Nate Pesce loves a good adventure. So a couple of years ago, when the Ellicott City-based freelance photographer and cinematographer got the opportunity to travel to the Kingdom of Morocco, he jumped at the chance and enjoyed the experience of a lifetime.
“I wanted to see something I’d never seen before,” he says, “and I did.”
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For more than three weeks, Pesce – whose photos have graced such publications as the Washington Post, National Geographic Travel, the Baltimore Sun, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal – trekked and backpacked throughout the North African country.
He wanted to capture Morocco’s sights and sounds, from the ancient urban landscapes of Casablanca, Meknes, Fez and Marrakesh; through the majestic Atlas mountain range, the pristine Sahara Desert and the Valley of the Roses floral paradise; to the celebrated “blue cities” of Essaouira and Rabat.
“[Guitar legend] Jimi Hendrix used to hang out there and loved it,” he says of Essaouira. “You can watch the sunset over the Atlantic.”
Pesce found himself enthralled with the mosques, minarets, marketplaces and kasbahs, not to mention enchanted by the gentle, friendly people there.
“Morocco is timeless, a fantastic place to go to,” says Pesce. “There’s an historical feel, especially in the older cities. It’s the market or the medina, as they say – very old or modern. In some places, you feel like you’ve gone back in time, and some people there live like they did hundreds of years ago. It has a mystical feel about it
“If you’re adventurous or open to new experiences and different kinds of food, go there by all means,” he recommends. “You can get lost in Morocco very easily, and I don’t mean just geographically.”
Pesce says he hopes to return to Morocco later this year during a planned trip to Spain. His goal is to visit Morocco’s most famous “blue city,” Chefchaouen, which is situated along the country’s northwestern coast.
“It sounds amazing,” Pesce says.
To purchase Pesce’s photo book of his Moroccan adventure, go to blurb.com/b/6867132-morocco or visit his website, natepesce.com.
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