Rock the Kasbah- Morocco part 6

btw- a kasbah is a type of fortress or palace. Basically an old part of town where the houses were all built close together, sharing walls, high walls that can be used for defense.

We spent the next couple of days traveling and making small stops to see things along the way. After the desert we headed to Todra Gorge, which happened to be our guide's home town. We went to a local co-op of Berber carpet weavers and learned how to make tea and how to make carpet. Did you know that if a carpet (rug) is hand made it will only have fringe on one side?

Our guide took us to his mother's house for tea, which was really cool. He asked us not to take pictures because his mom wouldn't like it, which is sad because I wish I had some pictures from it. She made us tea and offered us bread and yummy cake. I honestly got the impression that he really doesn't do that for every tour.

The next day we traveled along the “Route of 1000 Kasbahs” stopping in Ouarzazate for lunch and a quick (15 mins) run through a movie museum. This is the area where the film studios are and where they have done a lot of the filming they've done in Morocco. We went to Aït Ben Haddou, a 500 year old kasbah that has been used in several films, including The Gladiator.

At our hotel that night we learned how to cook tagine (both the name for the dish and the pot you cook it in) which is basically a slow cooked meal either meat or veggie cooked in a cool looking pot on the stove/fire.

The next day was lots of windy roads through the High Atlas Mountains on to Marrakech. (I'll blog about Marrakech tomorrow and then I'll be done with all the Morocco stuff)  It was beautiful and I am so glad I wasn't driving the bus!

These are all over- God, Country and King. 

The record of the speed our driver was going-- never over 100km on this day.
I'm still not clear if EVERYONE has to keep a record or just tour companies... 

Todra Gorge-- or the town near it actually 

Todra Gorge-- or the town near it actually, the view from our hotel

Berber carpet weaving, making the wool.

Our guide on the street he grew up on, learned to walk on, scraped his knee on. 

We crossed that "bridge" Yes, those two sticks.
It was actually fun climbing around like a kid. 

Todra Gorge-- we were supposed to stay in a hotel in this gorge but the hotel
was closed due to damage from the flooding/rain the month before. 

We passed a town known for roses and rose products

We also stopped at a VERY local market. This is the parking lot.
Again our guide asked us not to take pictures because the people there aren't used to tourists.
I think I could have snapped some shots and they would have been ok with it. 

Saw this a lot, but seriously? Can't you just stop when it's full?
I don't even know how that's staying on there... 

We had this at EVERY meal. 

props from movies at the film museum.. nothing that I really knew,
but cool looking nonetheless

Coming down into this valley you could see the dust/sand just blowing

Aït Ben Haddou

You can see the straw mixed with the mud and the roof covered in mud and rocks.

A few families actually still live there.
This is a woman that lives there and we got to see her house.

her kitchen

This is where the ring for The Gladiator was, at the base of that mound. 

the ring was in this flat area with Aït Ben Haddou in the background

tagine-- only these ones aren't as cool looking as the ones you get at the tourist shops

April got this shot by happy accident. I love that sign.
I've seen it in other countries. I call it the "drunk when wet" sign.
Look at how the tire lines cross... drunk, not slippery. 

Nomadic houses.. although, isn't that a contradiction in terms?

little shops along the road

We saw SEVERAL of these. They were with The Sahara Desert Challenge, a trans-Saharan adventure linking two continents: Europe and Africa... and crosses five countries: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal... Dakar is the ultimate destination! They started on Dec. 26 and should have finished today, Jan. 9th.