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Photo Samples, Morocco
On the upper left corner of
Africa, only a few kilometres away from the southern tip of Europe, Morocco
must be one of the most varied countries of the world. The landscapes vary from
bitterly cold mountains and fertile valleys to the rugged coast line and the
westernmost parts of the dry Sahara. Then add a bunch of colourful
people, ranging from the covered Arabs in the north, the hooded Berbers of
the central mountains and the freaky Blacks of the south, and the scene is
set for a great adventure. Judge by yourself.
As usual, all photos are © Claus Qvist
Jessen, and none of them may be used without my permission. |
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The giant and very recent Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco. The
mosque was built in the late 90'ies and is supposed to be the third
largest in the world. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Detail from the Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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“Vaulted arc; Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Street scene from Casablanca, Morocco, the economic centre of the
country. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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To most people, Casablanca is known because of the film, and, yes, there
is a Ricks Cafe close to the old Medina. Very posh and very far from
local, Bogart has certainly never parked his car here. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Even cars need service; Casablanca, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Cafe scene; the Medina, Casablanca. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Morocco is still a very traditional country, dominated by Islam and
ancient cultures - and at the same time there is room for modern life.
The bearded man to the left is a taxi driver, while the berber
clad woman to the right is checking her sms's on the cell phone. Both
Casablanca. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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undisputed centre of Marrakech (and thereby Morocco!) is the fantastic
Djema el-Fna. This UNESCO protected square is amazingly alive 24/7,
however, the extreme aggressiveness of the touts really sucks.
In my opinion, this is the works tourist vultures anywhere on earth. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Water
seller making a living from being photographed by tourists; Marrakech. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Shoes
for sale; Marrakech, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Beggar
woman at night; Djema el-Fna, Marrakech, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Local
police car - an old Renault 4, probably from the mid-70'ies. The photo
was taken in 2009! Djema el-Fna, Marrakech. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Pillows
and carpets for sale; Marrakech
Medina. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Cutting
sweets; Marrakech
Medina. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Eggs and
potatoes. Very local lunch in the Marrakech
Medina. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Brochettes (shashlik) on the grill; Marrakech
Medina. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Local
butchery focusing on anything but real steaks and fillets. Innards are
very popular, it seems! Southern Marrakech. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| The
courtyard of the Dar Mnebhi, now the Museum of Marrakech. A visit to
this 19th Century palace is highly recommended. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| A detail
from the Museum of Marrakech. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Detail
from the Saadian Tombs, southern Marrakech. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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though Fes is more known than Marrakech
with regards to dying leather, the latter's got it's share of tanneries.
This gentleman is working in a dye pit in the eastern part of town. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Happy
car worker reparing yet another leak in a Toyota; Marrakech. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Near-vertical bike shop; Marrakech,
central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Welder
in action in the Medina of Marrakech,
Morocco. Note the "protection". © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Vertical
welding; Marrakech, Morocco.
