Desert-bound
Today was mind-blowing! We began our desert adventure at 8am with the most wonderful guide, Mubarak. So far, we have passed through the high Atlas Mountains, reaching a peak in this area of 2260m (snow peaks in the distance. In January/February there will be enough snow to ski). We visited an argan oil women’s cooperative where we learned how argan oil is made. We stopped at a few Kasbahs (home/fort of the local leader, often built high on a hill for defense) on the way. One of the Kasbahs was owned by the “salt lord”, El Glaoui, and was situated on the trading route from the south. The traders passed through in search of salt in exchange for gold (equally valuable at the time). This guy was the main game en route and amassed a great fortune. It took 300 people three years to build his Kasbah (equivalent to $45 million labour cost in today’s dollars), which seriously rivals Vancouver’s real estate market! The Ksar at Ait-Ben-Haddou is a Berber castle located strategically along the main trade route between Sudan and the imperial cities of Morocco. Location, location, location! This ended up the site of many an epic movie location such as Laurence of Arabia, Gladiator and Cleopatra to name a few. We are now nestled in between the high and low Atlas Mountains at the most stunning Riad and will continue the journey to the Sahara tomorrow.
First mountain stop, Touama.
Sea-to-Sky Highway, desert-style.
Heading home.
Kasbah Telouet. Three Kasbahs on one site. One built in the 1700s out of mud, then abandoned for a new one built in the 1800s out of bricks. We toured though the third built in the 1920s. this last one was abandoned in 1956 when the French left Morocco (the descendants of the El Galoui family were French sympathizers).
The “modern” Kasbah Telouet.
Beautiful mosaics in the Kasbah.
Mubarak at the Kasbah.
Alex started an archeological dig when he noticed an interesting object buried in the salt flats in Telouet.
He stuck in his thumb and pulled out a dog’s jaw!
Lots and lots of Berber villages camouflaged in the mountains.
The Ksar at Ait-Ben-Haddou.
Goodnight from Riad Ksar Ighnda in Ait Ben Haddou.