Land of Berbers

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It was time to get away from the noisy medinas and head into the countryside to experience the real Morocco. Next few days were spent driving through some spectacular scenery in the Middle Atlas mountains.

First stop was Midelt with a lovely auberge and refreshing spring water pool. Took a wander through the nearby village and chatted with some local women.

Next stop was Todra Gorge. It's an amazingly lush valley with kasbahs surrounded by various crops such as pomegranates, peaches, apples, maize, alfafa, beans, cabbage, etc. Along the walk, we gorged on fresh figs straight off the trees. It's also blatantly obvious that it's the Berber women that do all the work in the fields and carry crops on their backs like mules. Apparently the men only till the soil, a grand total of about 5 days' work, and then head back to the cafes.

Just as a matter of interest, the 4 highest sources of income in Morocco are -
(1) Phosphate and minerals
(2) Relatives sending money from overseas (just like Cuba)
(3) Hash
(4) Tourism

Then it was onto Dades Gorge. Did a great walk through the valley which had some funky rock formations including some that looked like monkey fingers, and small Berber villages.

Finally we went to Ait Ben Haddou where they filmed a lot of desert and kasbah shots for movies like "Gladiator" and "Lawrence of Arabia". It's known as the Valley of 1000 Kasbahs as the hilltop is covered with berber dwellings that served as a safe haven on the main trade route. The place is still being restored by Unesco and owned by the government, but it's not an official tourist site. However this hasn't stopped one particularly aggressive local from trying to extort a 10 dirham fee from tourists to enter the site. Our guide had previously warned us not to pay him anything as it was a sham, so we just stormed on through. However several other group members were locked out as he had shut the gates on them, but they managed to barge through eventually. The view from the top was glorious and peaceful, and the sunset was magic.

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Photos

Todra Gorge
These kasbahs are derelict and were abandoned 60 years ago, but the land is still being farmed

Todra Gorge
Kasbah and crops

Just call me Lawrence
There's no way I'm getting on that stinky camel

Middle Atlas
Auberge doggy that showed the way

Barbary ape
Like a macaw monkey with no tail

Storks
It's a 5000 dirham fine if you remove a stork nest

Procession
A pre-wedding procession of the groom's female relatives with offerings for the bride's family

Berber caves
Mohammed checking out the view

Ait Ben Haddou
Valley of 1000 kasbahs

Ait Ben Haddou
Gorgeous view from the hilltop