A Windy Coast And A Breath Of Fresh Air

 

Growing Up In Morocco

Shopping for a belly dance costume in the souk and learning the shimmy shake!

Lots of camels to feed!

Never bored of henna painting!

Siesta on hot days, nothing better than a pile of Beni Ouarain carpets to lie on!

A visit to the desert and playing in one of the world's largest sandpits!

Learning to repair Moroccan wedding blankets but lets start with a scrap!

Magical Essaouira

Mystical and magical Essaouira, history breathes hauntingly through the streets of this town. Dark, small alleys and the many arches whisper tales of times long gone by and it only needs a little imagination to visualise the caravan trade from sub-Saharan Africa that once arrived in this eighteenth century port.

Essaouira has inherited a wonderful blend of cultural influences from the diverse ethnical groups that have inhabited the town. The Arabs, Berbers, Jews, Africans and Europeans have all contributed to the rich heritage of old traditions and the artistic spirit of this town.

Essaouira is one of the most photogenic towns of Morocco, colourful, dramatic, enchanting and always ready for the perfect pose! 

South Where The Heart Is; The Desert

Another season is slowly ending. It has been a long and wonderful summer, very hot too! A summer with time to reflect about the present and to evaluate our plans for the future. More than that there was time to connect with the past, to embrace old friends and take long walks down memory lane. Time to spend with the people that have known me for many years and with whom I share memories that reunite me with my younger self.   

A summer with time to travel to one of my favourite places in Morocco, the desert. A place far beyond Marrakech and across the High Atlas Mountains. A journey on the road along the many lush palm groves of the Draa Valley and stunning old Berber villages. A place where it all started, where I fell incurably in love with Morocco and where my life slowly began to change.

This summer I seized the opportunity to travel to this special place with Zohra. To share with her the magnificent sand dunes, to ride a camel into the desert and listen to the silence. To sleep in a Kasbah and to experience the heartfelt hospitality of the beautiful South. 

Diversity Of Morocco

Did you know that you can ski in Morocco? It takes about an hour and a half to drive from the heart of Marrakech to the ski resort of Oukaimeden. From Dar Zohra it is just forty minutes but you may want to make a few stops to marvel at the fantastic scenery along the way!

For those not so much into skiing it is still a very worth while day trip to this beautiful winter wonderland. On a clear day the horizons of the High Atlas Mountains are spectacular.

Beautiful scenery on the way up to the peeks of Oukaimeden.

Spectacular views of the High Atlas Mountains.

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And for the little ones there is snow sliding!

Imilchil Wedding Festival, Myth And Truth

Young woman wearing the typical
handira of the Ait  Haddidou tribe

It is said that the history of the Imilchil wedding festival begins with the tragic love story between a young man from the Ait Ibrahim tribe and a young girl from the Ait Azza tribe. The two rivalling tribes did not allow the young couple to be married and they cried endlessly until their bitter tears turned into two lakes, ‘Isli’ (bridegroom) and ‘Tislit’ (bride). In their despair they drowned themselves into the two lakes.

Some believe that the Imilchil wedding moussem was established to commemorate the unfortunate lovers by allowing young men and women to marry the partner of their choice.

I really love a romantic story but the version of several local people just sounds a little more likely!

A long time ago (nobody seems to know when), a village chief realised that many families could hardly afford the cost of a wedding ceremony for their sons and daughters. He decided that a communal ceremony would reduce the costs substantially and that the annual moussem would be the ideal time for the festivities.

The annual moussem is held after the harvests when people have earned their profits from the harvest sales. It is the time of year to celebrate and to purchase new tools, new animal stock and sufficient supplies for the long and harsh winter. It is the occasion for young women to dress up in their beautiful handiras and exchange glances with potential suitors.

Young woman showing the stunning embroidery on her handira

The festival or more correctly the year market lasts three days. It is held at an open space twenty three kilometres down the road from the village of Imilchil. People from the surrounding villages near and far come to this market. Trucks stuffed with people, supplies and animal stock drive to and from the market. It is a lively event, hectic, noisy and incredibly colourful.

People returning home with new stock

The collective wedding ceremony takes place on the first day of the market. It has become a widespread myth that the woman of the surrounding Berber clans come to the wedding ceremony in search of and to choose a husband. Perhaps the bittersweet legend of the two young lovers and the mythical (unthinkable) female liberty to choose a husband has encouraged the international fame and allure of the Imilchil wedding festival from which this desolate region greatly benefits. Nevertheless, the marriages are pre arranged by the families according to tradition.

Once you understand the remoteness of these villages and the limited access to this area due to the extreme poor condition of the roads (it is not a journey for the faint hearted!), the social importance of the annual moussem of Imilchil becomes obvious.

Lake Islit, the largest of the two lakes

Desolate landscape inhabited by semi nomadic Berbers and their flocks of sheep

Lake Tislit and lake Isli are separated by this deserted landscape

Semi nomadic Berber woman

Plenty of sheep wool in this region, home of the handiras

The Beautiful South, Skoura And A Thousand Kasbah's

Far beyond Marrakech and across the High Atlas Mountains lies a world of a thousand kasbah’s, green palm oases and yellow desert sand. Once upon a time, oh so many years ago, the younger version of me fell in love with the beautiful south.

I hadn’t been to the south for a while and until last week I had forgotten what I know. A short visit to Skoura reminded me of the magic of the valley of a thousand kasbah’s, the picturesque scenery of the landscape and the sweetness of the friendly locals. It reminded me that I am still so in love with the beautiful south.

The fortified city (ksar) Aït Benhaddou



The kasbah in Tamdaght

 

The beautiful kasbah Amahidil

Zohra playing with a cat inside kasbah Amahidil

Tiz-n-Test

Beyond Marrakech and a right turn in the heart of the village of Ourika Tnine towards Asni, the road leads through a quiet and peaceful landscape. Endless fields of the greenest grass contrast beautifully against the distant blue-grey mountains of the High Atlas and the snow topped mountain peaks seemingly sparkle beneath the clear blue winter skies. Here it seems as if the world is immersed in silence. A shepherd and his herd or a farmer sitting at the side of the road watching the world go by reflect the calm pace of life in this area.

Only the new administrative town of Tahannaout, expanding rapidly into the green fields of the countryside with its ugly grey concrete, disturbs the eye and reminds us of the day and age we live in. Leaving Tahannaout behind and onwards to Asni the landscape continues to be picturesque and peaceful. In this enchanting scenery there is not the slightest hint of what lies ahead. Nothing reveals what waits further along the road when the climb to the Tiz-n-Test begins.

Past the village of Asni and the distant Toubkal Mountain top the road begins to climb. As the road continues to go up the slopes of the High Atlas the scenery changes with almost every curve or hairpin bend, offering spectacular panoramic views of the High Atlas mountain range and of the many old Berber villages which have been laying undisturbed in the valleys and on the mountain edges for many centuries.

But it is not all beauty the Tiz-n-Test has to offer! It is a dangerous and frightening journey on this road which lacks barriers along the enormous depths. The road is often just wide enough for one car and there is no knowing what traffic may be ahead around the many corners. Locals drive at high speeds their illegal taxi vans or large lorries, apparently without any awareness of other traffic and certainly without courtesy. It is not a journey for the fainthearted and I found myself in a constant struggle whether to focus my attention on the surreal beauty of the mountain scenery or on the uninviting depths I looked upon from the car window.

Unless you already know it a great surprise awaits once the climb has ended and the descent towards Taroudant begins. On a clear and sunny day a spectacular panorama appears before your eyes offering a view into the valley, a great openness that leads almost a hundred kilometres towards the town of Taroudant.