Moroccan Photo of the Day

The View from Fez welcomes guest contributions. Photographs and stories are welcome, however, due to the large number of submissions, your story or photograph may take a few days to get up!

We have long had an interest in Moroccan chameleons and so we are happy to feature this fine photograph by our colleague Derek Workman.

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You can find a lot more stories on chameleons as well as some stunning photographs here; The View from Fez Chameleon File

Derek can be found here:  http://www.derekworkman-journalist.com  and http://derekworkman.wordpress.com

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Rescuing Morocco's Chameleons

A short time ago The View from Fez was contacted by a Tom Robinson, a photographer now working in Marrakesh. He had read our stories on Chameleons in Morocco and was moved to do something about their plight. He has now put his ideas into practice and so we invited him to be a guest contributor. Here is what Tom has to say.

I recently moved to Marrakesh to do the electrics in a large hotel for an English builder, I have been here now for 4 months and being a keen wildlife photographer soon found out that Morocco has a lot of exotic wildlife to photograph.

I particularly became fascinated by the Chameleons and after coming across one in an olive tree on site one day I soon had my camera in out taking some close up macro shots. It was a little feisty flaring up and hissing at me. I got a few shots and before long it had climbed up the tree and was out of sight. It was great seeing these creatures in the wild, perfectly adapted to its life in the trees.

On my first trip to the souks, I came across a shop selling 2 Chameleons and at least 10 baby Tortoises. I was so appalled by the poor condition of the Chameleons in tiny cages and in direct sunlight that I bought them both. I managed to part with 80 Dirham’s in the end, a fraction of what the man selling them started off at.

As I walked away with these two amazing creatures in a small box, I released that by buying the Chameleons I was only fuelling the trade and the shop would soon have more to sell, but never the less I had helped out two that would probably have died if they stayed there much longer.

Tom with one of his friends

With the two chameleons in tow and the sun setting I set off to Akrich a small Burba village 20km from Marrakesh to release them into there new home. After taking a few more shots and posing for a photograph with my new friends I released them into an olive tree in the of garden of the hotel where I am working.

Watching them disappear into their habitat was a brilliant feeling, just as I was walking away from the tree I noticed one of them on the outside branches, with the last of the sunlight behind and a few frames left on my film I took a couple of silhouette photograph’s and left them back where they belong.

The View from Fez would like to thank Tom for the article and the photographs.

You can read all of our Chameleon stories here: Rescuing chameleons in Morocco

Riad Zany Chameleon changes skin

Two more chameleons have been rescued from a stall in the Fez Medina. The pictures below show Ghenghis II shedding his old skin as he settles in to his new home.

Ghenghis II hunting flies in the lemon tree.



Photographs: Sandy McCutcheon

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Life and death in the Fez Medina - the latest gossip.

The ex-pats in the Medina are gearing up for another year. Holidays are over, Eid ( when too much lamb is never enough) has been well and truly enjoyed and renovation and restoration is back on schedule.

Australians Pete and Karen have been hard at work, but not so much that they couldn't do a bit of socialising with Louis Fez.

Louis builds a foot-spa?

Talking of Louis - he is back from an extended break and according to his blog is enjoying his house. The renovations appear to be on schedule and the photographs on his blog are proof of some very fine work by local craftsmen. According to Louis:

The terrace bedroom is all done with new plaster, stripped wood doors and shutters and oh deep joy electricity so I consequently rushed over to Adels house with Ben and moved my various Moroccan belongings over in about an hour flat. Managed to barter a gas heater from Adel as the nights are getting chilly and so with incense stick lit, Ipod on shuffle and Keith Richards autobiography at hand i awaited Bens delivery of a double mattress. And so there I was at home on the terrace menzeh with views out to the starry Medina, the odd howling dog and lounging with Silk cut in hand on the leopardskin throw. At that point I could not have been happier but it was not to last...

Check out Louis and his interesting blog here: Louis Fez

Derf has been rhapsodising about the weather and working hard on a new business which we will update you about when the details become available. Subby is still in Japan, but expected to return in April after a trip to Ethiopia. Samir and Zany are in Australia appearing at a music festival . Our friend Stig must have struck a deal with British airways - or else he is suffering a burst of Brit patriotism - because he has been posting about cheap BA flights. Artizany - the free personal and classified advertising site has had some interesting posts with the latest being an invitation for submissions from filmmakers.

