Fes to Merzouga

We had a huge driving day today - over 400 kilometres through the mid Atlas Mountains south of Fes, the high Atlas mountains, the dry, rocky, arid landscapes surrounding the Ziz River valley and then into the full on desert lands around Merzouga, our  gateway to the Sahara Desert.

We saw everything today, including Morocco's Swiss style ski resort at Ifrane, about one and a quarter hours from Fes, the cedar forests and rocky terrain of the mid Atlas Mountains, the Barbary Apes........

We saw nomad's camps and their flocks of hardy looking goats; there were apple and quince orchards too along the way.......

By mid afternoon we got some great sightings of the Ziz River, cutting its way through this arid mountain landscape....

 ....and saw how farming settlements have sprung up along its fertile flood plain (lots of dates!), below the expansive Ziz River dam. This area is the heart of Morocco's date production region.

 I love the adobe style mud brick houses. In this part of Morocco everything is in 50 shades of buff!

It's around 6.30pm before we reach Merzouga and see our beautiful Riad Nezhra. We are entranced by its mud brick architecture and desert style Berber decor. It has a view to die for looking out to the dunes of the desert.

We enjoy a swim as dusk gathers and are then served a delicious meal on the terrace, under the stars. We all think Morocco is magical!

Fes

While we rated the breakfast at Chefchaouen's Ryad Lina a bit higher, the setting at Riad Salam Fes proved to be the winner of the trip so far.  

We set out a bit after 9.30am with our local guide Ahmed to explore the ancient laneways and souks of the Fes Medina, parts of which date back over a thousand years or so.

Ahmed explained that the Medina's houses all turn in on themselves, around beautiful courtyards decorated with mosaics and luxurious furnishings. The houses reveal nothing of themselves from the outside - with tiny windows and plain, unadorned facades on to the narrow laneways of the Medina. Over 170,000 people live in the Fes Medina, so its laneways are busy with people, small artisan workshops, lively souks and tantalising doorways into people's homes, mosques, merdasas (mosque schools), universities and the famous tanneries of Fes.

The only way supplies can be transported around the Medina is by donkey or by carts. There are no cars in the Medina but you can't afford to lose concentration as you walk the laneways with all the changes in levels and direction and the regular stream of donkey traffic.

Finding the beautifully decorated mosques, madersas (schools) and the famous Al Qaraouine University, the oldest in the region, and founded by a woman hundreds of years ago..........

We enjoyed our visits to the craft co-operatives....the female rug making co-operative supported by the UN (and the Australian wool market).....

 jkjj

and the weavers....

We were unlucky to be in Fes as the famous tanneries are closed for restoration. It is hard to imagine how this space looks filled with sun and heat and men and sloshing toxic vats of dye and leather.....

Our last stop of the day is a ceramic workshop a short drive out of the busy medina .......