We checked in at the hotel pictured in the previous report early in the afternoon and spent a couple of hours
resting before we went out to meet the people who would be directing our excursion into the desert. Of course we also wanted to see the camels, and to learn what kind of grouping we would be in as we made our way to the camel bivouac.

The bivouac is a group of tents located approximately an hour and a half trek into the desert. I am uncertain as
to what the distance is, but I would estimate about two miles. It’s plenty far enough for city dudes like us who have not been spending any time riding horses, or even bicycles for that matter. Seeing the tents and arriving at our destination was a welcome sight.

We discovered that although 15 or 20 people were waiting around to take a similar trip into the desert like us
that we were being “managed” as one group of four. We had our own guide and he introduced us to the four camels we would be riding. Assigning Tim to the first, me to the second, Mark to the third, and Bob to the fourth, each camel was attached to the one it followed with a lead rope of 10 or 12 feet. The guide had a rope attached to Tim’s lead camel of similar length and he walked that distance in front of him, slowing down at appropriate times as we approached a basin of sand in one of the dunes or started up an incline. The camel saddle is not particularly comfortable, there are no stirrups, and the hand-hold is an iron T-bar that is attached to the saddle and is 8 or 10 inches above the place where it is attached.

The gait of the camel is pretty much as stereotyped in cartoons and music, the rhythm being something of a
loping walk, with the camel often having to take an extra short step to get better footing in the sand. I am happy to report that all of us managed to make the trip out and back without falling off, and without embarrassing ourselves too much in getting off and on the camel saddle. By far, the most precarious part of that exercise is when the camel stands up after mounting, and lies down before the rider dismounts.

Here is a selfie of Mark, Bob in background after we had put on head scarves to protect us from the sun on the trip into the desert. Below is a selfie Tim made which show the other three riders following. Beside it is our barefoot guide.

The desert is an incredible experience. The vastness and the grandeur of the dunes is stunning. Within 20 or 30
minutes after leaving the hotel there is a sense of being unknown, and a recognition of how really small we are as
individuals. The guide seemed to have no difficulty in remembering exactly where we needed to go, and all the turns and changes in direction seemed to be correct. To me, it all looked radically similar, and I would have been hard pressed to even suggest the direction we need to take when we started the return trip.

As the wind blows, the crest on the dunes as in this picture here is constantly changing. The undulations of the sand appear to be the creation of a graph of a higher degree curve, drawn with precision and without hesitation. Notice the edge of the “bowl” in the picture.

We reached the bivouac area with about an hour of
daylight left. We looked around at the provisions made for
us, inspected the tent reserved for the four of us, and chose
the location of the 2 inch foam mattress that lay on the
sand and would serve as our mattress.

Before going to bed we were served a hot meal provided
by the three or four crew members who accompanied us.
The meal was prepared before we left and simply reheated
once we arrived at the bivouac. We ate in a common area
within a circle of several tents; there were about 8 or 10
additional guests of the hotel who made the excursion.
After the meal we were provided with some entertainment
by a small troupe of Saharaoui Berbers who sang the folk music and demonstrated the dance of their local tribe. It was interesting but their repertoire seemed to be a little thin. I actually decided to depart before the music ended in order to engage in a bit of star gazing.

When Denise and I made a similar trip in 2011, we had the unusual experience of a thunderstorm about the time
we arrived at the tent. Furthermore, the clouds eclipsed one of the advertised attractions of being in the desert: the chance to observe the stars without the light pollution that is often the case in a more populated environment. This year was much different! For the first time in my life, I really saw the Milky Way. The band of uncountable stars across the middle of the sky was an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon that I felt very fortunate to see. The solitude and silence were intensely moving. I sat there for about 45 minutes, genuinely enjoying a very unique experience of contemplation and reflection. I realized why many people consider spending time in the desert in a quest for greater spirituality. For me the notion that a Creator of the limitless cosmos I viewed and the serene peace I felt, confirmed that the God of the universe was right there present with me, in a real and steadfast way. Gratitude appeared as the overriding emotion I felt knowing that I was loved and accepted.

Much too early it seemed, about 6:00 a.m., the handlers were rousting us to get ready to return to the hotel. It was still pretty cool, but we had brought jackets and were adequately prepared. Within a half hour or so we experiencing the sunrise from the backs of our camels.

Though the second picture appears to be the famous magi, there was some question, given our location and
circumstance, whether or not a wise man could be found among the four.

We made it back to the hotel where we were able to shower and enjoy a nice breakfast provided for us.
We had completed the southern exposure of our trip. There were still many miles to cover, and within a
couple of hours we were headed northward, ready to traverse the High Atlas Mountains as we made our way
towards the cities of Ouarzazate and Marrakech. We knew there was more beautiful scenery and three more
days of enjoyable familial fellowship.

