A gallery of fabulous, cheeky character and combination pieces from Bristol graffiti artist Jevoissoul AKA Slow.
Instagram : @slowityeah
All photographs by Scooj
Jevoissoul
Tag: Collection
Thursday doors – 11 December 2025 – Marrakesh doors, the Tanneries
Doors 336 – Doors of Marrakesh, the Tanneries, Morocco, January 2025 (Part XVI)
Good morning all – a slightly longer read this morning – if you don’t have time, feel free to jump straight to the doors below.
Towards the end of our stay in Marrakesh, my wife and daughter decided to treat themselves to some pampering in the hotel spa. Of course, I am far too rugged and manly for such things, and decided to go for a random walk through the souk markets in the Medina. I possibly bit off more than I could chew.
It took me about twenty minutes to get to the souks from our riad hotel in the south of the city, along roads and lanes that we had become quite familiar with during our stay. Once in the souks, though, it was a different matter. Navigating these narrow covered streets filled with tourists, mopeds, donkeys pulling carts and a million things to look at in the shops and stalls, can be challenging and bewildering to say the least. After about an hour of aimless meanderings, I became a little peckish and got it into my head that I wanted a crêpe pancake from a street seller. Surely a former French colony would have such a thing, although I hadn’t seen one since we arrived in the country.
It was something of a small miracle that I found exactly what I was looking for, a small stall, and so I ordered a lemon crêpe from a nice lady working two heated rings behind a Perspex screen. When it was ready, I took my treat to a small triangular open area away from the bustling crowds to eat it in relative peace. Almost immediately, a man came out of a doorway next to where I was standing and struck up a conversation. He asked me if I was heading to the tanneries, as it was the last day of a Berber festival, and it would be well worth a visit. I said that I might wander over there, and asked if he could point me in the right direction.
While he was explaining the route I should take, he spotted an acquaintance on a moped passing by. He called over to his ‘friend’ and asked if he wouldn’t mind leading me to the Tanneries if he was going that way. The young man said it would be no problem and walked alongside his moped, gesturing for me to follow him through the pulsing crowds of the souk. After a minute or two, he suggested I jump on the back of the scooter, as we could get there much quicker than walking. In for a penny, in for a pound I thought, so I duly joined him as his pillion passenger.
This episode was completely out of character for me, as I am usually quite cautious about such things. I imagine the spectacle was quite hilarious… a middle-aged Englishman wearing a green ‘Tilly’ sun hat, holding a crêpe in one hand and hanging on for dear life to a man he had met only minutes before with the other, perched on the back of a scooter, weaving through the crowds of the souks. The hair-raising journey took a few minutes, but knocked years off my life.
We eventually pulled up outside the Tanneries in the far north of the Medina, to my great relief. I had survived the first part of this adventure. Of course, there was no Berber festival, and I was beginning to sense that this might have been a bit of a ruse.
Next up, the young man led me into the Tanneries, looking for his ‘uncle’ who was a worker there who could show me round. A rather haggard old man showed up and took over from his ‘nephew’, who scooted off into the dusty streets. The old man waved me along and handed me a bunch of mint to help with the terrible smells of the Tanneries. As someone who worked on a fishing boat for a year, potent smells like that don’t particularly bother me, but I accepted the kind gesture.
The tour party consisted of him and me… no entry fee, no turnstile. I have to say I found this ancient place fascinating. There were dozens of pits filled with different agents – the only one I remember was the ‘pigeon poo’ which my guide took great pleasure in saying many times over. Thousands of animal hides were at different stages in the process of tanning – it looked like a complete mess to me, but I guess that there was a method going on that had been practiced over centuries. The guide was most obliging and informative and let me take as many pictures from various vantage points as I wanted.
The catch.
