Intentional Traveler: Tuesday, November 10 ~ Erfoud ~ Sahara Oasis Experience

We had a little later start time but Elva and I both woke up early. Habit, I guess. I got up, dressed, did my exercises, and read a couple of chapters of my book, A House in Fes. Like everywhere in Morocco, there is more than one way to spell anything. When Elva got up, she checked her email and got ready for breakfast. We were way ahead of schedule and were first to board the bus and choose our seats. We didn’t take ones up front but are saving that for a long day of driving.

As we began to drive through the town we could see great number of men in front of us. Kahlid informed us that it must be a funeral. He let us know that all the men of the town, whether they knew the person or not, would join in the procession but no women, even if it was a woman being buried. The women prepare the female's body and visit in the home offering condolences to each other there. Whether a man or woman dies everyone one brings food and gifts of comfort to the home.

In this part of the desert men are buried in shrouds but women are buried in shrouds and coffins. Usually the body is carried on the shoulders of the men but in this case there was an ambulance with the coffin inside. The doors to the back of the ambulance opened and the men took big baskets of bread and oil and carried them on to feed everyone. As we passed by they were just taking the coffin from the car. There is no undertaker, hence no hearse. They do not embalm. The men of the family and neighbors dig the grave and bury the person about nine feet deep in the sandy soil.

You may be able to see that at the back of the crowd men have their bicycles. More and more men came to join in. The woman had probably died the previous afternoon. The Muslims bury even more quickly than Jewish people do. Perhaps this has to do with desert heat.

We continued on through Erfoud to meet this young man at the ‘fossil factory.’

His father first found the fossils in the nearby desert and created a quarry of sorts. They now have a wonderful business creating objets d’arts and useful things like sinks, plates, fountains etc. He used water to demonstrate how the fossils manifest once the stone receives its high polish.

Once they identify the location of the elements they chisel away the surroundings and can cause the ancient remains to elevate to an original size.

Many pieces are specially ordered by hotels, banks, and wealthy people. In the shop were so many beautiful pieces that none of us could resist purchasing!

On the bus on the way to the next stop Kahlid demonstrated the proper way to create appropriate headgear for camel riding.

The girls from Columbia really caught on quickly. All the Columbians are so much fun. We have enjoyed getting to know them. We are practicing our Spanish while they are perfecting their English.

We stopped in the old town of Rissani where roads end and desert tracks begin. It was a major jumping off point for caravans since about 757 a.d.

The Rissani Souk is most famous as it used to have all the supplies travelers would need to safely cross the grand Sahara Desert. Do we look ready to join a caravan? The bargain hunter's really loved this souk…it was a shopper’s joy, a haggler’s paradise.

Elva and I were glad to move through the Kasbah, in this case a fortification to the Ksar Oulas-Abdelhalim. This tribal compound is still inhabited by original descendants. Much like the castles of England and the Manor Houses of France, it is open to the public in an effort to raise needed funds to preserve and restore it. Kahlid drew a diagram in the gravelly sand for us to demonstrate the series of three walls, each of increasing size, to provide a defense.

The Ksar was built as late as 1900 for the brother of the Sultan. This monumental entrance opened into a now familiar pattern; a labyrinth, in this case of dilapidated rooms of varying sizes and uses.

The interior door led to still more twists and turns. The fine artistry of the builders can still be seen, however.

The owner was having his Moroccan Whiskey break. He was also praying. I asked to take his photo which is the only polite thing to do. In a nearby room his daughter was watching an American soap opera on T.V. Kahlid had told us that his own wife controlled the T.V. and loved American shows. A

We continued to the courtyard and as always commented on how the high, thick walls keep out both the noise and the heat of the city.

After returning to the bus we continued on our journey to our Sahara Desert Experience. When we arrived at our rest stop we found that Kahlid had ordered a small Moroccan pizza to share. It would remind my family very much of a think Berok. He said it is layers of phyllo dough stuffed with ground meat, onions, and spices. Seems more bread like to me. Very delicious.

At last we headed for the Erg Chebbi Dunes. Our bus headed back to meet us at our hotel later while we piled into 4 x 4’s of an elegant nature. Cindy, Barton, Elva, and I shared ours with Kahlid and our desert driver. We were #1 and were glad to be at the lead as we now went off road crossing rocky, sandy desert kicking up lots of dust for those behind us. I am sure it was filtering through the air conditioning as even I could feel it in our car. It took about an hour to reach the Oasis.

Wherever we stopped, children were happy to get little candies from us. A treat for them, I guess, even though they see many, many tourists in season. The nomadic families lead a difficult life but seem to be happy, cheerful, and content. Children are children everywhere in this wonderful world!

You cannot leave footprints in the sand. The dune collapses around you. This is the amazing, red Sahara Desert! ….

…But Camels can!

This lady had a few small things to sell. There are many who beg in the cities, especially in the Medinas, but most try to exchange, or sell, you something in return. This mother swatted at the flies on herself but the baby had flies on his face that didn't seem to bother her at all!

Bar-b-que lunch in the Oasis.

We have been teasing BaWe have been teasing Barton, the only single man on the trip, that he had a Hareem.

Actually, a Hareem was a good thing as it offered protection for widowed, divorced, and single women. It did not always involve a sexual or multiple marriage situation. Often a wealthy man would take in the wives and children of those who worked for him but may have died. The Sultan who had 500 wives offered protection to the wives of those soldiers who were killed in his service.

At last we were ready to continue across the sand to the edge of the lower dunes to our trusty steeds…a Dromedary ride. Morocco has single humped animals not double humped ones which are truly the camels.

But first a stop at a Nomad tent of a widow woman for a tea break. Her sons work in the city which is about an hour away.

She was proud to show us her kitchen. It was in a palm leaf hut next to the tent.

The parking lot!

All aboard!

Elva waves from the dromedary behind me.

We traveled in mini-caravans of four or five. Not everyone chose to ride.

Various tour groups came from many directions to enjoy the sunset on the dunes.

Yes, we passed cameras and phones around to get pictures of each other. I was very happy. I named mine Smokey.

When Smokey knelt down for my dismount, it was sudden and abrupt. I really felt it and still do! But it was so worth it. Here is Sundown on the Sahara!