Morocco

Come With Me to The Kasbah

Posted April 12, 2013 by Jan
Morocco

Bangkok

Thailand

April 12, 2013 

 

……….. “Come with me … to the Kasbah!”  ………….
 
The Kasbah in Morocco.  April 15 – May 8.
 
For two weeks I will travel in Morocco with a small group of photographers to visit fortified towns and Berber villages, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert.  Ride a camel and sleep in a tent! 
 
Kasbah, medina, and mellah – my lenses are clear, my memory cards clean.  And this time I packed a tall, collapsible tripod.  It fits diagonally in my suitcase. 
 
On my own for an additional week in Morocco, I plan to drive along the Atlantic coast and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Casablanca: Portraits at Mosque and Market

Posted April 17, 2013 by Jan
Morocco

How do I write about myself without sounding pompous?  Will I suffer a separated shoulder for patting myself on my back?

Casablanca

Morocco

April 17, 2013

“You’re really good with people.”  That’s what Rina said to me this afternoon.

Rina and I and four other ladies are on a two-week photo tour of Morocco. Our first stop was at a local Casablanca market – the same market I visited on my own the day before.

Rina observed my success in getting strangers to pose for me.  Many of the strangers are Muslim women or girls. They are initially quite shy and reluctant to have their picture taken.  Even a few men are apprehensive.  Nevertheless, I am successful almost every time I try.  My subjects end up smiling and eager to see their image on the camera screen.

Rabat: Oudaia Kasbah

Posted April 18, 2013 by Jan
Morocco

Rabat

Morocco

April 18, 2013

Mis Amigos,

In contrast to the more modern streets and districts of Casablanca, I feel the living history here in the Oudaia Kasbah in Rabat.

I wander the narrow residential streets of the Kasbah where the blue and white lime-washed homes date back to the 17th and 18th Centuries. 

The Bab Oudaia, the gate that pierces the fortress walls of the Kasbah, was built in the 12th Century.

Chefchaouen: The Blue and White City

Posted April 19, 2013 by Jan
Morocco

Chefchaouen

Morocco

April 19. 2013

Hello,

The small city Chefchaouen sits on a hillside in the Rif Mountains in northeast Morocco east of Tangier.  It’s a popular getaway for Moroccans and Spaniards who seek relief from the summer heat.

Founded in1471, the name refers to the shape of the mountain tops above the town that look like the two horns (chaoua) of a goat. "Chef Chaouen" derives from the Berber word for horns, Ichawen

Fes: Tannery and Pottery

Posted April 22, 2013 by Jan
Morocco

Fes

Morocco

April 21, 2013 

The tannery in the medina in Fes was founded 900 years ago.  Assume for a moment that the art of tanning animal hides was already a mature craft at that time.  So when did tanning begin?  Decades before that?  Centuries?   A millennia or two? 

Preparing and decorating clay pottery and tiles is surely another ancient art form.

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