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Figuig
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There are more 'Figuigois' in Paris than in Figuig!

Figuig:  Population 20,000
           10,000 Abroad
           10,000 in Figuig
There is a saying in Figuig: "there are more Figuigois abroad than there are at home. And almost all of them are in Paris". In the summer, when all these migrant workers come home for a taste of their old life, and a quick look at the paradise garden they have left behind, this tiny sleepy town awakens with all the heat and traffic of the old days. Shops, cafes, swimming pools reopen- reminding the elder of a time when Figuig was a great trade post on the way to Algeria.

Rachel and I were here during the calm season, when women walk empty streets in sheet like veils (some of them hide even their faces, with one small hole for the left eye), men gather in the town plaza to play "shhit" (no kidding! An odd stone game with pieces called "girl", "donkey" "horse" ), and people take the occasional trip to the warm springs, for bath or laundry. Follow us through these silent streets....


Men playing Shhit


On the way to the Mosque

Carrying lettuce down the streets

Cycling down the roads