With the beauty of the sunrise fresh upon us, it was time to pack up from our camp and head out to explore some other interesting aspects of our desert environment. Maybe even a kasbah or two!
Berber Music
We took a short drive from the camp and visited a Berber musical group to listen to some traditional desert music. They had a variety of instruments including drums, a stringed instrument (somewhat like a bass), and hand-held brass plates which were used somewhat like maracas.
Here’s a video of one of the performances, complete with dancing!
Fossils in Morocco
One thing I didn’t know about Morocco is that there is an area in the south where there is an abundance of fossils in the High Atlas Mountains. The type of fossil is called a Trilobite, which was a marine arthropod now extinct. We stopped at one manufacturer who quarries the hard limestone from about 20 km away from their shop. They then use a huge saw to slice pieces of the rock off, perhaps 2-3 cm in thickness. The saw is imported from Italy and is usually used to slice marble.
From there, the slabs of rock are cleaned, carved, and polished to highlight the fossils in the surface.
Giant Mysterious Mounds…
As we headed to the Todgha Gorge, we saw these really interesting mounds along the side of the road…
No…they are not giant anthills, nor are they ancient burial mounds! These large clay-like mounds were once used for water storage. They are about 6-10 m deep, and used to have water at the bottom. Having the soil piled so high helped to minimize the loss of water to evaporation. The water has since dried up, so the mounds are now no longer used.
Oasis in the Desert
Along the way we came across a desert oasis. Here’s what I always pictured an oasis to look like:
Here’s what the Oasis we drove by looked like:
The Todgha Gorge
From here we set off towards the Todgha Gorge (also known as the Todra Gorge), a section of limestone cliffs towering 300 metres at its highest point above the Todgha river. Here you will find breathtaking views and an area that is very ‘camera friendly’ indeed!
You can also stay the night in the gorge at one of the small kasbah’s there, nestled right in the heart of the gorge.
Monkeys, Monkeys, everywhere!
We made our way through the Middle Atlas Mountains and took a quick stop within the Ifrane National Park. This national park is full of Mediterranean oak and cedar trees…and is home to one of the largest populations of Barbary macaques. The monkeys are very friendly and used to human visitors.
Rockin’ the Kasbah
We built an extra day into our itinerary and ended up sleeping in a kasbah for the night. A kasbah is a North African citadel or fort which is typically identified from the outside by four distinctive square towers – one on each corner of the building. Inside, there are many rooms and an open courtyard to the sky. They have largely been converted to hotels around the country.
We always love meeting new people while on the road. During our evening dinner at the kasbah, Katina noticed another family with a girl about the same age as Mikhaila and Zoe. Never the shy one, Katina went over and introduced herself to them. The next thing we knew, Michelle, Mikhaila, and Zoe were at one table having a blast, while Christine, Katina, Graham, and Oliver were swapping stories on family travel and schooling on the road. Amazingly, they are just wrapping up their own 12-months of travel and are scheduled to return to Sydney, Australia in December. We hope to meet up with them when we pass through Sydney next year!
Finally, for those of you who don’t know the 80’s (or choose to forget that golden age of awesome music!), here’s a quick link to The Clash and their song Rock the Kasbah!
Comments
14 responses to “Rockin’ the Kasbah!”
Oliver, you were a giant among men in that dance group! Greek dance training pays off half way around the world!
Hi Colleen…let your husband Paul know that Greek dancing translates into almost any culture! I think he should take lessons… 🙂
Oliver
Wow! You guys are beyond brave. The dancing ( was anyone else there?) the staying in a kasbah, such adventures. Your pictures of the gorge are amazing, Oliver. As is your dancing….
How great that you have this connection for Australia. Love how Katina will talk to ‘strangers ‘ … My kind of woman. I get accused of that all the time but it is always fun and rewarding ( right Katina? ).
Hi Herta,
Katina is my kind of woman too! I learn so much from her…it takes more for me to just go and approach total strangers, even though 9 times out of 10 it results in new friends.
The music/dance place was out of the way…there were 2 other tourists there, but they weren’t ready to get up and dance I guess.
Oliver
“golden age of awesome music”?……hmmm, sunstroke? Next you will want your acid wash jeans back…..lol, sounds awesome!
Nope, no sunstroke..maybe I want to relive my ‘Diet Pepsi’ days?
Truly…all awesome including the music!
Looks amazing. Oliver – I think with those moves you may have some Berber ancestry!
Kim, the Berber dancing just felt natural so maybe I should check with my parents about Berber ancestry!
Great blog, Oliver! I enjoyed the music and dance! Mom P.
We had lots of fun both listening to the music and dancing!
Nice to meet a family with your same plans! Great blog with some great moves Oliver!
Doreen
It is great meeting like-minded people for sure… one of the most rewarding parts of our travels. As for great moves…there was some Advil involved in the recovery!
Hi, Oliver, I enjoyed this posting very much, the photos are as always amazing. I watched the first video and when I thought it was done, I read the rest of the blog and I could hear the music still in the background. Then I watched “The Clash” video and both played together, that was an interesting sound. It looks like you all had a lot of fun, what a great country. I had no idea of the beautiful landscapes.
Playing both the Berber music and ‘Rock thr Kasbah’ at the same time would certainly result in a clash of music!
We found the people and the landscapes to be just wonderful. We only scratched the surface…I would definitely go again.