Henna tattoo and khol

Henna or Hina is a flowering plant, Lawsonia inermis, used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes. The name is also misused for other skin and hair dyes such as black henna or neutral henna which do not derive from the plant.

Khol has been worn traditionally as far back as the Bronze Age (3500 B.C. onward) by the Egyptian queens. It was originally used as protection against eye ailments. There was also a belief that darkening around the eyes would protect one from the harsh rays of the sun. India's oldest caste, the koli, used kohl as a cosmetic. In addition, mothers would apply khol to their infants' eyes soon after birth. Some did this to "strengthen the child's eyes", and others believed it could prevent the child from being cursed by the evil eye.

Nowadays the preparation of khol can be done in many ways. The danger is when in khol composition it is added lead or galena (PbS). A good and harmless khol is made from amorphous carbon. Plant oils and the soot from various nuts, seeds and gum resins are often added to the carbon powder.
Consumers should verify that any cosmetic product is lead free before usage.

My first henna experience was in Marrakech, in the famous square Djamaa El Fna. It costed me about 3 euro for a tattoo on my arm. Usually when you decide to make a tattoo they ask you the color you want. Me, I had to choose between black and red brown. So, I choosed black and it was a mistake to do this, because real henna has only red color. But this I was about to discover later on when my husband came home and saw my tattoo. So, be careful when you decide to have henna on your body, because chemicals added in some of henna products can harm your skin.
From my husband (who is Moroccan) I also found out that henna is a very good treatment for hair and women in Morocco use it a lot.

Khol is a make up product and it is very used in Morocco by women and men also. If it is natural khol recipe, it can help cleaning your eyes and protect them from sun. In desert, men use khol to protect their eyes from sand. So, khol can be very useful if it is prepared corectly.

The khol I bought from Morocco was a powder in a small glass bottle and next to it they gave me a small wood stick to use it as a tool to make up my eyes. The seller told me that I can buy dark black or lighter black khol. The lighter one, he said it is used only on Friday. Anyway, both colors look great for a make up. Even if it is a little bit difficult in the beginning to use that tool, if you practice few times it's easy.

When I first make up with khol, my eyes burnt a little and started to tear. This effect is normal considering the fact that this product is made to clean your eyes from dust. So no need to worry or to panic.

Khol can also be normal or picant. Picant khol has a stronger effect on your eyes. I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner.

Hmm....I think that's all about khol. If you know more, I invite you to post a comment and share your experience on this page.

http://www.zoufi.com

"Marrakech" feeling

It seems for me that I have lived many interesting moments in this city while I was on vacation. Everytime when I want to post a new review, the first thing that comes in my mind is Marrakech. Maybe I like this city more because here I met for the first time the one that now is my husband.

In that time we rented an apartment for 2 weeks. I was on vacation and he was working for Prince of Persia the movie, so he used to go to work very early in the morning.
In the begining I was thinking it will be hard for me because I don't like to stay alone and I won't have the posibility to see many places by myself. But, it wasn't like that.

In the first morning at 4 o'clock maybe, after my husband left to work, I was staying in bed and watch the moon in a splendid sky. I couldn't fall asleep again and my mind started to fly.

Few minutes later, a strong and extremely confident voice was about to make me feel something incredible in my heart. The feeling that I am not alone. That voice was of the muezzin from a mosque next to our apartment.

"Allahu Akbar" - which means "God is the greatest" - were the words that inspired me protection, safety, confidence and love in this new world for me. We are never alone, someone is always with us no matter where we are. You can call Him Allah, God, Dumnezeu and many more other names, but He is just ONE for all of us and He is the ONE that will always be here for us. I am not a very religious person in my day life, but from that moment my way of thinking changed and every morning I was woking up waiting for "my new friend" the muezzin to start a new beautiful day.

Travelling by bus in Marrakech

This is a true, funny and new experience

What every foreign driver should know when visiting Morocco!!!
The traffic in Morocco is always unpredictable. There's no rule in driving. All over Morocco, driving is a huge challenge.

Travelling by bus it can be a problem sometimes in many countries. They can be too crowded, or they don't arrive in time, they have technical problems during your trip and so on. But for Marrakech things are a little bit different.

Here you have to fight for a bus and you have to be really tough to be able to get in.
The buses in Marrakech travel in a strange manner. Most of them they forget to stop in the bus station.

And when they stop, this means that you are a little bit lucky guy. If you succeed to get in, then you are more than lucky, and if you can find a seat also, this means you are veryyyyyy lucky.

The first time when I got acquainted with buses in Marrakesh, I wanted to go back home from Djamaa El Fna. The station was full of people waiting. Finally, a bus arrived and everybody started to run and yell. I was wondering why and I was hoping that it's not my bus for home. But, bad luck for me. The next thing I have heard it was "Hurry up! This is our bus!"

So I said to myself that maybe all I have to do is to stay in line and wait to get in, but I was wrong again. There was no line...it was just a mass of people fighting for getting into this bus. Then I was thinking that In this case my elbows and my knees could help me a lot... and I was not wrong this time. It is obligatory to make your presence known. Only in this way you win a bus travel to your "home".