also because of superstition. One says that jinni, these spirits who share the world of humans, and can be simply tricky, or very naughty, jinni hide in still waters (and therefore, one is specially cautious of hammam, and always takes a shower with running water to protect itself).
Jinn in the Hammam, by Joumana Medlej(c).Marrakech's swimming pools are another story.
There were no pools before in the riads. These quite large reserves of water are a call for mosquitoes and other insects. The few humid areas of Morocco, around Mohammedia and Agadir, suffer from malaria and mosquitoes. And in the same way, near the dam's lakes, like in Ouarzazate, there can be some "beasts of the swamps" whose bite will leave you a track for a few weeks. Programms to get rid of them have started. Without going so far, a riad with a swimming pool will attract mosquitoes. Prefer ones that have only fountains, small streaks of water running between the squares, and go swim in the sea, in Essaouira or Oualidia !
Joumana Medlej is a Lebanese artist whose site, Cedarseed will keep your attention for a long time. The Jinn in the Hammam is an illustration of one of her books, about olive oil. You can see all her publications on her site..
Labels: daily life, desert, ecology, superstition
