Tom & Lori
Morocco
2005

The magnificent Hassan II mosque, built in 1993

It's big...the 3rd largest mosque in the world

Inside one of the few mosques in which non-Muslims are allowed

Guards outside Mohammed V's mausoleum in Rabat

Inside the mausoleum

Along the ancient walls in Rabat

Overlooking cosmopolitan Rabat from our hotel

Lori washing in the bath

Sweet treats in the Meknes market

Olives for sale

Community bread-baker...and it is good!

Roman ruins of Voubilis, a thriving city in the 2nd & 3rd centuries AD

Palace doors in Fes
Knock, knock. "Is the King home?"

Traffic jam in the narrow, winding alleys of the Fes medina

Leather tannery in Fes, unchanged for centuries

Back-breaking work

Leather drying

Some of the finished product

Group dinner inside a palace in the Fes medina

Dinner...tagine again?

One of the native Barbary apes

Typical roadside commerce

Tom turns 43 in Erfoud

An elaborate walled ksar in Rissani, on the brink of the desert

Actual residents of the ksar

Ali, our local guide, discusses his personal journey from a nomadic boy in the desert to obtaining his PhD...amazing.

Local children collect the daily water supply

Lori learns to grind henna

The bread oven

The rug deal goes down

Four wheeling in the desert

Yes, it's hot

Members of our Explore! group

New wave camels

Enjoying North African music

Our Berber-tented home in the desert

Traditional Saharan mode of transportation

Desert rat

Camel-pokes

The caravan

Sun setting on the Sahara

Burying your legs in the hot sand is good for rhumatisum

Enjoying the desert sunset

Welcoming entrance to our desert home

Happy hour, Berber style

Naked man table

The Berber beat

Dancing & singing the evening away

Our bed in the Saharan dunes...good until the windstorm drove us back to the tent around 2am

Donkey parking lot at the Sunday market in Rissani

Our accommodations deep in the Todra Gorge

Washed out road through the gorge

"Did you hear the joke about the Brit, Aussie, Berber and American?"

Camille, our tour guide, juggles cameras for a group shot

The group shot

A respite on our hike up the gorge

A flash flood in the desert covers the road.....amazingly it was bone dry the next morning

Happy hour on the bus awaiting the receeding flood waters

This is NOT Berber pizza!

Leaving Ait Benhaddou through another recently flooded gulch

Desert rose

Seafood stall in Essaouira

Grilled seafood at one of the stalls

Busy Essaouira harbor

Boats in dry-dock

Preparing the daily catch

Daily seafood auction

Horse races on the beach

Happy hour with Peter and Gen on the Portuguese ramparts in Essaouria

Lemon cello toast, compliments of our Italian restaurateur at La Mama

Goat head food stand in Djemaa el-Fna square in Marrakesh

Panoramic view of Djemaa el-Fna, the hub of evening activity in Marrakesh

Henna painting

The magic of Djemaa el-Fna comes alive as the sun goes down

Koutoubia minaret, a landmark in Marrakesh

The last couscous