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Feeling Blue

Our time in Morocco is coming to an end, so perhaps it is no surprise that we are feeling a little blue? Or could it just be our surroundings perhaps?

Chefchaouen, in the Rif Mountains is famous for its blue medina and woven silks. When we visited, there was a rumour running around that the king, Mohammed VI might be visiting in a week or two, so the town was furiously sloshing fresh blue paint everywhere. There’s not much more the say about this pretty town, apart from its incredible blueness – so just enjoy the pictures.  And if  you’re reading this blog, Big Mo – here’s a sneak peek for you too!

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From Morocco to Spain and back, via Fes

 

When is Morocco not Morocco? About the same time that the Mediterranean isn’t the Mediterranean. Confused? Don’t worry, all will be revealed, but first – bring on the horses.

Fantasias are traditional Berber horse-riding festivals and we were lucky enough to happen upon one as we made our way northwards toward Fes. There must have been more than a hundred horses and riders – with both man and beast decked out in their finest. The main event showcases the riders skill in keeping the horses in close formation while standing high in the stirrups and galloping the length of the field, before blasting off a round of musket-fire. It was quite a show!

Straighten that line up, fellas

Straighten that line up, fellas

Not just muskets, but also scimitars

Not just muskets, but also scimitars

Check out those boots

Check out those boots

Is that a musket in your saddle or ……

Is that a musket in your saddle or ……

After charging the field, the riders return to regroup

After charging the field, the riders return to regroup

Horsing around

Horsing around

Don't turn around

Don’t turn around

The Berber tradition goes back generations. Equally ancient are the Roman ruins not far from Fes, known as Volubilis. It is no Pompeii, but still a place of calm atop a green hill and looking down into a valley that has probably barely changed since the legions lived there

Volubilis ruins

Volubilis ruins

Geoff feeling triumphal

Geoff feeling triumphal

Volubilis mosiac floor

Volubilis mosiac floor

Volubilis column decoration

Volubilis column decoration

Volubilis archways, looking back toward Moulay Idriss

Volubilis archways, looking back toward Moulay Idriss

View from Volubilis across the valley floor

View from Volubilis across the valley floor

Volubilis storks are the only watchkeeps now

Volubilis storks are the only watchkeeps now

 

Close to Volubilis is the sacred city of Moulay Idriss. Spanning two hills, it is considered to be the most important religious place in Morocco and until recently non-Muslims were not allowed to pass the night there. To be honest, we weren’t wowed and were quite happy to just pass through.

The holy city of Moulay Idriss

The holy city of Moulay Idriss

 

Finally we made it to Fes. People of Fes – Fassis as they are known – think Fes is the best  city in Morocco. It certainly looks dramatic, spread across the hillside and the medina, winding its way up, down and around the hillside is a much quieter affair than Marrakech.

Ancient medina meets modern media

Ancient medina meets modern media

The tanneries are famous for the leather goods and infamous for the smell.

The man on the right is taking cleaned skins from the tanneries in Fes, ready for dyeing

The man on the right is taking cleaned skins from the tanneries in Fes, ready for dyeing

 

Fes boast the Kairaouine university, attached to the Mosque, is the oldest in the world. A huge restoration job is underway for the Mosque.

The minaret of Kairaouine mosque in Fes under repair

The minaret of Kairaouine mosque in Fes under repair

Repairs to the Kairaouine mosque exterior

Repairs to the Kairaouine mosque exterior

Fes medina has hundreds of public fountains

Fes medina has hundreds of public fountains

 

One of the things that makes Fes medina so much easier to walk around, is that there is no traffic. No mopeds and trolleys dashing past, skimming up against you in the narrow alleys. Only donkeys are allowed into the outer edges of the medina….

 

Donkeys are the only traffic allowed in the Fes medina

Donkeys are the only traffic allowed in the Fes medina

 

But once you move into the heart of the old town, even old faithful is barred.

