Finding Allah in the ceilings and doors of Tunisia

If you forget to look up in Tunisian buildings  you could be missing out on some spectacular craftsmanship and even the humble door often has as much, or of not more merit than what lies behind it.  In these days of mass production and ruthless efficiency it’s easy to forget that once, people put love and pride into everyday things in a way that is often, now lost, even for many who can afford it. For Muslim craftsmen there is…

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African beauty and the beast

The photo above of an advertising hoarding for a popular skin cream is, in some respects unremarkable: yet another product to beautify the skin. But this is West Africa and even a generous interpretation would we hard pressed to describe the model as even mixed race. If this was some lone, anomalous advert it would not be worth more than a brief mention but it is typical of marketing for beauty products in the region.  Of the dozens of ads I have seen,…

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