MOROCCO - ATLAS MOUNTAINS
PART 7 of 8
Our road trip through Morocco continues. After Merzouga we headed towards the serpantine roads of the Atlas Mountains.
Tinghir at the sunrise.
Tinghir
Our host Mustafa in his house
The rock walls of the Les Gorges Du Todra.
Village Tamtetoucht
Tamtetoucht
Tamtetoucht
Tamtetoucht
The Atlas Mountains
To grasp the mighty of the mountains you can find a white car and a camp at the right bottom corner of the photo for the comparison.
The Atlas Mountains
Tizi n’ Takkat n’Liloud pass. Elevation 2800 meters.
© Yuriy Ogarkov
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MOROCCO - MERZOUGA
PART 6 of 8
After Zagora we drove to Tinghir, where we stayed one night. On the Christmas day we went to see the other part of Sahara Desert that is situated near the small town Merzouga.
Driving to Merzouga’s Erg-Chebbi was like breathing in freedom. Long highways in the middle of nowhere. Free open space as far as your eye can see. Gas pedal is pushed down until the end. The velocity is 160km/h, that was the maximum that out Dacia Duster could run. The speakers grooving the car by the sounds of Meshuggah. It’s Emre’s birthday and we have the best hashish in the country with us gifted to us by one soulful host in Tinghir.
In the right down corner you can see our car. Emre has driver’s license but almost non of driving experience. Straight highways of Morocco is a perfect track and Emre has birthday. Let him drive!
Lonely camel near the highway on the way to Merzouga.
Merzouga, Morocco
We had a similar feeling to Marrakesh as we entered Merzouga. Although the town is small the streets are very busy. Once we parked our car out of nowhere a dude appeared. He was like a leech that you can not get rid off. Over and over again he followed us and tried to sell us his tours to the dunes. We had a tour reservation. Our connection was a man called Said (but not that Said from Zagora). That one should be a trusted one, because Said is the affiliate of the AirBnB hosts where we were staying in Tinghir. As we arrived, the other tourists were waiting for the caravan to take off. Those tourists with the ridiculous fashion: safari hats, ugly pink T-shirts Hollister and yellow or green clown shorts below the knees. We arrived at 15:00, so I was worried about the time because I wanted to photograph the desert at the sunset. Said calmed me down and offered mint tea and vegetables.
I didn't want to do that, but I was thinking that it can happen and yes, indeed it did have happened. We had to ride camels. Seeing those poor animals, who ride back and forth heavily weighted tourists non stop, you simply don't want to make more harm to the animal. But you have to ride it because its the part of the rules. The camp where we were going was about 5 km away from Merzouga. After an hour of ride our asses didn’t feel happy at all.
Camel ride is an enslavement for the animal and torture for the rider.
Quadracycles, 4x4 Jeeps and Road Off Motorbikes - all these reminded us of some kind of an amusement park. I knew that I could forget about the meditative silence that professor Fuder told me about back in my student years. On every dune tourists were taking photos of the setting sun. Mohamed in his red turban greeted us with his wide smile and stoned eyes. “Welcome!” - he shouted and guided us to the camp.
Erg-Chebbi is elevated 730 meter above the sea level and the dunes are around 150 meter above the surface.
In Erg-Chebbi you will not find a virgin dune, all penetrated by the human feet and car’s tires.
Sunset in Erg-Chabbi
Celebrating Christmas and birthday of one of my best friends smoking the best hash on the top of Sahara dunes, what can be better? Emre is smart, intelligent, has good sense of humor and he is a man of kind values. Sometimes in your life you can meet a person and you realize immediately that you have a very special connection. You understand that you have found a friend for life. A journey is one of the best ways to test a friendship. This is our second one and its only getting stronger. Can’t wait to go with him on our next trip.
At that night we felt in love with berber music. It has simple and groovy beats with detailed changes and slight shifts. They sing with short phrases, the melodies are simple and catchy. That was very unconventional Christmas for us.
