VIDEO: A Marrakech Minute
Sarianne taking it all in on the roof of Villa Fatima in Aglou.
Some people bring back poufs from Morocco. Andrew De Francesco brought back photographs, film footage, and stories that inspired a collaboration with filmmaker Gavin Bellour. The result is "Marrakech," a lush and beautiful 78-second homage that captures the feeling of Morocco perfectly.
Here's what Andrew has to say about his trip:
MARRAKECH – My friends and I arrived in Agadir by way of New York, Los Angeles, and London, where we were met by two perfectly aged turquoise blue Mercedes station wagons. Our drivers strapped our luggage to the top of the car and drove all ten of us an hour and forty-five minutes to our two villas near Aglou. We stayed at Villa Fatima and spent a week relaxing by the pool and beach, exploring the nearby town of Tiznit, drinking copious amounts of surprisingly delicious Moroccan wine, and taking photos.
The turquoise station wagons, their chariots in the desert.
Kat in Tiznit.
En route from Aglou to Tiznit.
On the beach in Aglou.
When the week was up, we boarded a luxurious minibus from Aglou to Marrakech, where we stayed at Riad Vanessa, a part of nearby Riad El Fenn. Our homebase in Marrakech let us live in our own awesome vacation home and have access to hotel life just around the corner. Our time there was so amazing and magical that my fiancee Kat and I moved over to the El Fenn and stayed on for three extra days after the rest of the group headed home.
The most memorable moment of my trip was waking up to the call to prayer my first morning in Marrakech. The energy from the caller and the hum from the loudspeaker reverberated as the city awoke in a buzz of voices and sounds. I had never felt anything like that before.