MOROCCO - CAMPİNG İN THE SAHARA

I had already mentioned that I love the desert and sand dunes. So when a group of 15 friends started  mailing each other about camping in the Sahara, I jumped on the occasion and this very month (April 2014) we headed for Morocco. We flew to Casablanca, immediately boarded our 4X4s at the airport ( the inevitable Toyota Land Cruiser again showed its off-road prowess) and drew to Marrakesh which we reached at the end of the afternoon. Some of us having never been to Morocco ( I had in 1999), a quick tour of the Djemaa el-Fna was inevitable. This square is famous as the geographical, social and  cultural center of Marrakesh and is part market, part restaurant, part theater and unfortunately part snake charmers who do not hesitate to throw one of those animals on your shoulders as if it were a shawl. As I cannot even look at the photo of a snake, I  was not very comfortable in the Djemaa el-Fna last time I came and nor was I this time. I could only stroll through the restaurant part of the plaza after having taken detailed description of where the snake charmers are in order to avoid them.  Luckily enough, I did. 

FOOD ON DİSPLAY

BETTER EVEN: WHOLE MUTTON HEADS ARE SERVED. 

THE RESTAURANTS START TO FİLL UP. 

The Djemaa el-Fna is within the ''Medina'' of Marrakesh. Medina means old city in contrast to the modern, European style  parts of town. In any Medina there are mosques, medresas (religious schools) and houses built close to each other, creating many labyrinthine streets. And Medinas are places where tradesmen and craftsmen show their skills. To reach our hotel, we went through the Marrakesh souk (covered market) where I realized that in addition to architectural beauty, daily life is a colorful theater exuding wonderful colors and fragrances of spices, fruit and other wares. 

THE SOUKS

NARROW STREETS OF THE MEDİNA

NOT ONLY NARROW BUT SOMETİMES VERY LOW TOO

REALLY BEAUTİFUL ARCHITECTURE

OUR GROUP REACHİNG OUR HOTEL

Hotel was a wrong word. We are to stay in a ''Riad''. The riads in Morocco represent the traditional houses in the Medina. As you go through the alleys of a Medina, behind the great walls with decent-looking entrance doors, are hidden sumptuous houses. Riads were traditionally constructed in such a way as to be totally closed to the outside world to protect the intimacy of the women living there. The riads are arranged around a patio generally planted with trees and a fountain in the middle, and this patio is the vital point to which all rooms are oriented. The roofs and terraces, formerly used to perform various household chores, are today, for the most part, arranged in a way to offer the pleasure of discovering the Medina from a totally new viewpoint. 
In the course of years, the riads were completely abandoned by their owners who left for more modern and newer parts of town and these beautiful dwellings started falling into neglect. Luckily today, there has been a renewal of interest in the riads and many have been converted into secondary residences, guest houses or restaurants. And we were lucky to stay in such a riad where three buildings had been restored to become a delightful boutique hotel. 

THE PATİO OF THE MAİN RİAD

SİTTİNG AREA

PATİO OF THE RİAD I STAYED İN

MY BEDROOM WİTH THE BATHROOM AT THE BACK

The next day we started our trip towards the desert . To reach the desert, you first have to pass the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas chains of mountain which make for very winding roads but a beautiful scenery of green valleys dominated by snow-capped mountains and little villages perched in the middle. 

What I really appreciated here is the architecture of modern villages since it is almost impossible to tell which buildings are the ancient kasbahs, and which the more modern town houses, all looking identical. The Berbers of the Draa Valley make their dwellings out of mud, clay and straw, just as they have done for hundreds of years, which has the pleasing effect of making all their villages relatively medieval. Unfortunately, it also makes it quite impossible to determine whether you are admiring the ramparts of an old kasbah or the latest model block structure that has simply been smothered in earth. So what, in fact? The result is one of beauty and harmony. 

We then reached the Draa Valley, a world of expansive palm groves home to the  earth-red ''kasbah''s and ''ksar''s of ancient Morocco. What are those ? ''Ksar'' is the North African Magrebi term for ''castle''. It even has a more general meaning of ''fortified village'' or ''fort''. A ''Kasbah'' is more or less the same thing but in a smaller scale since it refers to a house where an extended family lives. It is a place for the local leader to live and a defense when the city is under attack. As such, a kasbah has high walls, usually without windows. Ksars and kasbahs are built from sun-dried clay and mud and don't last very long in the rain. If left untended, your average Berber ksar or kasbah would be in ruins after 50 years. 

. 

