Cities of Morocco - Oued Laou

The time referenced below is for summer of this year. This post was written during that time but only released recently. Trust me though, it is now most certainly fall, as it has become increasingly colder as the days pass here in Martil.

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Since early March of this year I have been living in a small village named Aouchtam. Though we had the beach at our steps, and one main road just outside our building, you won't find any large convenience stores like a Wal-Mart or the Moroccan equivalent: Marjane. In fact, Aouchtam generally has about four small stores running through the year, and more during the summer months. When special items or large quantities are needed you often have to go into the city; Oued Laou. 

Boys jumping off boats by the beach for fun

This post is about the nearest City to Aouchtam, Oued Laou. With families at the beach enjoying the crisp waters of the Mediterranean you know that summer is here. You see more and more tourists, not just from Morocco but all over the world.

Oued Laou has hotels, convenience stores, Hammams (bath house or spa), schools, city government buildings and many other common services. There are cafe's, restaurants and a large Saturday Market where you will find thousands of Moroccans congregating to exchange goods.

Saturday Market in Oued Laou 

City of Oued Laou 

Main Mosque

Down the street from the Mosque, one of the main roads into the City.

The Markets

Cafés 

The Crazy Taxis

Have you played the Crazy Taxi arcade game? If you have, then you know what being in a taxi is like in Morocco. I may have to do a separate post just on the taxis. Generally they cram 6 passengers (maybe more if there are small children) into the Mercedes 140. This doesn't stop the drivers from speeding through crowded streets, roundabouts and even having no preoccupation with any of your fears in relation to death from falling off a mountain in a speeding car, welcome to Morocco!

For example: Justin just told me a story about his recent mini-taxi experience in Tangier. There was construction on one of the main streets in Tangier and Justin was with a friend headed across town. Photos of the construction in Tangier can be seen in my post Scurring to Martil - An Abode by the Sea. The Taxi Driver came up against a road with only one side available for use with traffic moving opposite the direction the cab was heading. Without even batting an eye, the taxi drives right into on-coming traffic, literally bobbing and weaving through the cars. The funniest part about the whole affair was that all the drivers in opposing lane did not seem to mind a taxi driving on the wrong side of the road. 

While in Aouctham many of my shopping and restaurant visits were normally at the nearest small city of Oued Laou. If you've followed my photography on Facebook, you will have seen photos of this up and coming city. Many of the locals proudly told me how in the last 5 years Oued Laou has grown from a small village to the cityscape it is becoming. 

Large cranes tower the beach fronts with massive new housing and recreational buildings being built, even as I write this post. I've been witness to the expansion of stores and places to eat as summer heated the mediterranean coast. 

Umbrella stands had popped up and tons of people were making their way to come visit the lovely coastal regions of this side of Morocco. 

Cliff at Mekkab

Within this post I also wanted to tell a small tale of adventure I had experienced with some of my new found Moroccan friends. One afternoon, earlier this year, I visited Oued Laou to pick up some vegetables and other goods, as well as a few sandwiches for my roommates. As I was awaiting the completion of the sandwiches I began taking a few photos of the Mosque which was directly ahead of me. Immediately a young Moroccan man started telling me, in broken english, that I should take a shot between two Tagine pots. I followed his suggestion and took a great shot. 

Unfortunately I experienced a corrupt laptop hard drive, causing me to lose quite a few photos, including the one with the Tagines. I was able to get the laptop repaired with a new drive - thanks to one of the engineers here who came to visit the QEG Build in Aouchtam.UPDATE 11/28/14: I thankfully found the photo on one of my storage drives! Here it is:

Youness

Weeks later, by happenstance, I ran into this same young man, Youness, and we became friends. More recently he wanted to show me another part of Oued Laou that is further down the beach. He called it Mekkab, a type of subdivision in the city.

Private Cave in Mekkab

And so, we ventured out. Along the way we found Cafe Picasso which is a Cafe underneath the cliff on the beach, surrounded by crystal clear water where people of all ages are fishing or jumping off the rocks into the water.

Just over the cliff side is where Youness wanted to take me, with two other friends of his he had brought along. I found out that as part of their education they had all been studying English for the past 3 years. They were thoroughly enjoying being able to use their English, as they said "practical applications" are important.

It was a small trek to see the water and view from this side of the cliff, but it truly is remarkable:

Hanging out with my new found friends was like being a child again. Jumping from the cliffs into the crystal clear depths was a blast. Unfortunately my camera decided not to function the majority of this day but I was lucky to capture what you see here.

My Gear

A few people have asked me what type of equipment I use for my photography. I currently use a Nikon D5000 I purchased in 2009 with the standard Nikkor 18-55mm, Nikkor 55-200mm, and a fixed Nikkor 55mm lens that was given to me. Until very recently I also used an SB-600 flash but it no longer is functional. I also use a reflector as well as a tripod. 

These are the only physical tools I use to take my photos, on the editing side I use Photoshop CS5. In the future I want to upgrade and replace some of my damaged hardware as well as learn more and more photography skills whether through some sort of apprentice, occupational or student endeavor. 

Until next time!

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