Djemaa el Fna square and Koutoubia I, a photo from Marrakech, South

Photographer's Note

These are the main icons of the fabled city of Marrakesh: the Koutoubia tower, a minaret of the main mosque and the Djemaa el Fna square.

They really deserve their fame, as they are rather impressive, the Koutoubia by its height and beauty and the square by its live and animation.

The Koutoubia mosque and its imposing minaret were built in the 12th century by the Almohad King Yacoub el-Mansour, the same one that built the Hassan tower and mosque in Rabat and the Giralda in Sevilla.

The square in itself is nothing special nor pretty, just a huge empty space surrounded by cafes. You have to be there to feel its atmosphere and get an unique experience nearly impossible to describe or photograph.

This photo was shot in early morning, when the place is rather calm. At night it becomes a sort of medieval fairground that one hardly believes that still exists - snake charmers, acrobats, story tellers, fortune tellers, henna tattooers, traditional doctors, dentists(!), preachers, jugglers, musicians, dancers, street theatre, food stalls and lots of crowd. Although it is a rather big tourist attraction, most of the street shows are actually for native consumption, which is another charming surprise. The square is listed in UNESCO list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".

I have another post of this place with a broader pov.

Some links to more info:
- Wikipedia / Djemaa_el_Fna
- Wikipedia / Koutoubia
- Marrakesh Guide

deblink, ribeiroantonio, robertosalguero, superpau, henrytf, rigoletto, paura has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

martburn (533) 2006-11-17 23:39

Hello Jose,
Lovely, colourful, sharp image, the fruit has to be seen to be believed, nice light too

Martin

leo61 (0) 2006-11-18 0:26

Hi Jose!
It`s 6:20 am and I take a big fresh orange juice.......
Good shot of this famous square with excellent sharpness and great colorcontrast.
A well composed photo with the diagonal of the stalls and the mosque and trees in the distance.Nice to have some people walking there.
Regards,Leo

deblink (2548) 2006-11-18 0:34

Hi Jose,
Nice composition. The carts that a full of perfectly packed fruit look interesting. It is hard to believe the area comes so alive at night but it would be a great experience to visit. The colour of the building contrasts really well with the perfect blue of the sky. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Debbie

robertosalguero (292) 2006-11-18 3:19

I like this shot. It has very good clarity and colors. The daily scene shown here is very interesting. I see in this places they are also concerned about security issues as I see a camera above the building. Good capture of this man and the fruit on the side. Cheers Jose.

Roberto

UnTrained (0) 2006-11-18 9:21

Ol� Jos�,
technical good picture with some minor problems of overexposure (tower, wall, others). The color composition together with the POV is good, we have details, depth and with the people some movement.
The best for me are the yellow fruits. I like the order in which they are presented, it looks so funny.
Cheers, Ulf

sarahnatalie (697) 2006-11-18 21:19

I really like this photo. The colourful fruit carts are very attractive. In fact, all the colours are quite stunning. I think maybe it wouold have been more effective without the man walking through the photo, but alas - we can't always control these things! Well done.
Sarah

superpau (1464) 2006-11-18 23:14

Hola Jose
Me gusta la claridad de la foto. Muy limpia, muy nitida. Como dijo Ulf, tal vez esta sobre expuesta, pero eso juega a favor de la nitidez en este caso.
Me encantaron las naranjas!

Besos
Pau

parbo (11092) 2006-11-19 20:31

Hola Jose,

I’m very interesting with your “Morocco 2006” Travelogue. This one also another beautiful frames. In Mediterranean cost, Islamic culture and architecture must be dominant in daily life as I saw in your scene. Juice sellers are also very interesting with their own designs. Blue sky, tropical plants at back are also very nicely added your scene.

Congratulations.

Friendly Regards,

Parbo
PS. Colors are splendid in your frames, if you are not using any filter.

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2006-11-19 21:40

ESt� bonita esta tua foto, com uma composi玢o boa e cores excelentes. Gosto de ver as corro鏰s numa posi玢o ligeiramente diagonal com o minarete da mesquita a sair em grande l� por detr醩. Curioso � que n鉶 h� ningu閙 interessado num sumo de laranja logo de manh�. Muito bem.
Ant髇io

adores (46979) 2006-11-21 17:11

Al� Jos�!
Aqui est� um s韙io que eu conhe鏾 bastante bem. Est� muito bem, uma verdadeira cena quotidiana com essas pessoas a passar e as bancas dos sumos, que aqui s鉶鷑icas. As cores est鉶 muito bem e gosto de ver a Koutoubia ao fundo - situa-nos imediatamente.Tenho estado apenas intrigada a pensar o que � aquilo que est� no ch鉶 atr醩 da senhora, deve ser mesmo aguma coisa ca韉a no ch鉶.Este local � um dos locais mais m醙icos que conhe鏾, sobretudo � noite.
Ficou muito bem!
Anabela

rigoletto (34279) 2006-11-28 16:07

Hello Jose,
You prove your quality in composition here again. The triangular line leading from the red flag to the left bottom is awesome. The fruit carts are really interesting subjects and the walking people increase the dynamics of unless a still life photo. Koutoubia tower and green vegetation backgound complete this interesting and informative shot of yours. TFS,
Best regards,
Deniz

scalerman (26900) 2006-12-14 15:44

Jose: interesting scene here with lots of color, detail, and sharpness. In fact, though it's just a shot of a daily slice of life, it's still a strong piece, and like I said, super sharp. regards, c

Benedict (7076) 2006-12-15 22:48

to borrow your words, this is a jewel as well.
brilliantly composed and captured- the aligned stalls displaying all the freshness of oranges arranged in orderly fashion are attractive- interesting to look at!
benedict

paura (25802) 2008-09-13 9:08

Jos�,
Interessante como a organiza玢o das laranjas ficou perfeita. A imagem est� muito bem composta e, com habitual no meu ilustre amigo, de excelente qualidade t閏nica.

Abra鏾

Paulo