If in Zagora in the whole camp we were the only guests, then in Merzouga we shared the place with tourists of different ages from France and Italy. It is dinner time and, of course, it is Taijin again. French guests brought some vine with them (although it is not that easy to purchase alcohol in Morocco). It was the Christmas Day, Jesus and Emre had birthday. Our hosts were lazy. Despite the cold night the hosts resisted to make the fire. Somehow we persuaded them to do the camp fire though. But once the fire almost went down they refused to tell us if they had more woods and where it was. Luckily me and a french military girl (unfortunately I can’t reveal more information, otherwise I will be wiretapped by the french DGSE) went on a mission and had found the hidden woods. I had to give a large bribe to one of the hosts in the form of the best quality hashish. The laziness of our hosts didn’t stop there. It was Christmas and Emre’s birthday. We were exited to hear berber music, because it is so groovy and hypnotic. We really felt in love with it. But our hosts refused to play (they were first class musicians). It had nothing to do with their religious concerns. Simply idleness. Our hosts - all men. Italian girls used their flirt and the berber percussion fired up the night into the rhythmical dance.
That day and night I will never forget. 300 km highway in the middle of the deserted huge area. Those huge dunes. Emre’s birthday and that nigh under the clear sky and the campfire.
On the next day I woke up early and went alone on the top of the highest dune that was available. I have never climbed huge dunes. The dunes were about 150 meter tall only, but because of the sinking feet in the sand you start to have a feeling that all of this is a mirage and you will never reach the top, simply because you stay on one place all the time.
After about 40 minutes I have finally reached the top. Desert is just unbelievable. As I have mentioned earlier, Merzouga is not that silent as Zagora. I though that I could get an hour of complete silence, but quadracycles and jeeps started to penetrate the wise silence of the desert with their churl engines.
While sitting on the dunes I was thinking about my conversations with the military woman. My brain tried to figure out how does it come together - professionally being in a military, engaging in the war zones in different continents and have such a great humor, joy of life, cuteness and very kind way of thinking. The stereotypes led me to the controversies. My brain played out different scenarios about what her character could be. Perhaps she is so nice and positivity-spreading person because she tries to compensate a part of her that knows that the military is an archetypal apparatus to protect and protect also means to kill, and maybe to kill not in the name of protection, but led by the notion of conquest? I would love to visit her one day and continue our philosophical conversations. But what a great night in the desert, beautiful morning and what a pleasure to be alive.
Another lonely camel on the way back
The night was so freezing that I got cold. We drove back to Tinghir to continue our journey back through the Atlas Mountain. But this time we will take another route through the mountains…
© Yuriy Ogarkov
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MOROCCO - DRAA-TAFILALET
From Drâa-Tafilalet starts our road trip. Finally away from the busy and chaotic cities into the vast open spaces, valleys and serpentine roads..
PART 4 of 8
Drâa-Tafilalet is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. The main economic occupations are agriculture and animal husbandry. But in the last years desertification makes these activities difficult.
From Drâa-Tafilalet starts our road trip. Finally away from the busy and chaotic cities into the vast open spaces, valleys and serpentine roads of the gigantic Atlas Mountains.
Village Telouet
Village Telouet
Kasbah Telouet.
Kasbah is a citadel, a few buildings connected together.
Kasbah Telouet was built in 18th century and was a site of pasha Thami El Glaoui 1912 - 1956.
Unfortunately the condition of Kasbah Telouet is quite poor. There are visible cracks on the carrier walls. Parts of the walls on the outside have major damages. Hopefully this historical heritage will get a proper renovation and will not fall into pieces, and no one gets hurt.
Kasbah of Tifoultoute
Sunset behind the Atlas Mountains
Our next stop is the Sahara Desert, Erg-Chigaga, situated near Mhamid and the boarder with Algeria.
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MOROCCO - MARRAKESH
Luckily Emre took a compass with him that helped us to orientate through the city…
PART 3 of 8
From Fez to Marrakesh Emre and I traveled by train for about six hours. Marrakesh is a good city for street photography: very chaotic traffic, people running everywhere and you have a good light. The main difference between medinas in Marrakesh and Fez is that vehicles are allowed to enter the old city of Marrakersh, which is not the best regulation. Most of the vehicles are old diesel motorbikes with no or bad filters that heavily pollute air in the city. Medina's streets are narrow and sometimes covered with improvised roofs,. The streets don’t get enough ventilation and breathing becomes a tough challenge for the lungs.
Avenue Hommane Al Fatouaki
In Marrakesh we had a similar problem with navigating through the city. The same as in Chefchaouen and Fez the GPS was not working in the old city. Emre and I started to think up a conspiracy theory, that Moroccan are using powerful electronic devices to block the GPS signals of tourists so that tourist will have no other choice rather than walk the routes that Moroccan want them to walk. Luckily Emre took a compass with him that helped us to orientate through the city. Although the compass broke on the last day.
