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Published: March 17th 2013
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Skoura
Skoura is an oasis fringed with palm trees. Rock the kasbah
After we left Marrakesh we went to the town Ouarzazate. Our plan was to rent a car there to make it easier for us to explore the surrounding area. When we arrived there we met a French couple, Lucile and Nico, in the hotel lobby. They looked like nice people so we asked them if they were interested in travelling with us for a day or two. They fancied the idea of renting a car with us so we decoded to team up for two days.
We arranged for the car rental in the evening and in the morning we took the vehicle and left Ouarzazate.
The first place interesting stop we made was the village Skoura. Skoura is an oasis fringed with palm trees. The village’s claim of fame is the well preserved kasbah. A kasbah is a fortress or a fortified town and are common in Morocco. The kasbah in Skoura, Kasbah Amridil, has such a great aesthetic value that a picture of it has made it all the way onto one of the Moroccan banknotes.
After we had visited
Cat in Skoura
I wouldn't pick that spot for my rest but the cat seems to find it comfortable the kasbah we drove around a bit in the palm groves surrounding Skoura before driving on to the next destination.
The next stop we made was at Dades Gorge, a place where Dades River has cut a deep ravine in the Atlas Mountains. Dades Gorge is relatively easy to access thanks to a road that runs next to it.
Not far from Dades Gorge is another deep ravine, Todra Gorge. Originally we planned to visit that gorge as well but time ran out so we decided to skip it. Instead we drove to the town Erfoud where we stayed overnight.
Early the next day we went to the ruins of an ancient town called Sijilmassa. The buildings in Sijilmassa were abandoned in the 18
th or possibly the early 19
th century. But even though it wasn’t long ago since the houses were left for good there is not much there to see today. The houses were mainly built using clay and they crumble and disappear very quickly when they are exposed to weather and wind. A few walls was all there was to see.
Next we would like to write about the village Tamnougalt. First when we
Kasbah Amridil
One of the better preserved kasbahs in Morocco entered the village we stopped at a place where the road crosses a river. From the bridge there was a very nice view with mountains in the distance reflecting in the river water.
In Tamnougalt there is a spectacular Kasbah. We decided not to visit it, if you have seen the inside of one Kasbah you have seen them all, but we stopped on the road outside where we had a wonderful view over it.
Back in Ouarzazate we left the car with the rental agency and checked in at the hotel we stayed at two nights ago.
Over the years many films have been made in and around Ouarzazate. Some of these films have been Moroccan but quite a few blockbuster Hollywood movies, including Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra and The Last Temptation of Christ, have used Ouarzazate as filming location as well.
In the outskirts of Ouarzazate there are two film studios catering for the film makers who use Morocco as shooting location. It is the easily accessible desert that makes Morocco popular among film makers but also two well preserved kasbahs, one in Ouarzazate itself and one in Aït
Kasbah Amridil
The kasbah in Skoura, Kasbah Amridil, has such a great aesthetic value that a picture of it has made it all the way onto one of the Moroccan banknotes. But why didn't we take a picture of one to prove that?
Benhaddou, are used extensively when Hollywood needs historical towns in their movies.
Aït Benhaddou is one of the best preserved fortified towns in all of Morocco and is also listed on UNESCO’s world heritage list. The houses in Aït Benhaddou are built from clay and are kept in very good condition. It is no coincident that it is used in many films because it is very picturesque.
The film studios in Ouarzazate have guided tours where they let the visitors walk through the old film sets. It was fun to see the film studio. It was quite a different experience from the other attractions we visited in Morocco.
After Ouarzazate we went to Zagora at the edge of the Sahara Desert. The main reason for us to go to Zagora was to join a half marathon race held there. We have decided to make a separate blog entry about that race because it was a bit different from all the other races we have run. The name, Zagora Extreme Marathon, gives you an idea why.
After the race we took a tour into the Sahara Desert, a tour where we rode a dromedary to the campsite
Dromedaries
Next to the road we met these. Are they wild? Are there any wild dromedaries in Morocco? We don't know the answer to any of those questions where we stayed during the night. It was freezing cold in the night. The bed was nice and while we were under the covers we were warm. But visiting the toilet in the night was a very nasty experience.
Finally we’d like to write about our visit to the town Essaouira on the Atlantic coast. Essaouisa is a fishing town with a fortified city centre. The centre is picturesque and the number of shops where they are selling handicraft, paintings and other souvenirs tells us that one of the main businesses in Essaouira today is tourism. But fishing is still a thriving business because in one end of the town there were several restaurants next to each other all specialised on seafood. Outside the restaurants they had a stall where all the fish and all the other delicacies they had to offer for the day were on display. Prior to taking a seat in the restaurant the customers walked up to the stall and picked out what he or she wanted to eat.
When we arrived for lunch in one of these restaurants we were offered a buffet of food for a very good price. The restaurant had
Houses on an escarpment
View over houses built on an escarpment near Skoura just opened when we showed up and we were the first customers. We think they were eager to get the first customer to be seated because an empty restaurant is bad for business. They gave us an offer we couldn’t refuse, and that was good for us, and they had their first guest of the day, and that was good for them.
Essaoira was nice and relaxed and we liked it there. But it is a bit of a tourist trap.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Morocco is still one of our favorite trips
We visited Erfoud so your blog brought back some great memories. We really enjoyed Essaoira and all the fresh fish. We enjoyed exploring the fort, the water front and found many people to talk with about their town.