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Fresh and early in the morning, after washing off the Saharan sand, we hopped back on the bus for another long day of travel. The itinerary: a ride through more of Morocco’s geographic wonders toward the city of Ouarzazate (pronounced War-Zah-Zaht), the center of Morocco’s film industry. “Hollywood in the Sahara,” here we come!
But first – while we were staying two nights in Erfoud, we’d asked to have our laundry done. (Even wearing outfits two days in a row, we hadn’t brought enough for two weeks.) The laundry was returned, folded and clean, and at a reasonable price. No complaints at all, but on our way out of town we saw from the bus how our laundry was probably washed:
Our route went along more of Morocco’s river canyons, which showed the powerful effect of water in an environment such as this. Down in the river valleys, the land was as lush as a jungle, while merely a hundred yards away (or less) the land was as dry as bone. We paused for photos on the top of the stunning 800-foot cliffs over the Todgha Canyon, which was lush and cultivated at the bottom. Since this was only the second trip I’d taken with my Canon Rebel T3, I was still really excited about the telephoto lens. I confess I spent most of our brief stop stalking people on the valley floor from my crow’s nest high above.
From there we drove up the valley of the Dades River, which had carved a deep, narrow gorge in the Atlas. The bus let us off at the bottom of the narrowest, highest stretch and let us hike up the rest of the way. There was a stone aqueduct running just above the stream itself, and the water was clear and cold. At the end of the gorge was a restaurant where the tour had stopped for lunch in earlier years, until the back of the building had been caved in by a landslide.
We arrived in Ouarzazate in the evening with just enough time to wander around and discover that the city was depressingly bland, though we did get to meet some friendly local cats. The next day was going to be extremely busy, so we got up in time to catch a gorgeous sunrise.
After sunup, the day’s long list of excursions began with a walk through the 12th century village of Taourirt and its Kasbah, a grand castle that once watched over the desert caravans. The village itself is still a living, breathing town. One of the things I appreciate most about Morocco is that its history isn’t set aside to crumble under the hiking shoes of tourists. Many of its ancient trading posts, structures, and citadels are still very much in use.
While driving through Ouarzazate, of course our guide couldn’t help but point out the many movie studio facilities on the outskirts of town. Because Morocco is the most politically stable country in North Africa, and since it offers a wide variety of canyons, mountains, ancient cities, and desert landscapes to choose from, it’s the filming location of choice for movies dry and sandy. The film they were proudest of, understandably, was Russell Crowe’s Oscar-winning Gladiator.
I’ve skipped past the bloody bits in this clip, for the faint of heart:
Our last stop in the region of Ouarzazate was the ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the most famous fortified villages in southern Morocco and a textbook example of the architecture found in the region dating back to the 17th century. And while it’s a historic city open to tourists, and surrounded by a ring of vendors selling souvenirs, it’s in use as a living village and home to many families. The structures are maintained in the ancient style, but the insides of the homes are often quite modern.
And of course, Ait-Ben-Haddou is used as a shooting location for films and television. The city gates and many of the buildings can be seen quite prominently in this clip from Game of Thrones, albeit with a heavily CGI’ed backdrop.
The final bit of excitement for the day – and exciting it surely would be – was a drive on the Tichka Pass, the highest road over the Atlas Mountains. Now, the travel company (Gate One) assigned everyone bus seats and rotated them every day, so no one was stuck with a good or lousy view for the entire two week tour. On this day, as luck would have it, Lea and I were awarded the seats in the very front of the bus, giving us fantastic views of the horrifying drops over the maze of hair-raising switchbacks as we made our way over and down.
Exactly how fun is the ride over the Tichka pass? When I re-watched Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation on DVD, I almost shouted in my seat – “Hey, I’ve been there!” Check it out:
Now, if you wind that clip back to the beginning of the scene, you’ll notice that the chase begins in front of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, and then minutes later (through the magic of cinema!) Tom Cruise is flying up the Tichka Pass, 350 km away. Good grief, that’s a fast bike.
Our day’s ride would eventually bring us to Marrakesh, but that is another story. For now I’ll sign off with a cute-as-hell Moroccan cat.
