Loving Life in Morocco: Among the Imazighen/Berbers

Well it sure has been a long time since our last post, and even longer since our adventure among the Imazighen/Berbers in Morocco. Well, better late than never. ☺️

In our previous post, Loving Life in Morocco: The Medina of Marrakesh, we ferried across the Mediterranean Sea, from Tarifa, Spain, to Tangier, Morocco, where we immediately hopped on an overnight train-from-hell to Marrakech. Things could only get better after that train ride, and boy did they ever!

After spending a few mesmerizing days in the Medina of Marrakech, we booked a 3-Day Tour: Marrakech to Merzouga by Way of Dadès Valley plus Erg Chebbi Camel Trek. The tour promised us a camel ride into the desert, a sunset on the dunes, an overnight bivouac at a Berber camp in the Sahara Desert, a sunrise on the dunes, and a camel ride back out of the desert. The tour delivered!

But first we had to get from Marrakech to the Sahara Desert. You see, the Sahara Desert includes only a small part of Morocco along the Algeria border. So most desert tours in Morocco include a tour of the countryside from Marrakech or Fez to one of two towns on the edge of the Sahara Desert, Merzouga or Zagora. Most desert excursions depart from one of those towns. For us, it was a fascinating overnight tour to Merzouga.

This post, Among the Imazighen/Berbers, is about the sights and the Imazighen culture we experienced during that overnight tour across the Moroccan countryside. The post is one of a series of posts about our adventures in Morocco. Click on Travel Morocco for more about Morocco, including our hilarious experience of getting rubbed and scrubbed in an authentic Moroccan hammam. It was not a tourist hammam.

Future posts in this series will cover our experiences in Fez and Chefchaouen, the Blue Pearl of Morocco.

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The Imazighen/Berbers

The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world, about the size of the continental United States. The Sahara is not all sand dune seas; in fact, only about one quarter of it is covered in sand dunes. The remainder is mountains, some volcanic, and rocky plateaus. Merzouga is on the western edge of one of the best known sand dune seas in Morocco, the Erg Chebbi.

The ride from Marrakech to Merzouga followed an ancient camel caravan route from Marrakech to the Sahara Desert. This post covers our 564 km ride to Merzouga. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the Moroccan landscape and nature sights, and to meet Berber people, experience the Berber culture, see how they live today, and get a sense of how they lived centuries ago. All the Berbers we met were friendly, welcoming people; it was a pleasure to be their guests.

Note: Morocco is a moderate Muslim country. Some tips:

Female tourists do not have to cover their head, as the local Muslim women do. Deb never felt pressured to cover her head, whether we were in the big cities or the countryside. The Madeira ball cap she wore was her choice to keep the sun off.
Wear modest clothing. Bare shoulders, legs, cleavage, and midriffs, are inappropriate. Save the swimwear for beaches and pools, and then choose swimwear on the modest side.
Protect yourself from the sun and sand, in the form of a hat or scarf, and sunscreen.
In the countryside, dress in layers, including a windproof jacket, so you can easily put on or take off as many layers as the winds and wide-ranging Moroccan temperatures dictate. Being able to carry them in your tote bag is essential.
Muslims are forbidden to consume alcohol. Non-Muslims in Morocco can drink alcohol in moderation, but only in private or in establishments that serve alcohol. We chose to not drink alcohol during our 11 day tour of Morocco, mostly out of respect for the people.
Street crime is not prominent in Morocco, even in the big cities. The police crack down hard when it does happen; we saw a young man wrestled to the ground by two policemen in Marrakech for purse-snatching. That was it!

In antiquity, the Romans referred to all North Africans as “Moors”, ignoring the different groups in which the people there self-identified. But the Romans also referred to all races beyond the Roman Empire as “barbarians”. During the 7th century, when the Arab world began expanding west into North Africa, the Arabs used the term “Berber” to refer to all the people there. By the 18th century, the inhabitants of North Africa no longer identified with the term “Moors”, but considered themselves either Arabs or Berbers, and their land of Northwest Africa was Maghreb (the Muslim west), not Barbary, which had become the Europeans’ term for the lands along the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was on our tour through the countryside that we learned most Berbers now call themselves Imazighen (sing. Amazigh) and continue to seek recognition as such.

Note: The term “Berber” has become so entrenched in western cultures, and perhaps in Arabic cultures too, that even the Imazighen we met called themselves Berbers, including the highly educated tour guide that showed us around the Medina of Marrakech. The term Berber is still widely used in the western world, but my research indicates that Imazighen dislike the term Berber. For that reason, I will refer to Berbers as Imazighen for the remainder of this blog post.

