Adventure photo tour: medina, cascades, sands and ports of Morocco.

We make this tour especially for photographers.
Those. every day, every hour, every action in the program is sharpened just for photography, the travel program is built in such a way that photography does not happen around the clock.
In Morocco, it is impossible to:
Morocco is a test of its own photo-autonomy.
Morocco is a wonderful teacher of Photography, very demanding.

Explain:
for example, in medina you can shoot in any direction, without even looking into the viewfinder - it will still be a masterpiece.
A lot, graphically, incredibly, the whole country - as one visual masterpiece, and in the most different manifestations of manifestation:
medina, mountains, kasbas, dunes, goats, trees with goats, medina, again medina, coast, kasbas, dyeing, again medians.
Still, of course, people - if they agreed to take photographs).
People in medina.
Again, at all times a third-party, distracting information flows to the photographer with a powerful stream:
then the smell of Moroccan coffee crawls out from behind the corner, and you go-go there, because well, it's impossible to resist;
then went to the fish market to take pictures, and you look at the lobsters - and they are grilled right there, with fresh bread, oh in general;
then at night photography a salesman with grape snails on a large cart, huge wheels, a hood seller, in the night medina, a vision incredible, will steal.
About orange juice I better keep it down, we drank it with buckets.
Suppose we ate-drank and this ceased to distract, but here the medina with its walls - where you do not look, you can not tear yourself away:
a combination of colors, shades, open windows such, pots with plants, lanterns such that just a picture in the forehead of such walls is already a dream.
This, too, must be lived, experienced, and saturated.
And only then in this diversity to seek out himself as a photographer-artist.
It is infinitely difficult to distract from the first impressions, because they are incredibly many - some are continuously replaced by others.
And the spirit captures constantly, in 7X24 mode.
We filmed even at night in the riads in which we lived - so fascinated by the very housing, interior elements, clay showers.
We add here kasbas - incredible buildings, in color merging with mountains, in the form of literally repeating the terrain.
Sahara, where you get after the multicolored medin and suddenly you begin to see the contrast, it is to SEE the flow of dunes, the continuous flow of reality.
In between all this Atlas Mountains: Middle Atlas, High Atlas, Anti-Atlas.
Yes, I completely forgot to say about the dyeing, and they will be in Fez, and in Marrakech - and this is also a separate song.
Pictures constantly change, continuously and with great speed.
And in this it is necessary to catch everything yourself, to catch yourself a photographer - to track your reflection on reality, and to get out of all this diversity your story, your most important sensation from the country.
It's really difficult).

Therefore, the photo tour was thought through and built so that in the head there were no memories of luxurious, but not yet shots,
to be able to realize themselves to the maximum:
just under it are sharpened every day, every detail, including all the adventure additives:
and quad in the Sahara, and free photography in the medina, and Sims - you can wander anywhere, with the confidence that you will always find), and much more.
Yes, we will talk about the country, and about historical places, but the main focus is photography, and the priority of visiting first of all is the shooting locations.
Something like this).

In the detailed description of the tour, they gave maximum photos and a detailed description of each day.
More photos from our similar photo tour of Morocco can be seen here:
MOROCCO.

All the photos shown in the tour description are photographs of the places we will visit and will take pictures.
The album from our photo tour of Morocco can be viewed here, the album is constantly updated:
Morocco.

The page can be loaded for a long time, but please wait - we posted the maximum number of photos to get a clear idea - which photo shoot to prepare.

Day 1, April 1: Arrival to Casablanca, collection at the airport, transfer to Asilah, 300 km.
Meeting participants of the tour at the international airport of Casablanca, moving to the most creative city of Morocco - the snow-white Asila.
On the way in the bus, in order not to waste time, we will hold our first organizational gathering of the group, talk about a photo tour, give out to the participants all the materials on the tour.
In the evening we arrive in the port coastal city of Asila.

Settlement in a cozy warm hotel overlooking the sea and in the 5-minute availability of the Old Medina.
Near the embankment with numerous restaurants with incredibly delicious fish cuisine, we go there, have dinner, get acquainted with the city and return to the hotel to rest, tomorrow we will have a morning rise before sunrise.
Hotel in Asilah.

