With over 2000 years of history in Morocco, the Jewish people became an integral part of the country. Since the foundation of Israel the population of Jews has dropped from nearly 300 000 to only 3000 today. The remaining historic and religious sites, synagogues and cemeteries are protected through the Jewish community, but the guardians are almost all Muslims, a duty often passed down trough families. Some of these guardian were handed the keys to these sacred sited by their neighbours, the last Jews to leave the towns, and were cared for for decades without a single visitor. These are some of those guardians. (note: image # 7 the last Berber Jew in the Ourika valley)

The cat holds a special place in Islam. Arabs in the 7th century believed that the cat was pure spirited. Pre-Islamic Arabs are said to have worshiped a Golden Cat. It is also said that the prophet Mohammad had a deep love for cats which led to their historical acceptance and reverence among Muslims.
In Morocco cats are found on every street, and many seem to be struggling to maintain that purity.

A couple images I really like from some recent weddings.

As a photographer with a sister in fashion design, I often am asked to provide my service. This is something I always enjoy, as it’s hard not to make a great image with beautiful models, cloths and creative concepts simply handed to me. This is a shoot for Lara Vincent’s hair piece collection. More of her designs can be seen at http://laravincent.blogspot.com/

This is a taste of a project I am currently editing on the Jewish history of Morocco.

Welcome to my new journal.

I am off to Morocco this week and will keep you posted here.