Morocco 21

This guy's stall in the Marrakesh souks was bursting with color from his various fruit-shaped pastry treats. It's a little tough to tell here because it actually was a bit dark, it turns out. In any case, we were unable to resist and bought a few, and then were suckered into buying enough to get some kind of modest volume discount. It was probably worth it. I think we ate all of them before we left. But it was a struggle.

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Morocco's main square, the Djemaa el Fna, is as fantastic as advertised. Would that every city had such a gathering place for musicians, vendors, and great street food, bustling every night of the week. Above, just a couple of the delicious open-air grills that serve Moroccan fare on the square nightly. Your correspondent ate there on multiple evenings, enjoyed it every time, and suffered none of the much-rumored gastrointestinal distress as a result.

Below, a photographic masterpiece documenting your correspondent's first ever knowing consumption of snails. There are many stalls in and near the square sauteing up a huge vat of snails, ringed by bar stools where customers are handed a small bowl full along with a toothpick for retrieving them from their shells. They weren't bad. I'm not sure under what rubric one might consider them a delicacy, but perhaps they have fancier snails in France.

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More Moroccan architecture, this time in Marrakech. Sorry it's a day late for everyone spending their weekend waiting for a Holla update.

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We were only in Meknes for a couple hours. Maybe three. But here we are with a second picture from Meknes. A second picture of a door, no less. Or really, the people near the door. And what doors!

We thought we had some great pictures from the market areas in Meknes, which were really truly local markets, and involved nobody hassling tourists, and it turns out were quite easy to get legitimately lost in. But those pictures aren't as good as these atmospheric dudes in front of atmospheric doors. There are also so many walls in Meknes fencing off old cities and various grounds belonging to the King that I had a hard time tracking what walls I was inside and which ones I was outside of. But this, in any case, is an impressive gate from a big city wall. Like yesterday, perhaps worth clicking on to see it a bit bigger, if you have a moment.

Tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken, Marrakesh!

Morocco 17

Your correspondent made a brief spin through Meknes. We hired a cab for the day, and the driver did fine with very basic English (better than your correspondent's Arabic or French, to be sure). But he also was stumped when I didn't really want to go see the Meknes Royal Horse Stable or something, and preferred to just go straight to the medina and this building which is a large, ornate, multi-room mausoleum for Moulay Ishmail, who ruled Morocco in the late 17th century.

Photography note: I love this guy coming out of the door and wish I could publish this way bigger to capture the whole scene but get the details on the person and the door. Anyway, you can see it somewhat bigger if you click on it, should you care to do so.

Morocco 16

This may be our last picture from Fez - since our goal is to edit all these pictures down to 30 entries, and we are halfway through our trip and yet Fez was nowhere near half of our trip.

Anyway, this is just nice late afternoon light on a guy selling chestnuts. The wall features some election-related graffiti - although I don't really get how it works. There were numerous locations that had a series of numbered boxes on the wall, some of which featured what are clearly logos for political candidates or parties. Did they paint all 11 boxes here to help the viewer understand that they needed to find the pigeon in box 11, not the dove in box 5.

Morocco 15

Two things on a wall in Fez: First, the number 7 is from some sort of election graffiti, a favorite topic of the Holla. Maybe more about that later. Second, the threads stretching across are from some process of yarn-spinning or weaving or something that your correspondent never really understood how it worked, but it involved looping thread around a nail or hook on the wall, then stretching it out some twenty yards down the street to the shop of the person working the thread into whatever item they are producing. We think the various strings on the nail to the right of the picture are the result of previous iterations of this process, but we're not totally sure.

Sorry for the not very insightful peek into Moroccan culture on this one. Mostly we just like this as a found composition.