Day 2, April 2: Asila. Photographing in Medina. Transfer to Chefchaouen, 150 km.
Early in the morning, before dawn, we will go to Asila, to meet the sun, along with our cameras.

First, a few words about Asilu.
The town of Asilah is located 50 km south of Tangier, the next point of our photo tour.
Before our era, the first settlements appeared here - then Asilah was a Phoenician colony, and then, in the heyday of the Roman Empire, the city of Carthage called Zilis.
It became a prosperous center of trade only in the 15th century, when the Portuguese built a large fortress on this site.

Today Asilah in Morocco is a popular summer resort, but at the end of October it is quiet, calm and transparent in the morning.
It is really quiet and peaceful here, the city is clean, pleasant, civilized - the medina is almost ideal for starting photography in Morocco:
then we will quietly turn around with cameras in a crazy, aggressive Marrakesh, and it’s better to start and start taking pictures in Morocco in Asil - the medina and so are incredible in themselves, the roof goes from the first meeting with them), sorry, but that’s what Medina filled with mass of people, they spin incredibly in their rhythm-chaos.
Therefore, our entire photo tour is built on the increasing tension and saturation of the Medins.
That is why we begin with a calm snow-white, transparent in the sunlight Asila.
Puppet miniature city, thin streets leading to the ocean.

In Asila is quiet and calm, the city is clean, pleasant, civilized.
The central streets are reserved for pedestrian walks, traffic is prohibited.
And in Asil, in contrast to the neighboring Tangier, there are practically no obsessive "Hustlers" who offer goods and services unnecessary to tourists.
In short, a visit to this Moroccan city leaves only pleasant impressions.
Our goal in this city is an old medina, built in blue and white, snow-white.

And there are a lot of great graffiti here):

Sights of Asila.
It is difficult to talk about the attractions of Asila, since the whole city is one big continuous attraction, ranging from the broken narrow streets of Asila, with one wall creating broken white and blue mosaics of spaces:

And yet ... Multicolored geometry-mosaic of door-windows-wall-reflections mixed with a bright blue sky.

People in blue robes roaming through the white walls of the streets ....

And all these photographs almost do not reflect Asila, Asila - beautiful, beautiful.

In total, in Asil, besides the medina itself, we may be interested in:
- the famous Portuguese fortress of El Kamra, surprisingly well preserved;
- Rassouli Palace, built in the Moorish style, which stands on the site of the former Portuguese church; -
- the dam from which the bastions with guns can be seen, and, of course, boats, boats, boats near the fortress walls in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
And we will try to get to the maximum in all places, but the priority is medina.

Towards evening, we get on our bus and leave for Chefchaouen, moving about 150 km.
Upon arrival we settle in the Riad, have dinner, walk around the evening city.
Riad in Chefchaouen.

Day 3, April 3: Chefchaouen. Photographing in Medina.
In the northwestern part of Morocco, on the slopes of the Rif Mountains, lies the picturesque city of Chefchaouen, famous for its rich history, scenic nature and beautiful ancient architecture.
However, its main feature is the color of buildings that run down from the slopes, the prevailing majority of which are painted in various shades of blue - from light blue to azure.
The combination of all the advantages of Chefchaouen makes it one of the most beautiful and popular cities in the world.

Chefchaouen was founded in 1471.
Some time after its birth, towards the end of the century, it became a haven for a large number of Muslims and Jews expelled from Spain.
They liked the elevated Moroccan town, surrounded by walls and on the one hand protected by mountain ranges, which promised to serve them as a reliable fortress.
Upon arrival in Chefchaouen, they began to shape his appearance on the patterns of his native Andalusia.
That is why most of the walls in the old quarters are painted in blue, the holy color for Jews, which always reminds believers of heaven and God.
And the blue color here in places really just looks like it creates fantastic realities.

The city, first of all, is known for its historic part - the medina, where the walls of houses, painted with rich cold shades of blue, harmoniously combine with warm orange tones of roofs, stairs and other decorative elements.
Here you can wander for hours, enjoying the color palette and measured atmosphere, which we will do in the evening photography, smoothly turning into the night).