Donkeys aren't allowed everywhere in the medina

Donkeys aren’t allowed everywhere in the medina

Donkey bars across the alleyways stop traders from bringing loaded animals into the narrowest parts of the city

Donkey bars across the alleyways stop traders from bringing loaded animals into the narrowest parts of the city

 

In Fes we camped by a riverbank, which was lovely. Kingfishers flitted by at high speed; ducks, moorhens and even water rats plied the waters. But we got the most pleasure from the daily appearance of a groups of terrapins, sunning themselves on the warm rocks in the morning, and then floating upstream mid afternoon. His little face says it all!

Pure bliss is a dry rock in the sunshine

Pure bliss is a dry rock in the sunshine

Did someone say turtle's rock?

Did someone say turtle’s rock?

How cool am I?

How cool am I?

 

We left the riverbank and heading for the hills once more as we journeyed even further north. This time we planned to cross the Rif Mountains.

The Rif is famous for being the heatland of Berber resistance to any and all comers over the centuries, but perhaps more recently has becoming equally notorious for being the centre of marijuana production. They call it kif in the Rif and depending which figure you read, they produce anywhere between 45-65% of the world’s supply of hash. That’s really quite an industry.

Spring flowers light up the Rif mountain fields

Spring flowers light up the Rif mountain fields

The Rif Mountains are a patchwork of fields, those out of sight produce around half the world's marijuana harvest

The Rif Mountains are a patchwork of fields, those out of sight produce around half the world’s marijuana harvest

The Rif mountains

The Rif mountains

The rippling Rif Mountains

The rippling Rif Mountains

As we drove over the mountains, which are pretty, but don’t have the same raw beauty of the High Atlas, we were flashed by every second car at one point, the not-so-secret signal it would appear, that they have something to sell. There were also police checkpoints on the road and even more along the coast – where the mountain harvest makes its way out of Morocco by the ton.

The Rif Mountains run down to the sea

The Rif Mountains run down to the sea

 

Once the mountains meet the sea, they also meet Spain. Melilla is a tiny Spanish protectorate jutting out into the sea. The ownership of the land is disputed between Spain and Morocco in a similar way that Gibraltar is wrangled over between the UK and Spain. What Melilla has that makes it worth the tedious, chaotic border crossing, is the most amazing and little-known architectural treasure.

Melilla's name is not well known, but it should be

Melilla’s name is not well known, but it should be

At the turn of the 20th century a young student of Gaudi’s decided to break out and make his own mark. Enrique Neito found himself in Melilla and set about transforming this 12 square kilometers into a Modernist mecca. There are more than 900 buildings of note on this handkerchief sized patch of land, from Classical, Modernisme, Aerodynamic and Art Deco.

Melilla's modernisme is inspired by the curves of nature, but all the trees are square

Melilla’s modernisme is inspired by the curves of nature, but all the trees are square

Melilla's fascinating architectural mash-up

Melilla’s fascinating architectural mash-up

Melilla square and church - modernisme and classic combined

Melilla square and church – modernisme and classic combined

Melilla mansion houses

Melilla mansion houses

Melilla fort/palace and now prison

Melilla fort/palace and now prison

Melilla architecture is beautiful

Melilla architecture is beautiful

Enrique Nieto - the Gaudi student who taught Melilla how to build beauty

Enrique Nieto – the Gaudi student who taught Melilla how to build beauty

 

One of the slightly less notable constructions is the Osbourne Bull – so you can be left in no doubt that this is Spain!

Just so it's clear that this is Spain - Osbourne the bull makes an appearance

Just so it’s clear that this is Spain – Osbourne the bull makes an appearance

 

A little further down the coast is another part of the Spanish Empire.

Moroccan coastline - apart from those three Spanish islands right on the beach!

Moroccan coastline – apart from those three Spanish islands right on the beach!

Three islands, two uninhabited and only 20 metres from shore and the third, a fortified garrison with a terrifying 60 soldiers on stand-by (in bathers if you look closely at the photo), are declared Spanish territory. Never has a claim looked more ridiculous.

