Photo of the Day 260

Laundry on Lines, High Atlas Mountains, Morocco, 2005

Photograph by Alexandra Boulat

Colorful laundry dries on lines in a Berber village in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains. Many Berbers, or Amazigh, fled to the highlands following the Arab conquest of North Africa in the seventh century A.D. Unlike the Berbers who remained with their conquerors, those who went to the High Atlas have until today managed to preserve their identity, their language, and their independence.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Among the Berbers: A Journey Through Morocco's High Atlas Mountains," January 2005, National Geographic magazine)

Photo of the Day 151

Berber Woman, Taarart, Morocco, 2005

Photograph by Alexandra Boulat

A Berber woman shows her hand, stained dark with henna for a wedding in the Moroccan town of Taarart. There are about 25 million Berbers—also known as Amazigh—living in Morocco and Algeria. They trace their roots back thousands of years before the seventh century Arab conquest that brought Islam to the region's mountains and deserts.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Among the Berbers: A Journey Through Morocco's High Atlas Mountains," January 2005, National Geographic magazine)