Quite recently I had the opportunity to attend the Ethiopian Good Friday service in one of the churches of Addis second year in a row. Again I was simply amazed by the tranquil atmosphere created by the praying ceremonies that were being exercised on the church yard throughout the day, accompanied by the fairly monotonous reading and singing of the priests who were in charge of the service. Spending time in Ethiopia during their Easter period is a little like entering the times described in the Bible. And it translates into more modern phenomena as well, such as fasting pizzas for instance!

I remember from my childhood that I always woke up in my bed staring straight into an icon hanging on the wall. The icon was brought into our house by an uncle who had been to Russia, and it depicted Saint George killing the dragon. In Ethiopian orthodox tradition, however, there is sometimes a third person watching over this dragon killing procedure: Saint Bula (my spelling may be incorrect). He is sitting up in a tree and looks down at the heroic action of his co-saint with jealousy, I was told. I suppose I should have a look at the Bible written in Geez to find out more about him and the reasons for jealousy. As it happens, he is not the only saint I am not so familiar with: Did you ever hear about Saint Tekle Haimanot, who spent seven years praying, standing on one leg? 

A re-visit to Marrakech after some twenty plus (!) years was well worth it. The medina has not lost any of its charm, despite the fact that busloads of tourists flood into and out of the city continuously. The famous square Jma al-Fna has become a fairly well-organized and commercial yet unescapable tourist trap but you can still be easily attracted by improvised gnawa sessions there, if you are patient enough. The best thing to do in Marrakech is to take a deep dive into the souqs and discover what’s on offer. You may also from time to time need real skills to talk your way out of the shops without buying anything, but that’s only part of the fun!  

Porcupine’s latest craft finds from these souqs include some exciting recycled stuff: tyre picture frames (see above) and pierced tin lampshades. We also bought some cute picture tiles and coin-studded shoulder bags, and more is to come soon.

Isn’t here a wonderful little piece of craft? This particular fly is made of recycled aluminium and you can easily build your very own insectarium with flies, crickets, cockroaches, dragonflies, scorpions, prayermantises.. This would make a good selling item in fundraising events don’t you think? I would like to raise money for anti-malarial nets in one future campaign against malaria , so perhaps I should start looking for mosquitoes in aluminium in Ouaga!

Should you know the coordinates of Mohamed Bel Khali, an artist who makes fantastic looking frames out of old car tyres, please let me know. I would like to buy some of his work but cannot find his contact information anywhere on the internet.

لوسمحت اذا تعرف أين يسكن محمد بل خالي إعطي عنوانه

 أنا أريد أن أشتلري إطاره الذي أحبه كثير - شوكرا لكم 

Do you know what this little wooden object is? One tiny tip: if you are Ethiopian you are disqualified to reply!

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