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and a bit of the north,” said Sánchez.
“They went back home and I contin-
ued on up north to a place called
Chefchaouen. It’s a tongue twister,
but it’s way up in the Rif Mountains
in the far north, almost up to the
Mediterranean coast. They call it ‘The
Blue City.’ It’s kind of tucked into
the mountains there, kind of hidden.
I was really amazed by that. It is a
really old city, probably one of my
favorite places in Morocco, from a
photography standpoint. The oldest
part of the old city is all painted like
an indigo blue, all blue everywhere.
Several different shades of blue.”
No cars are allowed in Blue City
center, just very old and blue stone
buildings and ancient stone streets.
“Everything is blue,” Sánchez
reiterated. “I mean, I really can’t
describe it any other way.“
If one is fortunate enough to get
out away from the city and look back
from a higher vantage point, the
view, Sánchez said, is spectacular.
Chefchaouen, he promised, is Google
worthy.
In 2003, as the Second Gulf War
or invasion of Iraq was getting under-
way, Sánchez visited Turkey, Jordan,
Israel and Egypt, all, in his book,
amazing places.
“Unfortunately I didn’t get in,
but I wanted to go to Syria — and
this was long before the Syrian Civil
War started. I was told I had to get
a visa at the embassy, the actual
Syrian Embassy. Couldn’t get it at the
border.”
He would like to go back to
Jerusalem, he said, “now that I know
a lot more about photography, and
give it a proper photo trip.”
“I love the history,” he added. “I
won’t go into the religious aspects,
but I really appreciate the history,
because that area is home to three
great faiths that for better and for
worse have shaped a lot of world
history — whether we like it or not.
It’s a very hotly contested piece of
real estate.”
Interested in journalism at the
time, Sánchez said he felt “pulled” to
the area.
Currently, Sánchez’s day job is
surveying water systems, a job that
includes a bit of travel. At the time
of this writing, he was in Seattle
Taj Mahal, India
and mentioned he might be going
to Alaska. Wherever he goes, it’s a
sure bet he’ll have a camera along to
capture images that without the aid
of words tell rich, vibrant stories.