Spain - as seen from Morocco

Spain – as seen from Morocco

Spain - if you look closely you will see they even have a canon, as well as soldiers in shorts - tough gig defending the empire

Spain – if you look closely you will see they even have a canon, as well as soldiers in shorts – tough gig defending the empire

The beach in the foreground is Morocco, the hump about twenty metres away is Spain

The beach in the foreground is Morocco, the hump about twenty metres away is Spain

 

Empire building is a funny business

Empire building is a funny business

Keep Out. Yep, that should do it

Keep Out. Yep, that should do it

 

This little part of Spain is set in the Mediterranean – well, not really. The waters of northern Morocco (or very southerly Spain, if you insist!) are called the Alboran Sea and are the conduit between the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The waters are home to species from both, including dolphins and turtles.

 

The Alboran Sea off northern Morocco

The Alboran Sea off northern Morocco

The Alboran Sea viewed from the bay of Al Hoceima

The Alboran Sea viewed from the bay of Al Hoceima

The Alboran Sea(gull)

The Alboran Sea(gull)

 

Until last week we had never heard of the Alboran Sea, never knew that Spain was really in Morocco and that is just a tiny fraction of what we have learned in the last few months. Soon we will be in Italy and who knows what we will discover there. But first we head to Chefchaouen – apparently the most photographed medina in the whole of Morocco – stand by for more photos!

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Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

“There should be snow by the side of the road so it really feels like we have driven in the Atlas mountains” I said. Be careful what you wish for, Holden.

As we had climbed over the highest road in Morocco a few days earlier, we had certainly seen the remains of snowy peaks, and there was even some of the white stuff still clinging on by the side of the road. So, we could tick that box.

Snow by the side of the road - tick!

Snow by the side of the road – tick!

 

The High Atlas sure is pretty!

The High Atlas sure is pretty!

The day before, sugar-coated mountain tops and sunshine!

The day before, sugar-coated mountain tops and sunshine!

 

However, just a few days ago – long after the mountain passes had been declared “snow-free” we were driving from Midelt, in the Mid Atlas range, to Fes over a lower pass, we had our customary roof-off-whatever-the-weather approach, despite a few spits and spots of rain.

“Hang on, ” we said, almost in unison “that’s not rain, it’s snow!”

The first few flakes were fun, fluttering down in soggy splats on the windscreen, but as we climbed higher, at around 1900m, it started to come down so thick and fast that the roof was definitely going back on and that was the least of our worries!

 

The visibility when it was still okay

The visibility when it was still okay

Visibility was closing in fast - this is a mountain road!

Visibility was closing in fast – this is a mountain road!

 

Suddenly our colourful Moroccan world become monochrome

Suddenly our colourful Moroccan world become monochrome

We were 60km from our destination, on a winding mountain road in a virtual white-out!

Honestly - there is a mountain over there

Honestly – there is a mountain over there

 

An almost total white-out

An almost total white-out

Three times we had to stop to clear the windscreen. So much snow had packed across the front of poor old Charlie Charleston  that no air could get to cool the air-cooled engine and it was in the bizarre danger of overheating in the snow, the headlights where virtually blanked out with the white stuff and at one stage the wipers simply stopped in mid-swing, too jammed with snow to cope.

The third stop to clear the windscreen and headlights

The third stop to clear the windscreen and headlights

Geoff is standing at the front of the car and is barely visible

Geoff is standing at the front of the car and is barely visible

 

Finally as we descended into Ifrane – ironically one of the top ski resorts in Morocco (no, we didn’t know there were ski resorts here either!) – the snow stopped.

A white-knuckle ride we didn’t expect, but all part of the adventures. By the snow on the side of the road measure, we have driven across the Atlas mountains in style!

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Marrakech medina – what a place!

 

Need your senses to be dazzled, your snake charmed, hands tattooed, lunch pulled out of a pit in the floor or second-hand false teeth?  Then we’ve got it covered!

The Marrakech souks are on the edge of the city’s main square – Djemaa el-Fna – inside the medina, or old town.

Looking across Djemaa el-Fna into the medina beyond

Looking across Djemaa el-Fna into the medina beyond

Here you will find any amount of entertainment – some of it even intentional – such as the intimidating snake charmers who guard their pitches ferociously, demanding money with menaces from anyone who dares to take photos from afar,

The snake charmer leaves one customer in no doubt about the price of a holiday snap

The snake charmer leaves one customer in no doubt about the price of a holiday snap

 

the drummers and dancers,

How can you resist those smiles!

