November 17-18, 2010
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Leaving Erfoud behind, our next overnight stop was due in the movie-making town of Ouarzazate, called by some “Morocco’s Hollywood.” “How is its name pronounced,” you say? According to our guide, it sounds like “warrr-zah-zet” with a rolled r and emphasis on the last syllable --- just in case you need to know.
Parts of many well-known movies have been shot in Ouarzazate and its surroundings. The list is lengthy but includes such films as: Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars, The Living Daylights, The Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, The Mummy, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Cleopatra, and The Man Who Would Be King.
Hardly out of Erfoud, we encountered a casbah built in 1679 and stopped to investigate:
Casbahs --- or walled citadels --- are found in many North African cities and towns. This one was in remarkable shape for its age but totally vacant. We strolled right in:
We were soon joined by several children who walked into the casbah with us. They were well dressed as this was the “Festival Day” mentioned earlier. Our guess was that their parents had not yet returned from prayers at the mosque and the kids were accustomed to roaming freely. They were not trying to sell us anything or begging for money but were well-behaved, curious and hamming it up as kids do so expertly.
After their turn, we all had a chance for fame in front of the camera:
Farther along the road, we made another stop, this time near a Berber tent:
The proprietor hoped passersby would pause to buy refreshments he sold inside.
Barring that, he had another trick up his sleeve. His tent was located in a field of artesian wells and some of them, at least, were interconnected below ground. We watched in fascination as he descended into one well and popped up several minutes later in another. Though he sold us no drinks, his underground performance was rewarded by our guide.
Camels? Yes, we spotted a number of them such as this group beside the road:
Chances are they were not wild camels but belonged to someone just as the herd of goats below was obviously in the care of this herder. These goatherds seemed to appear out of thin air --- where they came from or were going was anyone’s guess.
Even more amazing, we saw quite a few Moroccans --- including a mother with her baby and child --- walking far from the highway in desert-like terrain with no visible habitation anywhere. Either their homes are REALLY tucked away or they regularly walk great distances --- or both.
Passing the town of Tinehir we headed for the Todra Gorge. Near this town, mountain streams create another oasis. From our vantage point, the lush valley seemed endless in both directions:
It was another good place for a photo shoot.
Before our climb to the gorge began in earnest, we had a last view toward Tinehir:
The narrow, winding road was reasonably well-maintained and, before long, we reached the most spectacular part of the gorge --- as far as coaches go. With time to wander about, we realized that trying to capture the whole scene with a camera was fruitless. The rock walls, in places only 33 feet apart at ground level, reach up to 525 feet.
That first coach in the distance is ours; beyond on the right are restaurants and even a hotel! The pavement does not end here but continues past the hotel up to several villages.
This view looks downstream, the direction from which we entered the gorge:
In all honesty, finding such a grand canyon in Morocco was quite a surprise. Many of us, I suspect, tend to think of Morocco as thoroughly flat --- wrong!
These next three photos were snapped on our way back to Tinehir. As we drove out of the gorge, we spotted numerous irrigation channels that tap the stream, diverting water to places it is needed.
After all our stops today, we were beginning to think lunch would be skipped. In due time, though, we enjoyed a shishkabob meal on the patio of this lovely old hotel, shown below with our guide leading the way:
Afterwards, we observed a traditional mint tea preparation ceremony. Most of us opted for far less sugar in our tea than is customary in Morocco.
In addition, each lady on our tour was offered the chance to have a henna design painted on her hand. Most accepted the offer and displayed their pretty design for almost a week.
It was late afternoon when we finally reached Ouarzazate and lodged in the excellent Berbere Palace Hotel:
Impossible to miss in the foreground is our clean and reliable coach. It had an exit at the rear as well as at the front. Its one negative was the absence of a restroom on board. Although the many rest stops we made seemed to work for everyone, I imagine that an onboard restroom would have been the #1 choice in many of the places we stopped. In fact, there would probably have been a long line for it!
In keeping with its location in the film capital of Morocco, the Berbere Palace is decorated with numerous motion picture props (or replicas thereof). We did not see one “Hands Off!” sign on any of them so, naturally, we HAD to try some of them out:
Hmmmm.....if all royals had to do was be photographed, I think we could handle it.