Imazighen are the original inhabitants of North Africa. Their territory encompassed today’s Egypt (west of the Nile), Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, and Mali. Being nomadic and skilled at surviving the challenges of the Sahara, Imazighen controlled the trade caravans that criss-crossed the Sahara Desert. Caravans travelled among points within the Sahara Desert, points along the Mediterranean Sea, points in the savannah regions south of the Sahara, and the major cities of Northern Africa, like Cairo, Tunis, Marrakech, and Fez. Hundreds, and sometimes thousands of camels, would travel in these caravans for a month, or more. Knowing the route from oasis to oasis was crucial to survival in the Sahara Desert, and Imazighen had that knowledge.

The Senegal and Niger Rivers were frequent endpoints of the caravans so the goods could be further transported on those rivers. Heading south to the savannah was salt from the desert and olive oil and manufactured goods from the Mediterranean. Heading north from the savannahs were cereals, gold, ivory, slaves, and exotic animals. But these caravans exchanged more than just goods; they exchanged ideas, methods, art and religion too.

Moroccan Imazighen are made up of several sub-groups, based primarily on location and dialect. The Drawa live in the Anti Atlas Mountains and the area around the Draa river valley. Dades Imazighen inhabit the northeast corner of the country. The Rif Mountains in the north are home to the Ghomara, while the Mesgita inhabit the northwest corner. Sousi Imazighen live in the southwest end of the High Atlas and Anti Atlas mountains, surrounding Agadir.

The Tuareg branch of Imazighen originates from deep in the Sahara desert, covering an area that was split up and absorbed into Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Libya. The Tuareg are a highly nomadic people, roaming the most remote and arid area of the Sahara in the dry season looking for water and grazing land. These were the Imazighen primarily responsible for guiding the great caravans across the most desolate parts of the Sahara. I have read that lack of government support and disinterest among the youth have driven many Tuareg to work in cities and in neighbouring countries now, including southeast Morocco.

The High Atlas Mountains

En route from Marrakech to the Sahara Desert, the first major terrain you cross is the High Atlas Mountain range. At 4,167 metres, Toubkal is the highest peak in North Africa, and the highest in the Arab world. The great caravans to Marrakech and the Atlantic coast were not only challenged by crossing the desert, but also by making the arduous trek through the Tizi-n-Tichka pass of the arid High Atlas Mountains. Today, the N9 highway follows this route.

Photo of one of the fertile valleys inhabited by the Imazighen/Berbers in the High Atlas Mountains, with the peak of a snow-capped mountain in the distance. — A fertile valley in the High Atlas Mountains, including a snow-capped mountain.

The mountains of Morocco are lightly scattered with lush green valleys and snow-capped peaks. The Imazighen of Morocco are the primary inhabitants of the mountains, often living a lifestyle similar to their ancestors. Some make their home on the few lush green areas. Some still live in houses made out of sand. But some enjoy a few modern conveniences in or near the towns along the foothills of the mountains. Imazighen make their living off of cattle and agriculture, or tourism.

But one thing common to all these lifestyles is a good supply of water, whether from mountain runoff, a natural oasis, or a well they have dug.

Quarzazate Province

Aït Ben Haddou

A photo of two camels resting, one with a pink bridle and the other with a blue bridle. Both camels are staring at us. — A girl and a boy camel people-watching.

After crossing over the High Atlas Mountains, our first stop was in the village of Aït Ben Haddou, which is located on one of the fingers of the pre-Sahara Desert. This desert valley separates the High Atlas Mountains to the north from the Anti Atlas (aka Little Atlas) Mountains to the south. Outside L’oasis D’or Restaurant, we were greeted by a camel couple people-watching. I assumed they were female and male by the colour of their reins; I didn’t check any further. 🙂

Photo of Deb giddy with laughter as a camel sniffs her neck. — Do you think Deb is an animal lover?

After lunch, Deb met one of the camels up close. Deb is a big-time animal lover. As an animal physiotherapist, she has an excellent rapport with animals.

This photo shows the Oasis of Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, with its many trees and plants, and the modern city of Aït Ben Haddou on the south side of the river. — The modern village of Aït Ben Haddou.

Centuries ago, the oases of the Sahara Desert were just watering points along the trade routes which criss-crossed the desert. The source of the water at an oasis is a man-made well, a natural underground spring, or a river. There may have been a few houses or a trading post at an oasis, but little else. Over the years, however, a village or small community sprang up beside many of these oases. And, today, many of these communities have been replaced by modern cities or towns.

