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Eric Fichtl

Morocco

<p>A glamorous old café bustles by night.</p>
<p>A night view of the lively Jamaa el Fna.<br /></p>
<p>The former 'cathedral' of Casablanca (technically a church), built in 1930 and only in operation until Morocco's independence in 1956. It is now a gallery and cultural centre.</p>
<p>A boy running somewhere in Marrakech.</p>
<p>Marrakech's Jamaa el Fna is a central square that constantly whirls with activity. Here, cooks prepare meals at the lively food stalls.</p>
<p>A view out to sea over the rooftops of Casablanca. The preponderance of satellite dishes is striking.<br /></p>
<p>A view of the Menara, a pavilion that dates from the 16th Century and sometimes served as a sultan's summer quarters. </p>
<p>Set in a beautiful walled botanic garden, this stunning house was conceived by the French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s. Architecturally, it is a unique combination of local Moorish touches, art deco flourishes, and more than a little of the (then) new school of Modernism. The distinctive blue colour bears Majorelle's name. </p>
<p>Strollers and cyclists pass a dilapidated building in a Marrakech side street.</p>
<p>An old street sign in Marrakech's Guéliz quarter preserves the name of Yugoslavia, a country that is no longer with us. The street has carried the name since Moroccan independence in 1956. Previously, it had also been associated with the Balkan state – named Rue Alexandre 1er to commemorate the Yugoslav king gunned down in the streets of Marseille in 1934. <br /></p> <p>I'm still undecided if that is some sort of tribute to Yugoslavia's passing scratched into the concrete around the sign.</p>
<p>It's a Jewish custom to leave a stone on a tomb as a symbol of mourning and memory. Here, a solitary stone was left on the grave of someone who died too young.<br /></p>
<p>Simple graves sealed with concrete in one section of Marrakech's Jewish cemetery. This large cemetery speaks to the considerable size of the Jewish community in Marrakech at one point.</p>
<p>Graves interweave within the constraining walls of Marrakech's Miaara, a Jewish cemetery in the Mellah district (once the Jewish quarter, when the local population was larger).</p>
<p>A busy morning in Rabat.</p>
<p>A group of men practice football along Rabat's tattered beachfront.</p>
<p>A bustling street in Rabat. </p>
<p>Tiles in Marrakech form a perfectly imperfect herringbone pattern.</p>
<p>An oft-painted wall in Rabat resembles a map of some forgotten territory.<br /></p>