The final leg... northern Morocco. (Apr 6-13)

One last sighting of the wildflowers en route to the airport.

Sultan Moulay Ismaïl ruthlessly ruled (think unbridled torture and beheadings) here over 300 years ago. With a penchant for the fairer sex, he racked up 8 wives, a slew of lovers and over 800 children! But he put Meknes on the map, created his Imperial City and left behind lavishness we hadn’t seen elsewhere. Above: the royal stables-designed to feed, water and shelter the 12,000 royal horses. (Meknes, Apr 12)

Caleches tour the Imperial City. Above: riding the length of the palace walls (now protecting a pristine golf course).

Dating back to the 3rd century BC, these are the country’s best-preserved ruins. (Volubilis, Apr 11)

The Romans invaded and clear-cut vast tracts of land to plant wheat for their burgeoning empire. Twenty centuries later that grain, along with barley, still dominates the landscape.

Called the blue city, Chefchaouen’s medina was a photographers dream (hence the indulgent number of pics). Fun (?) facts: Up to 1920: Christians faced death if they attempted to enter the town. 1920-1956: The Spanish occupied the town and still today the language is commonly heard. 1930: The trademark pale blue wash was introduced. (Chefchaouen, Apr 9-10)

The color blue graced interiors, stairs, flower pots, wrought iron and walls, usually as high up as a paint brush could reach.

Jellabas are long traditional hooded robes with top to bottom front zippers. Although they are worn in Northern Africa, they are most often associated with Moroccan men from teenagers to the elderly. Depending on the material (wool or cotton) they can protect from the sun or a cold weather chill. After admiring its more ornate cousin - the djellaba - our desert camp host insisted we take his home.

Marijuana plantations riddle the north and Chefchaouen is considered the center of it all. Technically the drug is illegal, but it’s moderately tolerated and Morocco is the largest supplier of hashish in the world. Rick has been offered it 5 times in the last 24 hours, yet there isn’t a single place to get a drink inside the medina. As an aside, does Rick really look like their demographic and why don’t I :)

More back roads passed through fields of strawberries, wheat and barley and the ever-present olive groves. Agriculture employs 40% of Moroccans, most of them doing the work by hand or only with the help of an animal. (Northwest Morocco, Apr 9)

After each annual whitewash, artists arrive to paint new murals. Dating back to the late 1400s, this postage stamp sized medina was quiet and easy to explore - we only had to dodge one motorcycle and one mule cart. (Asilah, Apr 8)

Although settled in the 7th century BC, this site reached its height in AD42 by the Roman Empire. Used as a trading post for salt, olives and wine, there was also a brisk export business in wild African animals needed for the empire’s gruesome entertainment. Above, I’m sitting in one of the few amphitheaters the Romans built in Northern Africa. (Lixus, Apr 7)

We wandered the acres of ruins free of ropes and security. Crumbling storage tanks that once contained the various trade items are now filled with flowers, weeds and fig trees.

Villas lined the deserted beach, but only we and the cows strolled it. (Moulay Bousselham, Apr 6)

Mom joined us to travel in the north and along the coast. (Mar 22-Apr 6)

With any one of us suffering from a different stage of food poisoning (?), the days in Marrakesh passed in a bit of a blur. Laying in bed and listening to the main square’s snake charmers play their flutes and the drummers keep a steady beat, there was something very Marrakeshian surreal about this exotic, despite its tourist heaviness, place. (Marrakesh, Apr 1-3)

At nearly 5 acres, the Bahia Palace is one of the largest palaces in the medina. The flooring and much of the wall space of the main courtyard (above) and other rooms was painstakingly done in zellij - individually chiseled tiles set into geometrically patterned mosaics. Zellij is a hallmark of Moroccan décor, covering tables, ceilings, floors, fountains (below), etc.