The combination of all the advantages of Chefchaouen makes it one of the most beautiful and fabulous cities in the world.
And here it is really - around the clock - during the day and at night there are MIRACLES:

In the morning we get acquainted with the geography of the ancient Chefchaouen medina - a small city, nothing complicated, and then each in his mode, go out to the Medina and distribute to taking photographs in free flight.
Guides will show the most vivid places of the medina and will be constantly in touch - in case anyone gets lost.
But in general, the medina is very small and easy to navigate.

Chefchaouen is an unusual city from all sides:
For example, for a long time the city was declared a sacred place and visiting it to the Gentiles was forbidden on pain of death.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, only three Europeans visited Chefchaouen.
And this despite its proximity to the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal!
The first was the famous French explorer of Africa and the missionary Charles Eugene Foucault, who arrived in Chefchaouen in 1883 for just one hour and dressed as a rabbi.
The second was the London Times correspondent Walter Harris, who traveled through Morocco in the late 1880s. He entered the city under the guise of a Moorish merchant and lived there for a while as a tramp.
The third was the least fortunate. It was the American missionary William Summers, who during his visit to the city in 1892 was poisoned.
And only after the Franco-Spanish agreement of November 27, 1912, the Spanish troops entered Chefchaouen, opening it in this way to the outside world.

By the way, do you know why the walls of Chefchaouen are painted blue?
We will tell about it during the photo tour).

In the evening, by 5.00 pm we go by bus to the bypass road - to photograph the general panorama of Chefchaouen.
Riad in Chefshaun.

Day 4, April 4: Transfer Chefchaouen - Fez, landscape photography on the road, about 230 km.
For those who wish - morning photography in Chefchaouen:
The city at dawn is transparent, luminous - this is a separate topic, and if you're lucky - there will be a light fog through which the streets of the city generally turn into incredible illusions).

At 10.00 - departure from Chefchaouen - Fes.
The road to be very interesting - we will go on the reef mountains, the ridge of Al Reef.
Al Reef (also called simply Reef) is a unique mountain range located in the northern part of Morocco.
Er Reef is located near the famous system of the Atlas Mountains.
The highest peak of the mountain range is Tidigin Mountain (the height of the mountain is 2456 meters).

This Moroccan ridge is located on the shores of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, by the way, the name of the ridge means "shore".
It should be noted that the ridge, so to speak, is composed of carbonate rocks, it is cut by the gorges of many rivers.
In the southern part of the mountain range of Al Reef, in the place where it passes into the Moroccan Meseta, and there is a very beautiful and ancient city called Fez, to which we are heading.

The road is very beautiful, in almost any weather, so there will be more than a lot of stops for landscape photography.
And there really is - there is something to shoot - from huge panoramas to graphic "clippings from reality"):

On the way, we are waiting for all sorts of pleasant things, for example, lunch in a local tavern.
Kebabs).
It will not be necessary to wait for dinner: we will call from the road, we will clarify the order and everything is ready for our arrival).

For vegetarians, grill vegetables or vegetable tagine.

Even from the entertainment on the way - stopping at fish markets, the fish here is bright and very photogenic is obtained:

In the evening, we come to Fez, check in to the magnificent riads in the Medina of Fez and go for an evening walk and dinner in the Medina of Fez - Fez el-Bali.

Fez is the oldest of the four imperial cities of Morocco, the largest center of Islamic culture and education in western Africa, the former capital of the country. H
For this city has a long history. Historically, the inhabitants of Fez have a special character.
It was formed from the merger of many cultures and traditions: the nobility of the Arabs, the refinement of the Spaniards, the cunning of the Jews, the tolerance of the Berbers.
The inhabitants of Fez love comfort, they are not without grace, and tend to experience some superiority over other inhabitants of the country.
By the way, in Fez we will live in luxurious private riads located not far from each other - we will enjoy authentic life in full).
Riad in Fez.

Day 5, April 5: Photographing in Fes: Shouar dye-houses, Medina Fes-el-Bali.
Very early rise and go to photograph the panorama of Fez and the surrounding area.
Here it is, Fez - a mysterious city, a trap city, a dream city, a magic city).
Old Fez or the old medina of Fez el-Bali stretches along the banks of the River Fez and stands apart from modern urban areas.