Morocco 14

Another business on the main road in Fez medina. I think these are bottles of rosewater, since the sign says "eau de rose", but the sign also says a lot of other stuff and there were other signs cropped out of the picture that mentioned lots of other flowers and herbs. Sadly my zero level of Arabic and hodgepodge French was insufficient to nail down further detail. This kid was happy to have his picture taken, and then the staff photographer proceeded to take some close-up pictures of the bottles and such, and then the kid decided that was enough pictures and asked me to quit. And then the guy selling newspapers or something next to him started arguing with the kid in Arabic - given the timing, perhaps about whether I should be allowed to keep taking pictures or not. Obviously there is some sort of community discussion or policy debate regarding proper interaction with the camera-toting tourist hordes.

Morocco 13

Though not the first thing that springs to mind when imagining the tourist sights of Morocco, they do have a nicely preserved Roman ruin. Between Fez and Meknes, the ruins at Volubilis are the remnants of a Roman city built a couple thousand years ago. There are arches and columns still standing, one of which columns is home to storks in the winter, as seen below. The coolest feature was the presence of many nicely preserved mosaic floors, of which the photo above is just a detail. Your correspondent loves old piles of rocks and happily wandered around for hours, probably to the bafflement of the driver who was waiting for me in the parking lot.

Morocco 12

Best thing about Fez, in comparison with the perhaps more famous Marrakesh: Each one has a magnificent medina, or old town, with winding alleys occupied by souks, or markets. But in Marrakesh there seems to be a pretty clear, and sizable, section of town that is the "tourist souk." In Fez, this process is clearly underway, and there are a few stretches that are tourist-dominated. But there are also stretches of medina that seem somewhat mixed. I.e., there are still people selling stuff that is obviously for locals not too far from the places selling leather slippers and handbags for tourists. The guy pictured above, selling mostly grains for cooking (I think), was along the main street heading from the most famous city gate to the most famous mosque. It seems only a matter of time before this prime real estate is dominated by nothing but tourist-market shops, but that time hasn't happened yet. (He was one of many who I think agreed to have his picture taken and then ignored the staff photographer as he shot, which is kind of perfect.)

Morocco 11

While The Lovely Katherine was waylaid with some dread illness, the staff photographer had a nice stroll around Fez and did not have to feel even a bit guilty about holding things up by standing around waiting for the right composition to come together. I have to assume that the little laughing kid here is related to the older kid. But maybe he's not related, and just laughing because he won all those tic-tac-toe games on the doors behind them.

Morocco 10

The trend over the last couple decades in Morocco has been to abandon the big international hotels in the new cities and stay in renovated riads, or stately homes centered on leafy courtyards. Your correspondents are admittedly a bit contrarian at times, but we're trying to accept the trends that have merit - and this trend certainly does. We stayed at a fine riad in Fez, with a nice roof deck for taking breakfast and a beautiful blue-tiled courtyard featuring fruit tress and a fountain and the bowl of oranges above and a number of live turtles.

Morocco 9

When some people we know and love asked why wanted to go to Morocco, among the reasons we gave was the architecture. One friend who had been there said she didn't think there was anything particularly interesting in the architecture there. Not that we care too much about being right all the time, and our friend is still great and smart and all, but this photo from the Bou Inania medrassah (c 1350) proves she was wrong.

Morocco 8

One of the famous industries of Morocco is their leather work. In both Fez and Marrakesh, there are large tanneries where leather is made by hand in what appears to be a backbreaking process of washing hides in noxious substances and scraping and dying and such. There is also a small industry of guys trying to get you to go see their tannery and then demand a sizable "tip" afterwards. Your correspondent was half-way shopping for a briefcase and was fished in by one of the more clever (I like to think) of these faux guides, but the extended tour of the tannery that resulted actually turned out to be pretty worthwhile. So it wasn't a "scam" other than that the promised price "free, just come look and see if you want to buy something at the leather shop" changed by the end of the trip "I spent a long time showing you around the tannery, so give me some money." The price I paid was what I thought the tour was worth, so I didn't feel financially ripped off, but one still feels a little silly at the point of realization that you've fallen for a line.

