Morocco. The land of olives and oranges, dates, bread and harisa, strong mint tea, cookies laced with honey and almonds, lamb. A place were soccer is played in narrow alleys late into the night, neighborhoods are organized around bakeries and the hammam, and even the simplest of homes is a visual feast of painted tile, carved wood, chiseled plaster. The call to prayer. Men in cafes. A fierce, refreshing wind and an ever changing landscape. So much of these spaces felt familiar in a way that is hard to describe–and not just because of the influence of North African Muslims on Argentina (via Spain.)

Our last night in Marrakech, our last night in Morocco, we stumbled through dark alleys in the rain (many wrong turns righted by kind Marrakeshi) and arrived late at Naïma for dinner. Seeing us, the chef’s son jumped on his motorbike to get more chicken (the kind you pick out, weigh, kill, soak for a good while in hot water & pluck.) Many cups of strong mint tea — and an unexpected, epic, cooking lesson in couscous de la maison — later, we were served the most delicious couscous, made with love and generations of practice. A perfect end to a trip rich in history and memory. We will be back, inshallah.

Tangier

Bonjour, Maroc.

Mornings à la plage.

Mornings à la plage.

Market afternoon.

Only the beginning of the door porn.

Battling the fierce wind for this epic photo.

Tangier architecture.

Couscous tous le temps.

Oh hello, Moroccan sweets.

Bread, bread everywhere.

Chefchaouen

Succumbing to selfie central in the Blue City 🔵🔷

Succumbing to selfie central in the Blue City 🔵🔷

Call to prayer with sky and laundry.

Days in Chefchaouen: 1.5. Visits to this legendary baker: 3 🤗 This oven “Al-Haouta” dates to the 1540s 😮And the man at the helm is a master.

The tiniest, most delicious of bakeries.

Bread, bread everywhere.

Studies in blue.

Mornings at the market.

Mornings at the market.

Mornings at the market.

Mornings at the market.

Mornings at the market.

Mornings at the market.

Mornings at the market.

Mornings at the market.

Oranges, oranges everywhere.

Walking up to the Spanish Mosque.

The view of the Chefchaouen from the Spanish Mosque.

The sun setting over the city.

Studies in time.

Hiking the Akchour Mountains.

Fes

The labyrinth.

Fes from above.

Listening like a local.

Oranges, oranges everywhere.

Choosing our chicken for lunch.

Homemade filo dough!

Ready for our cooking class at Cafe Clock.

Tea & cookies.

Wandering the medina, with donkey.

The camel butcher.

Olives, olives everywhere.

In the dying souk.

In the copper souk.

Artisans at work.

The tanneries.

The tanneries.

Afternoon at the Hammam.

The Sahara Desert & The Atlas Mountains

The berber monkeys in the Ifrane Midelt.

Camels at the ready in Merzouga.

The Sahara Desert (Erg Chebbi).

The Sahara Desert (Erg Chebbi).

The Sahara Desert (Erg Chebbi).

The Sahara Desert (Erg Chebbi).

The Sahara Desert (Erg Chebbi).

A man and his camel.

The lush valley of Tinghir.

In the Dades Valley.

In the Dades Valley.

In the Dades Valley.

In the Dades Valley.

Rest stop lunch.

Ait Benhaddou, the site of many a film shoot (including Game of Thrones!)

Marrakesh

The Jardin Majorelle.

The Jardin Majorelle.

The Jardin Majorelle.

The garlic vendor.

Mosques, mosques everywhere.

Morning light in the medina.

Olives, olives everywhere.

Mint, mint everywhere.

Monsieur Fromage in the Souk Talaa.

Monsieur Fromage in the Souk Talaa.

Bread, bread everywhere.

Chickens, chickens everywhere.

Modes of transport.

The spice market in the Mellah (the Jewish quarter.)

Lambs head in Mechouli Alley.

Couscous de la maison at Naima.

Essaouira

Fishing nets packed up for the afternoon.

Fishing boats at the harbor.

View from the fortress.

Fishing boats at the harbor.

View from the fortress.

Still life with seagull and fishing boat.

Studies in blue.

Fishing boats at the harbor.

Studies in blue.

Beach days.

Strong mint tea and Moroccan sweets all the time.

Bread, even at the hardware store.

Wandering the medina.

Sunset and seagulls.