Morocco 2/16/2024 - 3/2/2024 |
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Sunday 2/25/2024 - Ouarzazate, Aït Benhaddou, Tizi N Tichka Pass, MarrakechWe woke up at 8 a.m. and walked around the gorgeous grounds of the hotel. It really was a shame that we didn't have more time to spend here enjoying the amenities, as it seems like this was the fanciest hotel on the itinerary. But we had things to do!We went to breakfast shortly before 9 o'clock. It was an elaborate breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes, pastries, msemen, goat cheese, orange juice, yogurt, strawberries, bread, and coffee. Seeing the extent of the spread, it was no wonder that the staff were disappointed that we hadn't had dinner the night before. They had probably had everything ready for us. We checked out of Ksar El Kabbaba, and Jamal and Majid picked us up at 10 o'clock. We drove to Ouazazarte, Morocco's Hollywood. We stopped to take some photos at Taourirt Kasbah where "Prince of Persia" was filmed. Tourist police approached Majid wanting to talk to Jamal. They couldn't see Jamal's tour guide badge because it was obscured by his jacket, and they wanted to make sure that he wasn't an unlicensed guide taking tourists around. We were impressed that the police were so observant and on top of things. We stopped to get some exterior shots of Atlas Studios, est. 1987, where movies such as "Prince of Persia", "Kingdom of Heaven", and "Kundun" were filmed. They had some props out front, including larger than life Egyptian statues and a Chinese lion statue. We also drove past CLA Studios, which is associated with Martin Scorsese. At around 11:30 a.m., we arrived at Aït Benhaddou. It is a ksar, or fortified village, made of rammed earth, adobe, clay bricks, and wood, which dates back to the 17th century. We sat on a wooden swing with a view of Aït Benhaddou in the background to take a photo. Then we walked to the site. We crossed a river by walking on sandbags to get to it. Here we saw the Indian family that we had seen at the Gnawa demonstrations yesterday. They must be on a similar itinerary to us. The village of Aït Benhaddou probably looks familiar, as parts of many movies were shot here including "Gladiator", "Time Bandits", "Jewel of the Nile", "The Living Daylights", and "Lawrence of Arabia". Today only a handful of families live here; it is mostly used for tourism and the film industry. In fact, a music video was being shot in one of the kasbahs (fortified house with four crenolated towers) on site, which meant that we couldn’t enter that particular kasbah. Jamal knew many of the film industry people who were working here today, as they had been colleagues when he was in the industry himself as a driver and assistant. There was plenty else to see at the site, though, and we wandered the passageways lined with mud-walled shops and restaurants. There were lots of Moroccan handicrafts for sale, as well as sub-Saharan African art. We noticed several Dogon grainary doors for sale, similar to the one we had purchased in Mali. We had seen some for sale in Fes as well. We stopped to watch a man creating paintings with alum, indigo, tea, saffron, and sugar. The paint was very faint and some of it was even invisible until he ran the piece of paper over a gas flame and the colors became vibrant. We decided to buy a $5 post-card sized painting from him, and he wrote our names on it in Amazigh. It was midday, and the sun was very strong and hot. Nevertheless, we wanted to walk up the trail and stairs to the granary at the top of the complex. The granary was a crumbling structure built of rocks and mud, and you could stand in its shadow to get a bit of relief from the hot sun. There were 360 degree views, including the snow-covered peaks of the High Atlas Mountains. We could certainly tell why this area is used for filming desert movies - the landscapes were quintessential desert. We could also see white catering vans parked in the distance, support for the film industry. On the way back down, we stopped at a small restaurant caled Khaleesi Terrace for a cold drink of Hawai (our new favorite drink, having been introduced to it yesterday by Ilham). We took some pictures sitting at various tables with gorgoues views, but ultimately settled at a table that was in the shade to enjoy our drinks. We were the only ones in this restaurant. Then we had a liesurely walk through the alleyways. Though there are many tourists at Aït Benhaddou, Jamal knew all of the less-traveled passages so that we could avoid crowds most of the time. We walked across a bridge to get back to where Majid was waiting with the van. I had internet access in the van, so I spent part of the ride posting additional Instagram and Facebook updates to try to catch up to real time. About 20 minutes after leaving Aït Benhaddou, we arrived