Dades Gorge

In the morning we headed toward the gorge.  The road twisted through the cliffs and doubled back on itself numerous times.  I didn't think I had issues with car sickness until this drive!  About halfway there we stopped at an overlook to take some pictures.  We were amazed at the rock formations known as monkey fingers.  I don't know about monkey fingers but they sure looked like brain coral to us.  Each section was rounded and seemed to fit together seamlessly.

As we entered the gorge, the road steadily climbed upwards taking us out of the heart of the rock face.  The sheer height of it all made me a bit nervous but Josh seemed to enjoy reaching over to take pictures.  Toward the end of our drive we found a place where we could once again get out and walk a bit.  Like Todra Gorge we weren't able to do any true hiking but we walked along the road for a bit admiring the gorge.

Looking into Dades Gorge

With only one way into the gorge we had to retrace the road out.  Once we were back on the main tarmac the road seemed to loose its twists and turns, to my joy.  We then headed south through the Rose Valley.  The area is famous for its yearly harvest of pink roses.  The roses are then sold or made into a variety of products including rose water, oil, soaps and hand cream.  Each year a festival is held in honor of the roses and a "Rose Queen" is crowned.

Overlooking the winding road. It took a lot for Josh to get me near the edge.

We left the roses behind and headed to Skoura.  Skoura is a small village most famous for its Kasbah Amerhidil.  Kasbah Amerhidil is a partly reconstructed Kasbah that is shown on the 50 Dirham bank note.  Here we enjoyed wandering through the rooms getting lost in the history and what each area must have been used for.  Despite the low ceilings and doorways we managed to exit the site unscathed.

The newer portion of the Kasbah

The front of the kasbah

Leaving Skoura we drove around the local area.  These small car tours have been some of our favorite parts as its nice to get out of the tourist bubble and see how everyday life is like here.

Ouarzazate was our next stop for a late lunch.  Ouarzazate is jokingly the "Hollywood" of Morocco as it has been the site of many famous movies including Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth, Kingdom of Heaven and Indian Jones.  There are two movie studios here who specialize in Bollywood like movies although they do assist in larger foreign productions.

For lunch we had the traditional tangine and skewers.  It seems everywhere we go has the same menu.  Despite the food being delicious, it is getting a bit old to have the same thing day in and day out.  After lunch we headed into town to see the Kasbah Taourirt.  We didn't go inside this one but took some decent shots from the outside gates.

Kasbah Taourirt

From the Kasbah we headed to a small Berber house filled with authentic Berber and Toureg tribal artifacts.  The Berber have inhabited Morocco since before the Arab, French and Spanish migrations where the Toureg people are decedents of slaves brought in from Mali and Sudan.  Inside the house we saw beautiful carved doors from old Kasbahs, camel saddles, tea kettles, African masks, Jewish artifacts, etc.

My favorite part of our visit was looking at all of the different tribal carpets.  The carpets were made from camel, goat, lamb hair as well as silk.  Each design told a story and although you could make out a few symbols here and there no one but the woman who weaved it really knew the larger picture.  We knew we wanted to get a rug of some sort but were a little overwhelmed with all the different styles and colors.

Our guide and his assistant laid out carpet after carpet before we were able to nail it down to two we really loved.  Then the bargaining began!  We ended up walking out of the house with two rugs at a decent price that we know are authentic.  The first was of Berber nomad origin made out of camel hair.  The camel hair doesn't make it the softest but adds a sense of durability.  The nomad people would take these rugs with them on long caravans in the Sahara so the rugs had to be able to withstand the sandy conditions.  Its long and skinny and will be perfect for an entry way.  The design is abstract and made out of red, green and yellow yarn.

The second rug is Bedwin and made out of cashmere wool.  Its traditionally given to new brides to symbolize fertility and many "happy" years.  We like the colorful thread woven into the white background along with the abstract animals stitched into the design.

After finishing up in town we headed a few kilometers outside to catch a glimpse of the famous Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou.  The Kasbah dates back many centuries and there are still a few families who live in it today.  Currently there are projects to continue restoration on the property so that it can be rented out for future film productions.  We didn't go inside the Kasbah as that was going to be saved for the next morning but we did stop at an overlook to get a few good shots of the entire structure.

Looking in the valley at the famous Ait Ben Haddou

That night we stayed at a small Kasbah near Ait Ben Haddou called Kasbah Elloiuse.  The sheep tied up in the neighboring house welcomed us into the hotel and locals wandered the streets just outside.  We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the indoor terrace and enjoying a delicious dinner.

Our hotel for the night