16 Dreamy Photos That Aren't The Blue City To Convince You To Visit Morocco

Morocco is a dreamy place. Everything about it seems to scream adventure, from its landscapes to its architecture and even its people. With a history as rich as Morocco’s – where so much of our earliest human history originated – I felt that I was standing on significant ground wherever we went when I visited with a friend last spring. As if there was something historically important about every scene we came across, every building, every city.

Often times I’d learn in passing something some shocking fact – that the beautiful archway we just passed through was the entrance to one of the worlds first universities, founded by a woman, hundreds of years ago. Or that the dry terrains we were crossing through used to be ocean in millennium past, and that now the earth carries the footprint of millions of creatures that dried up in her soils, so much so that fossils are sold in mass throughout Morocco.

The serenity in the call to prayer echoing through the cities and intimate tea ceremonies among travelers and friends contrasted sharply against the mysteries offered by the vast deserts or winding Medinas packed with shop vendors and visitors.

I’m far from a professional photographer and likewise for my friend, Dylan, with whom I was traveling. Still, Morocco was eager to be photographed and I couldn’t help but share some of my favorites from our time in Morocco. I spent five days observing as much as I could from Casablanca to Marrakech, through the Atlas Mountains, Dades Gorge, and Sahara Desert, to Fez and back to Casablanca. Though it was a small snapshot, it was one that left a remarkable impression. Here are 16 of my favorite Morocco pictures (most of them taken by Dylan since I lost my phone and broke my camera early on) that I’m sure will give you Wanderlust and have you booking a trip soon too.

Dylan standing on the rooftop of our riad in Marrakech Morocco. — Rooftop terraces are a pretty common thing among the Riads (Moroccan B&B equivalents often with open roof interiors). This was our view in Marrakech when we arrived on our first night, just before a storm blew in and drenched the city.

The Atlas Mountains stretch out into a colorful landscape, making this one of my favorite of my 16 Dreamy Morocco Photos. — Driving through the Atlas Mountains, I was surprised at how colorful the landscape was considering it was extremely dry. We spent several hours during our first day on our guided tour driving from Marrakech to the Dades Gorge via the Atlas Mountains. This was one of our favorite photo stops (and incidentally where I realized the thin dress I’d packed was far from warm enough for the high-altitude mountain tops).

We visited Ksar Ait-Ben-Haddou on our first day of the tour and were treated to these impressive views of this 17th century city. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and also the film site for movies and shows such as:

Game of Thrones
Gladiator
Jesus of Nazareth
The Time Bandits
Babel
Kingdom of Heaven
Prince of Persia
Son of God
The Mummy

According to the UNESCO World Heritage website,

The ksar, a group of earthen buildings surrounded by high walls, is a traditional pre-Saharan habitat. The houses crowd together within the defensive walls, which are reinforced by corner towers. Ait-Ben-Haddou, in Ouarzazate province, is a striking example of the architecture of southern Morocco.

Two camels sit on the outside edge of the Saharan Desert near Merzouga, Morocco. — We spent a night in a Saharan desert camp outside of Merzouga, which was an incredible adventure in itself. It led to me losing my cell phone and breaking my camera, with kicked off a long string of events that I wrote about in another blog post.

Views of several vats of dyes and a city scape of tightly packed buildings, as seen through a rooftop balcony window. — Toward the end of our trip, we spent a day in Fez and took an afternoon tour through the Medina. It’s nearly impossible to navigate on your own without experience, and can be especially hard for female travelers who are more frequently hassled in the markets. On our tour, we stopped at a famous Moroccan tannery where many of the world’s highest-quality leather goods originate and took in some amazing city views.

A better view of the many vats of colorful dyes stretched out in the middle of a packed city. One of my top faves out of these 16 dreamy photos of Morocco. — Another view of the colorful tannery from the store balcony.

Casually breathtaking views from our drive through the Atlas Mountains and Sahara desert. The dry colors make it very clear you’re in a desert environment the whole way through.

Views from inside the courtyard of a block in the Medina of Fez. We opted for a 3 hour tour and were so glad we did because there was NO WAY we were finding anything in that maze on our own (nearly every building was multi-stories like this one, with hardly enough room to lay down long-ways in the narrow roads).

Views from the rooftop of our Riad in Fez, and our afternoon tour through the Medina. Almost all the roads were packed to capacity, and though you could barely spare time to take in the detail for the crowds, each post and corner and sign were made with impeccable attention to design.

This photo shows one of the squares in the Fez Medina where traditional copper goods were being hand-made by artisans, hammering on the copper sheets to create bowls, plates, vases, and other goods. The square was a cacophony of noise that I had to stop and take in for a moment. The carts shown on the right are common sights as porters use them to carry luggage, and vendors carry goods - it's a tight fit as you might imagine, and we witnessed and elderly gentleman yelling at an apologetic young boy who appeared to have run over his foot with the cart - a heated scene that in hindsight was probably not uncommon given the limited space. — This photo shows one of the squares in the Fez Medina where traditional copper goods were being hand-made by artisans, hammering on the copper sheets to create bowls, plates, vases, and other goods. The square was a cacophony of noise that I had to stop and take in for a moment. The carts shown on the right are common sights as porters use them to carry luggage, and vendors carry goods – it’s a tight fit as you might imagine, and we witnessed and elderly gentleman yelling at an apologetic young boy who appeared to have run over his foot with the cart – a heated scene that in hindsight was probably not uncommon given the limited space.

So many courtyards featured these intricate corner-ways and many, if not most, of the molds were hand-carved painstakingly by artists over countless hours of work.

I hope you’re convinced, after seeing these dreamy Morocco photos, that you need to add this magical country to your bucket list. Whether you’re there for the food (delicious), the landscapes (awesome in the most traditional sense of the word), or the history (immense), I believe you’ll find it here. My tour guide from Morocco Happiness Tours said that Morocco is the land of happiness – hence the name of his tour company – and I felt that from every person I spoke to. Hicham spoke everyday of the joy of showing us his planet, of wanting to share his world.

Though I had only a taste of the country, I couldn’t help but leave sharing Hicham’s enthusiasm. I hope Morocco is a world you’ll explore for yourself someday.

$16 Dreamy Photos That Aren\'t The Blue City To Convince You To Visit Morocco$

16 Dreamy Photos That Aren’t The Blue City To Convince You To Visit Morocco

Sarah