In the town of Oed Nachef (Dry River)

Friend's Photos

This photo was taken by Aileen N. in the village Oued Nachef (Dry River). We met this gentleman on an afternoon walk around the village. Latifa is in the back, and Randy is on the right.

Randy, who had been in Morocco for almost 6 months when I showed up, was dating Latifa, a warm and wonderful girl to whom he is now happily married. They live in the Northwest and we manage to see eachother every few years. Their friendship meant a lot to me in Morocco where we were all (not Latifa of course) so far from home for so long. Aileen, Randy, and Latifa lived with another American/Moroccan couple, Maureen and Nefta, in a big tiled house that turned into a great place to talk culture, learn Arabic, teach English, and generally have fun.

Like many people in these remote mountain villages, this gentleman hadn't had much exposure to Westerners or western ways. We chatted with him about his crops and the long winter, and when we asked to take his picture he had no idea what we were talking about. When we presented him with one of our cameras he cried, "They're making the radios so small now!" and immediately put it to his ear. Latifa, usually a big help in situations like these, was laughing so hard that she couldn't explain the situation to our gentleman friend. Translation, especially with technological terms, is sometimes futile. The word "camera" didn't exist in this man's vocabulary and while Latifa could've eventually explained the concept to him, it was more fun to watch Randy, Aileen, and myself try and describe it. The man eventually decided that "camera" was a brand of radio. With the silent "radio" still pressed to the side of his head, he politely informed us, "It needs batteries."

Old friends

This picture was taken by Amy V. It is truly a fine photo and, like so many great shots, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time (so Amy told me).

I think this picture was taken in Asilah, one of several quiet towns on the Atlantic coast. Like Asilah, most of these towns have a lingering Spanish influence that coincides nicely with their old medinas and massive, stone ramparts. With its history of Spanish and French colonialism, Morocco remains a very diverse country. Many Moroccans speak 3 languages--Arabic, French, and Spanish, and some speak English as well. The population is made up mostly of Arabs and Berbers with a tiny Jewish contingency in nearly every town. In my opinion, Morocco and Moroccans are fairly tolerant of Christians, Jews, and other non-muslim communities.

Berbers, the so called "indigenous people" of Morocco, were living in North Africa long before the Arabs marched in from Iraq, Saudia Arabia, and Egypt. As I understand it, the word "Berber," coined by the Romans, meant "Barbarian" and was used to describe anyone living outside their massive Empire. Hence the "Barbary Pirates" who cruised the Barbary Coast which, I think, runs from Morocco, across Algeria and Lybia, and into Tunisia.

Morocco also has great geographic diversity. If you were surprised to see snow in the top picture on this page, you may be more surprised to hear that Morocco has at least three ski areas. One is on Mt. Toubkal in the High Atlas Mountains and reaches nearly '14,000. One finds the Mediterranean Sea on the North coast, the Atlantic Ocean on the West, and the Sahara Desert to the South--and all packed into a country just slightly bigger than California.

The rocky soil and stubby trees in this shot taken by Steve R. really sum up what life is like in Southwestern Morocco, also referred to as the "Gateway to the Sahara."

It is extremely dry here, and obviously difficult to make a living as a farmer. On my only visit chez Steve and Juliette in Ait Baja, I was surprised to see goats up in these Argon trees (Argon oil, made from the small nuts of this tree, has a delicious, nutty flavor that goes well with honey over bread). Looking around this place, it wasn't hard to understand why the goats were all up in the trees. When I can afford a slide scanner, I'll include some photos of tree climbing goats on this page.

I took this last photo of my friend Craig doing the monkey walk over a shaky bridge in the Dades Gorge. Over thousands of years, this small river has carved through the limestone leaving behind a beautiful canyon. After inspecting the bridge closely, we thought it wise to cross one at a time and, surprisingly, we all made it.

The Dades and Todra Gorges are interesting geographically but they also provide a glimpse into a part of Morocco that's rarely seen. Many remote tribes make there homes in these gorges. I remember passing young girls dressed almost entirely in black and old women with capes that covered everything but a single eye. Our Arabic was basically useless here (all Berbers) but we managed to find a hotel of sorts, the proprietors of which allowed us to set our tents up on their roof for about $2.