We will spend the next two days in Fez, and, Inshallah!), We hope that this time will be enough for us, although you can take pictures in Fez endlessly, Mashallah!)

And after the morning photography of the Fez panorama, we will go to the most famous and charismatic place in Fez - the Shuar dye.
Generally, in Fes two ancient dye-houses, but we will postpone the second for tomorrow, and today we will go to the largest and most famous.
So dye Shuara:

And, most likely, we will definitely spend the next half day in Krasilne, it is painfully exotic and bright here, and, at least, there are 4 different very curious shooting points.
In addition, it is planned to photograph inside the dye, directly at the tanks with paint.

Dyehouses of Shuar are located in courtyards, behind thick walls, the entrance to the dye-houses is through leather goods stores, where everything is found - from a huge trunk to a cover for the latest model iPhone.
From the flat roofs of the shops of the neighboring houses there is a breathtaking view of the ranks of the rounded earthen watches made of bright tiles from the inside.
Vats filled with colored liquids resemble water-painted cuvettes, while freshly painted skins drying on the terraces show up in cheerful blobs of blotches on the stone canvas of the ancient walls.

Delivery and dressing of the skin is exactly the same as many centuries ago - almost by hand:
skins are brought on horses, dumped into heaps, transportation inside - on wheelbarrows, dried on the walls of the medina - a charming technology from time immemorial.

On the other hand, through the narrow streets of the Medina of Fez, horses are not squeezed everywhere, and cars are wide in the streets.
The houses here are fastened with wooden struts to hold the walls.

In the afternoon, we calmly wander through the narrow streets of Fez-el-Bali in the direction of our riads and take pictures.
And here there is something to photograph - everyone will find scenes to his own taste: from wading horses walking through the narrow streets, merchants in the shops of various goods to magnificent subject photography).
And what characters are found on the streets of Fez:

Guides will be with the group and it will all happen like this:
each participant of the photo tour will have their own printed Medina map and we will disperse to interesting places.
If someone gets lost - contact by phone.
And getting lost in Medina is not difficult - everything continuously flows into everything:

There is so much to tell about Medina Fez el-Bali:
The old city of Fez-el-Bali is about 9,400 streets and alleys, inside of which it is easy to get lost.
And this is a very charming place, a paradise for photographers:
The whole territory of the old medina consists of 40 independent quarters, each of which has a closed structure and includes its own water supply, hammam, mosque and bakery.
From one block to another you can get through the doors.
For security reasons, in previous years they were closed up for the night, but today this tradition is observed only on the night from Friday to Saturday.

All the buildings are fastened together with slabs, which creates a single integrity of Thess-el-Bali, and only the doors are the connecting link between the quarters.
Also, you do not determine who owns the house - the poor or the rich face: all the facades are very similar in appearance, the difference in the interior, which can only be seen through the open doors.

Each quarter has its own craft direction.
Tenneurs Quarter is considered the abode of the best masters of leather production Shuar, famous throughout the world.
Nedzharin is a carpenter’s craftsman; exquisite works of pottery can be enjoyed in the Henne quarter.
An area for women will be the Bab Smarin districts, where they create the most luxurious jewelry and Bu-Inanya, which is famous for producing henna, here you can decorate yourself with a traditional body painting - mehendi.

The old part of the city is the most interesting for photographers in Fez - there is a real opportunity to play with plots, with rhymes, with forms, with the outside world:
fountains with a real Moroccan mosaic, narrow streets along which donkeys loaded with goods move, the noise of markets, towers of madrasahs and mosques, as well as the dizzying aromas of spices.
Here you can spend hours admiring every building, because they all have survived to our days, almost in its original form.

The facades and doors of many houses have an excellent finish in the form of lacy woodcarving, colored mosaics and arabesques above the entrance.
It all looks massive, good and beautiful, that really was built for ages.
Thanks to the support of UNESCO since the mid-20th century, large-scale restoration work has been carried out in Medina, and since 1980 it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Lists.

We have lunch and dinner in Medina in a free schedule, there is a lot of everything and everything is clean.
For example, we loved to eat at the trays with boiled snails and soup of them.
Riad in Fez.