Fred
12/11/17

 

Traveling to nearby tourist sites and visiting in the homes of friends in the Fes area occupied our time the first three days we were in Morocco. The resulting fatigue convinced us that a less demanding agenda was in order before we departed for the desert on Thursday. Wednesday, we still managed to visit in a couple of homes, enjoying some of the local cuisine and
having a more formal late afternoon tea with a family that Robert had met in 1988 in his previous visit. Farid, the father, was quite anxious to visit with him again and renew the memory. For the journey to the desert, we rented a Toyota Landcruiser, along with a driver, to provide transportation for the next five days. We knew that covering the distances we planned to
travel would be a challenge, not to mention dealing with the local “traditions” that make driving there somewhat risky.

We met our driver, Ghalla, at noon and discovered very quickly that he knew very little English. With my rudimentary Arabic and French, in concert with lots of hand signals and body language, we managed to communicate fairly well. Ghalla is a Berber who lives in the town of Imilchil in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Though I have never been there, this town of about 2000 people and located at an altitude of 7000 feet is quite famous for its annual betrothal festival each year. The festival is held after the harvest is complete, and before the winter arrives, bringing snow and very cold temperatures. The celebration is a part of the traditions of the very tribal society that stills exists in the rather remote mountain villages. Approximately 30,000 people, a large number of them tourists on organized tours, attend the three day event.

Our first day’s journey would take us to Erfoud, a distance of about 300 miles, with a projected travel time of 61⁄2 hours. We knew there was some rather rugged country to pass through but felt the commitment in time the first day would give us more rest time before we began the travel by camel into the desert Friday afternoon. The desert departure took place in the town of Merzouga, and required another 90 minutes of travel before we arrived at the hotel which arranges for the actual trip into the Sahara. Though a rather tiring travel day we did happen across some interesting places, and enjoyed the stark and impressive mountain scenery. As the pictures indicate, the landscape differs significantly from the cedar forested area around Azrou and Ifrane that we had seen two days earlier. As we passed out of the Middle Atlas into the beginning of the High Atlas Mountains, we began to pick out easily the location of sources of water as the bands of vegetation appeared. One can see the locations of residences and other buildings along the edge of the oases.

In a rather isolated rural area Ghalla stopped the car to let us wander around a bit in a weekly souk that was taking place in what is probably a central location between several villages where accessibility is difficult due to the rugged terrain. As the pictures indicate all sorts of transportation, including walking, are utilized to get to the area where the actual commerce occurs.

Being near the desert, date palm trees are prolific and October is the prime season for the date harvest. But as this picture shows, there is an abundance of good nutritious food available, and at very reasonable prices.

Other than seeing a way of conducting commerce almost unknown in the U.S. at the present time, the souk also gives an interesting view of the way life is ordered in this part of the country. I had little in the way of insight or wisdom to offer my traveling companions as to the why and how business and community affairs are conducted. I suppose it is true that the present situation evolved from an even more basic and mundane lifestyle in bygone eras. Nonetheless, I always enjoy seeing the products of their labor, its display and to observe the style of the various vendors as they attempt to persuade the shoppers to buy. It is a very safe and non-threatening atmosphere, and while we attracted stares from a number of people, the conversations I attempted seemed to always be welcomed.

Just a few miles down the road from the location of the souk we visited, we decided to spend some time at Brahim Tahiri’s Museum of Fossils & Minerals. According to an article in a 2009 edition of the magazine, Aramco World, “fossil and mineral exports expanded so rapidly beginning in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s that today more than 50,000 Moroccans earn their
livelihoods in the fossil and mineral specimen mining and export business.” Today the fossil trade is worth some forty million dollars to Morocco annually. “The Tahiri family enterprise provides work for about 65 fossil-diggers throughout the region, with an additional two dozen workers employed in the family’s fossil-preparation ‘factory’ near Erfoud.”

Shown below are two machines, the first for sawing slabs of the limestone and other material to be transformed into various products. The second is a polisher used to “finish” the artifact and give it a smooth surface.

Here is one of the “gift shops” where various and sundry items can be purchased.

The variety and beauty of the items made from various types of stones and minerals are amazing.

Here we are “negotiating” with one of the employees over prices.

Pictured are several very unusual specimens. The printed information suggests that some of these could be as much as fifty million years old.

 

People who know (that would not include me) can recognize some of the prehistoric creatures such as trilobites and chambered nautiluses.

A short drive upon leaving the museum brought us to the town of Merzouga, a Saharan erg, or sand covered dune field, and is the gateway to the desert for thousands of tourists each year. The pictures are the part of the hotel complex from which we left for our night in the desert. We were able to leave our baggage here, return from the desert the next morning for breakfast and a shower before returning and continuing our journey to Ouarzazate and Marrakech.

Fred
12/05/2017

I suggested more than a month ago that I had a few more stories to tell about the “family trip” that we made to Morocco in October. The last entry in the travelogue related our experience at Volubilus, the site of a Roman settlement that prospered primarily in the first couple of centuries of the first millennium A.D. After spending several hours inspecting the ruins of the city and learning some history, the rest of that day provided additional places, people, animals and scenery that made the entire day, though tiring, a remarkably diverse panorama of sights and events.