It can be a little hard visiting a country as a tourist when you want to be open to experiences and talk with locals but avoid being taken advantage of. Perhaps some amount of getting scammed is worth it for the value of not spending your whole vacation avoiding conversation in an attempt to avoid being taken. Your correspondent did, in fact visit a couple workshops where friendly people were happy to just show him what they were doing, but it's hard to know which is which before hand. I suppose that is all to say: nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Anyway, above and below, hides drying on the roofs of the tannery buildings.

Morocco 7

One of the more impressive things in Fez was the number of beautiful tile-work fountains scattered throughout the old town, many of them still used by the residents fetching water. Also: cats.

Morocco 6

Also seen in Fez. One of the big famous mosques buildings was being restored and had blue tarp covering much of the facade. But someone made sure this little slot was still accessible, presumably for small donations.

Morocco 5

After our brief time in Casablanca, our first destination was Fez. (The last couple days' pictures were also from Fez, actually.) We had heard from a friend who had been there that people in Morocco don't actually wear fezzes. Not true! We did not see many youngsters running around in fezzes but we definitely saw a number of the oldsters fully fezzed up. We saw even more of the brimless caps seen above, especially the one in the middle just above the "patente" sign. They basically seem like a felt fez without the tassel. We can't say if that technically qualifies as a fez or not.

Morocco 4

Did we not, just yesterday, tell you there would be more jellabas? And yet, we're not sure which is more interesting here, the guy in his jawa robe, or the contraption he has set up for displaying candy for sale. Also of note, this was the first of several subjects that we did our best to communicate, "Do you mind if I take your picture? Un foto, s'il vous plait?" And got an affirmative answer, and yet then they looked kind of annoyed that we were taking their picture. Which I guess one can understand in a heavily touristed place like Morocco: Perhaps they know which side the bread is buttered on, but they don't have to be real excited about that buttering job they are stuck with.

Morocco 3

It must be said: One of the most striking features of Morocco is the widespread use of the jellaba, which is Arabic for "Jawa robe." The Jawas* limited themselves to a plain brown robe, which Moroccans also use but not to the exclusion of a variety of patterns and colors, such as this light striped number. Do not/not worry that this will be the last picture of a jellaba-clad Moroccan we will present here. Not by a long shot.

* Follow this link if you don't know what a Jawa is in the science-fiction sense, or if you want to be shocked by the amount of time that fans have put into a wikipedia page dedicated to a minor character from Star Wars. Did you know, for example, that "The Jawas were originally descendants of the Kumumgah species which used to live on Tatooine long before the formation of the Galactic Republic and long before the planet was even a desert." Criminy, people.

Morocco 2

The only real site of touristic interest we went to in Casablanca was the Hassan II Mosque. This huge structure, built at the edge of the sea, is the third biggest mosque in the world. We expected something very gaudy and ostentatious. While it was intricate and huge and therefore to some extent ostentatious, it was not gaudy at all. It was a beautiful building, actually, particularly the interior. We took a bunch of pictures of the beautiful tile work and carved columns and plaster and such, but this shot of a guy washing the windows facing the ocean beat them all.

Morocco 1

Your intrepid correspondents went to Morocco. It was only two weeks (or less for some of your correspondents), but we still managed to take a million pictures and a thousand of them turned out ok. So, over the next month and maybe more, some pictures and maybe some stories and probably some fun facts from Morocco. Above, to start us off, sunset in Marrakesh.

Dogtown 4

While visiting Gloucester recently (but not that recently), we had the opportunity to go on a nice walk through Dogtown. Cape Ann, North of Boston, features a few towns such as Gloucester and Rockport. In the center of the Cape is some higher ground that apparently was once settled to some extent and known as Dogtown. The town has long since been abandoned, and is forested with the kind of scrubby secondary growth you find in most natural areas on the East Coast. The most interesting feature of the area are the 30-odd boulders, strategically placed in basically the middle of the woods, carved with pro-values messages. These were funded essentially as a make-work project by a local tycoon during the Depression. Most of the boulders we found were limited to a single inspiring word, but there are several with somewhat more elaborate phrases.

On the downside, the woods also feature some really mean bald-faced hornets, which we learned the hard way.