On the streets you will often hear imperative instructions from Moroccan men where to go and where not to go. They always know better than you what you want, where you have to go and what you have to do. They will tell you that the road is under construction and that there is no passing through, or that there is a mosque and you are not allowed to go to that street, even if the road is not under the construction or that there is no mosque.
Jemaa el-Fnaa is the main square in Marrakesh. Here you can buy spices, fruits, frippery and see different kind of performances. We were sadden by the cruel exploitation of the animals that were used in the shows. Monkeys in tiny cages, snakes without fangs, exhausted camels and half dead birds.
Jemaa el-Fnaa - Marrakesh main square.
After three days in Morocco each of us started to develop its own tactics when it came to bargain. "You bargain like a Berber!" - we were told by the locals. It is a compliment. Moroccans love to negotiate. Bargain is a form of small talk, a dance of communication and if you want to be polite, you have to play the game. We were using two tactics.
1) To accept the ritual and play along. It will cost you more time, but you will learn social skills and experience a set of cultural rules.
2) No big smiles with your mouth, but more compassionate expression with the eyebrows. Call your price confidently. Strongly hold your position, act as if you are an expert. If it doesn't work continue to hold your position and when the seller rejects to sell you for the price you have called, you start to walk away like you are super busy man. Usually the seller will run after you and sell it to you on your conditions. From our experience we have figured out that if you bargain well the seller can drop the price to 70%.
During our trip an unexpected change has emerged into our plan. We have decided to unite with two companions from Moscow and share a car. This experience showed us that you have to be very precise and careful by choosing people with whom you are traveling and especially when you go on a long road trip in one car...
After five days of busy, polluted and chaotic cities we were happy to get free into the direction of the Atlas Mountains and Sahara desert. Our next destination is Zagora Desert. Visiting deserts was our priority number one as we both have never been to a desert before. The journey finally starts…
© Yuriy Ogarkov
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MOROCCO - FEZ
It is a mixture of pigeon feces, cow's urine, salt and water that are used to…
PART 2 OF 8
On the next day we headed towards Fez, a city known for its old medina with more than 10,000 narrow streets without the street names and house numbers. What makes it even more difficult to navigate through medina is that the GPS doesn't work at all, which gives a perfect opportunity for many dudes to gain money by guiding the lost tourists. And again, as it was in Chefchaouen out of nowhere a dude emerged and wanted to show us the city. We have agreed. It was a 19 years old boy who knew the city very well. Besides bringing us to his commercial partners (tanners and weavers) he showed us some insider places too.
Fez is one of the most touristic towns in Morocco. Similar to Chefchaouen, everybody is trying to sell you something using aggressive sales tactics. Once we even had an argument with a seller who invited us to his shop full of decorative furniture, dishes and small knick-knacks. At the beginning he was funny, way over hospitable and polite. As he forced me to speak out my final price for a jewelry, he was not not happy with what he had heard. He threw that jewelry on the floor with anger, screamed: “Get out!” and called me “dirty”. That story became our running gag for the whole journey.
Walking through endless mazes of medina is an experience. The old city is divided by districts and each district concentrate a special handicraft. Metal workers, carpenters, tanners, weavers, ceramic etc. A special aspect of Moroccan architecture is claustrophobic narrow streets that may look dirty and shabby but once you enter a house a beautiful interior might appear to your eyes. Fountains, picturesque furniture, delicately crafted carpets, national music instruments and harmonious mosaics on the floor and the walls create a peaceful and coherent environment.
After this trip I became even more sensitive to interior design. When you browse through booking websites of Moroccan apartments, riads and houses you will notice how many accommodations you can find with beautiful interiors. I wish Spanish homeowners would have a better taste. For example, you want to rent a nice house on Costa Brava. You browse hours through ridiculously kitschy interiors until your eyes start to vomit. And all this for shamelessly high rent prices. At one point you even begin to wonder if all you see is a bad joke.