After having talked of Ksars and Kasbahs, let us visit a few. The first one is the Kasbah of el Glaoui in the Berber village of Télouet. Thami el-Glaoui was born in 1879 in Télouet and became known as the Lord of the Atlas. Until 1956, Thami, as chief of the Berber Glaoui tribe, ruled the land between the Atlas and the Sahara as his own personal fiefdom and out-shone even the Sultan himself. At the same time, he was regarded as a traitor too as he stole from the people so he could live like a king and he was famous for his lavish parties at the Télouet Kasbah. He was thus not much liked by his people and that explains, in part, the crumbling state of the kasbah. As most of the kasbah looks in ruins, I even wondered why we came here at all. It is only when you climb upstairs that this sense of decay is interrupted and you get a taste of the sumptuousness the Glaoui once enjoyed. Here you are met by big state rooms with painted wood shutters and doors, exquisitely set tiles and broad marble floors and richly decorated wood ceilings (that you would not expect to see at all when you are outside). I can easily say this kasbah is one of the hidden jewels of Morocco. 

THE RUİNED EXTERİOR

I WAS NOT EXPECTİNG THİS İNSİDE

WOODEN DOORS HAVE AMAZİNG DECORATİONS

BEAUTİFUL MOSAİCS ON THE WALLS

WOODEN CEİLİNGS

A NİCE LADY  OUTSİDE THE KASBAH

TELOUET VİLLAGE SEEN FROM THE KASBAH

We then went on to visit a Hollywood star, the Ait Ben Haddou Ksar, under UNESCO protection.  This ksar is an amazing sight and a  striking example of Pre-Saharan habitat, a group of earthen buildings surrounded by high walls, the houses crowding together within the defensive walls which are reinforced by corner towers. The ksar consists of larger and smaller private houses as well as communal areas like a market place and a mosque. All are made of  earth and the locally available sticky clay mixed with palm leaves and stones. The  walls and towers are often ornamented with decorative motifs which are typical Berber designs and hint to the strategic importance of the place, situated on the ancient Sahara trade route that ferried salt, dates and gold.

The honey colored fortified city nesting against the mountain looks straight out of a movie. And indeed, it has captured the imagination of Hollywood, mostly as a replacement for Jerusalem. It has appeared in more than 10 movies including David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, Orson Welles' Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus of Nazareth, The Gladiator, Prince of Persia, Jewel of the Nile, Mummy  and more. To keep its appeal for filmmakers, it has been restored and maintained, while other ksars and kasbahs have crumbled into the dirt from which they were made. 

WANDERİNG İN THE STREETS OF THE  ANCİENT CİTADEL
İS LİKE STEPPİNG BACK İN TİME. 

We then reached Zagora, the last city before the desert and luckily enough stayed again in a riad instead of a hotel, the Riad dar Sofian which was really beautiful.  

THE ENTRANCE WİTH A WOODEN CARVED DOOR

THE BAR  AREA

THE BAR

THE POOL AREA WHERE WE HAD DİNNER AND LUNCH

THE ENTRANCE DOOR TO MY ROOM

MY ROOM

PAY ATTENTİON TO THE CEİLİNG PLEASE. 

Let us not leave civilization before visiting a last kasbah, a Jewish one for a change, Amazrou Kasbah. Jews were once a major presence in the oases of the Draa Valley. There are even legends that the Jews controlled a kingdom in this region before the arrival of Arabs. The kasbah is now inhabited by Arabs and Berbers since most Jewish people have left years ago. The Jewish tradition of silver making, dominant here,  has been taken over by Berber craftsmen who have continued the craft. And part of the Kasbah is now a shop selling all kinds of goods from jewellery to wooden doors.  

RAMPARTS

THERE İS NEED FOR RECONSTRUCTION HERE

WOMEN ARE WOMEN EVERYWHERE

AN ALLEY İN THE KASBAH

THİS İS THE SHOP OWNER

THERE WERE VERY GOOD PİECES HERE BUT NO DESİRE TO BUY. 

  
We returned for lunch to our riad and all of a sudden a strong wind started blowing, masking the sun and changing the color of the sky to a tone of beige/grey. What is happening ? What is this wind just before we are to head to the desert ? 

After lunch, we set out to our final destination: the desert. We first headed towards M'hamid, the so-called ''Desert Door'' but which in fact is the  last desolated hamlet before the desert and marks the end of the road. No more road from now on. Only ''pistes''. By driving through  M'Hamid, I realized that M'Hamid is not only at the end of the road but also at the end of the world. And it is here that you find a sign directing you to another place at the end of the world, Timbouctou. You just need 52 camel ride days to cross the Sahara and reach it. 

I HAVE BEEN THERE THOUGH NOT THROUGH THE SAHARA,
NOT ON CAMEL BACK AND NOT İN 52 DAYS.