Day 6, April 6: Moving Fez - Merzouga, about 500 km.
A very early ascent: today we have a big Fes-Merzoug crossing, we will cross the Atlas Mountains and get to the outskirts of the Sahara), more than 500 km.
On the road, numerous stops for landscape photography - and it will be very impressive, and snacking.

In the evening we come to Merzouga, with good hands we will get to the evening photography.
Today we will live in a luxurious warm camp among the sands, really luxurious - with all the comforts, and with camels:

A morning camel ride to the desert is what awaits us in terms of photography in the next day.
I immediately want to say that camels in our case are not at all entertainment:

Camels have the ability to get relatively quickly away into the dunes and quietly take pictures in unmarried places.
Back if you wish, you can go back on foot - on a trodden path, and accompanied by guides, leisurely photographing, or - again - riding on animals.
Therefore, we need to come to Merzouga very early — to have time to jump on camels and go to the desert for an evening photographing of the dunes, which are very bright here.

In the evening, at the camp site, as a rule, all sorts of folk national songs and dances take place near the fires, but here you’re in luck.
Camping in the sands of Merzouga.

Day 7, April 7: Photographing in Merzouga and its surroundings. Photographing in the desert.
Today, almost all devoted to photography in the Sahara.
In the morning we set off again by camel to the sands, for the morning photography of the dunes.

We return to the campsite, have breakfast and move to a hotel in Merzouga.
The hotel is big, beautiful with a pool).
Merzouga itself is a tiny village with wide streets and one-storey daubs on the edge of the desert and the world.

A short rest by the pool and go for lunch in the vicinity of Merzouga, try the famous Berber pizza, at the same time a little walk and Medina - they are also there in the nearest settlements.
There are a lot of photogenic places during the day, well, for example. such whales - a canopy of a cafe with strong aromatic Moroccan coffee, it is pleasant to combine a nose-nose cup (the local name is coffee with milk) with this kind of photography:

Closer to 16.00 we return to the hotel and get ready for the next adventure - here at will:
two-hour trip to the desert on quad bikes.

For those who have never ridden a quad bike:
it's easy and the instructor will go with us.
And ATVs for us - the only way to get far into the dunes and take pictures individually.

And the far dunes are beautiful, beautiful):

Hotel in Merzouga.

Day 10, April 8: Merzouga - Tengir village - Todra gorge - Ouarzazate, visiting Atlas film studio.
Today we are leaving the Sahara and go to our meetings with the Moroccan casbats:
we have another change of landscapes - from the desert to the high mountains.

But before we go to the country of Kasb, we will visit the museum of paleontology, at the same time a huge work-shop and a shop, you can take pictures here quietly and in good light conditions.
And there is something to photograph)
Morocco, among other things, is also a paleontological "Eldorado".
Paleontological museums are here at every step, fossils are sold in almost all the shops.
The abundance and preservation of samples in such museums can not fail to amaze!
For example, trilobites, here, probably, the best on our planet!

Extensive stony deserts in the Cambrian in Morocco were once covered by the ocean.
At the beginning of the Ordovician period, 485-444 million years ago, life was in full swing here.
The remains of the quaint creatures that inhabited these places, to our time turned into mineralized spots of purple, yellow and orange colors, which now paleontologists restore the events of the distant past.

And on the road to Tinghir.
Tinghir (Tinehir) is a city in central and eastern Morocco, in the Draa-Tafilalet region.
It is the capital of the province of Tinghir since its inception in 2009, located in the Todha Valley of the Atlas Mountains.
In fact, Tinghir is a huge oasis, about 30 km long and 200 meters wide, stretching along the Todkh riverbed.
The climate here is arid, with cool winters. The city itself has 36,000 inhabitants, and the oasis has a total of 86,500 inhabitants.

Tingirsky district is wedged between two mountain ranges, a length of more than 700 km.
For several thousand years the river has broken through layers of rocks, creating impressive gorges about 300 meters high.
The Todha Valley is the most picturesque in southern Morocco and was used as scenery during the filming of several films, in addition, it is a tourist destination often referred to as the “Grand Canyon of Morocco”.

