The Sewer Cleaners Of Marrakech

Can you moonlight as a sewer cleaner?  In Marrakech, yes.  Well, you can if you are familiar with the labyrinthine sewer system and know where to enter and exit those pipes.  Sewer fixers keep the city clean by clearing the subterranean canals of blockages and obstructions, some of which, frankly would shock you.  Their only tools are a simple iron file, some connecting rods, strength and dexterity.  These urban plumbers unclog the pipes and drain off the waste, thus delivering Marrakech from certain sickening odours.  A small but indispensable trade!

The Tooth Pullers...

In addition to legitimate dentists, Marrakech is home to a most peculiar profession: the tooth yanker.

These men practice their trade in the souk or on the Place Jemaa El Fna totally free of legal restrictions and heedless of any hygienic precautions.  Under the gaze of passersby - and on ground covered in spit - the unlucky fellow unable to afford 'indoor' dental care has his teeth pulled without any anaesthetic and only a drop of two of disinfectant.

Astonished tourists will sometimes photograph the spectacle, "No, thanks!" they say with a smirk, put off by the idea of receiving dental care from a man who knows nothing of medicine and works in such unsanitary conditions.

Nevertheless, it would be like taking the bread out of his mouth to say that he is "lying through his teeth"!

Week 8 - The View!

The close of 2011 saw week eight draw to a dramatic conclusion with the laying of the roof terrace of Riad Romm'an  By Monday 2nd Jan, the concrete had set sufficiently for our project manager Grant Rawlings of Chic Marrakech to get up there and take some photos of our view.  Remember, the original house was much lower than its surroundings as it only had one storey, so it was not possible to see what the view from the new roof terrace would look like.  But we were optimistic that given the location, the view would be of the Atlas mountains. 

We have not been disappointed!

The boys have been working very hard and mixed this massive pile of cement (photo above) to lay the concrete for the roof terrace (photo below).

Also, they are working on the front part of the house, to get it complete and have put in the lintel above the main door.

It won't be long before the front of the house has a lovely new front door, which will be more welcoming than a plank of wood and a number on a stick!

Week 7 - Cover your head!

Any builder knows it's important to protect yourself while working.  On a building site, there are so many things which could fall on the unsuspecting head.  Moroccan builders appear to know this too, so they make sure they put their hats on or have their hoods pulled up!

 

However, perhaps they would be better wearing these discarded hard hats.  Clearly not used for health & safety purposes.  We pray nothing falls on their heads and we are sure they do too, Insha'Allah.

For Riad Romm'an, the last week of 2011 saw the first floor being created with the upper structural columns to support the roof terrace going in.

We are getting a real sense of the height of the house now and just how high the roof terrace will be compared to the surrounding houses.  Bring on the views!

We can see the courtyard...

and the open salon with its arcade of columns.

 

The sun is still shining and progress is steady.

Roll on next week, when the roof terrace is laid...

" أحببت هذا البيت" ("I liked that house") said the Marrakech cat

As the front of the house onto the derb is finally demolished and the last remaining wall disappears, the old house is no more!

Week 3: Earth moving and foundation building

Just a few photos of the large amount of earth moving onto the site, in order to build up the ground level and work being done to put in the new foundations.