I was all exited now to be entering the desert and was dying to see sand dunes. But I had to wait for a whole afternoon and a night before that happened. The first reason is that you enter the Sahara at that point but there is no sand. This area is called the ''Hammada'', meaning ''stony desert'' and it is accurate; there is a lot of desert and there are lots of stones. It looks like one of the most inhospitable  parts of the world you are likely to find. And driving through that is not of all comfort. 

In the meantime, the wind had gotten stronger but we were not that aware of it while dangling on those stones. After a while we entered the sandy area and there realized that sandstorms aren't really storms of sand but just high winds in a place where there is only and perpetually sand and that visibility is reduced to practically nothing in this whirling environment. Meet the ''Sirocco'', the wind blowing from the desert. Even though all windows and air vents in the car were closed, I could feel the sand in my mouth. If you ever wondered why the Berber people of the Sahara wrap their heads in scarves, leaving only a tiny gap to see and why they wear flowing robes, it becomes very obvious after a few minutes in the sirocco. The blowing sand enters every opening in your European clothes while it stops dead by the flowing robes of the Berber. You imitate the Berbers in covering your face since someone seems to be constantly throwing handfuls of sand to your face. What astonished me is how our Berber drivers managed to find our camp in the middle of practically nowhere and when they could not see a single landmark. 

THERE İS BUSH AT ONLY 10 OR SO METERS

EVEN THE SUN GAVE UP SHİNİNG

We finally managed to reach our camp.We had left Zagora in a black car and came here in a peach one but at least we had arrived.  I have to admit I have not seen much that evening as it was quite impossible to put your nose outside. So we drank in the bar, had dinner in the restaurant tent and continued drinking and having fun. But before we all separated to go to our individual tents, quite a few of us had started praying the wind would stop, otherwise our days in the sand would be ruined. 

When I say ''camp'', I do not mean simple tents. I mean a luxurious camp with huge tents with all amenities inside it. Let me introduce you to my tent. 

THE BİG TENT İS THE BEDROOM WİTH EVEN AN ARMCHAİR
AND TWO SİDE LAMPS. ELECTRİCİTY İS GİVEN AT NİGHT WİTH A SMALL
GENERATOR WHİCH İS SHUT DOWN A HALF HOUR AFTER EVERYONE
GOES TO BED. THEN YOU NEED YOUR FLASHLİGHT. 

IN THE SMALL TENT AFFİXED TO THE BİG ONE
YOU HAVE THE BATHROOM. HERE İS THE SİNK.
IN FACT THE BOTTOM İS BLACK BUT THE SİROCCO
HAS BEEN BLOWİNG !

EVEN THE İNTERİOR OF THE SİNK İS COVERED İN SAND.
YOU USE THE WATER İN THE TEAPOT TO WASH YOUR HANDS AND TEETH.
THE WATER ACCUMULATES İN THE POT BELOW AND
İS EMPTİED THE NEXT MORNİNG BY THE CAMP STAFF.
NO WAY TO USE THE TOWELS, THEY CRİNGE WİTH SAND. 

İF YOU WANT TO TAKE A BATH, YOU ASK THE STAFF TO BRİNG
YOU HOT WATER. THERE İS ALREADY COLD WATER İN ONE
OF THE POTS. THEN YOU MİX BOTH AND WASH AS YOU DO
İN A HAMAM. DO NOT FORGET EVEN WATER İS CARRİED BY CAR
TO THİS SPOT. 

HERE İS THE TOİLET. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY LİKE İT. 

YOU OPEN THE COVER, SİT ON İT, THEN PULL THE WHİTE HANDLE
AND EVERYTHİNG GOES İN A CONTAİNER İN THE SAND BELOW
WHİCH İS EMPTİED BY THE CAMP STAFF EACH DAY.
NOTE THAT EVEN THE TOİLET PAPER İS COVERED İN SAND. 

A SMALL TABLE İN THE BATHROOM FOR YOUR TOİLETRİES.
I FİRST THOUGHT İT WAS MADE OF WOOD BUT THEN REALİSED
İT WAS İN GRANİTE COVERED İN SAND. 

The wind abated a bit, but just a bit, at night and we had the honors to Berber songs. Sorry to say, but that is the most monotonous music I have ever heard. We then went to sleep in our tents and here I was in bed with a howling wind outside, praying I would find the tent above me in the morning. Unbelievably, despite the wind, I slept as soundly as a baby in that tent. 

THE  MOON İS THERE AS A CRESCENT. 

The next morning a big surprise awaited me: I woke up to silence. Good sign. When I went out of my tent, I saw a glorious sun shining on the sand and had my first feel of the desert as I imagined it and of our camp which really was very nice. 