In addition, in the sheikh Basu O-Ali's casbah, in the southern part of the city on Bir-Anzaran avenue, there is a small museum, which presents beautiful photographs of the surroundings.
Of interest is the area of Ait al-Haj Ali - this is an old center, along its narrow streets with weaving workshops and bazaars there are authentic tall houses characteristic of the architecture of South Moroccan villages.
It is here that we are going to take pictures in the afternoon sun.

Then the road leads through Kelaa Mguna and Skura (known for their rose plantations, and here we will stop for 10 minutes near the store with real rose water + drink coffee) to Ouarzazate.
By the way, this area has become a film set for many international films - here is a huge Hollywood film set called the Atlas.
In 1983, a new life began in Ouarzazate.
The Atlas film studio, which eventually became one of the largest in the world, was opened here.
Local landscapes and climatic conditions delight filmmakers:
films were shot here in Tibet and Jamaica, in Jerusalem and even in Texas.
A huge plus is a long light day and cheap labor. Thousands of Moroccans participate in the shooting as extras.
By the way, our driver and guide also participated extras in the shooting of the film "Gladiator" and will be happy to tell about it.
The famous Kundun film by Martin Scorsese was also shot here - about the life of His Holiness Dalai Lama XIV.
It is at the Atlas film studio that we will go before we stop for a rest in our hotel.
For two hours we will wander through the territories and pavilions where the masterpieces of the world film industry were filmed.

We will not get to Ouarzazate itself, we will stay in a small hotel in the vicinity of Ouarzazate near Ksar Ait Ben Haddou, closer to the filming sites.

By the way, here and gorgeous ceramics in some incredible quantities.

Hotel under Ouarzazate.

Day 9, April 9: Transfer Ouarzazate - Ksar (Kasbah) Ait Ben Haddou - Tiger - Atlas village - Marrakesh, about 200 km.
And another more than a busy day:
by 7 o'clock in the morning we go to the morning photography of Ait Ben Haddoo.
Then we walk for a while around the Casbah fortress, it’s just impossible to miss:
Since 1987, Ksar (fortified city) Ait Ben Haddou has been protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Ait Benhaddou is located on the left bank of the Ouarzazat River on the side of a hill.
The valley of the river passes through the desert; the river begins on the southern slopes of the High Atlas and is subsequently lost in the sands of the Sahara.
Ksar appeared presumably in the XI century to protect the caravan route.
By the 1990s, ksar was in a ruined state, there were only ten families living in it.

Ksar Ait-Ben-Haddou is one of the most typical examples of traditional Moroccan adobe architecture, prevalent in the pre-Saharan region, south of the High Atlas.
All dwellings of ksara are built of red-brown clay.
Houses with flat roofs are located on the hillside terraces, the streets go horizontally and are connected by arches and narrow passages.
In Ksar there are four entrances, two free (leftmost and rightmost) and two toll.
Free entrances lead through gates in the wall, while toll passes through homes and belong to two families; in one of the entrances is a museum.

On this, the Casbah and authentic villages will not end today:
on the road to Marrakech, ours is awaited by another amazing ancient Kasbah, a short walk through it.

And further - authentic ancient Tigert.

In Tigert we also have to stop:
we will stop in the center of the village and spend some time there, taking pictures in the old streets and in the buildings of the village.

Further, the road will pass through the High Atlas Mountains, through the Tizi N’Tishka Pass at an altitude of 2260 meters above sea level.
On the way, fabulous landscapes will open to you and continuous stops will be made for landscape photography of these fabulous beauties until the evening.
Late in the evening, closer to the night we arrive in Marrakesh.
Settlement in the Riad, dinner.
Overnight in Riad Marrakesh.

Day 10, April 10: Photographing in Marrakesh.
About Marrakesh, probably, they know or have heard everything.
Marrakesh refers to the top four of the imperial cities of Morocco.
This is an economic center located in the west of the country, which is famous for its mosques, palaces and gardens.
In Medina - the medieval part of the city, erected during the reign of the Berbers and surrounded by a fortified wall - tourists are attracted to labyrinth-like streets and colorful bazaars selling traditional textiles, ceramics and jewelry.
The symbol of the city is the Moorish minaret of the 12th century Kutubia Mosque, which is visible for many kilometers.
One day, there is certainly little and it is impossible to grasp the immensity, but we will try.
Let's start with the dyeing of Marrakesh - it is not as impressive as the dye in Fez, but it’s worth a look.

