Category Archives: travel

Curious Tales Prequel 01

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In Curious Tales, CJ wrote:

“I was at sea–absolutely nothing was certain.

“Back home, at university, in my original Design Study Statement, I wrote that I would evaluate the use of water features in the Moroccan medina urban public realm, with a view toward deriving a metric of understanding their physical and cultural components.

“I must be frank. I almost failed this self-directed Moroccan design study.

“My time in Tangier took me to some deep places—some I had seen before. Others? Most peculiar…I didn’t know where I was. And others still where I was glad to be.”

But that is CJ’s tale; this prequel is my story.

A weak breeze and a few late wisteria flowers prepared me to be charmed by the view of the Strait of Gibraltar the way I like it–a safe distance, a comfortable distance away from that strangely aggressive magic, that throbbing aura of Joseph Conrad’s Africa. The more I thought about it, the more I could feel that hot African breath prickling the back of my neck.

I had been strolling lazily, inspecting the Gibraltar hotel where I was staying. I walked through the Barbary Bar out onto the shaded Wisteria Terrace. Nobody was sitting out there. Off season. Siesta time of day. Perfect quiet for me, perfect for daydreaming–my way of searching for the orange gardens of the Hesperides.

Curious Tales The Prequel is free to read on Kindle Vella at this link (https://bit.ly/3Hv6p2p)

And the story behind Curious Tales is Tangier Gardens and it is available on Amazon at this link (https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv)

Curious Tales Ebook will launch 15April at a huge discount: Sign up here for details (https://bit.ly/3q5lcaq)

Please share this with your like-minded friends especially if they are:

-A nature lover or a landscape aficionado;

-Curious about all things green—the environment, plants, gardening, horticulture; or

-Intrigued about the northwest Africa multi-cultural, mystical history of people and plants.

On the Road to Morocco

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Six Days in Spain before Tangier Gardens

WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE TANGIER

I had to edit the peculiar highlights of CJ’s term abroad design study adventures in Andalusia and among the Moors. Please read the Kindle Vella–3 episodes, and don’t be surprized, at: https://amzn.to/3ZHeuHX

CJ in Andalusia, “… the Alhambra: mocarabes, muquarnas, marquetry–geometry, patterns everywhere. Here it was all about the worlds within worlds of micro inspection. Everything intertwined–micro to micro–then micro to macro–then macro to macro–then macro to micro. And at the end, I had turned in on myself.”

CJ among the Moors: “I was at sea–absolutely nothing was certain. I must be frank. I almost failed my self-directed Moroccan design study.” 

Please read the Kindle Vella–3 episodes, and don’t be surprized, at: https://amzn.to/3ZHeuHX

Better still read Tangier Gardens, you can find it here:

https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

And please note that 15Apr2023 will be the launch of my second book, Curious Tales: you can find it here:

https://amzn.to/3Jn3N7n

All my books are about a young person (CJ) growing up and learning lessons that form his approach to design. CJ studied Fine Arts before majoring in Landscape Architecture. My first two books explore CJ’s experiences in northwest Africa, especially northern Morocco and Tangier where he lived during his term-abroad design study.

Take a look. Fun reads.

The Difference? There is none

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What do you think happens day to day with your term-abroad students? Check this out–student on the way for his term-abroad design study in Morocco, passes six days in Spain–the difference between a slide lecture and real life.

SIX DAYS IN SPAIN

This sequel becomes the Tangier Gardens prequel. Three Vella episodes tell the entire story. Please visit for a quick read: Six Days in Spain at = https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0BWPT2ZHZ

Been there? Done that? Visit it again!

Please check it out.

Tangier Gardens

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For a limited time only…

It’s the year 2000. CJ needs a break. 

Been there? But have you done that?

He has been busting his hump full time six years at university with one more class till

graduation–a term abroad design study.

CJ’s studying landscape architecture, into pedestrian towns 

and warm sandy beaches.

He’s on his way to Tangier, a town with sandy beaches on the Med 

and a historical pedestrian district, the medina. 

But, it didn’t quite work out. 

When the West meets the East… there is always turbulence.

Tangier Gardens

For a limited time only, Tangier Gardens e-book is FREE on Smashwords at:

https://bit.ly/3SIAfma

Pick it up!! Did I say the e-book is FREE!!

If you like it, leave a short review, please. Thank you.

The Interzone or Garden of the Hesperides?

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There are four distinct Berber communities in Morocco.

A weak breeze and a few late wisteria flowers prepared me to be charmed by the view of the Strait of Gibraltar the way I like it, a safe distance–a comfortable distance away from that strangely aggressive magic, that throbbing aura of Joseph Conrad’s Africa. The more I thought about it, the more I could feel that hot African breath prickling the back of my neck.

I was in Gibraltar, sitting with a man who knew his way around the Tingis region.

“But the maquis, the maquis, what about the maquis?” I asked.

“The maquis? The maquis is all that’s left. The remnants, the refuse of a great botanical richness that used to be. Old growth has been stripped. The maquis? Nothing but a few odiferous weeds. Suitable for the Interzone.”

“The what?”

“The Interzone, just as Burroughs’ wrote. But it’s real. Look at any satellite image. The Interzone is a land nobody owns–separated by the Sahara from Africa and separated by the Mediterranean from Europe. You don’t think so? One continent with towns like Timbucktu, Gran Bassam and Little Popo–another continent with towns like Rome, London and Paris. You tell me what happens where those two continents meet…the Interzone.”

“Wasn’t that some kind of 1950s fiction?”

