KHADOUJ  - Agadir, Morocco - October 2015

Behind The Picture: I met Khadouj in an olive tree field behind a small remote village hidden in the Mountains outside Marrakech on the second last day of my trip; she was washing clothes at a big fountain with many other women. The view was breathtaking. My friend Adil (and guide for the day), had known Khadouj his all life. His family owns those fields and she  works for them and had for many years. She looks very happy when she sees Adil. [He writes me on fb  later on  "she lost her husband a long time a go and started working in harvest of olive... Agriculture to help her kids".]

She comes towards us with a huge smile on her face and hugs us both. She talks to me in the sweetest way, she looks me in the eyes, smiles, caresses my face, smiles again and then says something to me I definitely can't understand.  We obviously can't communicate but we both know what we are saying to each other in a weird way.  [Adil translates a few words here and there and he tells me they are washing clothes for someone who had just passed away. ]

She was so beautiful, she was so kind. One of the kindest person I had ever met.

I ask her if I can take her picture, she's very happy to do it, she walks me down at the bottom of the field, she brings her donkey with her and she poses for me in the most natural way—she does all this with genuine kindness and humanity—And then, while the sun is going down pure magic happens: a flock of beautiful, elegant white birds flies by right behind  Khadouj and the Mule.

I ask Adil to ask Khadouj what Beauty is to her. She looks at me then looks  at the fields and the hills surrounding  and with just a hand gesture she responds "look around".

It was Magic at its finest: Human and Nature working together to create Beauty.