Morocco: The Atlas Mountains & The Sahara Desert

So Morocco is one of the coolest countries, not only because they make delicious food, or because everything is so colorful but because of it's natural landscape. Morocco is filled with contrasting scenery and overwhelming greatness. While driving through the High Atlas mountains, the gaping oasis' and the vast Sahara Desert, you are reminded how great this world is and how small you are, it's definitely a humbling moment.

The Atlas Mountains are a huge mountain range that runs through the country. They are divided into three sections within the Moroccan border; High Atlas, Middle Atlas and Anti Atlas. Each section is separated by huge valleys and the mountain range sits right between the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast line and the Sahara Desert. The majority of the people who live in the Atlas and the desert are the Berber people, who are native to the land.
                                                                                                                                                       

One of the most amazing parts about the Atlas Mountains are the contrasting scenery! You have snow capped mountains that descend into dry land which turns into fertile, green oasis' made up of mostly Palm trees. An oasis is an area in a desert with water. In this case there is water that runs under the land, which allows for plants to grow. It's quite amazing to see. There is a certain type of beauty that is produced when opposites collide, like this.

After hours and hours of driving through the mountains, we finally reached our destination, a small town called Merzouga. Merzouga is a popular tourist spot because of it's proximity to the Sahara Desert, literally a 30 minute drive away. The streets are lined with hotels, riads, and tourist get aways. For the Sahara Desert trips, they often offer a sunset or sunrise journey out. Since we arrived too late for the sunset option we set our clocks to 4:45 am to make it out for the sunrise. To go out to the Sahara you need to rent a Jeep and driver. It's amazing how these guys drive through the dessert in the pitch darkness where you see nothing but dry earth for days, yet they still know exactly where they are going. We made it out to the edge of the Sahara, where we were met by a crowd of Camels. 

Camels are ultra cute! And I must say I hate riding animals as I think... they have no idea who I am and then they are expected to carry me on their backs, when I hate when a stranger even touches me, but I couldn't resist. After I saw how fine the sand was and how high the dunes were I was actually a little relieved I ignored my animal activist side, cause running around in the Sahara at 5 am is not something I'm about. 

The Sahara desert is a non stop photo shoot. You know very well that a moment like this is a once in a life time thing, if you're even lucky enough for that, so you just want to make sure you capture it all! The Sahara is soooo beautiful, everything from the clear moon, to the changing colors of the sky, to the red sand. It's literally how you picture it!I never wanted to leave... except for when I started getting hungry and then I was on the first camel out of there!

One of the best parts about doing things like venturing off into the Sahara dessert, are the Berber guys who take you out there. They are fun to talk to! I spoke to my guy and he told me in the winter time it gets to about 30 degrees celsius and that is too cold for him. I told him he was crazy! He said in the summer it gets up to 55 degrees celsius! INSANE! He asked for my name and he wrote it in the sand in both Berber (top) and Arabic (bottom)! I loved it when they showed me how to wrap my scarf around my face in case of a sand storm. My new look of 2013!

After the beautiful Sahara we continued on, with our journey back into the Atlas Mountains. When driving through Morocco you come across beautiful little villages, each with it's own spirit. One thing you see no matter where you go in Morocco are incredibly kind people, cute kids and pushy vendors! When I first got to Morocco all the vendors really added to the whole environment but after about two days I had, had enough! I could not take anymore guys trying to sell me stuff I couldn't afford and didn't have space to bring back with me. We asked our driver how to avoid them and he told us the best thing to do is to just ignore them, and not speak a word. If you say anything, even "No thank you" you open the line of communication and thus plant a seed of hope. Now they think, if only they push the right amount or say the right thing you just might buy from them, cause you were nice enough to say "No thank you." I must say, the complete silent approach worked perfectly although often the Canadian inside of me just wanted to acknowledge their hard work, even if I wasn't going to buy anything. 

