La Maison de la Photographie is a wonderful addition to the art and gallery scene in Marrakech – if not in Morocco – if not in the whole of North Africa!  Only recently opened in 2009 by Patrick Manac’h, it contains a collection of 3,500 historical photographs and portraits of a Morocco captured between the years of 1870 and 1950.  Located in a restored riad in the center of the old city (it actually sits a few doors away from the Riad Farnatchi previously written about), the photographs and photographers are nicely described on easy-to-read cards located in each room.  Copies of various photographs can also be ordered.  One of the wonderful contributions Patrick’s House of Photography makes to the anthropology and culture history of the country is to provide the visual context for the historical written documents that abound.  In vintage photographs one finds a wealth of information that is not always visible but rather inferred by the images.  Clothing, body language, architecture..these are just some of the indicators that tell stories perhaps heretofore hidden or that confirm previous supposition.  As importantly, images like these – of a vastly changed Place Jemaa en Fna, of a Jewish Berber woman in full dress, of turn-of-the-century “phantom women” in white burkas shopping the market stalls – feel immediate and intimate and recall a world that once was.
www.ecomuseeberbere.com
Atelier Moro, located in the souk, belongs to Colombian Viviana Gonzalez.  New since I had last visited Marrakech two years ago, it is refreshingly new and different.  Using the skills of Moroccan craftspeople, she has updated the looks with her own good eye.  Lovely ostrich egg globes, comfortable, stylish sandals, terry cloth toweling backed with Tunisian striped fabric, marvelous serving spoons with striped, brightly-colored resin handles…these sit side by side with vintage embroidered coverlets and belts and the odd Kenya beaded addition (she lived in Kenya for 7 years).  Tel. +212 05 24 39 16 76.

Aya’s Marrakech has been around for a while but it is worth reminding oneself to return to this charming boite that sells some of Marrakech’s best tunics, caftans, and accessories.  Lovely fabrics make these ubiquitous garments special and Aya, herself, makes this a “must” stop.  Well-known by Marrakshi insiders, her shop is on the same par as Beldi, though much more relaxed and fun to shop in. Tel. +212 05 24 38 34 28