Aït Ben Haddou is one example. The modern village rose next to the Oasis of Ksar Aït Ben Haddou on the main caravan route between the Sahara Desert and Marrakech. The water source for this oasis is the Ounila River. Today, the city of Aït Ben Haddou is most famous for its old village, Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, which is located on the other side of the river.

Ksar Aït Ben Haddou

A well-preserved example of a pre-Saharan village, Ksar Aït Ben Haddou is a popular tourist site and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

Ksar means a fortified village. Built on the side of a hill, the Ksar has a defensive wall surrounding the rest of the village, with towers on the corners and a gate on one side. There is a fortified granary, or agadir, on the top of the hill. The Ksar was a stop for the trade caravans between the Sahara Desert and Marrakech since the 11th century. In the Amazigh language, the word for ksar is ighrem.

The original inhabitants made the buildings and walls of Ksar Aït Ben Haddou out of rammed earth and mud bricks. Rammed earth in Morocco is a mixture of mud, sand, and straw, which is then poured into a large form to make a wall. Mud bricks are the same materials but poured into small forms, air-dried, laid like a brick, and then often stuccoed over with wet sand. These building materials erode easily, so the structures require frequent maintenance today to maintain the UNESCO designation.

This photo shows tourists crossing the riverbed on sandbags to get to the Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, which is on the north side of the River Ounila. — Crossing the Ounila River to Ksar Aït Ben Haddou.

You cross the Ounila River from the modern village of Aït Ben Haddou to the Ksar on sandbags. Not a problem during the long dry season (May to October), but not possible a few days a month during the rest of the year. Heavy rains create torrential run-off from the High Atlas Mountains into the river.

This closeup photo of a handful of buildings in Ksat Aït Ben Haddou shows a hint of human habitation with a couple of tables, a chair and an awning. — Mostly uninhabited Ksar Aït Ben Haddou.

Very few people live in Ksar Aït Ben Haddou today; most of the former inhabitants chose to move to the modern city on the other side of the river. However, there is a caravanserai (roadside inn) and a few shops in the Ksar, so it is possible to spend the night in the Ksar.

This photo of Ksar Aït Ben Haddou shows how the Berber village was built on the side of a hill with a fortified its granary on top of the hill. — Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, built into the side of a hill.

This photo of Ksar Aït Ben Haddou shows the similitude of all the buildings in the old Berber village. They all have flat roofs and the same mid-brown shade, like wet sand. — Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, ready for its close-up.

As you might expect, dozens of movies and TV episodes have used Ksar Aït Ben Haddou as a location for shooting. Some of the more famous ones are:

Sodom And Gomorrah (1963)
Oedipus Rex (1967)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Marco Polo (1982)
The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
The Living Daylights (1987)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Kundun (1997)
The Mummy (1999)
Gladiator (2000)
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
David Attenborough: A life on our planet (2020)

The Ksar has also been a location in parts of the TV series Game of Thrones.

This photo is a street scene in Ksar Aït Ben Haddou showing the bottom of a staircase which leads up the hill to the next street. Two Amazigh/Berber vendors are sitting at the bottom of stairs waiting for customers. — A couple of street vendors in the old village.

A photo of a vendor's shop selling Amazigh/Berber fashions on a street in Ksar Aït Ben Haddou. — Some unique fashions.

The streets of Ksar Aït Ben Haddou were generally empty when we were there, except for a few dozen tourists and the occasional vendor trying to tempt those tourists. The vendors are very low pressure here. Fashions are popular items for sale; definitely some unique fashions with which to make a statement back home, wherever you live.

Photo of two gentlemen descending steps in Ksar Ben Aït Haddou, one dressed in the typical clothes of Imazighen/Berbers and the other dressed in the typical casual attire of westerners. — Berber vs. western-world attire.

I hope these two gentlemen won’t mind me using them to highlight their contrasting fashions. The gentleman on the left has on a headscarf, called a tagelmust or litham. A tagelmust can be up to ten metres of cloth and the draping part can act as a veil to block wind and sand from his face. His coat and long, lightweight pants provide the desired modesty and additional protection against the wind, sand, and heat of the desert. Conversely, the man on the right is in traditional westerner tourist garb. Their shoes might be similar though. 🙂

Within the Tuareg branch of Imazighen it is tradition for the men to wear the tagelmust while the women go unveiled. The tradition goes further; the Tuareg men show respect among strangers and people of higher standing by veiling their mouth and nose. The Taureg tagelmust was traditionally blue cotton; the primitive indigo dye leeched into the facial skin of the men over time, leading foreigners to call Tuareg the “blue men of the desert”. The blue dye also gave a blue tinge to the hands of the Tuareg women. Other colours of tagelmusts are worn these days.

