MOROCCO-THE TAUREGS AND THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS
This is The Road We Traveled Which Went On For Many Hours. We Climbed To 7,414 Toward the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass, Which is The Heart Of The Atlas Mountains. Please click once on pictures to enlarge
Highlight number 3. Visit to the Taureg tribe or the Blue People and a long ride through the Atlas Mountains to get to them! They are named Blue people because of the indigo blue scarves worn by the men to cover the faces and bodies. The women actually do not wear the scarves. Sometimes the blue stains their skin and creates an eerie effect. We were given a bit of information on this tribe of Berbers before entering their small villages located just beyond the middle Atlas Mountain range.
Entering the villages was like going back in time-kind of like walking through an old wild western desert town. The people were friendly and so kind. One little lady followed me around. She was shy of having a pic of her face taken but didn’t mind the pictures otherwise. They learn from the time they are children to greet the tour buses as we arrive to their desolate area. The air was filled with the smoke and scent of the tagines on the charcoal flames. The restaurant owners are actually preparing for the ‘chicken buses’ to arrive and bring Moraccans from the area into town. The chicken buses are aptly named because they are old retired tour buses, used now to transport people and livestock.
We Passed All Sorts Of Livestock Trucks Along The Way. Sometimes I had To Cover My Eyes When One Of Them Came Toward Us From The Opposite Side Of The Road. There Were No Security Rails!
Each Valley Was More Beautiful Than The One Before and Was Ever Changing
There Was Greenery
And Snow Capped Mountains
There Were Crystals Ready to be Plucked Out of The Ground
And Then There Were the Tuaregs. One of Our Taureg Guides
Berber's With Scarves for Sale Seemed to Pop Up From Nowhere in This Desolate Area
The Curves Continued
Shops Were Built into The Rocks
We Stopped in A Small Village and Met the Most Wonderful Berber People. This Little Woman Saw My Scarf Around My Neck and Motioned for Me to Put it Around My Head. I Followed Her Instructions and She Smiled at Me and Hugged Me and Then She Was My Friend for Life-Or Until We Left The Village Anyway.
This Village Was a Stopping Point for the Notorious 'Chicken Bus.' The Bus Stops For Travelers to Barter, Trade, and Have Lunch. The Tagines Were Fired Up at Every Corner (2)
Zack Made Friends with This 'Blue Man' Earlier But I Thought it Worthy A Picture Here.
Here is Another Younger Woman I Met In The Village
A Few Hours Later, And More Steep Highway, We Finally Came to the Film Capital of Morocco-Quarzazate. We Passed the Now Defunct Hollywood Set.
Next, Ait Benhaddou, a kasbah famous for it's filming of Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator. This Was My All Time Favorite Place in Morocco (Outside of the Dunes)
A Stream Separated Part of The Village
This Picture Was Taken by Zack. He Was Shooting From Inside One of The Rock Crevices
While Zack Was Taking Pictures Elsewhere, I was Welcomed by Mohammad. He Couldn't Pronounce My Name So He Called Me Fatima-A Common Female Name Here
Mohammad Invited Me Up To His Home Within The Rocks-And I Went! (Kind Of Like-Let Me Show You My Kasbah- style) It Was A Very Trecherous Path Leading Up and Up
Along the Way, He Let Me Take A Picture of His Pointy Shoes. They Reminded Me of Aladdin and The Magic Carpet.
Upon the Path I Met An Interesting German Man Who Came Into The Village Via A Motorcycle-He Was A Stunt Man. He Was Having Trouble Climbing Up The Stone Pathway and Said to Me "These Boots Are NOT Made For Walking." He, Mohammad and I All Had A Good Laugh At His Sense Of Humor
Stepping Stones-In This Case-Sand Bags- To Return
From Another Angle
Mohammad and His Wise Words, Sweet Smile and Kind Manners
One of the Berbers Said to Me- "You Have The Beautiful Watches That You Wear, But WE have the time.
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