Morocco – Habitual Travelers

MOROCCO

We flew from Geneva, Switzerland (after enjoying our ski trip), to Marrakesh and stayed at the La Mamounia Hotel. We played tennis on clay courts, laid by the pool, walked in the beautiful gardens, had massages and a Hammam. We hired a guide (Muhamed) to take us to the Medina (the old walled city with the markets). We toured the Bahia Palace, (19th century home of the Sultan), the Islamic School of Learning, (a 1565 University), and the Majarelle Gardens. (Built by Majarelle and bought by Yves St. Laurent and put into a trust.)

LA MAMOUNIA HOTEL

THE MEDINA (The old walled city with the markets)

Rugs

Spices

Baskets

Making toys (with their feet!)

Dresses

Jewelry

ISLAMIC SCHOOL OF LEARNING UNIVERSITY 1565

EL BAHIA PALACE – 19th CENTURY HOME OF THE SULTAN

MAJARELLE GARDENS

Our guide took us to lunch at his family owned Riad. A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with and interior courtyard. Most of these have been turned into guesthouses.

We rented a 4 x 4 Toyota Land Cruiser. (By the way, no one rents a car in Morocco) We were supposed to drive over the Atlas Mountains to Skoura and on to Kasbah Dar Ahlam. The Tischla Pass going over the mountains was closed for snow, so we drove an extra 5 hours around the mountains through Agadir to get to our Kasbah.

Our Land Cruiser. We basically had to go to a house with a back gate to find it. (Not from Hertz)

The Atlas Mountains covered in snow, so we had to make a detour.

Here is a map of the route we took around Morocco and into the desert.

KASBAH DAR AHLAM

A Kasbah is an oasis that is along the old camel route that went all the way to Timbuktu. There is usually a large door that lets Camels through and then a people door inside of it. Most of these Kasbahs have been turned into beautiful guest houses. Kasbah Dar Ahlam was very authentic, each guest served in its own area, and authentic music played for dinner by local musicians. They have a nice spa for massages and hammams. It was a great place to stay.

Breakfast wherever you like.

The outside gate into our room.

Inside our room

Local musicians play for you while you eat.

Our Bathroom.

We took a side trip to see an amazing Unesco site.

AIT BEN HADDOU

Ait Ben Haddou is a World Heritage Unesco site along the caravan route near the city of Ourzazate. There are about 6 Kasbahs and some homes still left here and many movies have been filmed here. (Gladiator, Prince of Persia, Game of Thrones, etc.).

We bought some purses, paintings, a rug, and had tea with the rug dealer.

THE DRAA VALLEY

We drove our trusty Land Cruiser from Skoura down through the Draa Valley towards the Sahara Desert.

Villagers

Local Women.

We passed through Berber Villages, palm groves, Kasbahs, and saw lots of donkey carts…

We plan to drive with a Berber guide (in our backseat, telling us where to drive across the sand).

The Berbers are the nomads that were Morocco’s original inhabitants. At Zagora, the last town before the desert, we picked up our guide, named Hassan, and purchased the traditional blue clothing and turbans for ourselves to wear in the desert.

Hassan and Barb

Barb noticed that she got more respect and friendliness from the Berber women when dressed in their clothing.

Scott had a blast driving across the miles of sand in the desert, with Hassan directing which way to go from the back seat. (There are no roads.). Hassan and his family grew up in the desert, so he knows where to find an Oasis, or places we wanted to see.

We are heading to the tented camp of Erg Chigaga.

ERG CHIGAGA

Our Tent for the night.

There are about 5 tents in camp. This is where we ate.

After arriving at the tented camp we headed up the dunes for our sundowner.

Our Sundownder

Barb turned into BERBER GENIE and decided to do a Berber Dance. Our sundowner guide said, “You make me so happy”.

This was our “Happy” Sundowner guide.

The camp of Erg Chigaga, out in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

We spent a very cold night in our tent out in the desert, and the next day started out on a camel trek.

AN UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE

Barb cut her leg from a screw sticking out of the camel saddle which needed stitches. We had to drive a fast 4 hours back out of the desert, near the Algerian border, to the town of Foum Zguid, and back up the road to the city of Ourzazate to find a doctor. We found a private clinic that could stitch Barb up.

Driving across the sands.

The sights along the way.

Towns along the main road.

We missed our second night in the desert, but stayed in Ourzazate at the Berber Palace Hotel.

Berber Palace Hotel.

The next day we drove over the Atlas Mountains, through Tischla Pass (it was open again, but with lots of snow), and back to Marrakesh for a night.

Tischler Pass.

After a night in Marrakesh, we drove to Kasbah Tamadot, near Asni. We enjoyed tennis, spa, food, and shopping.

KASBAH TAMADOT

An Oasis in the middle of nowhere.

Typical Moroccan foods are Tangines. They are a stew of spiced meats or vegetables prepared by slow cooking in a shallow earthenware dish with a tall, conical lid.