Having grown up listening to The Clash, I always wondered what is a Kasbah! And I finally found out. A Kasbah is similar to a fortress but built by the Berber people to protect against the foreign man. It has a sandy like texture and is decorated with beautiful geometric designs and traditional Moroccan architecture. They literally look like, life-sized sand castles. The first time I laid eyes on one from afar, I could swear it was going to crumble with one blow of the wind! But not to worry they are built to last.

This particular kasbah in Aït Benhaddou, a small city located close to a bigger town named Ouzrazat, and dates back to more than 500 years ago. This is also a popular sight to film movies. Gladiator, The mummy, Alexander, Kingdom of Heaven, and Prince of Persia, were all filmed here - Just to name a few.

After spending time visiting kasbahs we were back in the Atlas making our way to civilization a.k.a. Marrakech. The Atlas Mountains and the Desert, are two places not to be missed when visiting Morocco. The natural diversity in this country is a masterpiece and a gift to us from Mother Nature. It is a true representation of life; constantly changing, endless contradictions and magnificence at every turn. 

Morocco: Rabat, Fez & Sefrou

Six weeks flew by and before I knew it, another two week break awaited me. This time would be extra special since my parents were joining me. My parents flew in from Toronto into Montpellier and the next day we were headed out on the train to Marseille to catch our flight to the famous Casablanca

This trip would prove to be one of the most special trips I'll ever go on since it is to a country that is so dear to me and so close to my heart. Being a Moroccan but never getting to go to Morocco had left a deep longing - until now. I had waited my whole life for the day that I could finally see where my fiery passion and uncontrollable hip shacking to the sound of any beat came from.

When we landed in Casablanca in the afternoon, I was overcome with excitement, ready to get out there and hit the road! Our first stop was Rabat, the political capital and the first of the imperial cities. The minute I stepped out the car and into my first experience in Morocco I was instantly transported to a scene from Aladdin. Everything you could imagine about Morocco was there in the flesh. The mosaics at every turn, guards on beautiful white horses, and vendors at every step of the way.

The first place we hit, in Rabat was the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. It contains the tombs of the king and both his sons. The tombs were so extravagant, and over the top, you could swear Liberace was hired as the designer. The guards all sported fantastic outfits, and the best part was that you were allowed to take photos both of and with them. Unlike the beefeaters in England they actually could communicate with you and I even saw some of them get more into the picture taking then the tourists themselves!

One of the best parts about Morocco is their mosaics and tile decor all over the country. It's so casually placed everywhere that to the Moroccan people it's just like any other brick wall, but I, found them so beautiful and vibrant. It adds such life to an everyday street. The fountain above was found in the courtyard of the Mausoleum. It was the first Mosaic I laid my eyes on and it ended up being my absolute favorite! 

After the mausoleum we went into the medina for a quick walk around, to get a nice sense of medina life and a wonderful view of the river that runs through the city. Medina (مدينة‎ ) is arabic for city but in North Africa refers to the old city and is generally gated by an ancient wall of some sort. It is often made up of wining narrow streets, apartments and vendors selling anything from fruits, to live chickens, to socks, to children's toys. Every Medina has it's own personality

Within this particular Medina I was introduced to two things I would develop a love for. The first being the brilliant and always eye catching Moroccan blue, found throughout the country and without fail always stunning. The second is the sweet and refreshing Orange juice, also, sold throughout the country. If you are ever to go to Morocco you must buy something in it's brilliant blue and break for a thirst quenching glass of OJ!

After a very quick visit to Rabat we were on the road again headed towards Fez! As we were driving a long the forest of Les Chêne Truffier (special oak trees that grow in the Mediterranean and cause truffles to produce around them) we saw guys selling big bags of truffles, for pennies. The catch is that the truffles have not yet been cleaned off, which means they are basically balls of dirt. Once they are all cleaned off you are lucky to end up with even a couple grams.

