When you are stationed in Europe, one of the trips you should make, as a woman, at least, is to Poland. And any man who hears his wife is headed for Poland knows that by the end of the trip their bank accounts will be emptied. Why, you may ask? It is because of all the beautiful pottery. All of it is hand thrown and hand painted. You can use it in your oven, microwave, refrigerate it, serve from it, and eat off it. I know several people who have all of their serving dishes and table settings purchased from there. When we were in Germany, many years ago, I was only able to go once. I have always wanted to go back and load up. That is, until last week.
One of the little known secrets of Morocco is their pottery trade. A friend of mine named Heather had told me of a place called Sale Pottery and I have wanted to see it. Well, last week, the time came. There were a total of 6 of us that journeyed the 15 min to, what could be compared to, a strip mall full of pottery and other small shops. Now, unlike Polish pottery, not all of Morocco's pottery should be used to cook. They still use lead in their paints here. But Heather frequents this area often and knows exactly which shops use lead-based paint and which do not. So, as sheep follow their shephard, we followed Heather.
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The ladies: Back (L to R): Heather, Michelle, Libby. Front (L to R): Josselyn, Lindsey
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She took us to shops that had artisans working their craft in the back, stores that painted their work, and others that did not. We saw pottery that was meant for the garden (that would be your yard, if you're in the states), hand-spun rugs, and a shop that also had silver tea services (which is actually made of copper, then heated to turn a silver color. That would be the poor man's knock-off of the real thing). We also found a back alley that had several hand-carved wooden furniture shops, basket shops, and iron-work shops. I had a budget of 800 Dirhams (roughly $100) to spend. I was scrupulous as I shopped. I was only going to get things that I would use and not fall into the "OOH! That is so pretty!" trap. Just like Poland, it would be very easy to empty your bank account there. In fact, it is where I will go shopping for family and friends before we had back.
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| Preparing the clay |
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| A master pot thrower |
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| Painstakingly hand painting the dishes |
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| Ready for the 2nd firing |
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| One of the shops |
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| These are eggs that are meant for the garden. You would put lights inside. |
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| This pottery is made in many different areas of Morocco. |
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| What you see piled high are Tajiin pots. That is a traditional dish made here. |
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| One of the odd things we saw. This table and chairs is made of silver (OK, probably some other metal and then finished in silver. Either way . . .). I tried to move a chair and had a very difficult time. It was extremely heavy. |
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| We called this place the "Lamp shop." Can you guess why? I want a matching set for my living room. Just sayin'. |
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| Michelle next to a floor lamp at the lamp shop. |
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| This man hand carves people and scenes. I bought a village scene from him. |