at the Tizi N Tichka pass in the High Atlas Mountains, at an altitude of 2260 meters. Tizi N Tichka is the highest mountain pass in North Africa, and the road was constructed along an old caravan route by the French military in 1936. We stopped to take some photos. It was quite windy at the pass. There were souvenir and mineral shops here, and we could see signs of earthquake damage in the small buildings. The views were spectacular. The sky was bright blue and the sun was incredibly bright, as it often seems at high altitude. The road snaked through the landscape like a ribbon. The landscape looked like it was from another planet. Shortly after 3 o'clock, we stopped at Argan Tichka for lunch. We had grilled kafta with fries, rice, and Moroccan salad, with Hawai to drink. We had fresh, juicy, clementines for dessert. We arrived in Marrakech at 6 p.m. This is where both Jamal and Majid live. Majid became very animated and talkative as we arrived in what he deems is the best city. Jamal joked that as soon as Majid got home and comfortable, his English came out. Cars are not allowed in the medina here, but motorbikes are allowed, so you need to have your wits about you. We left Majid with the van and luggage while Jamal led us on foot to the gorgeous Riad Almaha. While they took photocopies of our passports, we sat in the courtyard and enjoyed tea and cookies. We said goodnight to Jamal, and he and Majid were able to go to their respective homes for the night. Zuhare from the front desk at the hotel showed us the two restaurants: the Pixel Room and the Library. He told us that each night we should make a reservation for the restaurant of our choice for breakfast the next morning. The riad was designed by Belgian designer Charles Kaisin. It only has 12 rooms, and the restaurants are uniquely themed. The Pixel Room is an experiment in pointillism, with 23,000 silk diamonds velcroed to the walls, ceilings, and doors. They appear to make an abstract pattern, but when viewed through a cell phone camera, the 23,000 "pixels" can be seen to form an elaborate image of a mosque with people surrounding it. It was really quite amazing. The Library contains 1083 works of French literature. The books are shelved with their pages outward, and each book's pages have been meticulously folded to represent a single letter of the alphabet. These letters spell out Baudelaire's "Invitation au voyage." Zuhare then showed us to our room, room #3 on the ground floor. Our luggage was already there. The room was lovely, with a bedroom, separate sitting room with fireplace, and a large bathroom with tub, shower, and double sinks. Some books, pages folded in the same way as in the Library, sat on a shelf next to our fireplace. This would be a lovely room in which to spend the next few nights. Zuhare suggested going up to the rooftop for sunset drinks, and told us to stop by reception at some time so that he could show us the "secret door." This was a lovely riad, and after not having had time to adequately enjoy the amenities of our last hotel, we were determined to explore all that this riad had to offer. The rooftop houses the Bidaya Sunset Bar, which is open to the public as well as to the guests of the riad. We found seats that would afford us a nice view of the sunset and ordered drinks. I had a Moscow Mule (made with real ginger rather than ginger beer), and Craig had a Casablanca beer. We enjoyed the sunset. There was a cat on the roofdeck who came over to say hello. However, she got her tail caught on Craig's cane and it toppled down onto her, sending her running away in fright. We weren't hungry for dinner, but Craig had a second Casablanca before we headed back downstairs. As we were leaving the roofdeck, an employee stopped us and asked where and when we would like to have breakfast in the morning. We chose 8:30 in the Pixel Room. We went downstairs and stopped at the reception desk so that Zuhare could show us the secret door. This was a panel of shelving which could be opened and used as a door. Zuhare already knew about our breakfast plans, which we had literally made two minutes prior. The staff here are very good! We went back to the room. Craig took a shower and then I took a bath (being mindful not to use too much water, given the drought situation). They even had a nice candle by the bathtub. I caught up on all of my Instagram/Facebook posting and note taking. We went to bed at 11:30. Atlas Studios, Ouarzazate Aït Benhaddou Riad Almaha Marrakech |
 Aït Benhaddou  Aït Benhaddou  Painter, Aït Benhaddou  Jamal and Craig, Aït Benhaddou  Granary, Aït Benhaddou  Having some refreshments, Aït Benhaddou  Craig, Aït Benhaddou  Aït Benhaddou
See more photos from February 25
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 Tizi N Tichka Pass |
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