24.06.18
Ahzdin picked us up at 7.30 for our three day expedition to the Sahara desert. So early start as we drove east wards from Marrakech towards and over the Atlas Mountains via the Tizi ‘n Tichka pass (2260m). Poor old S had picked up some sort of tummy bug and so spent the morning lying on the backseat trying to keep down some water, whilst putting up with a pounding head ache. Doesn’t help that the majority of the morning was driving through mountains…. Four hours later, a couple of photo stops and the obligatory bathroom break and we arrived at Aït Benhaddou (AB).
AB is a UNESCO listed town a third of the way from Marrakech to the Sahara. It is so listed because of the gorgeous Kasbah that sits above a “sometime” flowing river + palmerie. The Kasbah has been used as the backdrop for oodles of movies, most notably; Lawrence of Arabia, Jewel of the Nile, Gladiator + most recently on Game of Thrones. So not only does the Kasbah have the gorgeous architecture but also a bit of a thrill as you walked past “that scene” from whichever movie. To be honest the only bit I recognised was the big gates that were blown up in Jewel of the Nile!
We arrived at AB about midday and it was baking hot, well into the forties (thank goodness for the wide brimmed hat) so by the time we had walked half way up the Kasbah I was feeling quite light headed and decided to forgo the walk to the top and instead waited inside a room within the Kasbah. Its probably about this time that I should explain what a Kasbah actually is.. it is the name for the mud buildings (normally two or three stories high) that are surmounted by ramparts. They were used by the caravanserai as the overnight stopping places (and still are in some parts by the nomads) so the downstairs was dedicated to the camels and the goods that the camels were carrying and the upstairs as living quarters for the merchants and caravan drivers. A few Kasbah’s built together in one village are called a Ksar. In fact, AB is a Ksar not a Kasbah but for ease of use I’m going to use the two words interchangeably and so I’ve referred to AB as a Kasbah. The Kasbah’s are fortresses and it is obvious when you enter as they all have very stout wooden doors and generally only one entry way in and one way out. The Kasbah I rested in had very thick mud walls (maybe forty cm thick) and a central open column that lead to the ramparts (you could see the hole that they would walk through to get to the ramparts- now a sky light/ ventilation shaft). Really cool inside (at least ten degrees cooler maybe fifteen). The stairs leading to the second story still seemed like they could be in use so I didn’t ascend the stairs to see upstairs but you could clearly see many rooms off the main entry way that would have at some time housed goods (more stout doors) or camels.
About twenty minutes later S and the rest of the walking tour group returned and we continued the tour. Next stop was to see how the nomads did their artwork (and still do). They use cobalt mixed with water to create a blue watercolour to represent sky + oasis & then use henna mixed with water to create the red colour of the Kasbahs/ mud/ desert and lastly they use thyme tea to create a dark brown colour to represent people/ features etc in painting. So he made this picture and all we could see was the blue (the henna and the tea was very faintly visible on the page), then like invisible ink, he put the whole picture above a flame and suddenly the pigment all set and we could clearly see the picture! No genie needed for this magic! I was suckered in by the picture (and I do often buy artwork) so I purchased a picture off the guy for a couple of bucks and he threw in the picture he had just painted for free! From sales to lunch and so we left the Kasbah and headed back to the modern day village for a bite to eat (pizza for both of us—we’ve had enough of tajine for awhile) + a refresh before it was back in the bus and continue on our way to Dades Gorge (our rest stop for evening).
Another three hours down the road (and a few drink/ toilet stops on way) and we turned off the main highway to head up to Dades Gorge. Spectacular drive up the gorge as you go from this fairly arid landscape with some hills to suddenly being between these big cliffs with the valley floor lined with palm trees. The rock formations are also pretty impressive, at one point, they reminded us of wet mud dolloped on top of each other.
At the top of the gorge we arrived at our digs for the evening. From the start I should have mentioned that we paid for a private tour. There are plenty of tour operators taking people out to the Sahara but most have you crammed on board a mini bus with twenty other or so people. We debated doing this type of tour (as it is quite a bit cheaper) but we were swayed to spend the dollars as we knew we had to get back to Marrakech on time (to catch the overnight train) and because of the photographs of the accommodation in the Sahara. So we spent the extra 400E to have a private tour. What we didn’t realise is that a private tour takes you on exactly the same route, you stop at exactly the same rest stops and do the same activities (mainly with those mini bus groups). Being private we do have the advantage that we can ask the driver to stop to take photos etc but in the main it is the same trip just your own vehicle. In fairness, today, we were very grateful we had our own vehicle. S was pretty crook and I can’t imagine what he would have been like if he had to cram himself into a small seat on a mini-van and not have been able to lie down to sleep (we’re in a Tarago type van)- not to mention once he perked up (after AB) he wouldn’t have been able to stretch out~ which is an issue when you’re over 6ft and have long legs.
Reason for this ramble is that when we got to the Gorge we were surprised to discover we were staying with some of the aforesaid tour groups (not complaining about the groups but we were complaining about the digs). The hotel was very basic. In fact, it made me think of the digs that I stayed in with my Aunt, Uncle, Cousin and Grandmother in Berlin… if they are reading they will know what I mean. It was so basic that I was regretting not bringing my silk sheet from Oz!
Anyway we toughed it out for the evening in a pretty uncomfortable bed with a bathroom that exuded the odour of bleach (which I guess isn’t too bad a thing excepting for the mould growing on the tiles…) and ate some barely edible food… All in all, we’ve gone from a palace in Marrakech to pauper’s in Dades Gorge, how the mighty have fallen! J