MARRAKECH: PART 4 - COME TO THE “CAT’S-BAH”

Islam treats cats with kindness and deference. Consequently, the little furry creatures are all over the cities, which goes a long way to keeping rodent populations down which reduces the risk of plagues spread by rodent fleas. Such was the case in Jade’s time as well.

Many of the cats now as then, are semi-feral. Belonging to no one, yet cared for by everyone, for to show kindness to an animal is proper. Jade takes note of the many cats in The Serpent’s Daughter, feeding one buttered rolls during breakfast in Tangier. Another cat’s sudden leap for cover gave her warning of a human intruder.

The photos shown here were taken during my own trip to Morocco and shows several cats of the ‘kat’s-bah’ such as the kitten sitting on a kasbah cannon, and the two “Marra-kats” of Marrakech. The first is sitting comfortably on the tiled roof of the Koutoubia mosque while the other looks longingly at something edible in a Marrakech butcher shop.

NEXT WEEK: MOROCCAN TRANSPORTATION IN JADE’S TIME