After the tour, I was ready to work out my route home, but the old man ushered me along a street and into ‘the gift shop’. I was welcomed into a leather emporium by a rather large and cheerful fellow who urged me to take my time looking at the leather goods. At this point I realised what this whole surreal adventure was a tried and tested ‘scam’ to get people to buy authentic leather goods at extortionate prices.
I milled about the place, without any intention of buying anything at all. The shopkeeper became a little bit more pushy, suggesting all sorts of things I might want. I spotted some belts on a rack, I had actually been looking for a belt, and asked about the prices. The shopkeeper’s opening offer was insane, so I thought about what I’d pay for such a belt in the UK. I suggested my price, he said a price about four times my price.
This conversation was doomed, as I wasn’t going to budge, and I think we both sensed it. I stated for a final time my offer, which proved to be a turning point. The shopkeeper became angry and rude and told me to get out of the shop, an outcome I wasn’t bothered about, but his rudeness was quite unlike anything we had experienced throughout our time in Marrakesh.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Tanneries guide was waiting for me outside and demanding payment for the tour. I figured that I had received a tour for free, so offered him what I considered to be a fair price. Of course, he complained and said that he had to pay fees to some kind of consortium. I told him that was all he was getting. He cursed, followed me for a bit, and then returned to the Tanneries for his next sucker.
Getting back to the hotel on foot took well over an hour, and I photographed a few doors en route, reflecting on the crazy adventure I had had.
I have since read on Trip Advisor that this is a well known scam, and the average rating for a trip to the Tanneries is little over one star. To be honest I had a great experience, not entirely comfortable, but something I could never have planned… a fluid, exciting, unexpected adventure and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
Enjoy finding some doors in these Tanneries photographs:
I hope you enjoyed the mini-adventure as much as I did, and perhaps if you clutch a sprig of mint, you might sense the masking effect of the other smells around you. Next time it’s off to a Madrassa.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.
Thursday doors – 4 December 2025 – Marrakesh doors
Doors 335 – Doors of Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2025 (Part XV)
You will be pleased to know I am sure that I am approaching the end of my series on doors of Marrakesh and will be done by Christmas. This week I return to the Medina after a couple of excursions and include one of my favourite doors of the whole trip (the feature door and first one in the post). These doors were photographed on another random walk through the backstreets of the city.
We managed to pack in so much into the week, and would have loved to have spent a little longer there, although it was the High Atlas mountains that I would return for in an instant, where the communities living and thriving on the edge of some stunning landscapes appealed to my love of nature and natural spaces.
I hope you enjoy this week’s selection:
That just about wraps it up for another week. Next time I find myself on an unplanned and unexpected excursion, sometimes the best kind, towards the north of the city, and a very long walk from our hotel. Until then, have a cracking weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Thursday doors – 27 November 2025 – Marrakesh doors – Excursion to Anima Garden
Doors 334 – Doors and the gardens of Anima, Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2025 (Part XIV)
On our way home from the High Atlas mountains, we called in at the Anima gardens, an extraordinary place where a stunning collection of plants meets the creative artistic imagination of multi-media artist André Heller. This garden was one of the great highlights of our trip to Marrakesh. An oasis (almost literally) of cool shade in the middle of the parched arid landscape which was full of surprises around every corner.
The imaginative sculptures in the garden seemed to be perfectly at home despite their bright colours and quirkiness. The place was a feast for the eyes and a haven for birds and insects too. This was genuinely one of the best gardens I have visited in the world, and utterly unexpected. A must if visiting Marrakesh.
It is another week in which doors play second-fiddle to their surroundings, but I hope you enjoy the ensemble:
It has been fun digging out these pictures of the Anima garden, and I have shared far more than I intended for the purposes of Thursday Doors (a bit of a show-and-tell I’m afraid). Back to the city next time. Have a great weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Thursday doors – 20 November 2025 – Marrakesh doors – Excursion to Sti Fadma in the Ourika River valley, High Atlas.