OUR CAMP İS İN THE MİDDLE OF BEAUTİFUL SAND DUNES

THE BİG TENT İS THE BEDROOM AND THE SMALL
ATTACHED ONE İS THE BATHROOM. 

THE CAMP STAFF 

THE BAR TENT

WE HAD ALL KİNDS OF DRİNKS

AND COMFORTABLE SİTTİNG PLACES

We then went to play in the sand like children. Damn sand gets into everything. The manager of our camp, Boubou,  had been following us on his quad (or  ATV as we call it here) and he was nice enough to make me have a feel of driving at full speed among sand dunes. It was an unforgettable experience. 

WOW.......

ON THE WAY, ONE OF THE CARS GOT STUCK İN
THE SAND AND HAD TO BE PULLED OUT BY ANOTHER ONE.
SAND İS AS DANGEROUS AS SNOW FOR DRİVİNG. 

LUNCH WAS PREPARED UNDER SOME TREES.
LOOK AT THİS. BEAUTİFUL, ESPECİALLY
İN THE MİDDLE OF NOWHERE.

          

DRİNKS BEFORE LUNCH

                                       

CHEERS!!!!!

I DRİNK TO YOUR HEALTH

A REAL CAMEL CARAVAN İN THE DESERT. THEY STİLL EXİST.

A TOURİSTİC CAMEL CARAVAN. SOME OF MY FRİENDS ON CAMEL BACK. 

As I do not enjoy camel rides that much and as I had enough of them to last me a lifetime, I prefered to go back to the camp, ask for hot water, and get rid of all the sand that had accumulated on me. 

In the evening our table was set outside with thick covers on each chair to protect from the cold. 

OUR CAMP AT DUSK

We could not see the sun set from our camp but as it did the sky turned into splendid colors. 

OUR CAMP AT NİGHT WİTH THE CAMP FİRE

A WHOLE  LAMB HAD BEEN ROASTED FOR US. 

THE MUSİC TONİGHT İS EUROPEAN.

FUNNY TO SEE A BERBER İN HİS ROBES WİTH
AN ELECTRIC GUİTAR

Night in the desert is another experience. When the sun dips in the horizon and the stars come out, the sky is simply amazing. There are so many stars that even the familiar constellations are impossible to pick out for people like us  who are used to seeing only a few stars.  Here, it seemed they were all there , looking at you, teasing you to come pick them up, so near they seemed. In the middle of the dark, in total silence, under that sky, I had the feeling of  being so lonely but at the same time so at peace with myself and the universe.  I could have stayed and watched that sky for hours were it not so cold. 

The next day was even more fun. Some took a camel ride. Others slid on a  board from huge sand dunes. Based on my experience with Boubou, me and 5 others chose the  ATV that we would drive this time.  It was a memorable experience driving an ATV on sand dunes, going up at full speed (not to get stuck in the sand) without knowing what was coming after the top, going down at full speed and sometimes effectively being stuck in sand waiting for the guide to come and save you. I simply loved it. 

After a last night of watching stars and dreaming under them, we started our return journey very early the next morning. We first drove on sand, then a very large expanse of dried earth which used to be a lake it seems, reached the Atlas chains again, crossed them and came to Marrakesh. One night there in the same riad we had stayed upon arrival and then back to Casablanca and home. 

BELİEVE ME İT İS MORE DİFFİCULT TO DRİVE ON THİS
THAN ON SNOW. 

NO MORE SAND DUNES

ME AND  WHAT USED TO BE A LAKE 30 YEARS AGO.

NİCE ROCK FORMATİONS ON THE SHORES OF THE EX-LAKE

BACK TO THE ATLAS MOUNTAİNS

The Sahara desert is like nowhere else on Earth. It is the world's largest desert covering an area roughly equivalent to the United States of America. At some places, it is a sand sea the size of a small European country with orange sand dunes sculpted to perfection by the wind. And it is in one of those places we had chosen to camp. The sand and the sky, there is not much more than that ( and with no towers, there are no cell phones, mails or anything of the kind; what a bliss!). The sand creates an ever-changing landscape, it colors the world in gold, it tires the limbs and it offers a soft bed. But it can also be cruel when it associates with the wind. The sky is painted in brilliant colors and offers the magnificent view of millions of bright stars that you cannot tire from watching. In the immense open spaces of the Sahara, I could only think that I am a grain of sand in this wide universe. So I loved this trip. I discovered not only new landscapes but also new sensations and as well as a new perspective of myself. Nature is still the stronger one. We human beings think we control it. We do not. We are just little grains of sand in the larger state of things.