Henna & Donkeys.

Nobody at The View from Fez realised it was a school holiday until the neighbourhood children descended on us. Suddenly the alley was filled with kids and the donkey-train, delivering bricks and sand to Riad Zany, was co-opted by the children to provide donkey rides.



Then a couple of local girls cornered Zany and began to henna her hands. Well, hands at first. The front, the back... and then the arms. When they went for her feet she cried "Halt! Enough!"

We decided the design employed was a traditional one that translates from the Arabic as... "Design by kids on holiday."



The henna powder was added to boiling water and then strained through pantyhose before being sucked into the syringe used to apply it. The thick green paste had to be left on until it dried and then flaked from the hands. The result? An extraordinary orange design that will last for some weeks.

Following this, Samir decided to try the local barber for a haircut. It took longer than a beauty salon doing a perm and tint. Not once, or twice but three times the barber wet, cut and dried Samir's hair. All the while the barber was involved in a heated argument with another Moroccan man which meant he flailed the air with scissors, razors and various other dangerous objects - all very close to Samir's head! For this he was robbed of 50 dirhams... usual cost about 20.

He emerged like a semi-bald eagle. (He says "no pictures!")

Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news