Doors 333 – Doors and views of Sti Fadma in the High Atlas Mountains, Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2025 (Part XIII)
We managed to escape from the busy bustle of Marrakesh on a day excursion south to the High Atlas mountains. Our driver, who was half Arab and half Berber, explained to us that we would be heading into the mountains which is mostly populated by Berbers, often called Imazighen (“free people”).
The drive only took a couple of hours, transporting us to a stunning high valley along the course of the Ourika River Valley. Here we stopped to take a hike up into the mountains to reach the lowest of several waterfalls cascading down into the valley below. The small town of Sti Fadma, with its restaurants lining the river banks, was the starting point for the walk and to which we returned for a well-earned lunch.
Because we were visiting Morocco during the low season, the mountains weren’t all that busy and there was no traffic on our journey. Our driver said that from March onwards, the temperatures in Marrakesh become unbearable, and people flood out of the city and head to the mountains, which are a bit of a honey-pot and attract enormous crowds of people seeking a cooler climate. I’m glad that we chose a quieter time, and for us Brits, anything over 24 degrees is considered warm/hot, so there were no complaints from us at all.
Not so many doors this week, but some lovely views of the mountains and Berber settlements. I hope you enjoy them.
This is probably one of the least doorsy Thursday Doors posts that I have uploaded ever, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Next time, we visit a garden on our way back to Marrakesh from the mountains. Until then, have a great weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Thursday doors – 13 November 2025 – Marrakesh doors – Souks
Doors 332 – Doors of the souks, Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2025 (Part XII)
It was inevitable that one of our days in Marrakesh would be allocated to shopping in the souks. These are open-air marketplaces in squares and in the central labyrinth of lanes in the north central part of the Medina. They are exactly as you imagine or might have seen in film or video… dusty, cramped, vibrant, smelly, chaotic and exciting. There is danger lurking in the form of mules pulling goods wagons and mopeds absolutely everywhere, weaving their way skilfully (and also recklessly) through the crowds of tourists and merchants – more on this in a couple of weeks.
The souks tend to be divided up into different areas, each specialising in different wares; textiles, jewellery, tinsmiths, spices, food and so on. The nature of the souks are such that losing your way is part of the experience. Even with mapping apps, navigation is challenging, and we went round in circles countless times, encountering places that we recognised from an earlier pass.
There is no danger of mugging or robbery, other than the ridiculous, and mandatory haggling for any and every item – something we Brits are pretty useless at. We tried to be as canny as we could, but we were dealing with professionals. We came home with some rather nice cushion covers, a couple of ceramic cups and a lamp (genie not included).
The doors in this selection are mostly in the streets of the souks. From the photographs, it doesn’t look all that busy, but I can assure you it was… I just waited for people to get out of the way to frame the doors a bit better. I hope you enjoy them:
Unfortunately, I don’t think these pictures convey the bustle and chaos of the place, where one is constantly changing direction to avoid passing hazards, not least avoiding cats and kittens randomly scattered about the place. The souks aren’t simply a tourist trap, they are a way of life and deeply steeped in culture and history. To avoid them would be a big mistake if visiting Marrakesh.
Next time we take an out-of-town excursion…
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Thursday doors – 6 November 2025 – Marrakesh doors – The Saadian Tombs
Doors 331 – Doors of the Saadian Tombs, Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2025 (Part XI).
On arrival at our Riad Hotel in the Medina, the staff were very keen to point out all the ‘must visit’ places which we could visit during our stay. The closest, perhaps a ten-minute walk, was the Saadian Tombs.
My apologies to you all, but I have resorted to the Interweb to provide a short description of the Saadian Tombs:
The Saadian Tombs are one of the city’s most remarkable historical monuments, reflecting the grandeur of the Saadian dynasty that ruled from 1549 to 1659. Hidden for centuries and rediscovered in 1917, the tombs were built by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur to house members of the royal family and his successors. The complex is renowned for its exquisite Islamic architecture, blending Andalusian and Moroccan styles.