How can you resist those smiles!

Drumming is an essential part of the day in Djemaa el-Fna

Drumming is an essential part of the day in Djemaa el-Fna

henna tattooists and amateur boxers.

Henna tattooists waiting for a client

Henna tattooists waiting for a client

Day and night it is all about the hustle and inside the medina it isn’t much different.

Morning time at Djemaa el-Fna and the square is barely awake - a shadow of its night life

Morning time at Djemaa el-Fna and the square is barely awake – a shadow of its night life

Nightime lights up Djemaa el-Fna

Nightime lights up Djemaa el-Fna

The medina is a rabbit warren of mutli-coloured stalls, assaulting your senses with colour, noise, taste and smell. Only the legions of satellite dishes perched atop ancient rooftops give away the modern world.

Handicrafts, food, spices, clothes, kitchenware, jewellery and shoes are everywhere – it is part local market, part tourist draw, with daily essentials and needless trinkets, beautiful artisan work and total tat in equal measure.

The shoeless salesman

The shoeless salesman

Looking down the medina side street

Looking down the medina side street

Light bounces off lights

Light bounces off lights

Herbs and spices, colour and scent combined

Herbs and spices, colour and scent combined

For once in Morocco - the price up front and obvious!

For once in Morocco – the price up front and obvious!

Any colour and any match

Any colour and any match

We strolled through for hours, just looking and tasting – especially tasting the mechoui – slow roast lamb which is lowered into pits in the floor of the tiny serving kiosks at the edge of the medina.

 

Mechoui Alley meat ready to go

Mechoui Alley meat ready to go

Mechoui ready for eating in the Marrakech medina - delicious

Mechoui ready for eating in the Marrakech medina – delicious

Mechoui pit in the middle of the kiosk - the lambs are slow baked in the hole heated by the hammam baths

Mechoui pit in the middle of the kiosk – the lambs are slow baked in the hole heated by the hammam baths

The clay pits steam day and night.

Mechoui is cooked in steaming pits heated from the fires of the neighbouring hammam (public baths)

Mechoui is cooked in steaming pits heated from the fires of the neighbouring hammam (public baths)

 

Whole lambs are raised from beneath the floor at lunchtime, then chunks are simply served in paper with fresh bread and cumin.

Mechoui lamb emerges from the steam pit

Mechoui lamb emerges from the steam pit

Mechoui piping hot is sold by weight in half kilo chunks

Mechoui piping hot is sold by weight in half kilo chunks

Mechoui (slow cooked lamb) mmmmh!

Mechoui (slow cooked lamb) mmmmh!

Deliciously tender and a perfect early lunch to set you up to feast on the excesses of medina life!

Thankfully the lamb was lovely and tender, so we didn’t need to avail ourselves of the second-hand teeth and dentures stall. We weren’t sure if the forceps were for pulling new stock or fitting the old ones!

Dentures for sale, or just single teeth if you prefer - forceps at the ready for fitting or exchange!

Dentures for sale, or just single teeth if you prefer – forceps at the ready for fitting or exchange!

In many ways life has barely changed in the square and medina. The Photography Museum exhibits from the early 20th century look strikingly similar to our ExtraordinaryPlaces exhibits from a century later.

A timeless place - this photo was taken in March 2014

A timeless place – this photo was taken in March 2014

And this photo was taken nearly a hundred years before

And this photo was taken nearly a hundred years before

The dress maybe more traditional, but the similarities are vivid in this image from the Photography Museum

The dress maybe more traditional, but the similarities are vivid in this image from the Photography Museum

 

The dress may be modern, but the street is unchanged

The dress may be modern, but the street is unchanged

 

There is so much more to see, so sit back and enjoy the show!

 

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The high road to Marrakech

 

The road to Marrakech is worth a mention in its own right, for the sheer beauty, variety and breathtaking scale. It was a truly gorgeous and memorable mountain drive.

