Nowadays, tattoos are an essential part of different ways for body decoration. You can find them in any colour, size and forms. For some people, the look is the most important, while for others, what counts is the meaning, good appreciation, because it’s about an everlasting decision, unless you remove the tattoo with surgery. All these new tendencies were born, in fact, because of something deeper than just fashion.

I am talking about the famous Polynesian tattoos, which have an impressive artistic design. These creative tattoos that may seem like a real work of art come from Polynesian Islands.

The many different cultures and traditions in this area have been evolving and developing along centuries. So, these painful tattoos represent amazing stories and have become the true identity of this exotic and removed place. Even currently, symbols and designs inspire many creative and famous urban tattooists, and most of the tattoo fanatical people yearn to show off a version of this Polynesian marks.

Different tattoos depending on the island
One of the most interesting things is that every island has its own kind of tattoo. For example, in Rapa Nui (Eastern Island), inhabitants tattoo ships, lances, vaginas or birds. Tattoos in Samoa or Tonga are very big and indicate social status. In Tahiti, depending on who wears the tattoo, it can cover the whole body, besides the face. However, people from Marquesas Islands have the oldest and most assorted tradition in making this ancestral practise, and they are the most tattooed in Polynesia.

Tattoos have many properties
There are many different reasons to tattoo. The truth is that tattoos symbolize vigour and courage (and you will need that to overcome this suffering if you decide to tattoo yourself). It is considered as well as a ritual which means passing from childhood to maturity. People also believe they attract good luck, just like a talisman, and even think tattoos increase sexual power and attraction in men.

Are you fascinated by this surprising way of expression? Do you want to discover the mystical art of tattoos? Then you must travel to Marrakech and get lost in its mysterious environment, full of music, culture and…tattoos. Book Apartments in Marrakech and enjoy the ideal accommodation.

When one wanders through the chaos of a bazaar (the open-air Arab market), you don’t know whether to choose between the beautiful leather bag, the incredible colourful pottery or the jewellery that represents the Fátima’s hand or eye. This symbol is ubiquitous in the Arab iconography, but little is known about its meaning. Now we reveal you some secrets o how to enjoy the lively life of the bazaar.

The Khamsa protects you

Khamsa comes from the Arabic or the Hebrew and it’s the alternative name of the Fatimas’ hand, a palm with five fingers, which seems to have two thumbs. Its translation refers to the number five and also makes reference to Fatima Zahra, the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter. It is a symbol that the Arab and Jewish women wear as it serves as an amulet or talisman in North Africa and in the Middle East. In the centre of the protective hand we sometimes find a representation of an envious and bad eye. They are two cultural symbols that have nothing to do with religion and that give strength and inner beauty to the wearer.

The art of haggling

If you have a walk through a bazaar, the first rule to consider is to have fun. The sellers love to haggle. The prices they set are much higher than the normal prices, so you have to haggle too to get the better possible price. But haggling is not easy and you have to have a naughty, commercial and funny side to buy something for half price. Challenge yourself!

Sometimes, when they don’t want to lower the price, they offer you a detail in exchange, (a small ceramic Fatima eye, for example). In Marrakech the most popular markets are Djemaa el Fna and the Souq Semmarine, but there are others specialized in one type of object or food. Taste their delicious tomatoes, spices and olives!

A bazaar is not just a flea market, but it is also a core of social life in the Arab countries. It is a place where life is marked by meetings and exchanges of culture and crafts. Take a walk surrounded by screaming colours, shiny objects and the smell of leather which is a pleasure you will not find anywhere else. It is an essential experience of your stay in Morocco and a perfect tour for buying souvenirs: jewellery, scarves, bags, rugs, statues, boxes…

There is no need to worry about the language as most sellers speak English and French or a dozen other languages. You will be amazed! They also sell animals such as iguanas. Maybe you can take a picture with one climbing up your belly!

And for even a more memorable stay, rent Apartments in Marrakech, you will love it!

In the Disney movie Aladdin, the ghost lived in a lamp. In other fairytales, he lives in a bottle. Generally, you have to rub the bottle or lamp three times for the genie to come out, after which he will grant you three wishes. It sounds promising, but just like drawing rabbits from a hat or finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I’m afraid genies only exist in books or films. Do they not?

Last week, a man from New Zealand sold two bottles containing ghosts for the small price of $2800 on the auction site TradeMe. They were bottled in July 2009, by an exorcist. The holy water is supposed to put them to sleep, and since the paranormal activity in the house has stopped since then, the seller concludes the ghosts are in the bottles. One of them is called Les Graham – Google teaches us this is a very ordinary and common name. This particular Mr. Graham is said to have died in the house in the 1920’s. The other ghost was an accident; it is the spirit of a little girl that appeared after playing with an Ouija board.

So, now the buyer is the lucky owner of two little bottles with a ‘real’ ghost in them. They are nice to put on a shelf, but according to the seller it’s also possible to set them free. Just pour them into a soup bowl and let it evaporate. But don’t come complaining later that they are bugging you! Especially the little girl, who might become even more mischievous and violent, warns the exorcist.

The result is that now New-Zealand is going bottle-crazy! A new auction offers a ghost in a can from the 1980’s, which was part of the promotion material for the ‘Ghostbusters’ movie. The price has gone up to $100. Another smarty-pants is selling ‘an old fart in a bottle’ for $50. He already has 6 bids. Less successful is the seller who offers a small plastic can with yellowish liquid (pee?) and the warning ‘Ghosts may appear’, since his auction is stuck at just one dollar. No captured ghosts to be found on Ebay, although we did see some hunting kits and ‘sensing rings’.

