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National Geographic : 1925 Mar
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346 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE A MEDICAL MISSIONARY TALKING WITH A BOY OF FEZ The European woman has conformed to the Moslem custom by wearing a white djellaba. The boy carries a bowl of couscous, a favorite food in Morocco (see also Color Plate I). / The upper-class women rarely venture out. Theirs is a walled life, illuminated by the joy of motherhood and the com- panionship of sisters in seclusion. The faces of the muffled women seen on the streets-servants, household slaves, wives of poor men-are veiled. Between bands of white, two dark eyes gleam out; or else the veil is so drawn that only one long - lashed eye remains uncovered. These women, barelegged like the men, shuffle along in heavy-soled, heelless slippers. I n marked contrast to the people seen in the 1\!{edina are those of the 1\1ellah- sly, furtive old Jews in black gaberdines and skull caps, mod- ern Jews in European clothes, fat old J ew- esses wearing frayed Persian shawls, bright- faced, creamy-skinned young J ewesses with big, black eyes, their h e ads wrapped in gaudy silken scarfs. To these the coming of the French meant the end of long years of oppression. To the Mellah the traveler goes for post- cards and p hot 0- graphs, to have films developed, to look for the odds and ends needed in traveling. There are few curios to be found here save exquisite bits of fili- gree of ancient design in the din g y little shops of the gold- smiths. THE HOME OF TUF, RED FELT FF,Z \Ve must go back to the native town for the silk embroideries for which Fez is noted. Here, too, are manu- factured saddlery and leather slippers, mu- sical instruments, a crude painted pottery and glazed tiles like those the Moors gave to Spain. The French are reviving these native crafts, along with the matting of Sale, the rugs of Rabat and the Berber villages, and the brassware of Marrakesh (see Color Plates II, V, and VII). Until recent times Fez had a monopoly on the red felt caps which bear the city's name. I Vias told that in the old days the carmine dye for these caps was obtained from the juice of a 1\10roccan berry. Nowadays fezzes are also manufactured in Turkey and in France. To the royal palace the reigning sultan, 1\lulai Yusef, comes but seldom from his more modern abode, beside the home of
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