Place R’cif
Panorama of Fez medina
CHOUARA TANNERY
The most popular place in Fez is the largest leather tannery in town called Chouara Tannery. It was built in XI century and it still operates in the modern days. The whole process looks disgusting. What striked us the most is the unbearable stink that we could not get out of our noses for days after visiting the tannery. The stink comes from the mixture of pigeon feces, cow's urine, salt and water that are used to soften the animal's skin. As we were told, Chouara use natural colorants such as mint, poppy flowers and henna to color the leather. After the leather is dried, bags, babush, jackets etc. are made. We had a kind and helpful host in our riad, with whom we had a conversation about the Chouara Tannery, I was impressed that some men, with whom I have spoken, work there for more than 20 years doing that hard work. Our host told us, that working in the tannery is a prestigious and well paid job in Morocco.
Chouara Tannery
Cow skins
Drying animal’s skin
Ready products - traditional Moroccan slippers “babush”
The next stop Marrakesh…
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MOROCCO - CHEFCHAOUEN
He took us through the mazes and circles for about 10-15 minutes so that we had a feeling that without his help we would not have found…
In December last year me and Emre, my friend with whom I went to Siberia in 2017, decided to go to Morocco. We have never been to Morocco before and as soon as we stepped out of the Tangier airport the first impression that we had was that everyone is trying to fool you just because you are a foreigner.
Chefchaouen is a touristic city with the population of over 40,000 inhabitants situated in the mountains area. All the buildings in Chefchaouen are painted blue. As we got to Chefchaouen we were met by a random dude who appeared out of nowhere offering us his help to find our riad (a traditional Moroccan house/hotel). He was not happy that we gave him only 3€. Later on we have figured out, that our riad was just 50 meters away from the spot where the sincere dude met us. He took us through the mazes and circles for about 10-15 minutes so that we had a feeling that without his help we would not have found the place. On every corner and every street Moroccans men speak to you in all the languages, trying to convince you to buy souvenirs or to see their hashish plantations.
Despite penetrative sellers Chefchaouen has its charm and cosiness. Together with cute cats on every corner, playing children, polite people and bluish colors Chefchaouen stays in our memory as an atmospheric and welcoming city.
Berber alphabet - Tifinagh
After a few hours of Moroccan nonstop mantra "Hello my friend where are you from? Do you want to see my hashish plantation?" we have decided not to see the hashish plantations, but to go up the mountains to get out of the city and to see the sunset from above.
Next stop Fez…
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SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL'S PHOTO 2019 COMPETITION
Today I have received a good news. My photo from the series Shamans Of Siberia won the Survival International’s Photo 2019 Competition. Survival International is an NGO that over 50 years fights for indigenous tribes and nature to survive and resist the negative impact on them from the global industries…
Today I have received a good news. My photo from the series Shamans Of Siberia won the Survival International’s Photo 2019 Competition.
Survival International is an NGO that over 50 years fights for indigenous tribes and nature to survive and resist the negative impact on them from the global industries.
Even if my image is a drop in the ocean, it is still an honor and such a pleasure to know, that my photograph can bring help, raise funds and contribute positively to our Planet and humanity - to me it is the most important award.
Support
https://www.survivalinternational.org
REDISCOVER TENERIFE
Tenerife is mostly known for its mass tourism but, unfortunately, there is yet little known about the cultural aspects of Tenerife and activities beside the commercialized amusements…
In March I did an assignment for Airbnb together with a communication/PR agency from Berlin Styleheads. Tenerife is mostly known for its mass tourism but, unfortunately, there is yet little known about the cultural aspects of Tenerife and activities beside the commercialized amusements. The idea of the Airbnb Experience project - "Rediscover Tenerife" was to introduce to a group of journalists and bloggers, that there is much more to experience on Tenerife rather than the concrete jungles of the massive hotels and shopping malls in the South. The mission of the journalists and the bloggers was to spread the word and distribute the awareness.
It was my first time on the island and the first thing that striked my eyes is the flora. It changes quickly from region to region. Its beauty is unique and enchanting. While driving from the airport to the location the island was covered in fog. From time to time the largest mountain of Spain Teide (3718m) was playfully showing its gorgeous peak, covered in snow. What a pleasure it is to breath the fresh air that goes down from the mountains with the charming flavor of the tropical vegetation.