Tying a headscarf.

Imazighen/Berbers Language and Art

A poster showing the Tifinagh alphabet, which is used to write the Amazigh/Berber language of Tamazight. — The Tifinagh alphabet.

The Amazigh use variations of the Tifinagh alphabet, also known as Tuareg or Berber, to write the Tamazight language in many parts of North Africa. Recently, Tamazight achieved official language status in Morocco. But Imazighen mostly use the Arabic and Latin alphabets for writing in public and for signage. This picture of the Tifinagh alphabet was for sale outside an artist’s shop near L’oasis D’or.

Photo of an Amazigh/Berber artist who drew a picture using invisible ink, and is now holding the paper over a flame to make the ink visible. — The Amazigh art of “fire painting”.

Imazighen had this custom of using “secret ink” to add a private message at the bottom of a regular letter. The recipient heats up the paper to reveal the secret message. This Amazigh artist, outside of L’Oasis D’or, draws pictures with that invisible ink (imagine doing that), and then exposes the expertly drawn pictures over a flame. The art is “fire painting”, or the French “pyro aquarelles”.

Photo of paintings for sale by an Amazigh/Berber artist. They are displayed in front of a huge rock that is stained with paint splatters. — Amazigh art for sale.

I don’t know what attracted me to the shot of the picture stands. The vibrant colours in the paintings on the left? The pastel colours in the paintings on the right? Wondering if the paintings on the right were drawn with that invisible ink? Those piercing eyes? I think it was actually the large rock in the background that the artist uses to clean his brushes. 🙂

I think Deb bought one of his paintings for her brother.

Photo of a guitar-like musical instrument played by the Imazighen/Berbers. — How do they play it?

We spotted this Imazighen, guitar-like, musical instrument (I hesitate to call it a guitar) for sale in a shop in Ksar Aït Ben Haddou. It has a perpendicular pickup with 4 strings on each side. How do they play it? And that unexpected painting on the body looks like tropical island huts to me. Anyway, it’s fascinating.

Photo of a drum played by Imazighen/Berbers. — An Amazigh drum.

Amazigh drums come in many different styles. The membrane of this drum is most likely animal skin, as most Amazigh drums seem to be.

“Quarzawood”, the Hollywood of Africa

About 30 km down the road from Aït Ben Haddou is the city of Quarzazate. Just outside the city, is the Atlas Movie Studios, the largest movie studio in the world, by acreage. Quarzazate is also home to the CLA Movie Studios. Some in the industry affectionately refer to the city as “Quarzawood”, the Hollywood of Africa.

The area surrounding Ouarzazate was first used as a movie location for the 1962 epic film Lawrence of Arabia, by acclaimed British director David Lean.

Atlas Studios was founded in 1983. Twenty-one years later, in 2004, CLA Studios was created. These studios have provided locations and built sets for many popular movies. The studios also arrange for and support location shooting all around the Moroccan desert, including at Ksar Aït Ben Haddou.

The two studios may be part of the same organization today. Their official website is https://ouarzazatestudios.com. The website lists the same movies for both studios, even though some of the movies predate CLA Studios.

The website lists these films for both studios:

The Jewel of the Nile
The Living Daylights
Kundun
Gladiator
The Passion of the Christ
Kingdom of Heaven
The Hills Have Eyes
Body of Lies
Prince of Persia (The Sands of Time)
Prometheus
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Aladdin’s New Adventures
Queen of the Desert

We pieced together this list of other films and TV series that have reportedly used the location or services of Atlas Studios or CLA Studios, but we provide no guarantees:

The Mummy
Alexander the Great
Babel
Aladdin (2019)
Game of Thrones
The Amazing Race 10
Vikings

The studios provide tours of existing sets, costumes, and props. According to the official website, as of this date, the existing sets include Gladiator, Prince Of Persia, Game of Thrones, and Kingdom of Heaven.

We didn’t tour the movie studios; the studios were not on the itinerary. Anyway, we probably wouldn’t have had time for a proper tour of the massive studios. We didn’t even know the studios existed, but now you know. Tour reviews are mixed.

