The Potter’s Daughters
Morocco: On the Route des Kasbahs 2002
The urn-like kilns of the Haratine potters are visible from the highway: the famed Route des Kasbahs that threads from the Erg Chebbi to Ouarzazte. I always wanted to see the potters at work but my timing was never right. Here, the potter’s daughters, who are watching the shop…and me, stare into the camera. Don’t you love their expressions? The wise older sister with an almost sarcastic look and the younger one fearful but slightly amazed.
Their father makes utilitarian pots like the one to the left of the girls. They are used to cool and store water. The porous clay becomes soaked with water and the condensation cools the water to a palatable temperature. The glazed pottery has been purchased from Marrakesh or Fez for the tourist trade.