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My family and I went to a city named Mohammedia, a place about 35km north of Casa Blanca, today. We went into a café where the Atlantic was in front of our eyes. As we were waiting for our coffee, a man came up and stood in front of us.

He suddenly held up his violin upside down and shoved it towards us. He thought of us as Chinese and proudly said that his instrument was made in China. As surprised we were, we thought that he was trying to sell us the instrument.

However, it wasn’t like that.

ST1000(CL65) l 1/350s l F3.7 l ISO 80 l 7.1mm l Program Auto

Soon he held up his instrument and played it and sang along. Even though he was practically in rags and his instrument was a wreck, the spirit he possessed was high.

How old do you think this man is? I thought he was in his 50s or 60s. However, it turned out that I was wrong; big time.

The man on the right is Abdla Kbir and is currently 35 years old. He is married and has two sons as well. When we asked if we could take a photo, he posed like a western violinist instead of his usual performing pose.

It however somehow felt quite awkward.

ST1000(CL65) l 1/125s l F3.7 l ISO 80 l 7.1mm l Program Auto

Originally, the traditional way to play a string instrument is like the photo on the left. You hold the instrument under your left chin and press the plate with your left hand and bow the strings with your right hand to play a tune.

However, Mr. Abdla(right) plays in the total opposite position, in other words, he holds the bow in his left hand and the instrument in his right and plays. And what’s even more is that he holds up the instrument vertically. ^^

So when he posed for the photo in a style that was not his usual, it became awkward.

His expression is dark even though he is playing delightful music; maybe because of the weight of life itself. We clapped and lightened up the atmosphere, and even tipped him well but expression just didn’t seem to light up.

Even until the end of the performance, I thought this instrument was a violin all the way. However, looking carefully at the size, it was a viola.

In Morocco, strings are played like this; up straight just like a cello.

Isn’t it just peculiar?

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All photos, above, have been shot with the Samsung ST1000(CL65), which has been provided by Samsung Digital Imaging Co., Ltd.

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