Morocco in RGB

In some ways, Marocco it´s like returning some centuries in the past.

We´ll always remember the mysticism, the exoticism, the moroccan people unique characteristics, the chaotic markets and streets, the afternoons on the terrace drinking mint tea while taking a glimpse at the Atlas mountains blurred by the heat and the orange colors of Marrakech, the vibrant blues of Essaouira (The Moroccan Riviera as we called it), the diversity of the rural landscapes of the countryside and all the people we met along.

The beautiful plaques "Merci de laver vos pieds" are all over, even in places where there´s no water or it should  exist water: like the portuguese cistern in El Jadida, where Orson Welles filmed Othello in 1952.

Most of the family houses are mainly white, but they are immersed in a full color catalog. In Essaouira or Safi, for example, where they are based on military architecture, everything is white, but  it´s hard to skip the dizziness of the souk-tapestry-combined-with-the-butcher palette. Or the tiles - the Zellige tradition - wich started to be white compositions but in the 15th century were added the colors.


All over Morocco looks like the colors were left for important buildings. Not only because it can be extremely hot - canicula - and house are painted white to reflect the heat. With such a weather, it would be interesting to know exactly how long this tiles can last with the original color.
Morocco has his own patterns, mostly ad infinitum possibilities. We were told that the colors also, in terms of age.

One of the best things to do in a trip to Morocco is definitely the Gnoua Music Festival, in Essaouira.
If we can compare it,  its brother is the Músicas do Mundo, in Sines, south Lisbon. Don´t forget that you will hardly see a glass of beer, but make sure that you reserve your seat close to some kids dancing. You will forget about your thirst, and maybe about what is your gender.


After Essaouira and 400kms down, Mirleft is the fishing and surfing paradise. (You will probably go through Agadir: forget it. It´s the ugliest town in Morocco, a blend of ugly resorts with gray beaches with video surveillance.) If you´re looking for the best fish in the world, it´s probably there, where the rocks have a strange red colour, and an absurd size. Some locals are visibly proud of Mirleft: Jimi Hendrix was here in the sixties to help a bit more his own visions. We also tried to have ours. We were told to buy something from a Herbs shop, from a kid on his way to be 16 years old. Portugal was playing against Spain, we lost the game, and we lost 20 euros. As soon as we noticed, his shop was already closed. But in fact, the fish- along with the dromedary tagine - are worth the 500kms all the way down.


Joana Pereira/Ricardo Castro