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Published: February 1st 2020
After a last early morning breakfast at the enchanting Riad Salam Fes, it was already time to take our leave of the Imperial City of Fes. The air was cool at this early hour as the sun was still low in the sky, but the pale pinkish light was slowly creeping into the shadow-filled corners of the medina as the residents of Fes were waking up and beginning their busy day.
Yesterday’s tour of Fes, while enjoyable, had taken on a frenetic pace as there were so many important sites to see in just one day. The day ahead (Day 6) would mean a lot of time on the bus, but I was looking forward to having “down” time just watching the scenery go by, though I later regretted not taking this opportunity to jot down some notes about Fes in these spare moments.
Heading south, this day’s itinerary would call for approximately 8 hours of driving, including technical and photo stops and a stop for lunch in the Berber village of Midelt before reaching the oasis town of Erfoud, “Gateway of the Sahara,” where we would stay for just one night. Along the way the landscape was never
boring and varied widely: from the big city of Fes to driving through small market towns; seeing cedar forests and palmeries; and crossing the Middle Atlas and High Atlas Mountains before reaching the edge of the Sahara. We were entering the Maghreb, land of the Berbers.
In the morning we had a short stop in Ifrane, a small town known as the “Switzerland of Africa.” Located in the Middle Atlas Mountains, the French Protectorate established Ifrane in 1928 as a “hill station” or retreat from the summer heat. Because of its 5,500 ft. altitude, its Alpine climate and regular snowfall, Ifrane is a popular winter ski resort. Stepping down from our tour bus, we could immediately feel the much cooler air temperature and the still low-in-the-sky sun was not adding much warmth as of yet.
Though small, Ifrane has a charming character as the builders appropriately adopted a Chalêt-style architecture for houses and accommodations here which feature multi-story buildings with sharply pitched (no doubt to help avoid snow build up) terra cotta tile roofs and dormer-style windows. I loved that here too storks had built huge nests on the crests of several buildings, adding even more charm for
me, but once again I never saw any storks in the nests.
Perhaps Ifrane’s most well-known site is a large, roughly carved stone lion set in a tiny park near the Hôtel Chamonix just off Avenue Hassan II. Apparently, it is the work of a German soldier imprisoned here during WWII when the town briefly served as a prisoner of war camp. Whether fact or fiction, the story goes that the German soldier carved the lion in exchange for his freedom. The sad fact is that it also commemorates the last wild Atlas lion shot near this area in the early 1920s.
This was rather a quick stop, but we had time to get a coffee or snack in one of the restaurants, and I managed to buy a magnet featuring Ifrane’s lion. Shortly after leaving Ifrane behind us, we passed through the last of the Forêt de Cèdres, the Atlas Cedar forest we were to see. The pastoral shepherds grazing their flocks of sheep and goats in the forest was a pleasant sight but there is concern that this practice is a threat to the cedars as well as other natural diseases that have struck the trees.
A bit west of here lies the town of Azrou known for its Barbary Apes, or macaques such as those in Gibraltar; unfortunately, seeing them was not on our schedule today which was a shame as I’ve not seen Barbary Apes personally and I understand they can be quite funny to watch. If you're game to get close to them, the advice given was to bring fruit for them or else risk having your belongings snatched!!
Another hour plus of driving found us reaching the little town of Midelt, “City of Apples.” Interestingly, I began to notice at this point that in small and large towns often there is a roundabout or traffic circle which towns use to display a symbol of what that town is known for. Usually there is also a beautiful garden surrounding the symbol, perhaps including a fountain, and special lighting as well. Midelt’s attractive traffic circle displayed a big red apple surrounded not only by lovely rose bushes but also by a fountain at the bottom of the apple that sprayed lilting jets of water. While apples appear to be the main crop in this region, it's said that walnuts, apricots, plums, pomegranates,
wheat, corn, and other vegetables grow here.
We drove through Midelt via its main road which looked much like other small towns we had seen, but it was very quiet on this particular day. Midelt’s market road was a simple, traditional-looking place with colorful awnings and tarps overhanging fruit seller’s stands. Tables seemed to be groaning under the weight of the abundant supply of apples on display – the large red, yellow and green apple varieties that you could imagine being eaten out of hand or baked into a delicious pie, cobbler or cake.
