Vacation or Internship as Tour Guide?

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The day after spring camp ended, and I got more than five hours of sleep for the first time in over a week, two of my uncles and a cousin arrived in Marrakech. I had just enough time to catch the train down from Rabat and arrived at the hotel less than a half hour before they did. My mother’s brother Charlie and her younger sister’s husband David had brought with them Isaac, David’s son.

We started out our week in Marrakech. It is by far my favorite city in Morocco and I feel very fortunate to live so close by. I have spent enough time there and guided enough family and friends around the city that I have gotten to know it pretty well. I’ve never been a fan of cities, but to know Marrakech well is a treat.

I took the guys around to most of the same places I visited with Michèle in February. I also had to take them home to Kelaa so they could see where I lived. Any visit to Kelaa must be accompanied by a couscous meal with Maryam. We were lucky to be there the day Salma had her first birthday. It really hit me then how long I have been here. Maryam’s baby is already a year old.

We didn’t stay long in Kelaa since there is so much more to see and do in Marrakech. The guys only had a week since Isaac had to be back at school after his week long spring break. We did leave Marrakech long enough for one night in Ait Ben Haddou, a village I visited a year ago when I was working at the Spring Language Camp in Ouarzazate.

We stayed with Houcein, who had built an auberge ajoining his family’s home in the village. We had a perfect view of the historic kasbah and Houcein himself played guide for us the next day to hike out to some caves. These caves were dug out more than 2000 years ago, according to our guide. They were obviously made by chipping the soft sandstone and gypsum cliff away with harder rocks. Construction predated metal tools. Locals say they were inhabited by short people who lived in the Atlas before the Berbers moved in, long before the Arabs arrived. Besides the outer rooms and kitchens, there were four hallways extending back into the cliff. Each hall had eight rooms carved off each side, making a total of 64 habitable rooms. Habitable is a relative term. I could stay there if I had to, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Ait Ben Haddou has developed noticeably since last year, and all in a good way. The stream and streets are cleaner. The roads and electrical infrastructure are in better shape. There is a new project to bring electricity to the homes on the other side of the river. It’s not much of a river this year due to drought, but there is some water in it. There are garbage cans strategically placed around the areas tourists go and restoration is in full swing on the historic areas of the kasbah. Some rooms are set up like a historical museum and community members are on hand to explain the history of the trade route across the Sahara. They have begun collecting donations from visitors to help in the restoration and I was very impressed with the organization and friendliness of the people there. It is an up and coming town and I hope tourists appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it.

Other than my plug for Ait Ben Haddou, I want to thank my uncles for coming and for bringing Isaac. It was so much fun to travel around with them and show off my Arabic and my new “home”. I count pretty much the whole Marrakech region as home and I’m very proud of it. It was great to see my younger cousin enjoy Morocco so much and to take pleasure in the traditional music and musical instruments. I’ll let the photos speak for the rest of the trip.

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Photos

Quintessential Morocco
I was ready to take my uncles out to see the real Morocco off the tourist trail.

Dinner in Jama Lfna
But we started out smack dab in the middle of the tourist trail with a first night in Marrakech's Jama Lfna.

Madrasa Ben Youssef
My favorite building in all of Marrakech has to be this madrasa-turned-museum. Uncle Charlie, uncle David and cousin Isaac all posed for me.

Isaac
I hadn't seen my cousin in a long time and was so happy to hang out with him.

Koutoubia
Still firmly on the tourist trail.

Salma's 1st Birthday
I had to take the guys home to Kelaa for Maryam's baby's first birthday. We had the famous Maryam's Couscous. She should have her own cooking show.

Ait Ben Haddou
We took a little trip up over the Atlas at Tishka Pass, where it was snowing, to Ait Ben Haddou. I hadn't been there since last April with camp.

UNESCO site
The Kasbah is ancient and has been designated a UNESCO site. The community has put in a lot of work restoring since last year.

Storks
I love seeing the storks in Morocco. This one has a broken wing and the guys who are repairing the kasbah are taking care of it.

Hiking through the desert
Ait Ben Haddou is too close to the Atlas to have sand dunes, but it is still an oasis in the Sahara.

Approach to Tigoulite Caves
Our destination for the hike looked so small when I first spotted them.

Looking across from he caves
I swear I didn't mess with the tint or add any red to this photo. The desert really is that red.

In one of the the outer rooms
The caves were very extensive and the halls reached back into the cliff very far.

Isshaq
Isaac went Moroccan on us the last day and decided he needed a lute. We had a lot of fun wandering through the souks, playing music.