I visited Morocco with a photo group during June 2009. We visited Casablanca, Marrakesh (various souks in the medina, a tannery, a madarsa and the famous Djemmaa-el-Fna Sqaure), Ouarzazate (including many Kasbahs--ancient residences of Pashas) and we ended up in the town of Essaouira on the Atlantic Coast. The highlight of this trip was photographing Gnawa musicians and dancers at the World Music Festival annually held in Essaouira.
Gnawa music is both a prayer and celebration of life. It is a mixture of sub-Saharan African, Berber and Arabic religious songs. The main instruments used are drums, metal castanets (called qraqab) and a three string lute commonly known as hajhuj (or gimbri).
The main highlights for me were watching the procession of Gnawa troupes through the streets of Essaouira and attending the intimate performances of several famous Gnawa troupes (particularly the white clad Ganga de Zagora troupe and the Tunisian group Sidi Ali Lasmar Tramboli) performed at the Zaoula which is an Islamic monastery near our hotel.
The photographing of people, especially women, is very challenging in most Islamic countries but in Morocco the reluctance and refusal by most men and women to be photographed provided considerable obstacles to my favorite form of people photography. We were allowed to basically photograph the Gnawa music procession, but it was very restrictive to photograph the artists during their concert performances in the Zaoulas.
© Anand Khokha Photography
