In love with the desert
Stock image #maro0653
Patterns in the sand created by the wind
Merzouga - Erg Chebbi (Erfoud, Morocco, Northern Africa, Africa - Sahara desert)
Native file size: 18.9 MB
I will probably always remember the first time I saw these dunes, thirteen years ago. Emerging from an infinite sea of rocks burned by the sun, their deep red-amber color evoked in me warmth and a peaceful feeling of life and protection.
Their perfect curves and their immaculate surface would smoothen the temper of the adolescent I was. The silence was so strong it would quiet the noise of my thoughts. Past the torrid heat of daytime, the temperate warmth of the evening would bring relaxing smells, a pure sensation of harmony, plain joy. The stars seemed to shine more brightly than anywhere else. Years later, I would still dream of my walks among the dunes, like an ant on an undulating curtain, and wake up in the morning remembering vivid images of those "dry dreams".
I returned to these dunes last summer to show their magic to the woman I love. Time had certainly romanticized my memories, the hot air was suffocating, but the charm was intact. It is amazing how we can love such inhospitable places... Perhaps because in the comfort of our modern cities, lasting satisfaction of our senses and inner peace and so rarely experienced that they can take over our rationality?
Their perfect curves and their immaculate surface would smoothen the temper of the adolescent I was. The silence was so strong it would quiet the noise of my thoughts. Past the torrid heat of daytime, the temperate warmth of the evening would bring relaxing smells, a pure sensation of harmony, plain joy. The stars seemed to shine more brightly than anywhere else. Years later, I would still dream of my walks among the dunes, like an ant on an undulating curtain, and wake up in the morning remembering vivid images of those "dry dreams".
I returned to these dunes last summer to show their magic to the woman I love. Time had certainly romanticized my memories, the hot air was suffocating, but the charm was intact. It is amazing how we can love such inhospitable places... Perhaps because in the comfort of our modern cities, lasting satisfaction of our senses and inner peace and so rarely experienced that they can take over our rationality?