When I moved to Morocco I was expecting to live in the desert and see camels everywhere. Call me naive – I call myself optimistic. I love the desert and I love camels. But in reality, what I found in Morocco was a varity of landscapes and cityscapes – all unexpected. The Northern part of the country is lush green rolling hills, while just East of Marrakech are mountains with high peaks and deep valleys. Here are some Moroccan Views:

On route to Ait Ben Haddou, we had many opportunities to stop and do photo shoots in the mountains. This was a little village up in the Atlas Mountains with mustard plants growing around.

This was my favourite stop on the way to Ait Ben Haddou. The road dropped off into this deep valley with such rich colours pushing through. The earth tones are so soothing while you can still spot the greens of grasses growing anywhere they can.

Essaouira is a fortified city on the Atlantic Ocean that is a fantastic weekend getaway for Moroccans and tourists alike. The city is full  of breezes from the ocean, seagulls swooping down to scoop up the fish guts left by the fishermen, and fresh squeezed orange juice stands.

Up on a hill on the outskirts of Fes, Morocco stand the 14th century ruins of the Merenid Tombs. Not much is known about the ruins that are is much disrepair, but they do provide an incredible unhindered view of the city and the surrounding landscapes.

Driving from Meknes to the Volubilis Ruins brought stunning views of Olive groves, lines of vineyards, and other fields that divided the landscapes into blocks of land.

While in Casablanca I explored the Hassan II Mosque which dominates the cities view of the ocean. It is built half over the ocean. Locals sat along the marble walls idling spending the afternoon outside and feeling the refreshing breeze.

Moulay Idriss is a sacred place for Moroccans. It is named after Moulay Idriss I, who brought the religion of Islam to the country in 789. He built this city near the Volubilis Roman City – now the Volubilis Ruins. With a Mosque standing proud in the centre, the city has a small-town feel with cheery locals wandering the street stalls and sipping mint tea at the cafes.

Turning this way and that, the road snakes its way through the Atlas Mountains. We has long since seen a town but on the right of the photo living the road you can see three small souvenir stalls hanging over the steep drop into the valleys below. With roads that twist and wind as they do, it is not wonder the journey takes 4 hours!

No sceneic photo is complete without sheep or goats grazing in the foreground. These sheep were gnawing on the fresh grass surrounding the city of Fes. With its hilly surroundings and Mountains peaking out in the distance, Fes is situated perfectly for happy sheep!

Although I never made it to the desert I imagined Morocco to be – the views the country did provide were well worth the journey.

And the country is worth visiting again. Soon.

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