Onward to the Moroccan Sahara: Road Trip Videos

25 04 2020

morocco, sahara sandstorm

Hello! These videos will bring alive some of the magic of my trip to Morocco. On this day, we head to the desert town of Merzouga, and we’ll cross desert badlands before riding camels. You’ll see a town this time with people milling about. Enjoy some of the music we had. Drive through a blinding sandstorm. Ride on a camel! See Sahara sand moving in the wind. See camels foraging in the dunes.

I had the luxury of riding in the front row of our 15-passemger van. It has a terrific view of the road ahead, and Mohamed and our driver had some good music playing! Plus at this time of day folks were milling about in this rural town. I love the fact that this video shows a woman sweeping the street – a very common sight! They like things cleaned up.

In this region of Morocco, rivers cut into the flat plateau. Flora found a rich source of water and soil all along these rivers. In a way, the rivers have become “winding oases” in the middle of the harsh environment. Date palm groves go on for miles, and this is where the people live. Often, the images of the buildings amongst the date palms evoke images of the Bible.

As we were getting closer to the sand dunes, we were suddenly engulfed in a sand storm! Visibility almost nil. Then, just as quickly as it arrived, it vanished.

At last! It behold the Sahara! The Erg Chebbi dunes.

sahara desert, morocco sahara, merzouga

The edge of the dunes come into sight.

Riding into the dunes on camels.

In the distance, camels roam free amongst the dunes.

And sand moving in the wind.

Hope you enjoyed! The full Sahara post will follow! We camped out at the edge of the dunes.

 


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Our Kasbah Hotel in Midelt, Morocco

23 04 2020

 

Midelt Hotel resized

We left Fez for a long day on the road through the Mid-Atlas Mountains and then onto the high desert plateau. Along the way we witnessed a market for sheep. And got ourselves a picnic lunch, which we ate at a riverbend site. A shepherd with her flock of sheep passed through.

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Like every day, it was sunny, dry and comfortable. The wind was light.

We descended into a high plains landscape, passed through the town center of Midelt, reaching our hotel on the outskirts of town.

Right in front of the hotel, the snowy northern High Atlas Mountains dominated the view.

Mid Atlas resized

This hotel is built to resemble a kasbah. I though it was cool architecture. It had an outdoor swimming pool as well.

Katie, Adele, Debbie, Sandy and Michael
Pool
Sandy

The style of the rooms, and some of the surrounding buildings, walls, and even geography made me think I might be on the other side of the Atlantic, in Mexico! No doubt this is because of the Spanish-Moorish interchange over the centuries, and the shared architectural styles, which the Spanish brought with them to Mexico.

The rooms were airy and generous. The terracotta colored floor and the colors of the walls and drapes made me think of Mexico, too. I’ve never been to Spain myself. Perhaps it has a flair of Granada? The rooms were very generous. Each had a “sitting room” capable of sleeping two and a main room capable of sleeping three.

Sitting room.
My bed was a king which even had a body pillow.

There was a little hike we could do to a pond nearby, and on the way, once again, I felt like I could be in Mexico. The look of the houses, the walls, end even a nearby mesa completed the image.

The walk wasn’t without beauty, as spring cherry trees were flowering and some peacocks strutted around!

Down at the pond, an information sign got me grounded. It definitively reminded me that I was NOT in Mexico, because it was in French! Essentially, it said the surrounding area and Atlas mountains drained into this river, which the pond is part of, and that it joined other rivers heading north to the Atlantic. It is 13 meters deep. The fish that find home here are bass and trout. There are also Green North African frogs.

Pond Information resized

That night, I ate trout, which was quite tasty, from this pond!

On the way to the hotel, we passed through central Midelt, and like many towns in rural Morocco, it was very quiet. In my pictures, there’s nobody in sight. There are many reasons. There are people, but the men are out working their fields, or women are inside cooking and cleaning. We passed through at a time later in the afternoon. We’d see lots more people when children are going to or coming from school. Or, on certain days of the week markets are open, and locals plus people from surrounding areas are all shopping. We’d see women gathering discussing women stuff, or men at the Mosques or cafes. In the most conservative rural towns, there is a culture about women and their attractiveness to men. Women stay inside and the homes are designed so that women can see out, but men cannot see them inside. That way, the men can concentrate on the tasks at hand, rather than “distractions” or “temptations.” In the cities, this was not so much the case.

On the next day, we were traveling to one of the HIGHLIGHTS of our trip! We would be riding camels on the Sahara! And spending the night in the desert.

 

 

 

 


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Fez, Morocco: Crafts and Medinas

19 04 2020
Katie at the Textile shop

Katie looking iconic!

From Meknes, we made our way to Fez for two nights. Fez has been described as the “Cultural Capital of Morocco.” With 1.7 million inhabitants, it is the second largest city in the country. It houses a Royal Palace, and is known for its medinas, religious schools, and production of ceramics, textiles and leather. It was founded sometime in the 8th Century.

Our drive took us past uncounted olive plantations and other types of farms or ranches.

We arrived in time to settle into hotel rooms, and then went out to dinner. Mohamed suggested I try the Chicken Pastilla. It’s a twist on chicken for dinner! It’s kind of lightly sweet pastry layers over chicken. Delicious!

 

In the morning, we headed to a kasbah with a commanding view of the city.

Morning view of Fez
Fez sunset from roof top bar

From the hilltop, we could see castle walls, the medinas, and university, mosques, city gates, and more.

Like other cities in Morocco, the roads were in good condition and the traffic manageable. Many of the streets were lined with palm trees and modern lighting.

