The first thing you notice when you walk into the Souq Chouari (the Carpenter’s Souk in Marrakech) is the smell of cedar. Here, in dark ateliers, the maalems (master craftsmen) carve and chisel ancient Berber and Islamic motifs into the native wood of the Atlas Mountains. Although each frame is a unique expression of the carpenter, the language of geometric diamonds, dashes and triangles date back as far as the reign of the Almoravides, passed down from father to son for generations.