Moroccan Tunics by Kaftan Queen, Marrakech

I have been Back into the Marrakech Medina to source These tunics for Kaftan Queen. This is the “Bronze Collection”.

This long sleeved hip length tunic made from beautiful percale cotton. With a flattering mandarin collar, beautiful cuff detail, finished with traditional Moroccan sefifa in a bronze colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

This glamorous Arabesque T-shirt, is made in soft cotton lycra I love these fantastic fluted sleeves and beautiful gold braid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Sleeveless Knee length cotton percale dress with a  heart shape neck, has the most extraordinary detailed embroidery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information on these tunics contact

kaftan_queen@yahoo.co.uk

Alice and the Shisha Smoke, Marrakech

 

Out with a friend one night, (we will call her Alice for the sake of this story,) she asked me to come and smoke shisha with her, she told me a certain caterpillar had shown her how in a wonderland far from here. She new just the place in Marrakech, La Villa du Sud shisha smoking bar.

 As we skipped into the walled wonderland garden and tiptoed up onto the tented terrace.

We were unsure of  what to expect as we peered inside.

Alice looked for her caterpillar, but he wasn’t to be found this time, his hookah pipes were everywhere.

so we knew we were in the right place.

This crowd were much cooler than caterpillars, but just as laid back in attitude.

The perfume was sweet and exotic.

The bubbling pipes could be heard over the chill out tunes.

We found ourselves a table, and ordered our own pipe.

Along it came with the hot coals and grape tobacoo.

At Last we sat and relaxed, giggled, gossiped and with a little practice bubbled our pipe, and blew fruit smoke at the stars in the sky.

 

 

You will find La Villa du Sud at

Angle du Colonel Arrighi,

Gueliz, Marrakech

+212 24 42 21 30

 

Agadir, Dancing Lobsters and Cheb Khaled.

So after the isolation comes the party town, Agadir. We decided to hang out and see what Agadir was like for a couple of nights. We had also heard there was a world music festival happening in town this weekend.

So we found ourselves a small but chic hotel, rather than a big monster sized hotel with 700 rooms. The Timoulay is a new design led hotel, close to the beach, but a taxi ride to the night spots. Which was perfect for our needs.

Firstly we headed down to the Marina for some dinner. The Marina is newly built just 18 months old, and is enclosed buy a  stunning complex of apartments some with views over the entire Agadir bay, access to private swimming pools, with a beautiful shopping and restaurant area  and of course private parking for not only your car but your boat as well.

After having spent some time with the fisherman on the beach the children were fascinated to find our chosen restaurant had dancing lobsters kept in a tank. We didn’t have the heart to tell them people were eating them, instead we told them they were of to the festival to carry on dancing.

 

After a stroll around the marina it was ice creams for everyone.

Then on to the Timitar festival just in time to hear one of my favorite Maghrebi singers Cheb Khaled perform some of his great tracks. The surrounding streets where packed as everyone came out to see this much loved and outstanding performer.

If you haven’t heard Cheb Khaled sing his classic tune Aicha Here is a YouTube video of him performing in Casablanca in 2007.

Enjoy!

 

The Secret Beaches in the South of Morocco.

It was touching 50° in Marrakech,  the floor was to hot to walk on, the nights where to hot to sleep through, we needed cool breezes, we needed to escape the city….

So we jumped in our car and we headed south, up and over the Atlas mountains “your crazy” some people said “south is hotter.” 

We had heard about the secret beaches, that other travellers who had ventured south had discovered. The beaches that only the fisherman used, the ones with the wind and the waves and the ocean that was so warm you could actually swim in it.

So we spent our days exploring our secret beach, watching the fisherman, collecting shells,

 

We surfed in the warm waters until the sun dropped down beyond the horizon and then, at last we slept………………….

Le Blokk, Marrakech

Last night there were Birthday celebrations at Le Blokk in the Palameraie of Marrakech. This new restaurants sepia toned decor is a step back in time to Manhattan, and the glamorous 30’s and 40’s. While you are being wined and dined the live music performers serenade you with melodies from bygone eras. (Perfect for an old ladies birthday party!)

 

 The menu a mixture of French, Moroccan and Thai was fantastic.

Le Blokk, hosts evenings with musical appeal for all, with Rock&Roll, Disco and Salsa theres something for everyone.

You can find Le Blockk In the Palmeraie area of Marrakech just near to Palais Mehdi.

+212 74 33 43 34

www.leblokk.com

 

Mehdi Qotbi,” Avant Le Lettre” Casablanca.

This week Mehdi Qotbi, one of Morocco’s most highly acclaimed artists, honoured us with an invitation to the launch of his second book.” Avant Le Lettre” in Casablanca’s oldest and most prestigious art gallery, Venise Cadre.

Mehdi’s new book “Avant Le Lettre”,  follows after his return home to his much loved Morocco and the extremely successful exhibition of his latest collection of paintings that had been showing in May of this year at the Venise Cadre art gallery.  This book not only shows Mehdi’s amazing work it also gives you a fascinating insight into his life showing the highlights of Medhi’s illustrious career.

With a career spanning over thirty years Mehdi has always been both an extraordinary artist and person, with an avant garde style and a mystical use of writing in his work. He has collaborated with poets, fashion designers, film makers, photographers and his many outstanding political associations, have elevated him  beyond artist, and into the realm of philosopher.

As always it was a fantastic evening hosted by Mehdi, who is an inspiration to many new artists in Morocco and is a kind and generous friend. Thankyou !! 

This is an excerpt from the British Museums website describing the extraordinary achievements of Mehdi Qotbi.

“Mehdi Qotbi emigrated to France and graduated in 1972 from l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Toulouse as the school’s youngest graduate. He studied at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and later at the Lycée Collège Saint Joseph in Auxerre, where he trained to be a professor of plastic arts. From 1978 until 2006 he taught plastic arts at the Lycée Collège La Rochefoucauld, Paris. He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world and was one of the earliest artists to create abstract pictures out of words which have become devoid of meaning. He has also created livres d’artiste with a number of writers and poets. Qotbi’s works can be found in both private and public collections in France – including the Bibliothèque Nationale, Centre Georges Pompidou and Institut du Monde Arabe, in Paris – as well as in Morocco, Malaysia and the USA. An artist and lobbyist, Qotbi founded the Cercle d’amitié francomarocaine in 1991. He has received many honours from the French government including Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Officier des Arts et Lettres and Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite. In Morocco he is Officier de l’Ordre du Trône. He has lived in Paris since the 1970s.”

www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/wordintoart/word-into-art/artists/qotbi.

Below, is Mehdi’s first limited edition book  called ”Le Voyage De L’ecriture” which contains photographs of  his earlier work.

It is available from www.bookfinder.com

For more information about Mehdi Qotbi and his life visit his website.

www.mehdiqotbi.c.la