Sunday November, 8 ~ Boumalne/Dades

Today was a ‘sea day’ if we were at sea.  Since we are not we had breakfast and boarded our very comfortable, half-full bus for a drive through the High Atlas Mountains and through the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass.  Built in the 1930’s and currently being widened so that it is truly a two-way street, the road is the highest and only way through the mountains.  At 7,417 feet crops have given way to bare red soil.  The hairpin turns and frequent switchbacks made for a harrowing ride but did make us appreciate our excellent driver, Hakkim.   

As we came back down the mountain we began to see palm trees and more wadi (river beds).  We stopped for lunch in a village and then crossed the Wadi Mellah on foot to begin the climb at Ait Benhaddou.  I was glad I had my walking stick as it was a series of uneven steps and steep cobbled pavement mixed with rough pebbled paths.  The site is familiar as an oft filmed location for desert movies. The pink sandstone is very classically Moroccan.

 
On the way down the steep hill, I noticed people, especially children, using broad stepping stones to cross the Wadi to the village.

As we continued our drive we could see the vegetation becoming richer and palm trees were joined by almond and olive trees.  My Maddie would that olives can be picked right off the tree.  The color of the olive is not distinctive to the tree but to the ripeness of the fruits.

We passed through the large town of Ouarzazate, pronounced “where’s it at.”  This is the home of Atlas Studios.  Many movies have been made here for nearly 100 years.  Michael Douglas was one of the first to have a beautiful home here as do many stars like Sandra Bullock and others.  The small city façade, shot from many angles, is perfect to be Jerusalem in movies about Christ.  The desert is fine to be the Old West.  And through the magic of the movies the 30,000 square meters of desert that makes Atlas Film Studios has provided livelihoods for thousands of residents.  They are especially busy when filming is going on and many work as extras in the crowd scenes that are so familiar in movies about the Middle East.

We passed W

We We take a break every hour and a half while traveling and these rest stops are well timed.  I always find interesting things to see and take pictures of, or people to talk to.  The person I do not like to talk to is the lady who is the rest room attendant.  We have just come so far from having to put a dime in a slot and turn the key to use a toilet that it slightly irks me that a lady has to stand in a restroom, which may or may not be the best stop you have ever made, and collect one dirham, a dime, and then mop the floor because the plumbing doesn’t work properly.  Or perhaps she pours bottled water over your hands because the sink does not work!  Many of the stops are pleasant ones.  They have a small coffee shop, maybe a garden, usually an ice cream case, some cold sodas and waters, but always have the lady with the toilet paper and the mop!

This man was waiting to cross the road by our rest stop to join his Nomad friends or family nearby.

Sights along the way are either dim hovels that look deserted or nice places like this Kasbah. 

A Kasbah is a fortified home for one family.  Usually three or four generations.  It is usually in a Ksar, which is a walled, semi-fortified compound for several generations and relatives like aunts, uncles, cousins, and close retainers.  The Ksar we visited had a series of three thick walls  The outside wall is the tallest.  But they all, whether Kasbah or hovel,  seem to blend into the background of sand and sand hills since it is the material of which they are made.

At last we arrived at our hotel and were greeted by musicians and dancers.  We are glad to be here even if for just one night.

Here they are resting up for the next group to arrive.  There were five from many countries here this night!  And on that note, good night!