And already from here, from the dye-house we will go to the depths of the old city, to the most back streets of the medina.
The founding date of Marrakesh dates back to the 11th century.
Marrakesh impresses with the diversity of ethnic groups, its architecture, as well as its color.
It seems to me that here the group is likely to be divided:
those who want to - go with an English-speaking guide to the magnificent palace of Bahia, visit the tombs of Saadites, the Kutubia Mosque (external examination), the Menara gardens, and only then will arrive in Medina;
either - you can immediately, bypassing the sights, go wandering in medina with guide-photographers - the medina of Marrakesh is worth spending more than one day in it:

Here we are waiting for the Carnival of Warm Diversity of Flowers:
Marrakesh medina is very warm - red, burgundy, chocolate tones are poured here into each other.

And, although the center of the medina is a noisy, uninterrupted market, probably the most numerous in Morocco, but it is worth turning into any of the back streets and you find yourself in a very structured graphically quiet.
And this is where the paradise for photographers begins.

And we will all meet in the evening on the famous Jamaa el Fna Square, where a unique performance in the world takes place at sunset, the participants of which are snake charmers, acrobats, dancers, narrators ...
And where is the magnificent evening photography from the roofs of cafes and houses adjacent to the square.

Night streets back to our riad.
Those who still have the strength continue to photograph - the night photography of the streets of the medina of Marrakesh is very impressive.
Overnight in Riad Marrakesh.

Day 11, April 11: Transfer Marrakesh - Essaouira, about 200 km.
Today is the Day of Beauty - we go to the most beautiful city of Morocco - Essaouira.

But Beauty - this is how it begins with a capital letter, it will start earlier in the morning - before leaving Marrakesh, we will visit the incredible Gardens Majorelle.
A magnificent oasis stretches between the new city and the old Muslim quarters of Marrakesh.
The garden of Majorelles is a true example of landscape art. It was founded by artist Jacques Majorel in the 20s of the last century.
Traveling in Morocco, he constantly sketched on the topic of the life of local residents, their everyday life.
The artist purchased the plot for his future garden in 1924, where the rarest and most amazing plants were planted.
After almost 20 years, the garden was open to the general public, and the artist himself, after a car accident, returned to France.
The Garden of Eden was bought by the famous couturier Yves Saint Laurent.
The fashion designer found out that they were going to sell it in order to build one of the modern hotels of Marrakesh at this place.
Therefore, having bought a garden from the very beginning, it was opened for visitors, without closing even during the restoration works.
In general, these gardens are not just Paradise, this is Paradise for photographers.
But it is better not to talk about it - it is better to see and take pictures.

And on the road).
By the way, on the way we are waiting for a completely beautiful surprise - we will pass through the countryside, where the famous Berber goats climb up argan trees and eat argan fruits).

Later in the evening we come to Essaouira, throw things in hotels and literally run to the last rays of the sun in the port - to the boats).

We have supper inside the medina, there are a lot of tasty cozy little restaurants here.
Riad in Essaouira.

Day 12, April 12: Photographing in the medina and the port of Essaouira.
This day we will spend in continuous photography and on the promenade of Essaouira.
This is very little - just one day in this beautiful city, but what we have, that is, we will try to use our time for one hundred percent.

Essaouira is a calm, leisurely city with a pronounced maritime character:

Here the thin streets of the ancient coastal medina lead to the ocean, then people, very unusual people, here are fish markets and dark gateways:

There are very strange people who do not cast shadows, I walk along the embankment, there are generally complex relationships with shadows and passers-by.

Essaouira is a port city on the Atlantic coast. In Arabic there will be As-suweira, the whole world calls Essaouira.
Berbers, of which there are quite a few in the city, call the city at all Tassurth (“the bastion”) and do not soar.
Previously, when the city was not Essaouira, it was called Mogador - now this name was transferred to an island near the city.

