Riad

“Architectural interior photograph, 24mm lens at chest height, late morning. A restored riad in the Marrakech medina seen through a tall carved cedar doorway: an open courtyard with green-and-white zellige tiles, a tiled fountain in the centre, a small orange tree with fruit, carved stucco arches, terracotta pots, a sharp shaft of sunlight falling from the open roof onto the water. Beside the fountain a housekeeper, 55, Amazigh, in an indigo kaftan and headscarf, henna on her hands, scatters pink rose petals onto the water. Palette: zellige green and white, terracotta, orange-tree green, rose pink. Dust in the light shaft, worn tiles, ripples. No readable text, no logos.

“One continuous gimbal move with no cuts: the camera glides forward through the carved cedar doorway into the sunlit courtyard and slowly arcs around the fountain as the rose petals settle on the water; the housekeeper looks up and smiles; light shimmers on the tiles. Sound: fountain trickle, birdsong, a distant call to prayer.