Just on the other side of town we arrived at our pre-arranged lunch stop, Restaurant 7, which I believe caters mainly to tour groups though no other tour buses were in sight. A few tables were already occupied by the lunch crowd when we arrived but a special seating section had been saved for us. Restaurant 7 is a modern building painted white with red & blue exterior design. It had a plain but nice upper level seating area and an outdoor terrace; also, there was an inviting garden patio to one side of the front door. All the facilities were clean and modern
which was a much appreciated bonus.
We had recently eaten often at more much more traditional Moroccan restaurants so Restaurant 7 made a nice change with its simple furnishings, and large windows which gave the dining room a bright and airy feel. Our 3-course lunch began with a good, thick yellow pea soup, followed by a plate of chicken kebabs, salad, French fries and rice. Dessert was apple pie drizzled in chocolate and plum sauce – the apples undoubtedly came from nearby orchards! I enjoyed eating here!
Having finished lunch, I had about 15 minutes or so of free time to wander down to the patio to enjoy the sun, admire the colorful patio brickwork, and the beautiful sunflowers planted there. Just before we had to leave, a friendly dog appeared but unfortunately I didn’t have any lunch scraps to feed him though our bus driver threw him some bread, something he made a practice of when he saw homeless dogs along the road -- bless him! Apparently stray/homeless dogs, which are seen often on roadsides in Morocco, are fed in this way by people who care. In my experience, I can’t say that on this trip I
saw cats being treated very well anywhere except in the town of Essaouira and at the Kasbah Xaluca Hotel as a matter of fact.
Back on course, we continued on a southeasterly route on the N13 and thinking back now it is difficult to remember exactly where the landscape began to change between Midelt and our next stop. At some point I began to see naked, sand-colored mountains and flat stretches of land with an occasional house, mosque or brightly painted school. Moroccans sometimes use mountains with flat, wide viewpoints as a place to create Arabic inscriptions in white lettering with meanings relative to Morocco but sometimes we also saw Berber symbols as well. I snapped a photo of Arabic lettering which was quite a long string of words or a phrase but have not been able to have it translated as of yet.
Before reaching the Ziz River Gorge, we stopped briefly at the Kasba Dounia in Kerrandou for refreshments and a bathroom break. For all appearances, the Kasba Dounia is a traditionally-styled kasbah with 8 guest rooms, a restaurant furnished with low round tables and banquets, a bar, and a garden where we admired the beautiful
roses, olive, orange and flowering trees while we enjoyed our coffee, while others had cold drinks, ice cream or snacks. The kasbah seems to be in an isolated spot, however, since Moroccans are “good walkers,” any place that can be reached within 5 – 6 miles on foot would not be considered isolated; and, as this road is a gateway to the Ziz Gorge and the Sahara, cars and buses regularly ply this route.
A perfect photo moment at Kasba Dounia took place when, seemingly from nowhere, a local Moroccan woman wearing a long, flowered kaftan appeared leading an overburdened donkey. As if she knew I was watching her, she drew the white scarf that covered her head and shoulders to cover her face as well, but oddly enough her legs were not completely covered. While I had no desire to intrude upon her privacy, scenes of Moroccans going about their daily lives continually fascinated me as it is so different from my own life.
As we made our way toward the Ziz River Gorge, date palms, both wild and cultivated, became a much more common sight. Date palms were fairly bursting with the fruit! Just beneath the
deep green of the palm fronds, the date palm produces many huge clusters of golden brown dates. Medjool dates are considered the most desirable. We saw many roadside stands where the date clusters were being sold, while in markets they are sold by the pound without the attendant stems. Personally, I like dates and was hoping for an opportunity to have more soon.
In the Ziz River Gorge long swathes of deep green palm trees (palmaries) lined both sides of the river. The River Ziz winds its way through the valley with the river-etched high plateaus as a backdrop which sometimes reminded me of the American Southwest. The Ziz River Gorge is not a gorge in the same sense as the dramatic Todra Gorge which we would later see, but it is a scenic setting nonetheless.