Dogtown 3

More words soon. Like, we'll write more, not just more pictures of words on rocks.

Dogtown 2

Of Dogtown

Trying to get back into this after our extended break due to technical difficulties.

Coming over the next few days, some pictures we took in the fall in Dogtown, Gloucester, MA. Above, a marker for Dog Town Square, long since abandoned.

Aaaaaand... we're back!

Our long national nightmare has come to an end. The Holla computer found its way home, with all its precious photographic cargo intact. That actually happened a week or so ago, but we just haven't managed to get back into the rhythm of publishing, so your long national nightmare of not having a near-daily piece of Holla journalism to brighten up your day lasted unnecessarily long.

Anyway, consider this post an official bit of throat-clearing. We hope to have some pictures for you soon. Of course, we're still in Washington, so it won't be too Foreign Service-y, but it will have some nice holiday snapshots.

For the moment, accept this snapshot of an undisclosed location in Washington, where most of the apartment buildings are graced with quasi-regal-sounding names. We did not, however knock on the door at Columbia House to see if it was just another name for an apartment building, or if in fact they were perhaps still offering 12 cassettes for a penny.

Please Stand By

We are undergoing severe technical difficulties. So, we will offer a friendly reminder to readers to back up your computer now if it has been a while; a promise to be back with more as soon as we are able; and this positively ancient picture of a palm from Guatemala that we can't find any record of having posted here before, although that seems unlikely.

Pinball 10

This was at the Pacific Pinball Museum. It was not, technically, we admit, a pinball machine. But how many pictures of pinball machines were you hoping for?

Coming next, if things go according to plan: Travel photography from exotic destinations abroad!

Pinball 9

So after so many Pacific Pinball Museum pictures, I will say: I don't see why pinball is fun. Why do people spend the time to become good at pinball? If you are a pinball fan who happened upon here through a google image search, feel free to elucidate. Thanks!

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One more funny pinball machine theme. "Cover Girls" obviously appealing to the prurient interest of the potential pinball player with a quarter (or probably back in the day, a nickel? Penny?) in his pocket. And some hot cover girls, indeed. I, for one, think it's wonderful that the combination of the illustrator's style, the fashions of the day, and the limitations of pinball machine printing combine to make all the "cover girls" here look somewhat matronly - fit, but matronly. But if that wasn't enough, who could resist the magnetic attraction of a hot Cover Girl Drum Major? If there is one thing sexier than archery, it's definitely drum majoring.

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Not totally sure what this game was. There was apparently an open space in the middle of a room at the Pacific Pinball Museum and that doesn't really work for pinball machines. It looks like it would be good for betting on. Further investigation will have to wait for some future visit.

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We didn't really mean to do a second week of Pacific Pinball Museum pictures, but that's all we've got fully set to go at this point. We've got plenty of other stuff but it's all in various jumbles on various hard drives. So, here you go: More pinball machines! Actually, they're not bad pictures, just a bit same-y with some of our other recent entries.

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As noted yesterday, the olden days pinball machines had themes that tracked other pop cultural currents. Apparently, at some point in the middle of the last century, marbles were something kids were really into. So who wouldn't want to play a pinball game with a "marbles" theme? But just to up the ante, the clever marketing team at Gottlieb's wanted to add drawings of sexy ladies. The solution? A pinball machine with the theme that perhaps there are back-alley locations where lithe young ladies play marbles in swimsuits. Or maybe that was just the way things were done back then.

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From some highly politically correct Native American-theme pinball game. The variety of themes for the olden-days games was quite impressive, although it's clear that they followed pretty closely with whatever trend someone thought teenage boys might be into at the time, whether surfing or science fiction, or I guess, Native Americans.

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Colorado vs. Nebraska, pinball edition.

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More Pinball Machine Pictures!

Pinball machines are tough to photograph because they have glass over the colorful bumpers and chutes and such, which glass reflects the lighted backboard/scoreboard (not to mention overhead lights). The one above emerged mostly unscathed. The one below, by contrast, did not.