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It was the beginning of another beautiful day. Next on our agenda was a visit to Dar al-Makhzen, the Royal Palace. We stopped in a square where the palace gates are located. There were guards dressed to the nines from various military branches. Each gate was painstakingly crafted in intricate detail.

Dar al-Makhzen Gate Rod resized

Dar al-Makhzen Gate Adele and Katie
The detail is not only the tiled mosaic but the metal edging
Lots of patterns
The guards

 

We then journeyed to a ceramics factory. I hesitate to call it a factory because everything is hand made. There, skilled craftsmen perform all the tasks necessary to make the various products. Everything conceivable is made. Bowls, cups, urns, tagines, tablets, vases, figurines and more. We saw everything from the raw clay to how artisans turned pottery wheels, added metal decorations, and fashioned tile inlays.

Lighting made sweet images!
Tajines, bowls and urns waiting the next step

Even in their unfinished form, the shapes and colors made for very beautiful images!

Vases
Tajines
This finished bowl really caught my eye but I couldn’t afford it!

We got close up glimpses of the artisans at work. Each was a specialist in one area or another. All kinds of skills here. Metal work. Chiseling. Sculpting. Painting.

Fez Ceramic worker 1 resized

Everybody in Morocco wears a NY Yankee hat!

Fez Making a Tagine 1 resized

This will become a Tajine

Adding metalic accents
Making inlays

Next we took a stroll through one of the busy medinas. We’d wind through the many alleyways, filled with sections of shops – in a section you can find textile shops, meat shops, jewelry shops, dress shops – pretty much anything. Along the way, a donkey or cart might squeeze by. Better keep your valuables close at hand, our local guide cautioned.

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Like other medinas, it had seemingly endless alleys leading in all directions. And all along there are doors – some doors lead to shops, but others lead to restaurants, homes, riads, or even places of worship. And then, just when you are feeling overwhelmed, the call to prayer from the Imam fills the air!

As I’ve said before, whilst walking the medinas, an unassuming doorway often leads to something fantastic. Here, we encountered an open roof mosque. It was incredibly meticulously crafted with marvelous detail.

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Two more crafts to visit. We toured a section of town where they make leather goods. I imagined it employed several thousand people. And we went to a textiles “factory.” That is where I got the next image of Katie in a traditional head scarf!

Fez Katie 2

That evening, we all gathered for sunset drinks at a hotel roof bar. The stars came out.

The following day would be a long drive out to Midelt – getting closer to the Atlas Mountains.


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Outpost of Empire: Volubilis, Morocco

3 04 2020
morocco, volubilis morocco

Standing in front of Corinthian columns.

After lunch, we drove out to Volubilis. This ancient Roman city is the finest archeological site in Morocco. At its peak in the 2nd Century A.D., it spread out over 100 acres and had a population estimated at 20,000. What we see today looks to be Roman, but that belies the many waves of kingdoms and cultures that made this city home. It is often referred to as a Berber city as well.

Before the Romans, it was founded in the 2nd Century B.C. as the capital of Mauritania. It became a Roman client state in the 1st Century B.C. and then was annexed by Rome in 44 A.D. And after the Romans, in 787, it became the capital of Idris I, the first king of the Idrisid dynasty. Eventually it fell back into local tribal ownership. It was continuously populated under various rulers until the 1755 Great Lisbon Earthquake leveled it, along with many cities and towns in southern Europe and North Africa.

Volubilis enjoys status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the numerous cultures that lived here. For over 1,000 years, it was inhabited by Berbers, Arabs, Romans, Mauretanians, Libyans, Jews, Moors, as well as Aftrican and Christian cultures. Archeologists have unearthed evidence of all these cultures.

When we arrived the day had turned dry, warm and bright. The city sits on a hillside and has an uninterrupted view of the surrounding area. Wending our way through the ruins, the extent of the city became apparent. There were baths, rest rooms, an industrial size olive press, elaborate halls, a sewer under the main street, and intricate tile floors depicting elements of daily life, as well as tales of the Gods and Hercules.

I hadn’t been to a Roman ruin since 1983
You can spend hours exploring
Arch of Caracalla (Triumphant Arch)
I could imagine all the hustle bustle
View of the valley beyond

Another reason this city was selected as a World Heritage site is its integrity. After 1755, it was essentially abandoned and left alone. So what the architects found was as pristine as it had been for centuries.

Corinthian columns have a “flower-like” top
Iambic columns have a “rolled paper-ish” top
Penny and her dad Craig

All three types of columns were evident – Doric, Iambic and Corinthian. Corinthian are more fancy and detailed at the the top. For Iambic, the top looks like a a sheet of paper with rolls on either end. Doric are the simplest, with the top kind of looking like a chopped off inverted pyramid (I don’t have images for those).

Many of the structures contained elaborate tile floors depicting images of gods, stories of the gods, and pictures of animals.

Chariots and Lions1 resized

Not sure what’s going on, but there is a man, horse, and I think lion

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Here, a man riding a horse backwards

Hercules Wrestling Snakes resized

Hercules wrestling snakes

A swastika, important in Hindu beliefs.
Sea life
Lions and others
Hercules wrestling a creature I can’t ID
Face of Hercules
? Use your imagination.

The mosaics even contained evidence of just how far away influence had come. There was a swastika – a religious icon of divinity and spirituality from Hinduism.

The size, history and significance of Volubilis was a lot to comprehend. We had time in the bus to consider, as our destination for the night was Fez.

 

 

 


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