Too Square to be Hip
A narcissist's guide to travel and culture
Located on a barren plateau in the High Atlas Mountains, Ouarzazate is more akin to desert then mountain. Yet in that desolate land, life persists… even thrives in some ways. Over the 20th century this region of Morocco was a hub for the film industry and as the 21st dawned the region began to appear …
Of All The Gin Joints In All The Towns In All The World, She Walks Into Mine. Casablanca (1942) A shimmering white city emerging from the barren land of the Atlantic’s western Sahara coastline… is it a mirage? No it is not! Casablanca, once called a folly, still stands against all odds and remains the …
Am I in Granada or Rabat? Ok… that may a bit of an exaggeration but for those quickly scanning the city they will be pleasantly surprised at the vast amount of Moorish architecture, including stunning gardens. This is due to the fact that the city was founded by the Almohads, the ruling Moorish dynasty of …
Sitting opposite to the capital city of Rabat on the banks of the Bou Regreg river, Salé is a sight for sore eyes. Once a rowdy corsair port, it is now a quiet refuge from the capital across the river. From Rabat you see endless rows of beautiful Muslim graves stretching out as far as …
Borne of sheer cruelty and spite, the opulence of Meknes, a new Royal city for the Kingdom of Morocco, was legendary. Today, the city is a shell of its former self. As one would have it brutality engenders resentment and much as the city had risen quickly, it would fall. Yet despite its fall from …
Battered by strong Atlantic winds and crashing waves are a series of impressive, yet decaying, Portuguese fortifications along Morocco’s Atlantic coastline. Once imposing locales these cities were once the crown jewels of an oversea empire that stretched from the Americas to India. Yet today, they are but dying fortresses slowly sinking into the sea. Despite …
One of my personal favorites, Essaouira is a land apart from its mother country. Relaxed and unassuming, the ancient seaport is a marvel to behold. A collection of whitewashed building with blue reliefs await the weary traveler. No, this is not the souks and markets of Marrakesh, Essaouira is a calm and unassuming place where …
While in the Jardin Majorelle, an iconic attraction of Marrakesh, I picked up a book called the Miracle of Water. Apart from giving me a great name for this blog post, the book also offered an insight on the establishment of Marrakesh an arid city surrounded by the Atlas Mountains. The book details the way …
