This was an ambitious two week photographic project to follow the route of the Kasbahs from Marrakech in the west to Merzouga in the east of the country. Our intention was to immerse ourselves deep into Moroccan culture by staying in the wonderful ryads and auberges along the route. Time was needed in each location to win over the trust of each of our photographic subjects. Our journey started at the wonderful Ryad El Borj in the Medina of Marrakech. This hotel was chosen because of its great interiors, ideal for shooting portraiture projects. A new blog will appear showcasing this work in the coming weeks.

 

 

 

After a long arduous 8 hour drive through the Atlas mountains we arrived at the Kasbah Ellouze in Tamdaght. The village is close to the legendary UNESCO listed kasbah of Ait Benhaddou made famous in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia. Some amazing characters inhabit Ait Benhaddou and each one has an amzing story to tell. One of the main reasons for visiting Ait Benhaddou was to photograph the village under moonlight. The clear unpolluted desert air would be perfect to photograph the village using purely the light from the moon. The surreal results which are reflective of moonlight in a 1970’s film are shown below.

 

 

 

After two days in the windswept valleys of Ait Benhaddou we followed a recommendation from Alistair Sawday’s ‘Special places to stay in Morocco’ and headed for the mysterious fortified pise village of Tinejdad. Built by the nomads of the day the village is a film set grid of alleyways designed as a defence system. Today the village retains an authentic innocence bereft of tourists. A lovely story was told to us by the museum guide of the Kasbah. Every friday afternoon the local unmarried women of the surrounding villages would meet on top of the small hill behind the village to talk and bathe in hot springs. At the end of the day each of the girls would roll down the hill. The direction the women finish up in decides the village they will find their future husband in. What an innocent yet effective way of finding your match! 

 

 

 

Two beautiful moonlit nights in the medieval Maison d’Hote El Khorbat in Tinejdad were followed by another four hour drive through some of the most deserted but beautiful landscape to the romantic sand dune dominated village of Merzouga. Now made famous by the Paris-Dakar rally the villages boast some of the tallest sand dunes anywhere in the world.

 

 

 

 

Our return journey to Marrakesh took us via the arid desert landscape that runs parallel to the Algerian border and on to the tourist town of Zagora.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there our route to Marrakech passed the beautiful palm groves that line the valley just outside Zagora and the incongruous ‘Gladiator’ film set at Ouarzazate studios.  

Morocco is a wonderful country with very friendly welcoming people, more so when you embrace their culture. The country is rich in film set locations and interesting characters. It can be tiring though, especially when you travel with a camera. Even when you think you are alone in the most remote parts of the country someone will appear demanding money for a modelling fee or to show you a sunrise or sunset. Fake ‘Berbers’ are everywhere but retaining a sense of humour is essential to enjoying a good assignment in Morocco. Its also important to remember that 20p or the equivalent is nothing to us but everything to people who do not belong to a welfare state. Would I go back, yes straight away.

If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to contact me at :

simon@simonmccomb.co.uk

or visit my website

simonmccomb.co.uk