Haggling in the Souk
Tjeka, Mauritania 2005
After days of nothing but sand and sky, I was happy to see the “bustling metropolis” of Tjeka. It was market day and the locals sat under makeshift awnings to sell their produce…mainly onions and a few tomatoes.
Like Morocco, the Moorish women do not want you to photograph them. Be ready for a rude reception when they see you have a camera. The noon sun was another obstacle. The contrast between light and dark is too much for the camera. Lots of black without detail.
I’m telling myself that in this photo, the black adds a dramatic background to the men who are engaged in their favorite pastime: haggling. I saturated the colors as far as I could to give an oriental flavor which, to me, is reminiscent of the way the middle east was portrayed by 19th century painters.