As an engineer, I just love people working with metal! © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| The main
"landmark" of Fes in central Morocco
is the tanneries. Every day, thousands of hides are dyed, dried or
otherwise treated around the ancient dye pits. A worker hardly gets more
than 5-8 USD/day, and as the workers expose themselves to loads of
poisonous chemicals, the job is far from being healthy - but very good
for the photographer. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Dyed
sheeps and goats hides; Fes Tanneries. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Having a
foot bath in leather dye! Fes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Metal workers; Fes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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The courtyard of the ancient Bou Inania Medressa (Medersa) in central
Fes. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Detail from the Bou Inania Medressa (Medersa) in central Fes. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Local cooking; the Medina, Fes. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Cleaning the oven. Baker in action, Fes. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Morocco is deservedly famous for it's pottery, here in Fes, central
Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Anywhere in the Medina of Fes, you can buy traditinal Berber jewelry. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Part of the Bab el-Mansour, the largest gate in all of Morocco; Meknes,
central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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The Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, one of the heroes of Moroccan history; Meknes,
central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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One of three fountains outside the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail; Meknes,
central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Inside the Dar Jamaļ Museum; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Fixing a hole in the city wall; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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To be used for a wedding, theses metal gadgets are waiting for the
driver to take them away. Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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A cigarette pusher and a cake seller, both from the Medina of Meknes,
central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Another metal worker - here from Meknes in central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Elderly man in Berber outfit; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Waiting for work, this elderly painter has probably been sitting here
for a few decades; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Believe it or not - they DO have driving schools in Morocco, although it
doesn't feel so in the traffic. This one is from Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Colourful olives flanked by marinated lemons; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Bread seller; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Happy butcher; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Sleepy chicken vendor; the Medina, Meknes. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Sewing a dress; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Sewing thread on display; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Painting a door in Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Veils for sale; Meknes, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Via Decumanus Maximus, the main street of Volubilis, the best preserved
Roman ruins in Morocco and one of the easy daytrips from Meknes. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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The Forum, one of the most impressive buildings in Volubilis, central
Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| The
Hercules Mosaic; Volubilis,
Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| The
Hercules Mosaic; Volubilis,
Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| One of
the most famous floor mosaics of Volubilis
is this one, the "Acrobat" showing a man riding backwards on the back of
a Donkey. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Road worker in the Atlas Mountains, close to Ouarzazate, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Snake
charmer in front of the
Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah; Atlas Mountains, Ouarzazate, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| The
Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah from the river. This kasbah was used as setting
for the movie Gladiator, starring Russel Crowe, and traces are still to
be found. Ouarzazate, central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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River south of Ouarzazate. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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The beginning of the Sahara, south-east of Ouarzazate. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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The town of Ouarzazate is frequently used for film making, and, among
others, "The Jewel of the Nile" and "Kingdom of Heaven" were made here.
This Tibetan palace was used for the Martin Scorsese movie "Kundun". © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| And this
is some coloumns from the Egyptian Palace used during the filming of the
Asterix movie, starring Gerard Depardieu.
It's all made of papermache. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Tuareg
hermit; Sahara,
Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Kids of the desert; Dades Valley, Ouarzazate, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| "Walking
trail" in the Dades Gorge; Central Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Local
drummer in action; Merzouga, Sahara, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| After
the rain - not a fatamorgana. Mirrir reflections of the camels; Merzouga,
Sahara, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| The rain
rarely falls in the desert, but when it finally happens, floods are
almost inevitable. This unfortunate blue van tried to cross a wet wadi
and got caught. The tractor had a hard time dragging it free
from the mud. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Tired bus passenger; Inezgane, Moroccan coast. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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In the south of Morocco, most long distance transport is done by shared
taxs; here at Inezgane. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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The classic photo of Essaouira, a very photogenic coastal town south of
Casablanca. Happily, this town is much less destroyed by tourism than
Marrakech. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Essaouira with it's trade mark - the sea gulls. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Fishing boats, Essaouira, south of Casablanca. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Local woman; Essaouira. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Women on a gun. The term "a broad side" suddenly gets a new meaning;
Essaouira Fort. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Henna painting; Essaouira. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Fish cleaning; Essaouira. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Souvenir shop; Essaouira. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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One of the most famous visitors of Essaouira was Orson Welles. he made
his Othello here, and one of the main sqares is named after him. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Take a break; Essaouira. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Garlic
and other spices; the medina,
Essaouira. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Powder pyramids - all made out of "painted" cardboard, but they look
impressive; Essaouira. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Local beach with no tourists; Mirleft, central coast, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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The main "street" of Mirleft, central coast, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Take a stroll! Womans fashion on display in Mirleft, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Friendly elder; Mirleft, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Local worker using his powers; Mirleft, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Cutting the steel; Mirleft, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Curious woman; Mirleft, Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| The most
traditional of Moroccan dihes is the "tanjine" in which the food is "baked"
inside a clay pot. It tastes deliciously! Mirleft,
Morocco. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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