Leaving the fertile and productive land surrounding Volubilus we stopped about 45 minutes later at the imperial city of Meknes. Located less than 100 kilometers from Fes, the city of Meknes is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco. Meknes served as the capital of the nation from 1672 until 1727 under one of the more famous sultans of Morocco, Moulay Ismail. He was known as one of the more brutal rulers, particularly for his persecution of Christians.

 

During his reign, formidable defensive walls were built around the entire city, including several massive gates, the most famous one pictured above called Bab Mansour. Facing the gate is a vast plaza occupied most of the day and night, similar to the more famous Jma El Fna Square of Marrakech. There are always lots of people and activity there, both day and night. Presently the city has a population of approximately 640,000, making it the sixth largest city in the country.

Knowing we had several other items on our agenda that day, we contented ourselves with viewing the other sites in Meknes from the car as we traveled toward the much smaller city of Azrou. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the Middle Atlas Mountains is located along the roads we traveled. Just a couple of examples of the aesthetic beauty we enjoyed are displayed below.

We acquaint all visitors to Morocco with friends we have known since 1985 who work at The Haven, a home near Azrou founded in the fifties for orphans and abandoned children. It is quite an inspiration to be able to spend time with some of the folks who work there and have committed their lives to raising these children. Presently there are 19 children in their care. The Pitts, a couple who have directed the home since 1956 and Myrna, a nurse who has served as their medical person for more than 35 years provided us with mint tea and pastries as they recounted their history. They mentioned that last year the
101st child to be placed in their care, an infant, joined one of the three homes maintained there. Workers who come there generally agree to an 18 year commitment, a remarkable example of service and dedication. I always leave with a profound sense of admiration and appreciation for their devotion, and often with a certain amount of regret that I have by comparison extended myself much too little for the benefit of others.

Located just a few miles from The Haven, and deep within the heart of the Middle Atlas is a famous cedar forest. Over the past twenty years or so a tourist attraction has emerged that we now consider a must see for our guests. It is a colony of Barbary Apes that live in the forests. Though called apes, they are actually macaque monkeys. As they have become more acquainted with tourists and the peanuts and snacks they are offered, it appears that are becoming a bit more hostile in their behavior and sometimes not averse to grabbing food out of the hands of would be donors. There are already some groups lobbying to restrict tourists’ accessibility to the habitat of the monkeys. The park itself has become highly commercialized over the past few years with all sorts of other diversions offered for a price.

The Cedre Gouraud is a very dead, but famous tree at the Cedre Gouraud Park where the monkeys are usually visible. Reputed to be the tallest cedar tree in the country when it died in 2003, it was estimated to be between 800 and 900 years old.

Before darkness fell we hoped to make one more stop before starting the 75 kilometer trip back to Fes. Just 20 kilometers or so from the cedar forest is the city of Ifrane, a jewel in the Moroccan crown. The modern town of Ifrane was established by the French administration in 1928 during the protectorate era as a resort due to its Alpine climate.

After gaining independence in 1956, gradually the property in Ifrane returned to the control of Moroccan citizens. It continued to flourish especially during periods of extreme temperatures, providing relief from the high temperatures of the tropical sun in late summer, and a winter playground for skiing and other sports in the winter. Ifrane has an elevation of 5.460 feet and it current population is about 75,000.

In 1996 the Al Akhawayn University opened in Ifrane satisfying a long-held dream of the previous king, Hassan II, to have a university in Morocco based on the American University of Beirut model. This is the university where I taught in 1997 – 98 and a couple of summer sessions since then. From an enrollment of 900 in 1997, there are now about 2,200 students obtaining an American style education. Except for language classes in French and Arabic, all instruction is in English. It is remarkable that the students are able to successfully complete courses utilizing the third language to which they have been exposed. The university now enjoys accreditation from one of the regional commissions in the U.S. and the programs in the College of Business as well as the Computer Science programs, both graduate and undergraduate, are fully accredited by their professional accreditations societies. I enjoyed very much my time teaching there and received a certain amount of social status when introduced as a professor at AUI (American University at Ifrane) as it is known colloquially.

We failed to make it back to Fes before nightfall but felt that we had a very productive day. The day began at the site of a 2000 year old city and ended with a view of a modern American style university in North Africa that is less than twenty five years old. Ironic that the distance between those two entities can be covered in about ninety minutes.

As usual, I experience a lot of pleasure and affirmation when sharing our knowledge and affection for the country that we first became acquainted with in 1971. Obviously the changes have been significant during the almost half century we have been engaged there. I especially enjoyed the opportunity of sharing so many good times with my family members. Tired by the day’s activity, we relished the anticipation of heading south toward the Sahara Desert the next day. I look forward to sharing those accounts with you as well, and certainly appreciate your comments to me from time to time.

Fred
11/28/17