In the evening, upon leaving our backpacks at Tombouctu hotel, we go out to discover the suq. As frequently happens, we find a new friend, Nazihr: a really nice guy, who tells us about Tinghir and the origin of its peoples, the nomadic Berbers. The next day we go with him to the Todra Gorge, a massive rock formation, up to 350 meters high, from which numerous springs of clear water flow, feeding the palm of Tinghir.
Going beyond the gorge, we clamber up a steep path, which follows the arid slopes of the mountains, foothills of the Atlas towards the desert… Nazihr guides us where we can enjoy a breathtaking view over the valley of Dades. We get to a camp of nomadic Berbers: people still live in simple tents to shelter from the sun during the day and in natural caves to protect from the cold of the night. A woman, confirming the hospitality of this people, prepares a tea of thyme, while her children Lazhen and Youssef play with us and the goats; more distant, her eldest daughter, not married yet, show us timidly the carpet she is weaving for her marriage together with the grandmother.
Then comes the night and, walking in the shadow of the ancient medina of Tinghir, we perceive the presence of ghosts coming from a distant and lost world: they are Berber men, women and children who left the hard life of the mountains, to disappear in the chaos of the city. Their spirits still roam desperate, in memory of their past nomadic life.
