Morocco

The Road to Essaouira, 2007

A man traverses a rust-red gravel landscape somewhere between Marrakech and Essaouira.

Morocco, a country in rapid transition, still holds tightly to its traditional rhythms. On National Route 8, oxen and donkeys pull wooden carts alongside slow-moving trucks, motorbikes and bicycles. Many of my photographs from this journey were taken through the smeared glass of a battered Russian-manufactured bus, its engine growling as the driver mostly sped across the desert with few stops.

We reached the outskirts of Essaouira just after sunset. Without warning, the driver ordered everyone off the bus and drove away, leaving us stranded in the dark. Essaouira’s diffused golden light, hinted at the city’s quiet beauty just beyond the horizon.