We left the dunes of Merzouga and found ourselves crossing wide valley floors, at first still with hard packed desert crust – known as reg, but soon scrubby bushes began to sprout in the valley and the distant mountains had a touch of white on their peaks.

After the desert sands, the earth gives way to barren road and mountains

After the desert sands, the earth gives way to barren road and mountains

And then desert becomes scrubland and rocks turn to ice

And then desert becomes scrubland and rocks turn to ice

En route we passed through the beautiful Gorges du Dades, with its curious rock formations, glorious mud kasbahs, almond blossom and deep canyons.

Gorgeous colours, shapes and angles in the Gorges du Dades

Gorgeous colours, shapes and angles in the Gorges du Dades

In the Gorges du Dades the colours almost defy nature

In the Gorges du Dades the colours almost defy nature

The Gorges has every rock formation imaginable, from boulders to melting wax

The Gorges has every rock formation imaginable, from boulders to melting wax

The houses in the Gorges du Dades are almost invisible against their mother earth

The houses in the Gorges du Dades are almost invisible against their mother earth

The Gorges houses ancient buildings that look more like clay models

The Gorges houses ancient buildings that look more like clay models

Gripping the sides of the Gorges du Dades, strange rock formations are a characteristic of the valley

Gripping the sides of the Gorges du Dades, strange rock formations are a characteristic of the valley

Great builders created beautiful kasbahs straight from the mud and earth

Great builders created beautiful kasbahs straight from the mud and earth

We made a short stop at the most recognized kasbah in Morocco – Kasbah Amridil.

The most famous kasbah in Morocco - Amridil - as seen on a 50 dirham note

The most famous kasbah in Morocco – Amridil – as seen on a 50 dirham note

The modest courtyard of the Kasbah Amridil

The modest courtyard of the Kasbah Amridil

The mudbrick walls of Kasbah Amridil have stood the test of time - just!

The mudbrick walls of Kasbah Amridil have stood the test of time – just!

The music may have stopped but the kasbah Amridil lives on

The music may have stopped but the kasbah Amridil lives on

 Soon we started to climb, and despite our 2CV Charlie Charleston being fully loaded, his mighty 600cc engine, combined with Geoff’s navigation of every twist and turn – finally brought us over the highest road in Morocco – the Tizi n’Tichka at 2260m. 

Just the spot for a picnic in the High Atlas

Just the spot for a picnic in the High Atlas

The palms give way to rock and ice

The palms give way to rock and ice

The barren hills on the south side of the High Atlas

The barren hills on the south side of the High Atlas

There is always a place for a pot seller, even on the highest road in Marrakech!

There is always a place for a pot seller, even on the highest road in Marrakech!

The slopes are starting to show more vegatation

The slopes are starting to show more vegatation

The long, winding and glorious road through the mountains

The long, winding and glorious road through the mountains

Almost immediately we began to descend, we found ourselves in another world, very far from the desert roads and dunes to which we had become accustom. Verdant valleys, bright with green grass and fields, it felt like another country, not the other side of the mountain.

The southern slopes give way to green hills on the northern side

The southern slopes give way to green hills on the northern side

The sudden change is like a different country, with succulent cacti and rolling hills

The sudden change is like a different country, with succulent cacti and rolling hills

But the snowy Atlas Mountains never really leave you – even in the heart of Marrakech, they are quietly peering over your shoulder in the distance.

Welcome to Marrakech - with the snow caps faintly showing in the distance

Welcome to Marrakech – with the snow caps faintly showing in the distance

 

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The Sahara

Our first attempt to drive amongst the dunes of the Sahara left us stuck like a turtle on a rock and rescued by camel feeders – but we were undaunted!
Yep, we got bogged again!

Yep, we got bogged again!

