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Published: August 7th 2007
Bus trip across the High Atlas Mountains Chatting with fellow-hostelers on the roof-top terrace of our riad-style hostel in Marrakesh, we first heard of the town of Ouarzazate (pronounced War-za-zat). Ouarzazate's main claim to fame is that this is where two film studios are located and many of Hollywood's blockbusters have been filmed here in the desert. Ouarzazate is situated on the eastern side of the High Atlas Mountains and so Michael and I took a bus over the mountains as we had heard that the bus trip in itself was something not to be missed! It was all and more than we had hoped for. The road wound through valleys and fields of green where the river had been used for irrigation. We were amazed to see a network of irrigation channels that had been dug all along the contours of the valleys allowing more crops and trees to be planted further up the sides of the valleys. The scenery was spectacular as there had been snow recently and near the top there was quite a lot of snow along the sides of the road. We could look back down the valleys and see the road winding through the passes.
I couldn't help but think of the film "Babel" and the coach trip that Blanchett and Pitt had taken! We stopped at the top of the pass at Tizi n'Tichka to stretch our legs, have a coffee and take the opportunity to use the only toilet stop on the trip.
On the other side of the main pass the scenery changes dramatically to the dry lunar landscape of the Anti Atlas. There are an amazing number of walking trails through the mountains and we wished we had have had time to explore some of them. We both agreed that the whole family should visit Morroco next time and that we would hire a car to explore the area more. It would have been great to have been able to stop and take photos when we wanted. All of mine were taken out of the bus window during the trip! As an aside, four weeks later when we were travelling on a train in Spain, we got talking to an American who had also been to Morocco recently and had driven across the mountains. When he heard that we had taken a bus he said, "I can't believe you did
that trip by bus!" He felt it had been enough of a challenge negotiating the narrow roads and the hairpin bends in a car, never mind a bus! My photos do not do it justice as unfortunately we were sitting on the wrong side of the bus. It was full so I couldn't change sides! However, those scenes are still indelibly etched in my memory, which may be better as photos never seem to quite catch the magic of the moment!
Ouarzazate Ouarzazate lies at the confluence of the Atlas, Draa and Dades valleys. The dry sandy terrain stretches out further south and east to the beginning of the Sahara Desert. The huge Taourirt Kasbah is the main attraction in the town and bears testament to the town's strategic location. A kasbah is a fort or citadel that was originally used to house the army away from the city's popuation. Later they were used as official palaces and as such became symbols of dynastic authority. In 1928, the French built a garrison there and the town became an administrative centre. Today many people visit the film studios and there are many places to stay. As usual Michael and I
hadn't booked any accomodation so on arrival we set off in search of a place to stay. The first place we tried offered us a room at 250 Dirham a night; the second was 130 Dirham but we went further and found a place for 70 Dirham a night! It just goes to prove that taking the time to look around is worth it!!
Atlas Corporation Studios The studios are located 7 kilometers from the town so Michael and I hired push bikes next day and set off! We went on a very interesting tour of the studios and saw the Tibetan monastery set that was used in Martin Scorcese's film 'Kundun', the plane used in 'Jewel of the Nile' and Egyptian sets used in various films on Cleopatra. It was a very hot day and I had to buy a hat which seemed weird after rugging up so much on the rest of our trip. We saw the sets used in 'Moses' as well as the slave market set used in 'Gladiator'. In the distance we could see the set of 'Kingdom of Heaven'. Many films were made here including 'Alexander the Great', 'Asterix', 'The Last Temptation of
Atlas Mountains, Morocco
A row of clay pots for sale at the side of the road.Christ' and 'The Sheltering Sky'.
Taourirt Kasbah This is the largest Glaoui kasbah in the area and during the 1930's it housed numerous members of the Glaoui dynasty. After visiting the film studio we cycled to the kasbah, wondering where we would leave our bikes. This was quickly solved as a young 'guide' appeared to take us on a tour and assured us that his younger brother would guard our bikes! So off we set on our tour, feeling like we were stepping back a few hundred years into the past. That was until we saw a poster of Eminem on the wall outside a small shop! Michael stopped to take a photo of it and the shop keeper was not pleased! (We're not sure why!) We were inevitably taken to a shop selling carpets and left there while our guide waited outside. We admired the carpets and accepted the customary cups of mint tea, (to which we were quickly becoming addicted!!), and then very politely said that we weren't buying carpets that day! This was accepted with good grace and off we set with our guide again. Our bikes were safe and sound (phew!) and after giving our
guide a tip we set off back to the town.
On another day Michael and I returned to the Kasbah and explored the 'Palace' side of the ancient buiding which consists of a courtyard, living quarters and reception rooms. All of the rooms are empty so you have to use your imagination as you walk from room to room and climb up to the top storeys.
Ait Benhaddou Ait Benhaddou, situated 32 kilometers from Ouarzazate was just a bit too far to cycle so Michael and I hired a driver to take us out there one afternoon. This kasbah is one of the most exotic and best-preserved in the entire Atlas region. It has been used for scenes in films like "Lawrence of Arabia", "Jesus of Nazareth" and "Gladiator". However, its population is on the decline and it is now under UNESCO protection. We had to cross the mostly dried-up river Oued Ounila and of course the locals were out to make a few dirham by ferrying you across on either donkeys or camels! We took a camel which was quite a lot of fun! The kasbah consists of dwellings and again for a small charge the owners are
willing to take you through their homes and show you how they live. We were invited into the house of one man who had a lot of memorabilia from the film "Gladiator". He claimed to be Russell Crowe's friend and proudly showed us a watch that he claimed was a gift from Crowe. We weren't sure whether to believe him or not! On the roof top of his home we were introduced to his small herd of goats complete with a couple of really cute kids!
At the top of the kasbah is a ruined fortified granary with wonderful panoramic views of the counrtyside and we could see the kasbah spread out below us including the arena that was used in "Gladiator". By the time we had climbed to the top of the kasbah we were amused to see the donkeys and camels (our mode of transport across the river!) being led off for the day! This posed a bit of a problem for us as it was our means of transport but we thought we would cross that bridge when we came to it!! (Sorry, I couldn't resist that!) When we got back to the river bed we
took our shoes off, rolled our trousers up and started to wade across the river. Some young girls ran over to 'help' us across; I think we 'helped' them more but of course they expected some small payment!
Tamdaght Kasbah On the way back to Ouarzazate we asked the driver to take us to the Tamdaght Kasbah, another Glaoui fortification not far from Ouarzazate. It was almost sunset when we arrived and it was special to watch the sun set over the desert from the top. A number of storks had built their nests at the top and it was amazing to see how big the nests were after years of use. There were bits of cloth woven into the nests with the sticks and one nest was particularly colourful!
Our driver took us back to town and when he heard that we were heading to Fez next day he took us to the local bus station to book tickets on what we were led to believe would be a very comfortable ride. It certainly turned out to be a memorable ride but I'll leave that for another blog.....
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The Fisherman
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Did you meet Russell?
Great to read your latest offering! The film sets must have been fascinating - the dry climate means that they probably can be used for even more films in the future. Looking forward to Fez!