This title celebrates the arts of Morocco, a country where an ancient
tradition of craftsmanship has been sustained. It contains images of coloured
ceilings, decorated courtyards and walls, of plaster of Paris carved in
intricate geometries, of tiles so small that 150 could fit in a matchbox.Morocco is an exhilarating combination of vivid sensuality and intense
spirituality, an intoxicating blend of cultural variety, a place quite unlike
any other: Berber, Arab, French, English and Spanish: in what other country
does one find such a rich mixture of heritages? Indeed, this diversity is
matched in its geography, which runs from coast to mountain to desert. Living
in Morocco celebrates the arts of a country at the height of a cultural
renaissance, a country where an ancient tradition of craftsmanship has been
sustained and recently reinvigorated. The book is filled with images of
vibrantly coloured ceilings, decorated courtyards and walls, of plaster of
Paris carved and painted in intricate geometries, of tiles so small that 150
could fit in a matchbox. Lavishly illustrated chapters on decorative and folk
arts alternate with chapters on Moroccan life today. We visit Chaouen in the
Rif Mountains (a city only recently open to Westerners), where the town's
smooth, undulating surfaces are painted a bone-chilling, blue-tinted white. We
peer into an abandoned kasbah in the Sahara. We absorb the sights, sounds and
smells of the frenzied souk.; We take time out in the shady blue-and-pink environs of the Majorelle
Gardens, laid out by French painter Jacques Majorelle. We explore the story
behind the most famous hotel La Mamounia, which has welcomed such guests as
Winston Churchill, and most importantly, we see Morocco's arts brough to life
in its homes - from former harems to traditional Hispano-Moorish houses.
Morocco is an assault on the senses. Glorious photographs make this book a
treasure for the armchair traveller, while the luscious documentation
