……………….Jac and I have long been admires of the Berber people…………..They have been known to go as far back as 500 years before Christ. Today they are living across North Africa, and many live in Morocco. Most still live a nomadic life in the Atlas Mountains. If you don’t know of them, I’m sure many of you have heard of Berber carpets…..one in the same. They are unlike many Arabs of North Africa. They have their own language and their own alphabet, which over the past years is finally being recognized by the Moroccan government. Many signs now have both languages on them……..It is their crafts and mostly their jewelry that has captivated my imagination for many many years. Iris Apfel has a huge collection of Berber jewelry. It amazes me how that tiny woman can even carry all of those extremely heavy necklaces, and huge bracelets, but she piles it on. Where there is a will there is a way, and nothing is going to deter her!….I have scoured NYC for authentic old Berber jewelry, but it was on our trip to Morocco where I hit pay dirt………Richard Gere heard we were going to Marrakesh, yes that Richard Gere, and said we must hire a guide named Gili to take us around, and so we did. The hotel, La Mamounia new of Gili, but since he wasn’t a registered government guide they were hesitant to make the meeting. The first day we had to take a government guide and he took us to every rug seller in the city, even after we told him we weren’t interested in purchasing a rug. We quickly got the picture that these so called guides…guided us to specific shops to purchase thing we did’t want. I’m sure the government got a kick back. I insisted to the concierge that I wanted Gili, and the next day Gili showed up. He was a sight to behold! He was about 5’1″ and weighed maybe 120 lbs, dressed in an all white shirt to the floor over pants and a white fez. Jac looked at me and said “are you sure??” I said “Richard said he was the best?” so off we went. I think Jac thought we were going to be kidnapped……Gili was wonderful. We had him every other day and he took us to incredible places inside and outside of Marrakesh…..places we would never have seen with a government guide….places the average tourist would never ever see. I told Gili I was very interest in buying authentic real Berber jewelry, and did he know of any places in the Souk where I should go? He smiled…. He shook his head NO. He said 98% of the jewelry and antiques were new and even though they looked old they were not….so….on one of our day excursions we took a two hour drive to Taroudant in search of my Berber jewelry…Taroudant is know as “the little Marrakesh”…..it is a beautiful city, but off the beaten path…..We arrived at a shop that was owned by a very distinguished man. It was old and some what dusty, but he had amazing antiques and BERBER JEWELRY….cases of it…..we hit pay dirt. I felt like Alibaba entering the cave of the 40 thieves! My eyes were so big looking at these treasures. I really had to hold myself back, and with Jac’s help made a selection of 8 pieces. Some of the pieces in the photos above are mine….Jac also picked up some items for the house. We had it shipped back home. This gentleman had obviously done this before, and his things were incredible. We new that this would be a once in a life time experience. On our way back we stopped at La Gazelle D’Ore for a late lunch. It is a wonderful small hotel with marvelous outdoor dining by the pool. It had been Barbara Hutton’s house, or one of those billionaire heiresses from the past…….I took lots of pictures, and I have searched, but I can’t find them. I only have the few we framed….none of the shop or Gili…………just my wonderful memories