First, the Phoenicians hung out in Mogadore, followed by the Romans.
Near the port are the Purple Islands, where Bolinus Brandaris snails were harvested there, which were massively killed for the production of purpura.
Purple was excellently painted by the highest Roman ranks, and the business went uphill, but with the collapse of the Roman Empire, the development of the city somehow stopped.

In 1506, the Portuguese came to Mogador and began to build a fortress.
In general, they fortified the entire Atlantic coast and built 6 fortresses there, but the Moroccanes quickly fell on them, and already in 1510 the Portuguese from Essaouira removed.
Therefore, in the 16th century, Essaouira was remembered mainly as the largest sugar supply port and pirate harbor, and not as a Portuguese fortress.
The remains of the fortress, by the way, are visible next to the later ruins: several bulk rolls of that time were particularly well preserved.

The current Essaouira was built in the 18th century. In 1756, one of the sultans, Mohammed III, ordered the construction of the largest port in Morocco here.
Designed by the French, accompanied by the Genoese and one Englishman. Built first called Suweira - “a small fortress”, but then added “Es-”.
It turned out in the east: "well-designed."

Now the city is primarily associated with creativity. In the 1960s, many rock musicians came here: Jimmy Hendrix, Kat Stevens, Frank Zappa and Leonard Cohen.
This attracted a lot of hippies to the city - apparently, some of them settled in the city and gave impetus to local creativity.
It is in Essaouira that the annual four-day gnaua music festival takes place - drum singing and dancing.
And Essaouira - the center of Moroccan art, there are many art galleries. Local self-taught artists, the more pleasant to look at their unique authentic creativity.

And the whole day we walk among this extraordinary beauty in a no less unusual atmosphere of creativity.
Riad in Essaouira.

Day 13, April 13: Transfer Essaouira to El Jadida. Evening photography in Medina El Jadida, about 300 km.
Early in the morning we rise and go to the last point of our route - the Portuguese El Jadida.

El Jadida, built by the Portuguese in the 1600s on the Atlantic coast, was originally called Mazagan.
The city was built as a fortress, in one of the richest regions of the country at that time.

The first Portuguese settlers settled in El Jadida in 1502 after the city became a protectorate of Portugal in 1486.
In 1514, to protect against the Moors, the Portuguese decided to build a fortress here, which they were able to control until 1769.
Then the fortress came under the control of the Moroccan Sultan Mohammed Abdullah. For the first time the city received its current name in 1832.
While Morocco was under the protectorate of France, the city was called the old name Mazagan.
And only after Morocco gained independence in 1956, the city gained its name.

The port city of El Jadida (El Jadida) is located on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, 90 km south-west of Casablanca and is the capital of the province of the same name.
This city is primarily known for the ancient Citadel, preserved here, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The main attraction of the city - the Portuguese cistern El Jadida.
The tanks are almost square rooms with three halls on the north, east and south sides and four round towers.
In the center of the room was another room, partially located underground, where water entered through a system of canals leading from the citadel.
Inside the fortress there is a sacred sacred place. The basement of the house with a water source and a single beam of light penetrating from above.
This is where we need our tripods).

In addition, El Jadida (formerly Mazagan settlement) was one of the first Portuguese explorers to settle on their way to India.
And today it is considered an outstanding example of mixing European and Moroccan cultures, which is colorfully reflected in the architecture of the city.
Till late evening we walk along the ancient medina.
And there is enough time and energy to break away from the medina - then, of course, we will visit the port.

Riad in El Jadida.

Day 14, April 14: Moving El Jadida - Casablanca, transfer to the airport, about 100 km.
Early in the morning we leave from El Jadida to Casablanca - along the beautiful coast:

Depending on the departure time - transfer to the airport, and for those participants who fly away in the evening - a fleeting day of exploring Casablanca:
Of course, we will visit the main attraction of Casablanca for a few minutes - the huge mosque of Hassan II, whose construction was completed in 1993, located above the Atlantic Ocean next to the Casablanca Medina.
In the upper part of the minaret of the mosque, soaring up to 210 meters, a laser is installed, the beam of which is directed towards Mecca.

Evening transfer to Casablanca International Airport and departure to their homeland.