Sofia Yablonska. The Charm of Morocco

“The Charm of Morocco” is the debut travel novel by Ukrainian traveler, writer, and photographer Sofia Yablonska, first published in Lviv in 1932. The author lived in Morocco for four months, during which she explored and described Arab Africa. The writer’s reportage is deeply personal, her unbiased view of this country is devoid of French influence and established genre traditions of the exotic novel, despite the fact that Sofia had already lived in Paris for several years before going to Morocco. She describes different layers of Arab society, their relationships with each other and with foreigners, the position of women and Berber tribes free from European protectorate.

The 2018 edition is part of the art project “TEURA. Sofia Yablonska”, the goal of which is to return Sofia Yablonska to the cultural discourse and establish her as a relevant figure in Ukrainian art. In addition to "The Charm of Morocco," the project published two other travel novels by Sofia - "From the Land of Ginger and Opium" and "Distant Horizons," as well as a book of her photos taken in the 1930s.