Fountains supplied the medinas with water and were especially important when the walled fortresses were under siege. Although some no longer have taps, others are still relied on. Fun fact: there are 70+ fountains just in this medina. (Marrakesh, Apr 3)

Scenes from the walled confines of this medina. (Essaouira, Mar 30)

Souqs (shops) along the medina wall on one of the widest streets.

Wandering the residential alleyways. Without lighting, in the dark they are pitch black.

European buyers have purchased and refurbished many of the guesthouses, from modest dars to sprawling and at times luxurious riads. This has pushed prices up, creating some resentment from the locals. The entrances often belie what hides behind. At times a guesthouse doesn’t even have a sign or number on the door-you simply have to remember its location.

Locally built, traditional blue boats filled the working harbour. (Essaouira, Mar 28)

In a grove of argan trees these goats munched on the nuts. Although only the white goat was visible this and other trees were riddled with black ones. Sadly, a couple of days later we saw a tree full of too perfectly posed goats and upon closer inspection it was obvious that they had been tied to the branches. They attracted bus loads of tourists paying exorbitant fees to take a picture. (Essaouira, Mar 29)

A full day cooking course started with a trip to a local market where, despite its presentation on the dirt, the produce looked much better than that on offer at the western style grocery store a couple of days earlier. (Essaouira, Mar 29)

Sitting in the courtyard of a farmhouse, listening to the birds, made the veggie prep work relaxing.

After the barley was roasted, hand ground and sifted for its fine flour, it was time to make the bread.

In the outdoor kitchen each loaf of bread, balanced between sticks, was constantly moved until the top, bottom and all sides browned. Warm and served with olive oil, it was divine.

In this seaside town with a picturesque lagoon, houses were painted and stacked Mediterranean style up the bank overlooking the beach. The luxury contrasted with the herder and her sheep, grazing on the other side of the property wall. (Oualidia, Mar 27)

Where fields of crops and orchards didn’t dominate the breadbasket landscape north of Marrakesh and west towards the coast, wildflowers filled in the blanks spaces.

Lunch time on the road...after selecting our preferred carcass, the cook sliced off pieces from the exact part we wanted for lunch. (Mirirt, Mar 25)

The meat was added to a tajine container, each set over a tray of hot coals. Tajine is the staple of every menu and a tasty choice at that. Meat and/or vegetables are spiced and baked in a gravy in a pottery dish topped with a cone shaped lid. Those with some combination of almonds, apricots and prunes added are a favourite.

The walled medina in Fez is home to 70,000 people. The warren of streets, alleyways, dead ends and complete lack of any pattern make this place fascinating to explore, but difficult to find your way back to your start without either the help of one of the endless "guides" willing to help for a few dirham or a map app. (Fez, Mar 22-25)

A teenage girl offered to let us get a view from the top of her home. Several flights of stairs later, we were met with a sea of satellite dishes.

The souqs were a shoppers paradise; pottery, leather-works, weaving, carpets, lighting, teapots, jewelry, clothing, instruments, food, cosmetics...

An upscale souq shuttered up for the day. With the wedding clothes and jewelry put away all was quiet.

Layers of this thin pastry layered together and fried are a treat, like a mix between a croissant and phyllo pastry. The dough is soaked in oil, rolled out, tossed onto the cone shaped black heater to cook a bit, piled in a bowl and sold by the kilo for a final cooking at home for breakfast.

The tanneries in Fez date back to the founding of the city a thousand years ago. Today, the endless leather shopping options can be a little overwhelming. (Fez, Mar 24)

First, hides are soaked in a combination of cow urine, quicklime, salt, and water to remove excess fat, flesh and hair. Then they are moved into these vats for further soaking in pigeon poop and water - the former supplying the ammonia needed to help make the skins supple.

The final soaking takes place in pots of dyes derived naturally from products like saffron, poppy flowers, pomegranates, mint, henna and indigo. From there, the skins are moved to any available space for drying.

