Morocco
Paula and I arrived back yesterday afternoon from our week in Morocco. It was my first time visiting a non-Western country. Get ready for some superlatives.
We rented a car and drove north from Agadir airport to the small hippie/surfer village of Taghazout, then to the walled city of Essaouira, east to Marrakesh, and back to Agadir through the Atlas Mountains.
Life moves slow in Taghazout. Most of the fishermen come ashore after a couple of hours in the morning, by which time the day has eased into its usual mix of visiting surfers and local loiterers. Beach soccer is pretty popular.
The roads in Morocco are just as interesting as the cities they lead to. The coastal views are spectacular. Indigenous Berber people line the roads, walking, standing or just squatting, watching the traffic go by. Some work in rocky fields or guide donkeys along the roadside, but mostly they sit in the shade alone, apparently for lack of anything else to do. Some wave frantically at the passing cars, smiling and holding up bottles of olive oil for sale.
Closer to the city we passed road painters and small crowds of men putting up giant red national flags, and things generally got busier. It was obvious that there was a frantic cleanup job going on, and when we got into the city we heard that the King of Morocco was arriving the following day. The whole town was buzzing in anticipation, and getting their streets and shop fronts ready.
Inside the walls of Essaouira is a maze of twisty passages (all alike), lined with markets, tea houses, workshops and restaurants, and opening out into squares and ports.
The city is soaked in bright blue.
Each night we stood on the roof terrace of our riad and listened to the final call to prayer of the day echoing out across the city from the mosques as the sun set, and each morning we looked down into the tightly packed living areas.
On to Marrakesh.
Coming from Essaouira, Marrakesh is a hard place to arrive into. After being flagged down by an aggressive motorcycle guide while entering the city and falling for the oldest trick in the Moroccan book (allowing him to guide us through insanely busy streets to his friends guardian de voiture parking area and haggling over price), we found our way to our riad.
Outside of the main tourist areas of Marrakesh you see very few Westerners, the poverty is conspicuous, and the density is overwhelming. The streets are a ballet of people on foot, bicycle and moped avoiding and interacting with each other. The culture of repair and reuse is everywhere. Any of the guys in the food markets and craft souks could teach you a hard lesson in business. It’s a real city, warts and all.
Final leg of the journey. We too took the scenic route back, up and over the snow-capped Atlas Mountains (2100m) and down the small winding road into the desert on the other side. Children on their way home from school thronged around our car if we stopped nearby and wrangled whatever sweets we had out of us, then chased us down the road. Some held up paper signs with “STOP” scrawled on them and shouted “bonjour!” as we passed.
This is a rough edit of the five hundred or so shots we took during the week, far more than I’ve ever taken before, and that was without even trying. We couldn’t help ourselves, it’s certainly the most photogenic place I have ever been to, and the visual offering is only a part of the story. Again more than any place I’ve been to, Morocco is a full sensory experience, and the sounds and smells really are something else. For every photo I took, I wished that I had a microphone with me to record the sounds.
What have I not mentioned? The incredible hospitality and openness of the people there, the amazing food, the beautiful weather… I warned you about the superlatives. The running joke of the week was a gameshow-style ding that would sound every time Paula said “so gorgeous” or I said “amazing”. Ding!
If you can take any more, there are still more photos on my Flickr and on Paula’s.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 at 12:58 am and is filed under photography, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:01 am
Thanks for sharing you beautriful pictures with the readers.
I am yearning to go to Morocco after reading you blog.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Wow. Those photos are fantastic. I’m so envious. What camera did you take them with ?
April 17th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Wonderful photo essay Emmet, thanks. Make me want to go too…
April 17th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Walter: a Nikon D80, which I got a while back and I’m totally happy with.
I’m still very much a beginner in the world of photography, but my camera is so well designed — probably the best designed piece of consumer electronics I’ve ever owned, actually — that it grows as I use it, revealing new features that I can learn about as I become more adventurous.
Of course, a nice camera does not a good photographer make, but I think it would be pretty much impossible to visit Morocco and not take a shedload of nice photos, no matter what you’re using.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Absolutely gorgeous photos! I know what you mean about taking endless photos - I’ve lived in Morocco for two years, with just a Sony Cybershot, and I’ve taken over 4,000 photos.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Absolutely magnificent! Thanks for sharing :)
April 18th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Thanks for that, you just filled my morning with pretty pictures. Looks like a great trip!
April 27th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
wikid!
im obsesive about muslim artwork details, all those complicated mosiac designs,
astounding!!
id love it if you could send me any/all mosiac, repetitive pattern work!
cnnr
May 13th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Wow, those pictures look stunning!!
i’m going to Morocco in June and I was planning to do Marrakech - Essouira by car but wanted to know what’s the exact distance and whether is difficult to find reliable rent a cars there? do you need international driving license or can you do with Spanish one?
Finally, how difficult is it to find accommodation on route? did you have to book in advance?
i would really appreciate if you could help me out!!
regards,
xavier
May 15th, 2007 at 3:57 am
Your photos are amazing. Looks like a fantastic trip.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:21 am
@Xavier: I’m not sure of the distance, but it took us about three hours to drive. There are stone markers every kilometer to show you the remaining distance. I’d advise you to arrange a car in advance at the airport, as the rental process (like any commercial transaction) can be a little hairy. International driver’s license is fine.
A note on driving: there are cops everywhere on the roads, especially around the cities, looking to make some extra money by giving you a speeding ticket. When a fellow traveler we met told a native that he had been stung twice for this in the past two days for speeding, 400 dirham each time, the Moroccan couldn’t believe he had paid up. A subtle handshake with 100 in the palm should see you through.
We booked our accommodation in advance, but you should manage ok by winging it. Enjoy your trip!
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:00 pm
thank you for this pictures about my country
May 27th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Very good post and amazing pictures. Morocco is now my new country, it’s good to see posts as yours in english on the internet.
June 4th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
hello,
i’m from morocco , itry to organize small travels with tourism to visit and descovre lot off cities , places , and i try to organize circuits like adventures in desert , so if you are intersting can you contact me in sand_help@yahoo.fr .
good traveling
August 4th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
great photos, glad you enjoyed my adoptive country! I have a very pretty 2 bed house in Aourir (Banana village) Agadir 10k. Also, B+B rooms available see moroccobluebandb.com, click on ‘house to rent’ for self-catering. Come on everyody, check out this fascinating place!!!!!
October 17th, 2007 at 3:14 am
Hi! I’m a friend of Jillians. (Comment #5) ;)
I just visited her this March in Morocco with my Nikon D70. Here’s a link to my flickr account and MY collection of Morocco photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69932271@N00/sets/72157600065365450/
I think yours are just great. You captured some wonderful moments that I had hoped to capture, and never caught.
– Janine
October 19th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
eh jules/jugs, it has been a long time since I have spoken to you!
how is le Maroc? if you want to catch up drop me an email.
da.amaro@googlemail.com
Daniel
December 5th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Amazing images! You managed to capture the true essence of the wonderful places that you visited. No dunes though :) Your Marrakech pics look particularly good, because they reveal its hidden aspects, not just the tourist ones. Congratulations.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
No pictures of you………….
Are those your feet ?