Its chambers are adorned with intricate stucco work, colourful zellij tile mosaics, finely carved cedar wood ceilings, and marble columns imported from Italy. The most famous section, the Hall of the Twelve Columns, features the sultan’s own tomb surrounded by others, symbolizing both royal power and the Saadian dynasty’s devotion to artistry and craftsmanship. Today, the tombs stand as a beautifully preserved testament to Morocco’s rich architectural and cultural heritage.
The rooms of the tombs were not accessible and many of the photographs were taken standing at the entrances, leaning into the rooms. It is definitely a fascinating site and worth putting on your itinerary if you happen to be visiting Marrakesh. I hope you enjoy the doors and architecture:
There was a rather nice ambience in the Saadian Tombs, and as it was early in the year, there weren’t too many tourists and not much queuing at all. Next time I’ll share some more of the bustling streets and souks. Have a great weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Mutatee
A gallery of small installations from the wonderful artist Mutatee. I’m not too sure if she is still active, and these pieces are from a few years ago.
Instagram: @mutatee_
All photographs by Scooj
Thursday doors – 30 October 2025 – Marrakesh doors
Doors 330 – Doors and Minarets of Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2025 (Part X)
One of the things that is most notable in Marrakesh is the absence of any high-rise buildings due to a law that prohibits any structures from being taller than the Koutoubia Mosque minaret, which stands at 77 meters in height. There are other additional cultural and aesthetic reasons for this approach, and the outcome is that the third floors of most restaurants, shops and houses are open-air, affording views across the whole city and beyond.
This week’s selection of door pictures includes the Koutoubia Mosque minaret and the famous Jemaa el-Fna the main square in the medina, where food and refreshment stalls occupy space adjacent to snake charmers and hawkers of one sort or another. The square only really comes to life in the evenings, when it is a thriving mix of locals and tourists taking advantage of the cooler temperatures.
I hope you enjoy this week’s selection:
In the last photograph, you can see the walls of the mosque propped up following the devastating earthquake in September 2023. That’s it for this week. More from Marrakesh next time.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Thursday doors – 23 October 2025 – Marrakesh doors – Bahia Palace
Doors 329 – Doors of Marrakesh, Bahia Palace, Morocco, January 2025 (Part IX)
I wrote this last night as I have been exiled to the study – my wife is hosting book club ‘film night’ – can you believe it?… just another excuse to chat, eat and drink, I reckon. They read The Salt Path as their last book, (I am actually reading it at the moment) and so of course they are watching the film to complete the circle. I, instead, will get ahead of myself, preparing tomorrow’s blog posts…
This week there is a slight change from the Marrakesh posts so far, the doors in this selection are all from the Bahia Palace. At this point, I am getting lazy, and have commissioned ChatGPT to write me a paragraph about Bahia Palace – the following is my question and ChatGPT’s response:
Me: Give me a one paragraph synopsis of the Bahia Palace in Morocco to put into my blog post about doors
ChatGPT: The Bahia Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco, is a stunning example of 19th-century Moroccan architecture, renowned for its intricate craftsmanship and opulent design. Built to showcase the wealth and influence of Grand Vizier Si Moussa, the palace features elaborately carved wooden doors, vibrant zellige tilework, and hand-painted cedar ceilings. The doors of the Bahia Palace are particularly striking—each one a unique blend of geometric precision and Andalusian flair, reflecting the diverse cultural influences of Morocco. These ornate entrances not only connect rooms and courtyards but also serve as artistic statements, embodying the palace’s spirit of grandeur and meticulous detail.
I’m reasonably happy with that, and it has saved me time synthesising content from several websites and replicating it here, and I did my ‘heavy lifting’ taking the photographs in the first place. I hope you enjoy the pictures from the palace:
The Marrakesh door saga continues next time, and I am sorry to say will continue for a few more weeks yet, but there are some excursions worth waiting for.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Natural adventures 