In the simplest of terms, Morocco is divided into the north where there is a higher degree of education along with a push for development and modernization and the south where much of life continues as it has for centuries. Starting from Marrakesh we'll explore the latter for the next 3 weeks. (Mar 1-20)

The Sunday morning souq (market) drew hundreds of buyers and sellers from the region. Prices varied widely for the tourist-a package of green tea was quoted as 7 dirham at one kiosk and 150 at the next!! In this very local enterprise we saw less than a dozen other travelers so there was a slim opportunity for those outlandish profits :) (Taroudannt, Mar 18)

After seeing impossibly overloaded hay trucks defy gravity as they careened around the switchbacks we finally saw one offload to a string of bicycles, donkey carts, motorcycles and small trucks.

Noticing me coo over this kid, the herder unceremoniously plucked him from the group and plopped him in my arms.

Ramparts encircle the medina for 7.5 km and date back to the 1500s. (Taroudannt, Mar 17)

Carts ply the narrow medina alleyways loaded with foodstuffs and cargo, along with tourist's luggage. You have to hustle to keep up with them. (Taroudannt, Mar 17)

The quintessential Moroccan mint tea, an addictive blend of Chinese gunpowder green tea, mint, and sugar. After a 10 step preparation process it arrives at the table. Holding the teapot and pouring from as high above the glass as you can, helps to aerate the tea.

A hike in the hills passed through groves of argan trees. In addition to providing shade and animal feed, they prevent the land from turning to desert. The oil from the argan nut is becoming an in vogue replacement for olive oil and is hailed as a hair and skin wonder. In some regions, the nuts being eaten by goats and then ‘harvested’ from the droppings adds to their particular properties. (Tafaourt, Mar 16)

The argan nuts proved resistant to machine processing so for the most part they are manually cracked, roasted, ground and pressed. The work has largely been assumed by several women's cooperatives giving them a source of income and independence in a male dominated society.

Fragrant almond blossoms blanketed the hills and valleys. Several trees hugged the road so closely that you had to give them a wide berth to avoid scratching the car. Although the almonds are harvested in late summer they can be eaten green and taste sweet, almost like a slightly crunchier apple. (Titeki, Mar 14)

Along a section of highway called the ‘route of the kasbahs’ sits the country’s pièce de résistance, the 17th century Kasbah Amridil. Three levels high with an opening from basement upwards to let in light, allow kitchen smoke to escape from the top floor, and to use as a chute to throw kitchen scraps down to the animals on the first floor. (Skoura, Mar 13)

​A flour grinding stone... a handful of wheat poured into the top, a few rotations of the (very heavy) stone and some rough flour puffed out the bottom.

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Scenes from a day tempting fate, driving a route featured in www.dangerousroads.org!! Although I was nervous, Rick drove slowly and it ended up being relatively tame. Above, a classic shot of the start. (Dades Gorge, Mar 12)

From a small shop came the sounds of a traditional Berber guitar. The musician is of some renown, having played in concerts around Europe, and makes the instruments himself. Suspending our concern over how to ship the odd shape home, we bought one. The post office proved to be a challenge, but nothing a roll of duct tape and mashed together boxes couldn't resolve. (Ait Ouglif, Mar 12)

Rock formations described as looking like melting wax.

The classic carpet shop experience... Even though we asked to see the pillows we were told “first I will show you a carpet, a carpet, a carpet (etc) and then I will show you the pillows”. What to do but sit back, sip the obligatory mint tea and allow the show to go on :)

Climbers and hikers come from afar to explore the Atlas Mountains. (Todra Gorge, Mar 10)

Sharing the trail with donkeys and the Berber nomads making their daily decent for water from the river below. The women collect the water and do the laundry while the men take the sheep and goats out for the days grazing. They are fortunate because the river runs all year unlike so many dry beds elsewhere.

