DAY 214

Friday 10 February 2012

Dian got up early to write and have yoghurt (was it the call to prayer that brought her out of sleep?) On Aziz’s recommendation we took a taxi (they were very cheap) to the American Legation. It was a little  hard to find, and by the time we got there it was only open for one more hour. We enjoyed seeing a hand-written note from President George Washington to the Moroccan king thanking him for being the first to recognize America as a new country.

Each room of the beautifully preserved building had furniture, lamps and paintings from the early 1800s, but what most interested us was the wing dedicated solely to Paul Bowles. Many of the photos on display were also in our apartment and it was interesting to see him as a young man in his beloved adopted city.

We headed over to a bookstore owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and his partner. We bought a book of stories and art by Mohamed Mrabet (Paul Bowles’ former friend and helper), and another book called "Beats On Bowles."

A foot holder for shining shoes

At the post office we bought postage stamps and got through the long wait by looking at the impressive array of photos depicting Tangier. We ate our picnic lunch on a terrace overlooking the sea, then hailed a taxi for home.

At 4:30 PM Aziz arrived to take us to our meeting with Mohamed Mrabet at his home. This gem of Tangier seemed more subdued than what we had come to expect based on what was written about him, but we learned that he had sustained a major illness and was finally doing better. He showed us his original guashe on paper and canvas while his daughter served us tea and pastries. He told us some stories of his time with Paul Bowles and Tennessee Williams and seemed to enjoy the chocolate bar and VaVa LaVoom CD we gave him.

After about an hour and a half we all got in Aziz’s car and dropped Mrabet at an appointment with a gallery owner. The streets were packed with locals and we thought it would be fun to treat Aziz to dinner, but alas, he declined because he needed to visit his mom.

Upon dropping us back at our apartment we had a light supper then fell asleep, dreaming of “Sir Captian the Cat,” “Lala Cola,” “The Mask” and other stories from Mrabet’s book.

Mrabet's inks