“Didn’t you understand? It’s a real place, not a literary fantasy, but a geographic reality! Listen, in the Interzone rootlets from Africa and Europe attack and they attach. They try to suck energy from you. African rootlets suck European energy. European rootlets suck African energy. Anyone who lives there long enough becomes a crippled schizoid.”

Learn more about this strange conversation in this FREE short story, The Rock, online on Amazon Vella: https://bit.ly/3Hv6p2p

Na, Na… …Na, Na

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Every morning, around 8AM, I would be awoken by shouting from a man walking down the street outside my apartment window. Where was this? Ville Nouvelle in Meknes, Morocco.

He was yelling NaNa, NaNa…with a lot of nasal. He, wearing qadrissi pants (characterized by a wide and low crotch that reached to the knees), was walking with his donkey. And the donkey’s two saddlebags were chock-full of freshly cut mint clumps for making mint tea at home.

Fresh mint–the only way to really enjoy it is the Moroccan way. Grab a bunch of freshly picked mint and just add a pinch of black tea, too much white sugar and a sprinkle of orange blossoms on top. The water should be too hot to touch, too hot to drink. Got to slurp it. Hospitality without words.

This is local-agriculture-home-delivery. I had seen it once before in the early 1950s where I grew up on the East Side of Detroit. Then it was a local baker–up and down neighborhood streets. What kind of neighborhoods then? One car per family used by father to get to and from work. Neighborhoods sized by cars–not by pedestrians–no walking–only driving. But late 20th century–Meknes, Morocco. It was walkable and local. I loved it.

Had to tell that story–thus CJ was born. Read about his experiences in Morocco. He wrote about them in Tangier Gardens: Out of the classroom into real life… via plant portals.

The ebook is FREE now at Smashwords via this link.

Loaded Down?

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So was CJ!

He wrote,

“I had no idea how much sub-Saharan West Africa influenced Morocco. I was in over my head in Tangier. This tale is sad. I needed help.”

Read about it in his Tales til Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0BNZDYKKC

Or read his own story, Tangier Gardens: Out of the classroom into real life, via plant portals.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Has ANYTHING Changed?

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21Dec2022

The first day of winter.

Four days til Christmas.

And CJ posted four tales.

4.1–The Oval Garden experiences inspired me to address the things that were at the very heart of landscape architecture. In this tale, I talk about the sun and sunlight.

4.2–After my Oval Garden visits, I went over and over my portal experiences, trying to understand logically what happened. I, in this short tale, share my own conclusions.

4.3–I used my own forest experience to construct a short tale in which I talked about forests in the landscape, their life beyond the senses and salubrious exchanges.

4.4–I described what I was missing in Tangier. But I did have a rooftop garden terrace with a view over the Strait of Gibraltar.

Who is CJ and why is he writing these tales?

In June 2000, Christopher Janus, a senior studying landscape architecture at a mid-west America university, finds himself in Tangier on a term abroad design study. The strange culture, the North African landscape and Mediterranean gardens are not what he expected. CJ, as his friends called him, could not wait to be home for Christmas.

To complete his term abroad design study, CJ documented his strange culture, landscape and garden experiences in Morocco in a series of 43 short stories that are being released on Amazon Kindle Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve. The first 3 are FREE! You can find them here: Tales til Christmas Vella link ASIN: B0BNZDYKKC

Mediterranean Sun, Sand and Palm Trees

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La Baie de Tanger–the beach at Tangier with the medina and Kasbah in the background. No wonder CJ thought he had it made for his term-abroad design study.

What could possibly undo the beauty of this landscape, its plants, its gardens, its sun and sandy beaches?

Or is the question, rather, what could enhance this outstandingly beautiful landscape?

CJ had his hands full.

He tried to explain it in a series of short stories about his six months in northern Morocco. He called his very short stories tales. 

Tales? 

Tales because in Morocco, for the first time in his life CJ couldn’t distinguish between fiction and fact.

CJ’s tales are the reveal.

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Those very short stories are, for the first time, being released on Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve.

The first three episodes are FREE and 16 tales have already been posted. Find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

ENJOY!!

All 43 tales will be found under one ebook cover titled Curious Tales and via KDPselect will be offered for FREE on the day of launch likely in the first half of 2023. Sign up here to be notified of the launch date to get all 43 tales for free=https://bit.ly/3q5lcaq

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If you wonder what actually happened during CJ’s six months in Tangier, pick up the eBook, Tangier Gardens–out of the classroom into the real world–via plant portals, FREE on Smashwords here: https://bit.ly/3SIAfma

ENJOY!!

How Easy Is It?

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Morocco

How does a beauty such as this…come into reality?

What was there in that same place before?

How does water get there?

Where does the water come from?

Who made the design for the tiles?

Who made and colored the tiles?

Where did the color come from?

How long has the fountain been there?

Why did people stop using it?

And how does the fountain fade away and die?

Is it a cultural museum piece?

In Tangier Gardens, CJ had plenty to examine when he went to Morocco for his term abroad design study; but somethings got in his way…

Somethings?

These are what CJ describes in his curious tales.

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Those tales are very short stories, for the first time, being released on Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve: find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

ENJOY!

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All 43 tales will be found under one ebook cover titled Curious Tales and via KDPselect will be offered for FREE on the day of launch likely in the first half of 2023. Sign up here to be notified of the launch date to get all 43 tales for free=https://bit.ly/3q5lcaq

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If you wonder what actually happened during CJ’s six months in Tangier, pick up the eBook, Tangier Gardens–out of the classroom into the real world–via plant portals, here: https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

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