The late Ghengis
Riad Zany is mourning the death of Ghengis. The longest surviving chameleon was rescued from a cage in the Medina eight months ago and did a fabulous job of cleaning up every fly that was silly enough to land on the orange or lemon tree. Sadly he secumbed to the cold. He will be missed.

The campaign against the offensive blue lights on the Hotel Merinides is back on track. The English neon sign is gone but an Arabic version is still in place. As this is an illegal situation, we hope that the authorities will move quickly to have the visual pollution removed.

And then... the issue of the motorbikes in the Medina - sadly the police are still not cracking down on them. We live in hope.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Chameleon update: Number Five

Over the last few months The View from Fez has been running a low level campaign to convince owners of riads that they should rescue chameleons from the souqs and install them in their courtyard trees. Here at Riad Zany, we started off with two, but lost one to a passing bird of prey. Our surviving chameleon is alive, well and having a great vacation from the trees by exploring the scaffolding that the builders have constructed in the courtyard.

On the other side of the Medina, our Special Affairs Editor, Helen Ranger, has a sadder experience. Here is her report.




THEM THAR VARMINTS! … or, be careful what you say. Be very careful.


Riad Lumen was graced with four chameleons rescued from Bab Guissa, who seemed to enjoy the garden. Occasionally there’d be one surveying the plasterwork or checking out the roof terrace. The trees are tall and dense, so often the chameleons wouldn’t be seen at all for days on end. That makes it all the more special when one becomes visible.

There’s a young man who looks after the riad when no-one’s here. August is hot and we all go away. Come every two days or so, said Lumen, just to water the garden and feed the cat. You could even leave it for three days, if you make sure the cat has enough water and biscuits. Oh, and make sure you water up into the trees too, for the chameleons.

When we returned, the young man wanted to be paid for coming to the house for three hours every day. This seemed a bit excessive, in view of the instructions Lumen had given him. Ah, but it took ages, he said. I spent hours spraying water up into the trees, but only got one of them. Sorry I couldn’t kill any more.

It seems now that only George is left as no others have been seen for some time, and even George is doing his leaf imitation and can’t be spotted. Which leaves Lumen with plenty of time to reflect on the benefits of good, clear communication.


Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Chameleon update

The only thing that is certain to stop a chameleon in its tracks is the question - "What the hell colour do I turn now?"

We can report that when Ghengis decided to have a break from the lemon and orange trees in the courtyard, he ended up with a real colour choice problem.



Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Reptile Renovation.

And we thought we were the only people doing renovations!

Moving to Riad Zany has obviously inspired Boadicea (pictured below) to tidy herself up.

The photograph of the chameleon shedding its skin was taken at 8 am this morning - photo quality is not up to our usual standard the picture was not taken by Zany, but by Sandy McCutcheon.


Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

A tsunami of Chameleon information.

"Free the Chameleons" read one of the dozens of emails, indicative of the sentiments of everyone who wrote. Thanks for the emails and we are happy to report that several other people have contacted us wanting to find out more about releasing chameleons from certain death in the spice souks.

Meanwhile, View from Fez reporter Helen Ranger has been on the case. She admits in her article to more than a passing interest in chameleons and includes some useful information. Here's her report.

Feeding the freed Chameleons of Fez
Helen Ranger

I've had a lot of fun searching out information on chameleon diets. Firstly you should understand that young chameleons like fruit flies. As they grow older, be careful about how many larger winged insects your pets eat such as moths as all those wings can be difficult to digest. You can imagine they might be a bit windy.

I have to admit a particular interest in chameleons. On a trip to Madagascar a few years ago, my guide in the rain forests of the north-eastern side of the island on the Maroantsetra peninsula showed me the smallest chameleon in the world, less than the length of my little fingernail. And then in the nature reserve close to Toamasina there are those massive specimens that measure half a metre without counting the tail (or indeed the tongue) that are bright turquoise with a red stripe. Best of all though, was the family of much more ordinary chameleons that I had in my Cape Town garden – they live(d) on the rose bushes and the babies were a delight to watch.

Sad to say, the Fort Worth Zoo tells us that these very delicate reptiles usually die while in captivity. They require extensive housing, special vitamin and mineral supplementation, exposure to UV lighting, a varied diet, and unusual watering in order to thrive in captivity’, we're told. Not only that, but you'’re advised to "gut-load" the insects that you feed your little darlings - that is, fatten up the crickets and grubs and other goodies with vitamin-rich foods. Give the insects potatoes, carrots, cabbage, fish flakes, low-fat kitten food, bee-pollen, and thrown in some calcium and vitamins. The bottom line, says ChameleonsOnline.com, feed your insects well so that your chameleons thrive.