The main host for this project was Kay Gonzalez. Born in Tenerife, studied linguistics and philosophy in the University of Cologne, cognitive scientist and associate professor of University of Illinois at Chicago. Together with his father Alberto Dorner, Kay has a few amazing apartments in the North of the island in Icod de Los Vinos. Of course, as the real Tenerife inhabitants, Alberto and Kay have their own wine bodega with the best wines from the region. Kay is a great story teller with a good sense of humor. He knows everything and everyone on the island. Thanks to Kay we could go to authentic bars, restaurants and bodegas, where you can get quality wine without worrying of getting the headache. Kay and his father Alberto Dorner are worrying about the mass tourism and what negative impact it brings to the island. The mass tourism is not only killing the nature but it also destroys the cultural uniqueness of Tenerife. Another major problem of the island are the banana plantations, that take huge amount of territory and waste a lot of the island's resources. Besides Kay and his father there are many locals who are optimistic and build communities to participate in the sustainable tourism. The biggest obstacles that those communities have is the bureaucracy and lazy contribution of the government.
It was an honor and pleasure to be part of the project. Magnificent island, delicious food, delightful people, adorable and professional team!
The view form the Alberto Dorner terrasse
Teide
The mass tourist’s hot spot Los Christianos
Los Christianos is crowded mostly by the British tourists
Macizo de Teno mountains and the most dangerous road of the island
Casa Riquelme
Casa Riquelme
Masca
Whale watching and a trip to the Los Gigantes
Los Gigantes
Permaculture farm of Pierre and Yasmin
Pierre and Yasmin bought the land three years ago and built their own paradise from scrath. The permaculture farm offers environmentally friendly agriculture experience for volunteers and tourists
San Cristobal de La Laguna
San Cristobal de La Laguna
San Cristobal de La Laguna, Casa Vidál
Guachinche Bodega Zenón
Guachinche Bodega Zenón
Restaurante Arístides
Back to the villa in Icod de Los Vinos
Kay Gonzalez in his bodega
Photographs: Yuriy Ogarkov
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MONTSERRAT
Montserrat mountain is a conglomerate of the sedimentary rocks, that emerged from the Ebro Basin in the Eocene Epoch (around 50 million years ago)…
Mountain Montserrat (1236m) is a part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. Its huge ridge on the top looks like a jaw with tusks. Montserrat is a conglomerate of the sedimentary rocks, that emerged from the Ebro Basin in the Eocene Epoch (around 50 million years ago). The mountain situated 50km from Barcelona and is an attractive place for tourists, mountain climbers and pilgrims, because of Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery, that was built in the XI century.
It was my second time on Montserrat. I was lucky, because as I was on the top of the mountain the weather has suddenly changed into bad weather. Usually bad weather means good images for a photographer…
Abbey of Montserrat
Ermita de Sant Joan
Creu de Sant Miquel
Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery
The view from Montserrat
Montserrat at the dusk
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HAMBURG
In December 2017 I went to Hamburg to visit my friend-photographer Lucia Bartl, meet with a photo agency and show my series about the Shamans Of Siberia to one magazine...
In December 2017 I went to Hamburg to visit my friend-photographer Lucia Bartl, meet with a photo agency and show my series about the Shamans Of Siberia to one magazine.
Hamburg was the first German city that I have visited when I first traveled to Germany as a kid in the year 1994. My father was working there for a few years before moving to Bochum. The last year I have visited Hamburg three times, but only in December 2017, I finally had one day free to explore the city.
The temperature was probably around +1 degree Celsius - cold, gray and snowy. The strong wind moves the clouds in Hamburg fast. As opposed to the North Rhine-Westphalia, where the clouds mostly don't have visible structure, the sky in Hamburg appears as dynamic and dramatic.
On that trip I took only one lens with me: Sony Zeiss 24mm 1.8 (SEL-24F18Z), that equals the 35mm lens. There were moments where I wished I could have a tele-lens with me, but sometimes gear limitations make the game more fun. A friend of mine, German travel photographer Patrick Wendt, who travels the world over the last two years, at the beginning of his journey used the Fuji X100 with the fixed 35mm 2.0. Due to that limitation Patrick, in my opinion, developed a recognizable style. So, sometimes less is more.
Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg Hafencity
Hamburg Hafencity
Hamburg Hafencity
Hamburg Hafencity
The famous Elbphilharmonie
Hamburg Elbphilharmonie
The Port of Hamburg
Self-Portrait
The Port Of Hamburg
The Port Of Hamburg
The Port Of Hamburg
Hamburg The Elbe River
The Port Of Hamburg
For prints please write to:
photo [at] yuriyogarkov [dot] com
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