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24 April 2024 - Marrakesh
We had a quiet morning doing laundry and other chores after our long drive yesterday. We took a taxi into the old part of Marrakesh at around 13.00. It felt pretty hot and the driver thought it was 35 degrees centigrade!
We explored Marrakesh's souks for a while. The souks were a maze of numerous alleys lined with stalls selling all sorts of things: spices, pottery, carved wooden objects, leather bags and babouches (traditional Moroccan slippers), carpets, fabrics, clothes, dried fruits, antiques etc.
We wanted to find specific souks that specialised in items like leather, metal, dyed wool etc. However, it was difficult locating them and we ended up just wandering around. It is quite possible that these specialised souks no longer exist.
We then went to the Almoravid Dome which was built in 1106 and it is thought to be the oldest building in Marrakesh. It was part of a richly decorated mosque that was destroyed in 1156 by the Almohad dynasty. However, we didn't enter as the fee was excessive.
Our next stop was the Ben Yousef Medersa, one of the oldest and largest Islamic schools founded in the 14th century. It's a beautiful building and probably the best sight in Marrakesh.
We wanted to see the Mouassine Fountain which dates back to the 16th century. Sadly it was badly affected by the earthquake in late 2023 and was closed. The surrounding buildings have been supported by scaffolding to prevent them from collapsing.
It was hot and tiring walking around Marrakesh so we stopped for a drink at a roof top cafe. Afterwards we went to the Djemaa el-Fna square but it was too hot and the evening street entertainment hadn't started. We had a meal at one of the roof top restaurants overlooking the square.
The evening entertainment still hadn't commenced by 18.30. We therefore walked over to the nearby Koutoubia mosque that dates back to the 12th century. Non moslems can't enter so we just walked around the exterior.
At dusk we returned to the Djemaa el-Fna square. It was fun walking around the numerous fruit juice and food stalls. All the vendors were very friendly and tried to entice us to buy from them. However, we had already eaten.
There was some very limited entertainment in the Djemaa el-Fna square. It was mainly for Moroccans and we were expecting a lot more and a lot better. We will return a bit later tomorrow evening to see if it is better.
25 April 2024 - Marrakesh
We spent most of the day relaxing in the apartment and then took a taxi into the centre of Marrakesh in the late afternoon. We visited the Jewish Mellah district.
The majority of the Jewish population left when the French pulled out of Morocco in the 1950's and there are no longer any Jews living there. Moroccans took over their houses but recently the offspring of the Jews who vacated the houses have returned and are trying to reclaim them.
Afterwards we wandered around Marrakesh's souks and had dinner at a roof top restaurant. Before heading back to the apartment we went to Djemaa el-Fna square to see if it was any more entertaining than yesterday.
It was absolutely buzzing in Djemaa el-Fna square at 22.00 but all the entertainment was for Moroccans like yesterday. There were many groups of men, surrounded by spectators, playing their music loudly. There were also snake charmers and storytellers. I don't think that Djemaa el-Fna is of much interest for foreigners.
26 April 2024 - Marrakesh to Ait Benhaddou
We drove south from Marrakesh over the 2,260 metre high Tizi n Tichka mountain pass. Google maps said it would take about 3.5 hours but it took 6 hours even though the road was very good. The scenery was very beautiful, particularly on the section of the road via Telouet, and we frequently stopped to take photos.
We stopped off to see an old Kasbah at Telouet. Unfortunately it was affected by the earthquake and has been closed.
We arrived in Ait Ben Haddou at 17.00 and then walked up to the top of the hill to explore the Kasbah and the fortified village. The buildings are made of mud and straw. It is now very commercialised and there were quite a few other independent tourists there. Luckily there were no tour groups but we were told that there are plenty during the day!
27 April 2024 - Ait Benhaddou to Zagora
We drove south from Ait Benhaddou to Zagora today. It is a very scenic route along the Draa river valley with views of the Atlas mountains, oases and old kasbahs. The mountain scenery on the road north of the town of Agdz was very impressive.
The Draa River is Morocco's longest river at 1,100 kilometres long, flowing from the High Atlas Mountains to the Atlantic. Zagora is in the Draa River Valley which is described as being green and lush. Sadly Morocco has been struggling with drought conditions the past few years and many of the palm trees were turning brown.
