In the fall of 2005, I spent a month in Morocco. I hadn't done much planning. In fact, up until the last minute I entertained the idea of travelling to Iran. (I'm hoping that will be my next trip.) I bought the guidebook a week before I was to leave and sketched out a general itinerary. I would arrive in Casablanca and immediately head north to Tangiers. (I had hoped to arrive by sea from Spain, but a trip to Paris left me with little time to tour Spain.) From there, I would head to Tetouan and then the mountain town of Chefchouen. Then, following the road south, I would go to Fes and then Meknes. From there I would head even further south to the desert, breaking up the trip on the plains of Midelt. After riding camels into the Sahara, I would head west towards Marrakech and the seaside town of Essaouira before returning to Casablanca and a flight back to Paris and then back to New York.
Many things surprised me en route. I thrilled to the vast square known as the Djemma el-Fina in Marrakech and stood transfixed as I watched tanners dye leather as they had for hundreds of years in Fes. I ate oysters in the desert town of Ouarzazate and feasted on pastilla in palace restaurants throughout the country. In the process, I threw out my back and almost dislocated my shoulder swatting a fly. And I watched the moon rise red over an erg and then set the following morning on one side of the desert as the sun rose over the other.
To read more about my travels, visit grey marble.
Thanks for visiting!
Eugene
Photography and design © Eugene Kuo, 2006.