In the narrow alleys of the Algiers Casbah, the rhythm of the hammers sounds like the city’s heartbeat.
The steep alleys of the Casbah are a labyrinth, and easy to get lost in — but you can’t miss the coppersmiths’ quarter. The sound of hammers signals the workshops from far away.
Karim has been working in the same small shop for forty years, the same one his father and grandfather worked in. He makes lanterns, tea trays, decorative bowls — each piece from a single sheet of copper, by hand.
He showed me a lantern he was finishing for a wedding: the patterns were both Amazigh and Andalusian, the meeting of two cultures. "Our city is like that," he said. "Something in every layer."
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