One theme in Showoff Saturday of Photogames last week is "Colorful", which reminds me of the powdered pigments I saw in Morocco. So in this post, I will share some colorful photos shot at the markets there.
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Locals in Morocco told me they have towns known for different colors, such as white for Tetouan, blue for Chefchaouen, and salmon pink for Marrakesh.
Speaking of the color blue, ultramarine used to be the most expensive blue pigment favored by Renaissance painters in the old time. Literally meaning "beyond the sea", lapis lazuli was ground into a fine powder and imported into Europe from Afghanistan's mines in the 14th and 15th centuries. As the ultramarine pigment was so rare and valuable, it was often used to paint the robes of the Holy Virgin Mary.
I haven't been to Afghanistan, but I was lucky enough to see some shops in Chile selling beautiful pieces of jewelry made from lapis lazuli. The country's Coquimbo Region also boasts quality mines for these blue stones, and I bought some as souvenirs before leaving there.
Since synthetic ultramarine was invented in the 19th century, it has become more and more common among the general public. You can see it's also widely used now to paint the walls. Its color looks more bright and vivid than the natural ultramarine one.
在摩洛哥各地市场上常常看到待售的传统颜料粉末，有的在地上的袋子里，有的在架上的盘子中。当地人告诉我他们的一些城市有着自己的代表色，比如白色之城塔图安，蓝色之城舍夫沙万，赭色之城马拉喀什。
天然群青在历史上曾是十分名贵的蓝色颜料，14到15世纪时由意大利商人从阿富汗青金石矿产地飘洋过海进口到欧洲，受到文艺复兴时期名流和画家们的追捧。因此在西文里源自拉丁语的青金石"lapis lazuli"，意为“大海的远端”。因为物以稀为贵，当时价格高昂的群青被用来涂绘圣母的袍子以示高贵圣洁。在古代中国，这种珍贵矿石也有一系列雅致的名称，比如璆琳、瑾瑜、青黛。后来19世纪二十年代开始有了合成的群青蓝，于是这种颜料逐渐进入寻常百姓家，很多人也会用它来刷墙。我没去过阿富汗，但有幸在青金石的主要产地之一智利看到不少卖这种蓝色首饰的店家。
在舍夫沙万这座有名的蓝城，蓝色颜料自然很受欢迎。不同于天然群青的深沉低调和含蓄隐忍，这种合成蓝非常鲜艳显眼，蓝得不太真实，所以这号称蓝色梦幻之城的地方，每年都吸引着大量游客前去探索合影。
Except for the bags used as containers, there are deep plastic trays as well:
A local woman is painting a wall blue in Tetouan, the white city:
一位当地妇人正在把白墙刷成蓝色，而这是在白色之城塔图安，不是蓝色之城舍夫沙万。嗯，其实无所谓，开心就好~
My photos below are from the blue city of Chefchaouen (I blogged about the Sahara shop and the sweet little girl before in street photo themes).
图文 by Donica
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So that´s how the picturesquely colored Moroccan towns got their charm, interesting :) Great shots!
Thanks! Yeah, love those colorful places. =)
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STOPBeautiful combination of lovely colors they all look so refreshing 😊