We got to sleep in a bit and have a late start. We left the hotel at about 9:30 to start the 4 hour journey to our next destination. We made a few stops along the way for photos. We drove through the rose capital of Morocco, where they produce rose oil, rose water, and other beauty products. We stopped at a rose product co-op as a rest and quick shopping spot. When the flowers bloom in April to June, the hills and valley turn pink.
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| Our haul, rose oil, rose water, and Brendan got Donkey soap |
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| Some old huts in the rose capital |
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| More rose capital |
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| The system used to extract the oil. |
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| the shop |
We continued our journey onwards, passing 1000s of Kasbahs, some smaller towns, and the largest solar farm in Morocco. We stopped for lunch at The Full Sun in Ouarzazate. This area of Morocco is famous for its movies. Lots of popular ones have been filmed here like The Mummy, Gladiator, and Kingdom of Heaven, as well as some TV shows like Game of Thrones and Prison Break. It is home to Atlas Studios, were we stopped for a quick photo.
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| the solar farm |
As we continued on we stopped occasionally for photos before arriving at our hotel in Ait Ben Haddou. We rested for a little and then started a walk around the village. We first stopped at a rug co-op shop. Women make rugs on their own time in their homes, choosing their patterns and colors however they like. When they are done the coop sells the rugs. The money goes straight to the women. We learned about the process of the rugs, and three women were there making some rugs in front of us. The walls were stacked floor to ceiling with hundreds of colorful rugs, everything from white, to deep red, to indigo blue, to lime green. Different style rugs come from different regions as well, making every right unique and special. With only a small backpack and not a permanent home just yet, I chose a small rug, about 1 by 1 foot. It is white and indigo, with a symbol of femininity on it. The woman who made it was one of the women demonstrating the rug making process. She showed me how to weave and even let me do a few knots. After my purchase she asked for a photo and gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. She was very sweet and extremely grateful that her rug got chosen for a new home. |
| The lady I bought my rug from hard at work. |
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| Selfie |
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| showing me how to weave |
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| close up |
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| So many rugs!!! |
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| three different kidns from different regions of Morocco |
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| They must first clean and prep the wool before spinning it into yarn. Mostly sheeps wool is used, but sometimes camel wool as well. |
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| street view |
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| main road |
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| our hotel |
As we waited for others in our group to make their purchase, we wondered to a different shop keeper selling art. The paints using saffron, green tea, and indigo. Then the paper it held to a flame, and the painting transforms before your eyes. The techniques used for the painting used to be how people sent secret messages to each other. The messages would be written on leather, as there was no paper then. The color of the leather would hide the message better than the white paper as well. We made a few purchases then continued on our walk of the town.
Ait Ben Haddou is home to a UNEFSCO world heritage site. The village was left to ruin and lots of its inhabitants moved away until movie makers came and started filming there and restoring some of its buildings. It then grabbed the attention is UNFSCO and they then made it a heritage site, putting money into its restoration more seriously. The houses are build with bricks, made of a mixture of mud, clay, and dead palm leaves. Then the bricks are covered with more of the mud mixture and left to dry. It creates these brown reddish color, and makes for great insulation. Some people still live there, selling souvenirs to tourists. They house don’t have electricity either. It felt like stepping into the ancient past.
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| Our Guide leading the way |
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| looking back |
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| stork sculpture out of chicken wire |
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| some hats for sale |
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| some bricks being made and laid out to dry |
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| one of the entrences, originally built as a ticket office before they decided to make it free for visitors. |
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| from the top |
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| restoration in process |
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| group photo! |
After our walk Brendan and I joined a women at our hotel for a Tagine cooking class. Tagine is the name of the pot the dish is cooked in, so if you make the dish in a different pot is it no longer Tagine. We have been eating a lot of it so far this trip, and it is Moroccos most famous dish. Hicham joined us to translate, and Tracey joined as a spectator. First we put the meat in the bowl, in this case chicken. It was followed by spices, salt, pepper, paprika, ginger, tumeric, and a little bit cumin. Then we added some minced garlic, three spoonfuls of chopped red onion, and a big spoonful of coriander and cilantro. 3 spoonfuls of olive oil were next then we gave the chicken a good mix. Next we grabbed some veggies; a liberal amount of carrots and zucchini, a few potato slices, one tomato slice and one slice of preserved lemon. We made a pyramid with the zucchini and carrots, added the potato’s around it, then topped it off with the tomato then the lemon. We added a few olives to it, then poured about 2 shots worth of water to it. Then the lid went on and it cooked for about an hour. After waiting on the rooftop of the hotel for our meal to finish we finally got to try the fruits of our labor. It tasted just like the other 5 tagines I’ve had on this trip so far, so that’s a win in my book. With out bellies full we headed off to bed for some rest before the final day of our tour.
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| With our teacher! |
 | | meat seasoned and mixed |
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| veggies and water added |
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| all cooked! |
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| yummy! |
Wishing for the best on your adventures,
Cienna
I'm not wanting this to end, what a trip!!! We must FaceTime soon so I can hear the stories, with your voice...Sending love, Oma
ReplyDeleteWhat is a Casbah? And what is the name of the road? m
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