Doors

I feel like I've seen so many posters and greeting cards that feature doors of Morocco that it's almost redundant to include them here. However, doors obviously lead somewhere and the ones I've included here each have a story. I don't know all the stories but will do my best with what I've learned.

Doorway in Asillah adjacent to the medina walls. This is one case where I don't know what it leads to though the flight of stairs up to a door is unusual as you'll see.

Tangiers, notice the eye for luck over the doorway entrance and the hand of Fatima knocker. Fatima was the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed and the hand (also called a hamsa- 5 in Arabic) symbolizes the open right hand of protection and defense against the evil eye. Artistically it is first seen in art from Carthage.

A pristine door in Tangiers

A funky door in Marrakesh

Behind this door lived the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and assorted hippies famous and otherwise in the 1960s and 1970s in Tangiers.

The entrance to Gore Vidal's home in Tangiers.

The door to Paul Bowles home in Tangiers.

The entrance to Barbara Hutton's home in Tangiers.

The entrance to the Royal Palace in Fes. The interior is not accessible but the seven entry doors are so beautiful it makes you wonder how magnificent it must be inside.

The palace was built in the 13th century in Moorish style. The brass doors are surrounded by zellij tile work all in geometric patterns, no calligraphy.

First detail of brass doors, Royal Palace Fes

One of the giant knockers on the Royal Palace door.

In the medina many doors look alike and one can't tell if it's a rich person's house or a poor person's house. Even once the door is opened you are looking into a hall and wall so you can't see in to the actual dwelling space. Two doors, inner door with one knocker is the family door, outer door with another knocker for the visitor door. The knockers make a different sound (like an early version of caller ID). The hinge represents the hand of fatima (5 fingers).

Door to casbah with nails in the shape of a brooch. Berber women wear a brooch to hold their robes together and are placed in different parts of the robe to symbolize their marital status: unmarried, engaged, or married.

Set of doors from 19th century kasbah in the Marrakesh Museum.