Back to Nature in Morocco - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

Tell me, what do you feel about the scene below:

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Now, hold the thought.

If I tell you that we started our Morocco trip in Marrakesh and what we saw in the next 10 days or so was either dirt or rock until we hit further north, would you have changed your thought? My heart let out a song of joy when my eyes met the scenery at the beginning of this post. I knew then how much green life and clear sky my heart was yearning for.

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I recently watched a 2012 documentary on “Regreening the Desert”. The desperate seek for shade from the inescapable sun and its heat in Morocco came to mind.

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It was forecasted to reach 91 degrees Fahrenheit (roughly 32.7 degrees Celsius) where I live yesterday, a temperature that’s known to be “normal” as far back as I know. And yet, California Independent System Operator (California ISO) has issued a Flex Alert urging Californians to reduce energy use to relieve grid stress, which was extended into today.

I don’t suppose I know the answer to our quest back in Morocco. Nor do I know whether the Sahara desert has always been there or that expansive. But I know we are dealing more and more on an intimate level with issues of power shortage, excessive heat and extensive drought. I know that City of Los Angeles is providing free trees to its residents. I also know that my parents have taken it upon themselves to be surrounded by trees.

If you haven’t, please take less than 50 minutes of your life and watch the documentary. If some of the concepts/ideas presented in it (back in 2012) is “revolutionary”, maybe more people ought to learn about them. And I’d love an opportunity to discuss what do you think we can start incorporating into our own property/lives.

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Beauty in the Eyes of Beholder - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

Ben Youssef Medersa in Marrakesh, Morocco, was once one of the largest theological colleges in North Africa.  At the entrance when we were ready to admire the touted Islamic architecture, I turned around.  My eyes lit up as if they've seen gold.  But wait, there's a guy taking photograph of his girl friend, occupying all the vantage points for my gold.  So I decided to wait a little.  So I waited.  And I waited...  And... still waiting...

When I realized that they were having a full-on portrait session, I caught a break in their flow of poses and got what I wanted.  Yes, the beauty in my eyes, at that moment, was the old man. :-)

What's the beauty that you are beholding at this moment?

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Who Let the Cats Out? - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

There isn't much talk about the French painter Jacques Majorelle who put 40 years into creating Jardin Majorelle in Marrakesh, Morocco.  There has been a lot of talk about how Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé purchased the garden in 1980.  Probably for that reason, the garden is one of the most visited sites in Morocco.  And for that reason alone, we weren't going to visit the site.  One, I never did and was not interested in owning a YSL item (no offense to YSL).  Two, a garden is not meant to be enjoyed with so many others that are rubbing shoulders with you on a constant basis.

Well, that changed when we realized that the painter's studio is now a museum dedicated to Berber culture (note: Berber, a.k.a., Amazigh.  More on them later).  

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Boy, speaking of being mentally under-prepared!  Despite the scorching sun, lines for tickets were so long that it's as if fans of YSL were waiting outside one of its flagship stores for its new season debut.  Following a successful acquisition of the tickets to entrance, it's an upstream battle to fight our way through the crowd, endure the kids' screaming at the group of fish, and the pond that they are in, and get out of way of the selfie aficionado and selfie sticks.  

Finally, the museum was in-sight, along with its ever-so-inspiring colors, textures and shapes.  Oh, wait, all that inspiration has to wait.  It has to wait for more selfies and waves of them.  For an "abstract fine art" that I made above, I assure you, it was not an easy task.  

Seriously, who let the cats out?

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