Chameleons Online Photo Winner

Hamdulillah, we don't have to worry about any of that. Fortunately for us and our chameleons, they live in the citrus trees of the riads of Fes (how spoilt is that!!) and can find all the nutrition (and correct UV light, no doubt) necessary for a very happy life.

PS. Sorry Riad Zany, can't find anything about wasps and bees. But I'd like to know how you can tell they're Ghengis and Boadicea … ?


Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Chameleon update

Our post on rescuing chameleons (Rescuing Chameleons in Morocco) got a wide and immediate response. Now, we have several donations to buy and free more chameleons, but two other house owners in Fes have signed up to purchase the endangered creatures for release into their courtyard trees.

Ghengis goes hunting

We are also happy to report that both of our chameleons are recovering from captivity and have been seen eating. They are hard to see when in the trees, but have taken to coming down onto the second floor walkway for a little shade during the hotest part of the day.

We are curious to see what it is they are eating. Most probably it is flies and mosquitos, but it could be that they fancy a wasp or bee as well. Anyone know if wasps are on the chameleon menu?

Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Rescuing Chameleons in Morocco

The View from Fez recently went on a chameleon rescue expedition into the spice souks and returned with two rather unhappy and unhealthy looking chameleons (Ghengis & Boadicea). We released them into the two large trees in our central coutyard where we are happy to say they appear to be thriving on a diet of flies and wasps.

One of our rescued Chameleons (Boadicea) hunting flies

To most westerners,chameleons are cute little reptiles. To many Moroccans the chameleon is a source of considerable magical power. Go to almost any spice stall or traditional herbalist and you will find live chameleons for sale or dried chameleon skin.

There is also a widely held belief that the bite of the chameleon is fatal and so the first response of many Moroccans is to kill the reptile. They are, in fact, completely harmless.

According to chameleon expert Andy Highfield, Moroccan women who suspect that their husbands are having extra-marital affairs "often resort to the use of concealed chameleon meat or bones in their husband's food in the belief that this will restore his fidelity!"

In Tunisia, it is traditional practice to slaughter a chameleon and bury it in the foundations of new buildings as a protection against the 'evil eye', or bad luck. We have not come across this practice in Morocco, but we did find a small skull buried in the rubble under the floor in our riad.

"Boadicea" puffing up

There are many reports in Morocco of live chameleons being thrown into fire as part or ritual magic and also the drying of the skin in order to burn for the supposed beneficial properties of the smoke. Hence there is a flourishing trade in chameleons that sell from between 15 and 25 dirhams each.

The sad fact is that many chameleons captured for live sale do not survive long as the stall-holders have little understanding of their insectivorous diet and often feed them nothing but mint leaves.

Writing in 1809, in An account of the Empire of Morocco,James G. Jackson commented: "Various medicinal effects are attributed to the flesh of the camelion; and many whimsical effects are attributed to fumigation with it when dried; debilitated persons have recourse to it, and it is accordingly sold in all the drug shops at Marocco, Fas and other places…"

Little has changed in almost 200 years, as a visit to Fes today will readily confirm. A substantial number of chameleons are collected every year to supply the folklore and traditional medicine markets in Morocco; a brief survey of just one medium-sized souk revealed a total of 23 animals being offered for sale at two separate stalls.

"Excuse me, whose house is this anyway?"

The chameleon is also believed, in some places, to be a strong foe of snakes, which it attacks and kills in the following manner; the chameleon proceeds along the bough of a tree, beneath which the serpent sleeps. Placing itself immediately above the snake's head, the chameleon discharges a glutinous thread of saliva, which, upon contact with the snake soon kills it.

Andy C. Highfield and Jane R. Bayley also report Chameleons in Argan trees.

In the future The View from Fez will continue to rescue chameleons and release them into the wild. If you would like to help with the chamelon rescue - a contribution of a few dirhams will go a long way!


"Boadicea" yawning!

Our thanks to the writings of Andy C. Highfield. Andy is the director of British Tortoise Trust and is the author of the Practical Encyclopedia of Keeping & Breeding Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles (Carapace Press). He has almost a decade of field experience in Morocco.

Photographs: Sandy McCutcheon

Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news