Sigh

Elizabeth, over at The House in Marrakesh, has posted some lovely photos of floor and wall tiles that are often seen in old houses in North Africa/the Middle East. I love these tiles. I lived in a traditional old house in Damascus. It was a bit run down but still lovely. The house had two floors and a courtyard in the middle, filled with plants, a tortoise, plastic table and chairs, and a fountain – that I never saw turned on:

We, unfortunately, did not have beautiful tiles. We had very utilitarian tiles. Chipped utilitarian tiles. But still lovely to lie on in the hot weather. This is what I would like to be doing now. I had the same tiles in my bedroom. That room was freezing and unpleasant in the winter (due to it’s enormous size and lack of insulation) but perfectly cooling in the summer.

The entrance to my bedroom, off the courtyard.

Ah, to be sitting in that courtyard, drinking mint tea…