From Merzouga, Nazihr and his cousin give us a lift back to Erfoud, where we take a taxi to Errachidia, we are in full hamada (rocky desert), often interrupted by beautiful palms… the heat is dry and enveloping. Once in Errachidia, we discover that the only bus to our final destination leaves during the night: then we decide to rent a room to rest for a few hours. In the evening, when we walk towards the station, we know a nice Moroccan living in Spain, we have dinner with him. Night falls and our bus leaves, direction Oujda and the Mediterranean Sea. At dawn we see a new landscape, green-gold hills covered with fields of grain and forage.
Tinghir and Berber people
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.
Ouarzazate and Casbah of Telouet
The starry night, pursued by a multitude of souls who find peace only at the edge of the dusty roads, finally gave way to a warm and quivering dawn. We follow the foothills of the Atlas back in the direction of Marrakech, but just before the Tizi’n Tichka pass we turn right along a small trace of dust, which is the ancient salt trail, where caravans used to pass through along the way to Marrakech, or towards the mystery of Timbuktu.
The smiling and tired faces of the peasants, followed by the playful screams of children, tell us of a world flowing with the ancient rhythms of the seasons, with no worries but always in balance between simplicity and deprivation. The place is beautiful, the colors are warm and lively as an impressionist painting. We’re fascinated. At the end of our journey, we get finally to Telouet, village of Glaoui and home to a salt mine. We visit the Casbah, which immediately we rename “the storks”, accompanied by the friendly guide Mohammed, then we rest at the nearby restaurant, where we can enjoy the intense flavors of the Berber cuisine and enjoy a bucolic landscape.
Suddenly the phone rings. We are doing lunch with Lahcen, with green tea and pistachios, he is telling us of his aspiration to travel the world and meet people far away, we think of the curiosity of Moroccan people and how this unites us, making our discussions more and more exciting and passionate.
On the other side of the receiver an anxious Brahim, who meanwhile headed towards Zagora, a few hours by bus to Ouarzazate, to meet his family. His distant voice: “Salam friend, we have a problem … you and the girl should leave the house immediately, because my cousin arrives and if he sees her, he will make a big casino.” A moment of silence, then I think of the privilege and the emotions that we felt during the two days spent together: this is the best gift that they could make us; we thank everyone, we gather our few things and we are ready to go.
Morocco of a thousand contrasts and contradictions, it is 10pm and we have to find a hotel for the night. One more night in Ouarzazate.
Travel tip: relax yourself on the terrace of restaurant Lion d’Or in Telouet, enjoying the delicious Berber cuisine (tagine, cous cous).
Tizi’n Tichka towards Ourzazate
We walk towards the gare routiere, and invariably we are involved in the confusion pre-departure. As soon as we cross the threshold of the station, a swarm of young men in leather jackets, beggars, barefoot children and alleged long-time travelers gets around us. The cries are more and more lively and playful, then become nervous indicating a certain dissatisfaction with the deal which does not go on smoothly. In a few seconds, upon pronouncing the magic word (Ouarzazate), we find ourselves gently pushed towards a rickety bus, decked out in a multitude of gold and red colored ribbons and spangles. We finally felt at home. Now starts the bargaining for the price and the best seats. 30, 25, 20, the price goes down and down the claims: back seats of the bus and seats upholstered in dusty hair sheep.
We walk towards the bus station, and we are inevitably involved in the pre-departure hustle… finally the bus leaves, towards the desert, but we must now face the Atlas: dense pine forests, extensive golden wheat crops and quiet Berber villages, a brief stop in Taddert for lunch. We overcome the Tizi’n Tichka (2500 meters of altitude), which in Tamazight language means “pass of the pastures”. The hot and dry air announces the desert, the Sahara. In the journey, we meet Brahim, a sympathetic Moroccan who works in Bergamo; with him we make the first steps in the more authentic Morocco. He invites us to his cousin’s house when we arrive at Ouarzazate, we talk and he gives us something to eat, we understand that there is much to share and the possibility of establishing a truly warm relationship. We spend a pleasant day with Brahim and the three brothers (Lahcen is the only one who understands English), it is a pity not to speak French, but we can understand each other with Spanish and we try to learn the first words in Arabic (Shukran, naan/la, inshallah, salam/salem). They continue to offer their hospitality, in form of mint tea, pleasant chats and delicious snacks. We understand that mutual curiosity is not always enough to brake the cultural “wall” that separates us: we cannot merge our relativism with their way of thinking linked to Muslim culture. Even from children, lives of men and women are separated. For men it is given the privilege of choice, while for women the fate will always be indelibly marked by the teachings of the mother and the wish of the father and then of the husband.
During the night, upon having enjoyed a delicious tajine of lamb cooked with our new friends, we make a long trek up to the casbah of Taourirt, all together. The full moon creates a dream, it seems to animate the casbah and relive the times of its glory, when it was one of the residences of Glaoui, the pacha of Marrakech. Ourzazate, which is located where the Valleys of Draa and Dades meet, introduces to the first seeings of the Sahara Desert. The city is quite modern (it was founded by the French in the 20s), and it is still a place of transit along the routes of traders and tourists that, from Marrakech, lead to the desert borders of Zagora and Merzouga. The climate is tempered by its altitude which exceeds 1.100 meters.
Travel tip: sit down in a bar of the city center to enjoy a tasteful mint tea, skillfully served from the teapot, in order to release all its flavour.
Marrakech, imperial city
Marrakesh is one of the four Moroccan imperial cities and its suq, which extends into the heart of the ancient city (Medina), is one of the most lively in North Africa. Nouns, banners or showcases do not exist. Everything you can see, it is on sale. In the suq, the merchant shows a different behavior with each customer. It develops all around Djemaa el Fna Square, where sales men and artists meet: musicians, orators, prostheses sellers, dentists, snake charmers… But Marrakesh is unforgettable for its fragrances, craftsmen, dyers who wash skins in the stone pits, smiths and the other thousands of magical figures who populate and make unique this African and deeply Arabic-Maghreb city.
The history of the region around Marrakech is linked to the Berber population. Present on the African territory from thousands of years, these people still have a mysterious origin, though it is thought they come from Caucasus. In Roman times, these “men of the earth” had already established the Kingdom of Mauritania, whose borders reached the Mediterranean sea. After the fall of the Roman Empire, they began to grow, up to lead their warriors to the conquest of Spain, bringing Islam to Europe. The imperial city of Marrakech was founded in 1062 by Sultan Ben Youssef Tachfine, who built the defensive walls that surround the city. Extended up to 19 km during the dynasties of Almohades and Saadians these city walls vary from pink to red and are interrupted by 200 square towers (borjs) and nine monumental gates. The prosperity of Marrakech made it the capital of an empire that stretched from Algiers and the Mediterranean to Senegal and the Atlantic ocean.
After 400 years of Berber dynasties, the descendants of indigenous Atlas tribes (the Almoravids, Almohads and Merinides, who reigned until 1465), the sixteenth century saw the advent of the Arab rulers. The Saadians (1554-1603) united Morocco, while in 1659 came to power the Aluites (1672-1727 reigned the Sultan Moulay Ismail), which are still in power in Morocco. One of the most remarkable monuments of Marrakech belonging to this historical Moroccan period is located in the casbah (Qasba). Located in a small garden, the tomb of the Saadian dynasty, dating back to the sixteenth century, are among the best examples of Islamic art, especially the elaborate gypsum decorations and cedar ceilings of the mausoleum.
Travel tip: sit down in a kiosk in Djemaa el Fna Square to enjoy meat, fish, couscous, heads of mutton, snails or kebabs every night from 6pm.