The next day was spent between Fez and Sefrou. Fez is the second largest city in Morocco and has a population of about a million. The medina in fez is considered to be the largest car-free urban area in the world, and is a UNESCO protected sight. The city of Fez has been called the "Mecca of the West" and the "Athens of Africa".






The picture to the left is the opening doors to Fez's medina. Walking through those doors is like walking back in time, as if time stood still. No cars, no machines, everything being carried by donkeys or dragged on the backs of hard working men. There was something so magical about it, as if I was  going to have the rug pulled form right under my feet only to find out I was on a magic carpet ride.

The endless amount of things to buy, and getting to see exactly how they have been doing things for years! Pioneer village for days. I just wanted to buy everything I saw and I wanted to ride every animal that passed by me. The sounds, the smells the sights! It's like a wonderland for the senses.

There was an article my mom read by a woman who decided to go into the medina in Fez and see how long it would take for her to find her way out on her own, without help and without a map. It took her about a week! I was aMAZEd!!!!  

It's so cool seeing all the children run through the streets of the medina and without even a thought, they knew exactly where they were going and how to get there. The children of Morocco are so cute, so polite and love pictures. After I took some of these stampeding boys, they insisted on shaking my dad's hands! Too Cute!

One of my personal requests, when finding out I was gonna be visiting Fez was to go to the oldest leather tannery in the world. Growing up as a child and reading books

about Morocco, I often came across photos of the leather souks and the tannery

that I was out of this world excited to finally see it for myself. When you go out to see the honeycombs filled with chemical dye, you are given a hand-full of mint leaves to smell for when the smell of the chemicals got to be too much. It was so fascinating seeing all the men working on the leather. It's such an old process and definitely not a healthy one. The leather bags that are produced after are so cool and inexpensive, you know I got myself one! 

After a half day in Fez (not enough) we made our way to a small town called Sefrou, about 30 minutes outside of Fez. This is the town my mother was born in, lived until she was 10, and where most of my family before her resided. 

The first place we visted was the cemetery where I have an uncle, a great uncle and great grand father who are buried. 

After the cemetery we headed into the medina. This is where I got ultra excited cause I was about to see the house, the streets and the place where my mother lived the first years of her life. It was indescribable type of excitement that over came me. As we walked through the narrow streets of the medina, my mother got a little confused as to where she was going because not only has everything changed drastically since she was 10 but even since the last time she went back which was just five years ago. As we walked deeper she began to recognize everything and suddenly it all came back to her. She knew exactly where to go. We walked all the way back, almost to the entrance point and then turned down a dark alley, right then I heard my father say "Yep! This is it." We came upon a copper door frame, and then everyone got really excited and my mother yelled "This is it!" I had waited my whole life for this moment. To go to Morocco with my mother and go back to where she lived had always been a dream and now, instantly it was a reality.

As we entered a woman met us and everyone began speaking Arabic. My mother explained that she was born here and this is where she lived as a young girl. The woman was incredibly hospitable and showed us in. Like most Moroccan homes, it was a riad style which means an open air courtyard in the center with either rooms surrounding it or in this case apartments. My mother's home was on the top level. We walked up the stairs and as we reached the top we were greeted by a handful of woman and some very cute children. Most of the exchange was done in Arabic so I had no idea what they were saying but the woman were very friendly. They allowed me to click away with my camera, and even allowed me to enter the home. The children running around were so cute, and there was even a big mama inside the home who kept asking for me to take her picture with the children! It was such a full circle moment in my life. Being able to travel to my roots, and understand my history is a priceless gift that can never be replaced. Discovering your past is like putting puzzle pieces together. I had never been to Morocco yet nothing in Morocco was really new to me. I grew up knowing it's decor, eating it's food, and dancing to it's music. Morocco flows through my blood streams. It was like an abandoned child reuniting with it's parents. Everything was new but familiar all at the same time. After all my travels, and the travels that are to come, no moment will ever compare to this one.

I had only begun my Moroccan adventure but it was turning out to be a memorable one! So much more awaited me!