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THUYA WOOD ARTICLES ON SALE IN ONE OF ESSAOUIRA BAZAARS |
Thuya woodcarving has made the fame and the richness
of Essaouira for many decenies. It is a tradition Of a unique kind that
has been developped and proudly preserved and transmitted from father to
son through the centuries. It was born on the same day as the city
itself was founded. When King Mohammed ben Abdallah took the
decision of bringing whole families, belonging to different tribes, from
the four corners of the country to settle down in the newly built city
of Essaouira. It was in this demographic melting pot that Essaouira
handcrafts had grown, to come up to the brilliance and fame they know,
today.
The polished thuya gnarl is carved and incrusted with
designs of geometric and floral shapes of lemon wood, sea shells, or ebony wood, sometimes set with silver or aluminium
wire,
according to
the desired value. It is transformed, thanks to the dexterity of the
Essaouira craftsmen, into articles of great value .Tables and secret
boxes, cupboards of different shapes.
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THUYA WOOD CRAFTSMAN AT WORK |
Office furniture and objects of decoration are
exhibited in the bazaars that furnish this medina, giving it an aspect
of a huge museum.
Artisans from Essaouira have since the nineties begun moving towards new
horizons looking for areas where wood is not so expensive as in
Essaouira, and where there are are more customers in order top insure a
reasonable income and improve their living standard that has been
affected by the crises that have often affected the tourism sector.