Morocco

After graduate school at UNC, I worked for 3 years at Deloitte, where I prepared corporate tax returns and sat in the SAME CUBICLE from the day I started until the day I left.   I attended 7 weddings the year I was 23, and was a bridesmaid in two of them. Certainly there was more to life than this, right?  

On June 1st, 1998, a Monday, I reported to Coca-Cola's Atlanta HQ for my new job, in the international audit department.  On Wednesday of that week, I was notified that I'd be heading to Casablanca for my first assignment, leaving a few days later.  Good riddance to cubicle life!  In 1998, taking travel photos meant buying film and not knowing which pictures would turn out until much later. I would drop a dozen rolls at the Wolf Camera on 14th street in Atlanta for processing, and hope for the best.  The photos below are all iPhone photos of actual paper ones, so the quality may not be as good, but you get the idea.

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Casablanca

The Hassan II mosque in Casablanca is the largest in the country.  It was completed in 1993 at great expense, compared to the rest of the city.  I was 26 years old in this photo (and wearing glasses, if you look closely).  Coca-Cola was still business attire in the those days. 

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Fes

One the 1st weekend of my assignment, I went with two co-workers to Fes.  It is a World Heritage Site and has a university founded in 859.  This gate is from the Old Medina and has blue tiles on the other side.  Fes are also the hats worn by men.  The ancient way of dying yarn in vats is still done here.  

 

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Marrakech

This snake charmer was among the many interesting people to see at the Jemaa el-fnaa square and market place in the Old City.  Many vendors tried to sell me a rug.  The fresh squeezed orange juice was super sweet, and delicious.  I would love to come back here.  

  • I had taken the train from Casablanca to Marrakech by myself on one of the weekends.  Shortly before arriving to our destination, Karina (2nd photo above), offered me a stick of gum, and a ride with her and her husband to my hotel, the Sheraton. We had been in the same compartment on the train, and were able to speak with each other in French.  She invited me to a party at her villa the next evening, the theme of which was "mauvais gout" (bad taste); hence her garish make-up in the photos.  There was a DJ spinning dance music and guests in funny costumes.  We danced and drank the night away.  The next morning, she invited me to an amazing tangine lunch at her parents' home, next to the Mamounia hotel.  Her kindness to a total stranger was an experience that I will never forget.  
  • On one of the last weekends of our assignment, my colleague Irsan and I flew to Ouarzazate in southern Morocco and took an overnight excursion by Jeep, hours into the Sahara desert.  Irsan had read in a book that the moon in the Sahara desert is so bright that you can see your shadow on the ground, and he wanted to check it out.  The only "accommodations" in the desert are tents.  Our guide brought us to the nomadic family whose Berber tent is pictured above.  There were only men were there, since the women had been sent to fetch water, which was several days walk away.  They prepared a dinner with unleavened bread, and grilled meats.  The triangular "Vache qui rit" cheeses were also served.  That night, we saw the dozens upon dozens of shooting stars in the sky; it was so spectacular.  FYI -there are no toilets in the desert, so any sand dune will do.