The country’s two main desert dunes are Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga. The former boasts the highest peaks, is easiest to access and the strongest draw for visitors. The latter are lower in height, stretch on for 40km, are difficult to access (4x4 driven by a skilled driver) and attract fewer visitors. As you can see we opted for the latter. Rick did his part here while the driver worked the other side. (El Gouera, Erg Chigaga, Mar 6-8)

Consequently for 2 nights we found ourselves the only guests in a ‘luxury’ desert camp designed for 10 others. Occasionally there was an ant sized sighting of other campers several dunes away. At times it felt awkward with the staff of eight fussing over us, yet at other times each of us found our own space of tranquility punctuated only by the chirping of the occasional visiting bird - it was pure nirvana.

At the end of a 3 hr ride that moved through terrain ranging from sand dunes to a parched and cracked moonscape sat a lone Berber ‘camp’. Aside from our transplanted lunch table, it couldn’t have been much more rudimentary. Still today some of the southern Berber people continue their nomadic lifestyle.

For as far as the eye could see, dromedaries took advantage of new vegetation to store fat in their hump for drawing on in leaner times. Some of the calves were only days old and barely able to stand. Berbers own herds of up to a hundred with the animals providing food, clothing and transport. Fun fact: Australia has the only truly wild dromedaries.

The following day we headed upward into the dunes. Although you couldn’t call the saddles comfortable, the larger of the 2 was quite tolerable for a few hours.

Fun with shadows.

As the last of the sunset lingered in the sky, Rick headed out for a solitary walk in the warm sand.

The beauty of no light pollution.

A basic camp, the first of 2 desert forays. It had almost an eeriness to it, a feeling added to by the relentless wind that kept the sand on the move. Two of the four hut entrances were blocked by sand drifts. Fortunately our 2nd site was wind free. (M'Hamid, Aug 7)

Breakfast is always an indulgent affair but this was a dizzying array of taste sensations. Additional items were finally declined.

Date palm groves fill this oasis located along the old trans-saharan trading route linking Marrakesh to Timbuktu. Beneath the trees each family has a small plot to grow their staples: almonds, dates, olives, apricots, plums, pomegranates, legumes, alfalfa, wheat and mint for the ubiquitous mint tea. (Mezguita, Mar 4)

Kasbahs, (fortified multi-family dwellings) were once owned by the wealthy for their extended kin. Today it’s not uncommon for them to act as apartments for the general population. This Kasbah Ciad dates back to the 16th century and is now being restored. Originally 250 families resided here, but today there are 24. (Tamnougalt, Mar 4)

During the restoration the kasbah is honoring architecture from different ethnic groups. Here, the bottom floor (for men) features Arabic architecture and the 2nd floor (for women), the Berber.

As we wandered the periphery of this kasbah we ran into these 2 girls who were particularly chatty - my recall of grade 12 French was challenged. In the foreground lay 3 burial plots covered in cement. Wonder if they were for higher ranking individuals as other cemetery markers are simple upright, unmarked stones. (Tamnougalt, Mar 4)

The snow capped Atlas Mountains flanked this arid town. (Ouarzazate, Mar 3)

As the gateway to the desert this region has provided an exotic backdrop for a long list of films both old and new (from Lawrence of Arabia to Game of Thrones). (Ouarzazate, Mar 2)

This area is noted for birding and both of the town mosque’s minarets hosted stork nests.  (Ouarzazate, Mar 2)

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Along a 5 hr series of switchbacks through the Atlas Mountain range, between Marrakesh and Ouarzazate, vendors sold a kaleidoscope of the colored minerals found in these mountains. (Atlas Mtns, Mar 1)

As a predominately Muslim country, it’s fitting that the Hassan II Mosque, (largest in the country) features the tallest minaret in the world. Fun facts: the inside has a capacity for 25,000 worshipers with the sprawling grounds able to hold another 80,000. (Casablanca, Feb 28)

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​A tour showcased its gleaming enormity.  The basement housed over 40 marble, lotus flower shaped ablution fountains for use before prayer.

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