Getting a tow from the camel feeders

Getting a tow from the camel feeders

At the end of the main street in M’Hamid is the desert. One minute you are driving on Tarmac and the next on sand.
M'hamid - the last town on the map

M’hamid – the last town on the map

We trundled for a couple of kilometers until a sudden hummock of sand stopped us in our tracks. Thankfully it was feeding time for the camels and some cheery handlers offered Geoff a tow rope with a metal hook more like the end of a coat hanger. But it did the job and we were off again, finding a suitably Charlie-friendly dune for a few shameless  photo ops!
Geoff in traditional headgear in the dunes

Geoff in traditional headgear in the dunes

You might laugh at the headdress now, but believe us, it is much better than a scarf and baseball cap in the desert.

Charlie at the base of the dune

Charlie at the base of the dune

Charlie couldn't shake off the camels

Charlie couldn’t shake off the camels

Camel tracks going up the dune

Camel tracks going up the dune

Next stop N’Kob, where we saw the less exciting side of the desert. A dust cloud enveloped us and everything else for three days.
There are mountains inside that dust cloud

There are mountains inside that dust cloud

Trying to shake off some of the dust

Trying to shake off some of the dust

The sun blotted out by Saharan dust

The sun blotted out by Saharan dust

The sun was blotted out with a sickly yellow coating and even the view across the street was blank. Our tent Chubby Coleman was encrusted, but did a fine job keeping it on the outside when expensive motor homes were inundated.

After two days we could see a little more, but it was still through a veil of sand

Desert as far as you can see through the dust clouds

Desert as far as you can see through the dust clouds

 

As the skies cleared we left N’kob and headed further east. Finally in Merzouga we could really say we were in the dunes.
The view from the terrace!

The view from the terrace!

Erg Chebbi is a series of dunes that sit alone in the south east of Morocco. So the story goes that when a wealthy family would not give hospitality to an old woman and her son, God was offended and buried them under a huge pile of sand.
They are far more beautiful than their rather macabre legend might suggest – with golden, pink and ochre hues that warmed, cooled and glowed as the day grew long.
Kasbah in the dunes

Kasbah in the dunes

Pink gold at sunset

Pink gold at sunset

Some really were golden yellow

Some really were golden yellow

The pink and yellow dunes

The pink and yellow dunes

The rich colours of  sunset

The rich colours of sunset

The setting sun over the dunes

The setting sun over the dunes

The desert here is a multi-coloured affair. Blackened hard sand covers much of the land, contrasting against the golden, pinky dunes and crushed, whitened dirt roads, known as pistes.
The sun-blackened hard sand - reg, contrasts with the soft, golden sahel sand

The sun-blackened hard sand – reg, contrasts with the soft, golden sahel sand

The white sand road through the black sand desert

The white sand road through the black sand desert

Walking in the dunes was easier than expected, with the top sand crust hard and impacted, except where the ubiquitous 4x4s and quad bikes had been. There are moves to ban both from the dunes because of the damage they cause. It is claimed that Saharan dust levels have increased more than 1000% since the 1950s and much of that has been attributed to the breakup of the sand crust from vehicles. Camels don’t damage the surface in the same way and look and sound a lot better too!
Finally in the dunes

Finally in the dunes

Standing in the Sahara desert - tick!

Standing in the Sahara desert – tick!

Where's a camel when you need one?

Where’s a camel when you need one?

Almost directly in front of our tent was a tempting and deceptively easy looking climb.
It didn't look too bad from here

It didn’t look too bad from here

We couldn’t have been more wrong! One step forward, 9/10ths step back, while sinking up to our ankles on a never-ending ridge was lung-poppingly hard.
It doesn't look that high, does it?

It doesn’t look that high, does it?

It still wasn't too bad from here

It still wasn’t too bad from here

It was starting to get hard from here

It was starting to get hard from here

Nearly there

Nearly there

Nearly, nearly there

Nearly, nearly there

Now, he's made it!

Now, he’s made it!

 

I had to stop because it was too hard on my injured knee. Geoff carried on and, despite a low point when he was overtaken by a small, but surprisingly speedy beetle, finally made it to the top!
Speedy beetle

Speedy beetle

The dot on the ridge is Geoff, still going

The dot on the ridge is Geoff, still going

At least one of us made it up there and we both concluded the dunes  are a lot easier on the eye than they are on the knees.
The slide show has plenty more pictures for you to enjoy from the comfort of your chair.