Wisdom of a bookseller under the tree

This is 72-year-old Mohamed Aziz, a bookseller in the town of Rabat, Morocco. Selling books in a country, in which 26% of the population still cannot read, is an act of love towards his city and literature. Being an orphan since he was 6, Aziz had a difficult life, he was not even able to finish High School because the textbooks were too expensive for him.

At the age of 15 in 1963, he started his career as a bookseller with only a carpet under a tree with 9 books. Now his bookshop sells thousands of books and he spends his days surrounded by books and devouring the stories that emerge from them. He spends between 6 and 8 hours a day reading and only stops to eat, pray, smoke, and help customers.

The rest of his time he walks around the neighborhoods in search of books that he later puts up for sale in his shop. He says that this is his revenge against his childhood, and poverty : “I have read over 4,000 books in Arabic, French, English, or Spanish, so it means I have lived more than 4,000 lives.

Everyone should have that chance! I only need two pillows and a book to enjoy my day.” After more than 43 years in the same place, he is the longest-serving bookseller in Rabat. When asked why he leaves his books unattended outside where they could be stolen, he replied: “Those who can’t read don’t steal books, and those who can aren’t thieves.”