"Au réveil, si douce la lumière, et si beau ce bleu vivant"
(Paul Valéry)

lundi 16 février 2009

Une grande balade / A long stroll(4)

Quand j'entends certains parler de l'importance de l'eau aujourd'hui, dire combien elle est précieuse et pourquoi il faut l'économiser, j'ai parfois envie de sourire: on dirait qu'ils en découvrent la valeur!
Par ici, il y a bien longtemps que l'eau est considérée comme un trésor, un atout, une source de survie et de richesse.
Dans cette région occupée par l'homme depuis l'aube de l'humanité, et où il fait parfois si chaud, l'eau a toujours été la condition sine qua non de l'installation d'un habitat.
On ce compte plus par ici les villages désertés parce que leur source s'était tarie, et dont il ne reste aujourd'hui plus que des ruines.
Source de vie, l'eau est aussi source de survie: un village encerclé par l'ennemi ne pouvait résister que s'il possédait une source entre ses murs.
C'est pourquoi on trouve dans tous les vieux villages des fontaines sur toutes les places, à tous les coins de rue;Il fallait pouvoir venir chercher l'eau , et aussi la porter jusqu'à la maison.
Aujourd'hui, les fontaines sont devenues de jolies étapes des promenades; Ce sont des points de fraîcheur autour desquels on continue de venir se rassembler pour discuter entre voisins;lestourterelles viennent s'y abreuver, mélant leur roucoulements au murmure de l'eau.
On en oublierait presque que ce murmure fut longtemps le doux bruit de la vie...


























When I hear some people talking about water, telling how it becomes important today, how precious it is and how it's important to spare it, I feel like smiling: they seem to disvover it!
Around here, it has been a very long time since we understood that water is a treasure, a condition of survey, a source of richness.
In this part of the world there are men living since the beginning of Human Kind.It can be very hot, and without water, there is no possible way to the establishment of a human group.Around here, there are a lot of villages that are now deserted and became ruins, because one day the spring of water was dried up.
Source of life, water was also a condition of survey: when being surrounded by ennemies, a village could resist and survive only if it had a spring inside its ramparts.
That's why you can find fountains in the medieval villages, on every place, in every street.
Also remember that in those times, people, often children or women, had to come to the fountain to carry water back to home; It was hard and heavy.
Today, fountains became lovely halting places during a stroll, places where people gather around to meet and chat; Lovely turtledoves come to drink and mix their sweet song to the murmur of the water.
We could almost forget that during centuries, this sweet noise was simply the one of life....

6 commentaires:

abc a dit…

I never thought of fountains that way, but they were essential to life, as water still is today. Very nice series indeed!

Kenza a dit…

Je reconnais quelques unes de tes jolies fontaines!
J'ai connu certains étés à Fès où l'eau était coupée dans la journée... un petit filet d'eau était distribué pendant une petite heure le soir... où pas... il ne fallait surtout ne pas le louper!
Bonne journée Malyss

Rune Eide a dit…

I enjoyed the post very much. We take water as natural thing since we have so much of it. Not everyone everywhere has, and the quality can be very, very bad. Enough of clean water is essential.

I even more enjoyed all the fountains. As a subject of photography it is one of the best - especialliy in settings like this.

Thank you for the comments!

nobu a dit…

As you say, water is a precious resouce.

PERBS a dit…

I rememebr the photos but somehow I didn't leave a message. Sorry! Here I am.

That is a neat series and narrative to go with it. I am wondering if the ones with sinks and then a bigger enclosure next to it -- if that bigger one was a place to wah clothes?

Malyss a dit…

Paulie: you're right, that's a place for "laundry", where women came to wash clothes.