But in 2004, a casino from Antigua paid $64,000 for a walking cane that belonged to an old man. His ghost is said to go wherever the cane goes. It was the same casino that paid $28,000 for a grilled cheese sandwich which bears the image of the Virgin Mary. Seems like they just don’t know what to do with their money… Next time I bake a hamburger, I’ll study it carefully before I eat it.

Now, joking apart, I don’t believe in ghosts or genies or spirits. But if one day I was to find a lamp, and I rub it 3 times, and a wonderful chubby Djinn appears … I’ll ask him just these 3 wishes:

1. As many paid holidays as I want, for the rest of my life, starting with a two week vacation in Marrakech.
2. I would like to include a visit to the wonderful markets, where I can buy everything I want.
3. A fabulous stay in the best apartments in Marrakech, together with a group of friends!

Tattoos are not the only form of skin art. Branding and scarification (when the skin is cut in ways that produce particular scar patterns) techniques have been around for a while but are now beginning to catch on in a big way.

Scarification has been around for about ten thousand years. Different tribes around the world use scars for beauty, and to signify different stages of life: In some Pacific Island tribes, scars were given to girls at puberty to show they were now able to bear the pain of childbirth.

And scarification is painful. A deep cut is made in the skin, but as skin is pretty good at healing, they have to make it worse. The bottom of the cut needs to be scratched (the word scarification comes from Latin – to scratch) and irritated so that the body produces scar tissue. Some scars also have dye rubbed into them to give permanent colour. It’s kind of like a tattoo, but turbo-charged – the scars are raised, making them the ultimate in 3D body art.

Although the process is incredibly painful, the results are often beautiful (if you like this kind of art). Traditional scars can look like everything from wings to water to scales. Not the kind of scales that weigh things, but the kind that are found on fish or reptiles. Some tribes create scars that mimic crocodile skin, and these are considered a great source of personal power.

In Western culture, scarification is relatively new as a widespread fashion trend. There have been extreme piercings for a long time, and other body modifications (like the fashion of piercing and looping ribbons through the holes to create a corset effect down the middle of the back) but scarification is only now arriving in the mainstream consciousness.

As well as art, scarification is sometimes used as a way to cover old scars. This has been shown to be a hugely positive experience for people who feel disfigured by the scars from old accidents, or, tragically, self-inflicted ones. It’s a bit like reclaiming the body, with deliberately scarred designs being used to wipe away the evidence of past pains.

Branding is a whole other form of body art. The process is done in more or less the same way we brand cattle – only without the corrals! A series of brand shapes are used to piece together a particular design (rather than creating an entirely new brand for a single design). The metal is heated with a small blowtorch and the brand is pressed into the skin for long enough to create a third-degree burn.

If the brand heals properly, the result is a silvery scar in the desired design. The downside of branding is the potential for infection (burns are notoriously difficult to heal well) and the loss of feeling in the scar – a third-degree burn kills the nerves.

Fans of branding love them though. Not only are they still unusual (and what fan of body modification wants to be just like everyone else) but they’re also relatively subtle: A silvery design is nowhere near as obvious as a colourful tattoo.

Branding, scarification, and ‘invisible tattoos’ (they can only be seen under UV light) are just another trend in the search for the coolest way to decorate your skin. Love it or hate it, body modification has been with us since the dawn of mankind, and it’s not going away in a hurry.

If the idea of permanent branding or scars is a little too much, try a Henna tattoo in Marrakech. Renting apartments in Marrakech is one way to save on accommodation, freeing up more cash for body art experimentation.

When I was a teenager my friends used to tell me that I shouldn’t chew gum while I was smoking because it could cause infertility. Then I would throw the gum to the ground instead of swallowing it, which I used to do as a child, because people told me that it took seven years to digest it…. When I would have a toothache, I’d put my left sock under my pillow and wait for the pain to disappear, but it would still hurt… Legends of this type invade us on a regular basis, but are they true or false?

If you surround yourself with superstitious grandmothers, it’s likely that you will come across bad luck at every corner: if you leave the umbrella open at home, if you pass under a ladder, if you see a black cat, if you tread on a poop, if you leave the bread on the table upside down… How many daily acts have a story that accompanies them? For example, people say that when you yawn it is because your brain needs oxygen. This is absolutely false, because babies who have not yet been born also yawn and they have no oxygen in their mother’s belly. With so many preconceived ideas and superstitious people, we will think that scientific myth says that we only use 10% of our grey matter.

Do you think a chicken can survive without its head? The famous chicken Mike, from Colorado, lost its head one day in 1945 and survived for 18 months… thanks to his brain stem that remained almost intact after being slaughtered, the chicken could continue controlling his motor skills. Incredible! Other legends tell that men think about sex every seven seconds, that women have to put their legs up to be fertilized, that mayonnaise should not to be prepared during the woman’s period… We no longer know what to do to stop thinking!

Fruit seeds are not harmful to your body unless they are toxic. You can eat whatever you want at night. Well, if you go to Marrakech in particular, you will be unable to resist the temptation of trying all its genuine flavours. Do you know that the Apartments in Marrakech are cheap and comfortable? Check it out for yourself.