Monday, 15th May
We met the boss today.
Surprisingly, we were able to find our way from one end of the medina to the other and on the way we regularly stopped to admire the wares in shops, in the street and hanging on the walls. There is so much to see and this is a great way to talk to the locals.
We always have something in common. We have some money in our pockets and they would like it in theirs so it makes a good conversation starter. The conversation doesn’t start there, though. Firstly, we need to cover the small talk.
“Where you come from?”
“Australia! I love Australia! Kangaroo! Kangaroo!”
Then we talk shop.
Hanging on a wall along a busy shopping street, was a painting of the medina, done in a geometric, impressionistic style. I lingered long enough to admire the painting for a lad to direct us down a narrow side street lined with similar works, into a studio where more of the same hung. A bearded man in a long gown greeted us with a toothy smile.
Holding up his fingers, he said, “We have four man apprentices and four lady apprentices, and I am THE BOSS!”
He beamed another great smile and laughed and we joined him in his joke.
Eyeing my camera, he led me to a back room and spread one arm wide pointing his palm to a collection of cameras on a shelf. On the floor were other ancient cameras. He confirmed their age by pulling a piece of paper from his pocket and pointed at the three dates written there, 1887, 1912 and 1975, the year when he started his collection. When he saw how pleased I was to witness his collection, he quickly offered to swap mine for one of his.
The boss gladly posed for a photo.
Saul Berenson is the Boss??
Come to think of it, he does look a little like him, though the boss doesn’t suffer from the western diet like Saul does.