We saw the impressive Kasbah Tifoultoute soon after leaving Ouarzazate. It appeared to be a hotel and we didn't visit it. After passing the town of Agdz we stopped at two Kasbah's.
The first one was Kasbah Cheikh Arabi and we each paid Eur 2 to enter and look around. The second one was Kasbah Oulad Othmane and we only walked around the exterior as it was closed.
We stayed in a small guest house in Zagora that had very good reviews on Booking.com. The guest house was good but the owner was a bit strange. It was the first hotel in Morocco where no one spoke English and I used my limited French.
28 April 2024 - Zagora to Skoura
We drove about 30 minutes south of Zagora to the Tinfou Dunes. They are part of the Agafay Desert which borders on to the Sahara. It is popular with tourists and we were lucky to arrive 15 minutes before the day's first bus load of tourists.
We then drove back towards Zagora and stopped to see the old Islamic library at Tamegroute. It has old manuscripts and books on a variety of topics apart from religion, such as poetry, science, mathematics, medicine etc.
Sadly the library was closed as it was the weekend but we could still visit the ancient Kasbah next to it. There were several guides milling about, offering to show us the Kasbah which is still lived in, the pottery making and the pottery shop. They all denied that they were guides!
We walked with a "guide" around the Kasbah and followed him through dark and gloomy covered alleyways and houses to the pottery area. The Kasbah was very atmospheric and we enjoyed it.
The pottery was also very interesting. They use the branches of the palm trees to fire up the old brick ovens. They showed us the modern metal ovens that Germany had donated. Unfortunately they aren't used as they are heated by gas which is too expensive.
We walked around Tamegroute's Kasbah for over an hour with our guide and he gave us a good tour. We didn't buy any pottery at the shop but gave him Eur 5 for his efforts. It was probably too much as he seemed happy.
We then returned northwards to Skoura along the Draa River valley we had driven down yesterday. We visited the Kasbah Amerdihl in Skoura. It was passed down to two brothers who have fallen out.
They have split Kasbah Amerdihl and there are two separate entrances and 2 separate entrance fees! We were told that the right section of the Kasbah was the more interesting part.
29 April 2024 - Skoura to Todra Gorge
We drove north-east from Skoura to Todra Gorge. On the way we visited the Valley of the Roses where 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of rose petals are harvested every spring. It took us over an hour to drive up the Valley of the Roses to the village of Bou Thrarar. The road was tarred the entire way but was narrow.
We expected to see masses of rose bushes but they were very sparse. The roses may have been affected by the drought that has affected Morocco over the past 7 years. We have even seen dying cacti!
The scenery was great. Unfortunately as we drove along the sky got darker. As we reached Bou Thrarar it started to rain and even hail at times. The temperature dropped to 10 centigrade and I was cold in my shorts!
We reached our hotel at Todra Gorge at about 17.00. We were very pleased with our choice of hotel which cost Eur 67 a night through Booking.com. The hotel was only one year old and we had a very nice and spacious room overlooking the oasis and the mountains.
The weather soon cleared up so we walked 15 minutes through the oasis to Todra Gorge. It was cold and there weren't many other people there. Todra gorge was very spectacular and its walls rise very steeply above it. It was windy and cold and we didn't linger.
30 April 2024 - Todra Gorge
We left our hotel at 09.00 to drive through Todra Gorge. It was fairly quiet with not too many cars on the road. The vendors were beginning to set up their stalls along Todra gorge.
We continued driving on to the village of Tamattouchte which my 2004 Lonely Planet guidebook said was a stunning Berber village. The road was tarred but was narrow except for a section near an empty new dam. We turned around just after Tamattouchte which unfortunately is no longer a stunning village! The drive there was very scenic though.
We got back to Todra Gorge at 11.00 and the tour groups had arrived! Todra gorge was now full of tourists and cars. We returned to our hotel and then quickly set off for a hike up into the mountains above Todra gorge.
The trail was about 12 kilometres long and we ascended about 400 metres. It took us four and a half hours with lots of stops for photos! It is the most popular trail in Todra gorge and we saw about 12 other hikers.
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