Our guide, Larbi, had our driver pull over at a turnout -- an excellent spot for photos. On the far side of the river the abandoned remains of pink adobe villages rose just high enough above the tree line for us to see. Larbi explained that houses made of this material deteriorate over time and rather than repair them, the families build
another or move on. Just nearby a few newer-looking houses showed obvious signs of being lived in as I saw colorful clothes hanging from a laundry line flapping in the scant breeze.
While trying to view the eerily abandoned houses, we were almost immediately surrounded by a group of 5 or 6 excited young boys who wanted us all to buy some of their handiwork --- cute little camels in profile made from woven palm leaves. My travel group friend, Bonnie, bought 1 or more of these from the boys probably for the equivalent of 50¢ or so. Bonnie gave me one made of fresh green palm leaves which I now use as a very memorable bookmark. But every time I look at it, I feel a bit guilty that I did not have a supply of Moroccan coins or small paper notes with me at all times because children often tried to sell us little things they made. These boys were trying to sell something they made by hand -- not begging -- to make a little money for themselves or their families, and even if I had bought something from each of them, the cost would have
been negligible to me but might have made some difference to them.
After a somewhat long day, we were more than ready for a little down time. Reaching Erfoud in late afternoon, we were looking forward to our night at the Xaluca Kasbah (Hotel), quite a spectacular place. Passing through the doors at Xaluca Kasbah is like entering a beautiful oasis, and here I must praise our tour company for providing us with yet another splendid opportunity to experience different kinds of accommodations while in Morocco.
On arrival, our group was welcomed and entertained by musicians and singers in the reception area while being served hot mint tea; by now, mint tea was something I excitedly looked forward to having whenever we stayed in a new Moroccan hotel or visited certain shops or restaurants which served it to guests. Once rooms keys were distributed, we entered the courtyard with its waving palm trees, and glittering blue pool. A path of exotic and colorful Moroccan carpets led to our room in one of the several adobe buildings. Among the many physical charms of the Xaluca was the architecture, artifacts, and music; but on the human side, the staff here
was excellent too and the healthy-looking resident cats here were fun to photograph.
Before dinner, I visited a stable on the property which held 3 camels – 2 adults and a baby. We had been warned to keep our distance, but I couldn’t resist. Some stray pieces of their food, pliable tree branches and leaves, were on the ground just outside of their stable, so I took the opportunity to feed them and they seemed happy enough to get a bit more food and didn’t seem upset by my presence even with the baby nearby.
Tonight’s dinner was held in Restaurant Tizimi, the Kasbah’s expansive and decorative dining room. The painted designs on the wood beams of the ceiling were amazing. A bountiful and well-presented buffet offered anything and everything Moroccan that you could possibly want. Since it seemed like a long time since we had last eaten, we were ready for a good meal. Each of us made a couple of trips to the buffet beginning with bread, and fresh or cooked salads, before moving on to the main course items. While we were enjoying dinner, musicians made rounds among the tables which was a very nice
addition to the atmosphere on this night.
Though desserts were also on the buffet, a member of our group was celebrating a birthday and the waiter brought an extraordinary birthday cake for her which was then shared by the birthday girl with all of us – it was terrific! For the most part, nearly all members of our group got on pretty well with each other, and when there was an occasion such as this birthday, we seemed to enjoy getting to know each other a little better.
Back in the reception area we visited the huge gift shop with its unique souvenirs and made a couple of small purchases. The gentleman running the shop there was very social and we enjoyed talking to him. We ended the evening with a short stroll while the night air was absolutely balmy and the pool area was lit with soft lights and candles. The bar was still open so Rick capped off the night with a cold Casablanca beer.
I wish I could have stayed awake longer to enjoy all that Kasbah Xaluca had to offer in terms of ambiance and charm, but once back in our room the
lure of my comfortable bed was stronger than my desire to stay awake --no journaling again tonight!
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Lesley Russell
non-member comment
Another great chapter ...
...in your Moroccan adventure. Time and season precluded our venturing further into the mountains and the desert, so I am rather envious.