Anyone for a haircut?
Barbershop in Sefrou near Fes in Morocco
In our wanderings in Morocco we saw almost anything you could imagine for sale, either in the small shops throughout the medinas, or on stalls in the street itself. In all our travels I cannot remember seeing any barbershops – except this one in today’s photo (above). Perhaps that is why I took the photo. There must have been many more, it’s just that I either didn’t take note of them, or we were in the wrong place most of the time.
The small establishment shown above had only two chairs for the customers having their hair cut with another one for anyone waiting their turn. Below I’ve shown a workshop across the lane from the hairdresser. Looking at all the tools it is obviously a furniture repair or restoration workshop. There was a furniture factory a few doors away (see photo below). I note the total absence of any power tools. In fact, I don’t even see any evidence of power being connected to the workshop; not even a radio to listen to.
This is in compete contrast with the barber who has the following items I can identify: television, cassette/radio, hair dryer, electric shaver, fan and what looks like an electric kettle. Perhaps cutting hair is a more lucrative business than restoring furniture.
Workshop in Sefrou near Fes in Morocco
Furniture factory in Sefrou, Morocco
Cottage industries in Addis Ababa
Clothing repairs and manufacturing in the streets of Addis Ababa
On the final evening of our stay in Addis Ababa we went for walk in a nearby street. This was a typical suburban street with active markets on the footpaths and many shops open with their wares spilling out onto the footpath.
I actually use the term “footpath” loosely; there was no real path, or smooth walking surface. I am referring only to the space between the shop frontages and the road. Because these “footpaths” were often rocky, uneven, rutted, muddy and unsuitable for easy walking, so most people walked on the road. The constant hooting of car and truck horns resulted from waves of pedestrians clogging up the road’s surface.
One of businesses which intrigued my wife is shown in the above photo. It shows a man sewing on an old treadle sewing machine. On an earlier trip in Nepal I saw this activity in many places.
Another cottage industry we saw in a number of areas of Addis Ababa was furniture making, shown in the photo below.
Street scene, Addis Ababa – furniture making