Morocco pix

Morocco

Views from above
Volubilis (roman ruins)
Essaouira
Majorelle Garden (Marrakech)
Mosaics & other deco

Views from above

View of the Fes medina from a former fort. The resolution makes it tough to distinguish, but hopefully you can still see that it's just a warren of buildings.

This is a view of the second hill of Moulay Idriss--a very holy city in Morocco, near Fes. Note the mosque with the green roof. One of the top 5 holy sites in all of Islam. People who can't make it all the way to Mecca at least make a pilgramage here.

Okay, not technically a view from above. This is a minaret in Moulay Idriss--one of the only round minarets found in Morocco. I especially like the framing with the electrical cord. The whole town was strung this way and seemed to all feed into one very tenuously hung outlet...

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Volubilis (roman ruins)

The ruins of the ancient Roman city of Volubilis. The site is remarkably well-preserved even though you can tromp all over most of the ruins. It is awfully dusty however.

Close-up of roman victory arch--gateway at one end of the main road.

The mosaics, which were like the carpets in the Roman houses, are still very much intact or carefully restored. This one shows the fable of the man who drank too much and ended up foolishly riding his horse backward.

Another mosaic, this one a series of pictures of the gods and goddesses. You can see that the pattern faces away from the door. This was the Roman way of saving the best views only for those people invited into the various rooms.

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Essaouira

This is the courtyard of our hotel--Riad el Medina. The hotel was originally a merchant's house, but has been completely renovated. It was also where Jimi Hendrix stayed when he came to this little seaside resort town (pre-renovations). We had breakfast here in the courtyard each morning. The fountain in the center is filled with roses.

By contrast, this is what most buildings look like from the outside. Note that the style of the ramparts (the stones along the bottom edge) is carried through to the tops of the buildings as well.

A view through the rather squat Portuguese ramparts. The Portuguese held the town of Essaouira (hence all the vowels!) through its heyday as part of the Barbary Coast. Supposedly all types of pirates and other unsavories used to stop here during the days of spice trading. These days the ramparts are a great place to lounge in the sun if you don't want to head to the crowded beach.

Rampart with cannon. From the elaborate carvings on the cannons, it seems that most of them were imported from either Barcelona or somewhere in France.

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Majorelle Garden (Marrakech)

A rich artist named Jacques Majorelle came to live in Marrakech in the '20's. He built these amazing gardens and opened them to the public--a true oasis in the madness that is otherwise Marrakech. This rich blue color was his trademark and is even named after the artist.

The whole garden is laid out in a series of "rooms" (Backyard Blitz would love to get these plans!!!). This is the lily pond in front of the artist's studio.

I tried to capture the richness of the color contrasts between the flowers and the jardenelle blue, although it's a bit hard to see at this resolution.

Another attempt to capture the profusion of color.

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More Morocco: Mosaics & other deco

On to Spain & Portugal!

What about the month in Provence?

I'd rather see pictures with people in them...

	View of the Fes medina from a former fort. The resolution makes it tough to distinguish, but hopefully you can still see that it's just a warren of buildings.
This is a view of the second hill of Moulay Idriss--a very holy city in Morocco, near Fes. Note the mosque with the green roof. One of the top 5 holy sites in all of Islam. People who can't make it all the way to Mecca at least make a pilgramage here.
	Okay, not technically a view from above. This is a minaret in Moulay Idriss--one of the only round minarets found in Morocco. I especially like the framing with the electrical cord. The whole town was strung this way and seemed to all feed into one very tenuously hung outlet...

	The ruins of the ancient Roman city of Volubilis. The site is remarkably well-preserved even though you can tromp all over most of the ruins. It is awfully dusty however.
Close-up of roman victory arch--gateway at one end of the main road.
	The mosaics, which were like the carpets in the Roman houses, are still very much intact or carefully restored. This one shows the fable of the man who drank too much and ended up foolishly riding his horse backward.
Another mosaic, this one a series of pictures of the gods and goddesses. You can see that the pattern faces away from the door. This was the Roman way of saving the best views only for those people invited into the various rooms.

	This is the courtyard of our hotel--Riad el Medina. The hotel was originally a merchant's house, but has been completely renovated. It was also where Jimi Hendrix stayed when he came to this little seaside resort town (pre-renovations). We had breakfast here in the courtyard each morning. The fountain in the center is filled with roses.
By contrast, this is what most buildings look like from the outside. Note that the style of the ramparts (the stones along the bottom edge) is carried through to the tops of the buildings as well.
	A view through the rather squat Portuguese ramparts. The Portuguese held the town of Essaouira (hence all the vowels!) through its heyday as part of the Barbary Coast. Supposedly all types of pirates and other unsavories used to stop here during the days of spice trading. These days the ramparts are a great place to lounge in the sun if you don't want to head to the crowded beach.
Rampart with cannon. From the elaborate carvings on the cannons, it seems that most of them were imported from either Barcelona or somewhere in France.

	A rich artist named Jacques Majorelle came to live in Marrakech in the '20's. He built these amazing gardens and opened them to the public--a true oasis in the madness that is otherwise Marrakech. This rich blue color was his trademark and is even named after the artist.
The whole garden is laid out in a series of "rooms" (Backyard Blitz would love to get these plans!!!). This is the lily pond in front of the artist's studio.
	I tried to capture the richness of the color contrasts between the flowers and the jardenelle blue, although it's a bit hard to see at this resolution.
Another attempt to capture the profusion of color.