Pinball 1

So some time ago we published this picture and promised more to come. Well, here's the more. This week: More pictures from the Pacific Pinball Museum. "Foreign Service" content will be holding steady at zero for March - but we promise a triumphant return of the more Foreign-y stuff in April, if that's what keeps you coming back.

So, the Pacific Pinball Museum is clearly the beating heart of Alameda. This fine cultural institution features dozens of pinball machines, ranging from antique pinball precursors to the latest stupid talking machine advertising Iron Man movies. It's kind of more expensive than you want it to be, but once you've paid to get in, you can play unlimited pinball on all but the very oldest machines. Your correspondent played maybe two games of pinball. I've never really thought it was that much fun... but the old machines are fun to look at.

Gettysburg 4

Sunsets are a terribly cliche photo topic, but they're hard to resist, especially with foreground material like this.

In all, we highly recommend a day trip to Gettysburg for anyone stuck in Washington for a while.

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Further to yesterday's talk of monuments, the most impressive pieces are the monuments built by each state involved in the war. These take the form of huge sculptures of soldiers and horsemen and angels and such, wrought of massive amounts of bronze and stone, dedicated to the soldiers of that state who died at Gettysburg. These are sculptures of a scope that would be appropriate as the centerpiece of a town square or city park, plopped down on some rural grassy knoll of military-historical significance. Above, a detail of Virginia's monument. Five hundred dollars seems a bit cheap, actually.

Gettysburg 2

Your correspondents are far from being Civil War buffs, so pretty much any information we attempt to provide here should be taken with some grains of salt. The only other Civil War battlefield we have visited is Manassas, or Bull Run, which is nice and all, but is mostly just an open field with a few old cannons. We knew that being relatively close, Gettysburg was something we ought to do, but we didn't know what to expect. We were quite surprised.

First of all, the visitors' center features a very good museum with a history of the entire war and a crazy "cyclorama" which is apparently a word for a room with a giant 360-degree painting wrapped all around.

Second, and more surprising, were the monuments. There are over a thousand monuments ranging from modest stone markers to huge equestrian sculptures. From the best information we can gather, as Gettysburg was contemporaneously recognized and preserved as a historic location, many of the survivors of the battle decided to put up monuments there. This must have somehow fed on itself because there are monuments to every unit that fought in the battle, tributes to many prominent individuals, and memorials from each state involved. It creates a landscape unlike any other I have seen. It is sort of like a sprawling, low-density cemetery, creeping across miles of land, working around hills, forests, human development, and any other obstacle it may find.

Gettysburg 1

So, to review, we were in Afghanistan. We returned to America and spent Home Leave in Alaska and California and Colorado. We have been back at our assignment in Washington since August, some seven months ago(!), and, in an attempt to keep publishing without ranging too into "what we had for breakfast" territory, been slowly shuffling through photos from leave ever since. But we're almost pretty close to being done with those pictures.

So, for this week only, some notes from the Washington area, or at least from a day trip away from Washington to Gettysburg. Starting with this picture, from the sprawling cemetery with row upon row of graves of unknown Union soldiers, generally buried by regiment.

This was also the site of the Gettysburg Address - which I guess is why some visitors leave pennies on the grave markers. The Lincoln connection is clear but the exact significance still escapes me.

Colorado 16

Ok, I think that's all from Colorado for now. Next week, something else. For now, two versions of the same picture. If you're feeling motivated, feel free to let us know which one you like better, star trails or stars standing still.

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One more from the same abandoned gas station. Different angle, more flowers. I'm hopeless with flower names. I guess these are just daisies, but they have such an extreme sloped-petal shape, not unlike a shuttlecock, maybe they're some sub-type like "Badminton Daisies." Although modest internet research suggests maybe it's chamomile, which can't possibly be right.

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We're back from vacation! It was great. Let's finish out the week with the last few pictures from Colorado and then on to new topics next week. This gas station, abandoned and attractively overrun by nature, can be found just outside of Leadville.