City of Quarzazate

The city of Quarzazate is known as the “door of the desert”. It is a tourist destination mainly because of the two film studios described above, Atlas Studios and CLA Studios.

Quarzazate is primarily Amazigh, as are most of the cities and villages in the Moroccan desert. The locals in the small cities and towns of the Moroccan desert still use French, but Arabic and Tamazight are the most popular languages among the locals.

Photo of Deb posing behind a chariot in front of the Cinema Museum. — Deb posing with a chariot.

Within Quarzazate, there is the Cinema Museum, which has a smallish, hands-on collection of sets, props, and equipment from cinematic history. Our tour to the desert allowed time for a tour of the museum; we chose to skip it and soak up the Amazigh culture. Reviews for the museum are mixed. Deb did pose with a chariot outside the entrance to the museum.

Photo of a vendor's colourful display of tagelmust cloths, ceramic plates, and jewelry. The display surrounds an entrance to the Souk de Quarzazate. — Vendor in the Souk de Quarzazate.

Photo of a different vendor selling tagelmust cloths and carpets in another entrance to the Souk de Quarzazate. — What else is through that doorway?

Next to the Cinema Museum in Quarzazate is a Souk (market). The area is famous for Ouazguita carpets, which are hand-woven by Amazigh women around Quarzazate and feature geometric shapes usually in red and orange on a black background. These vendors display lots of colourful products to entice you through those doorways.

Photo of Deb posing with an Amazigh/Berber man playing his Loutar, which is a odd-looking, guitar-like musical instrument. — An Amazigh plays his loutar for us.

We met this Amazigh musician outside the Cinema Museum in Quarzazate. He is playing a loutar, an Amazigh 5-stringed style of a Guembri. Take a close look at the strings and tuning pegs. How would you like to try tuning that instrument?

Across from the Cinema Museum is the huge Taourirt Kasbah. In North Africa, a kasbah, or casbah (tighremt in Amazigh), is the citadel or castle in the city or village and the home of the local leader. Kasbahs were typically on higher ground so the local leader could watch for attacks and defend the city or village. When needed the villagers would gather inside the kasbah for protection.

In other Muslim areas, like the Middle East and India, the spelling, pronunciation, and meaning of kasbah are different; kasbah (Eng.), casbah (Fr.), qasaba (Arabic), alcazaba (Sp.) or qassabah (India), may mean a fortress/citadel, a single tower housing a granary or lookout, a medina quarter (old city), or a settlement with an important Muslim family in residence.

Folklore says a powerful local family built the Taourirt Kasbah in the 17th century at a junction of major caravan routes. The palace has over 300 rooms and riads. At its peak of importance in the 1930s, the Taourirt Kasbah was a fine example of a Moroccan kasbah. The Taourirt Kasbah appeared in the movies Gladiator and Prince of Persia. The palace is the only well-maintained part of the Kasbah, with assistance from UNESCO. The palace is available for tours, but the reviews are mixed. Our tour to the desert did not include a tour of the Kasbah either.

Tinghir Province

Kalaat M’Goun and the Festival of Roses

A photo looking across the Assif n Im'Goun river from Kelaat M'Goun towards the Valley of the Roses and the High Atlas Mountains. — The Assif n Im’Goun river and the city of Kalaat M’Goun

Continuing eastward along the former caravan route, the N10 highway took us to Kalaat M’Goun, a city in the Tinghir province, south of the High Atlas Mountains, and east of Quarzazate province. The city exists along the Assif n Im’Goun (river), an oasis fed from the run-off of the High Atlas Mountains.

The city flourishes because the river makes it possible for a very healthy industry around roses. Just north of the city is the Valley of the Roses where rows upon rows of Damask roses bloom in April. The French introduced the rose to the area in 1938. Each May, Kalaat M’Goun decorates itself in roses for its annual Festival of Roses. The festivities include Amazigh food, dance, music, and the Rose Queen parade. Hundreds of thousands of tourists attend the festival each year. You can sample and buy perfumes, waters, oils, and cosmetic products based on roses. Be aware that the prices are high because a few tons of rose petals produce only a litre of rose water. We missed the festival, but that is why we do this blog; so you won’t miss it.

In this photo, young Imazighen/Berbers of Kelaat M'Goun are playing football on the dry riverbed of the Assif n Im'Goun river. — The dry Assif n Im’Goun riverbed.

Most of the year, the rivers in this part of Morocco are dry, or almost dry. However, a few times a year the river beds flood with run-off from the mountains. These boys took advantage of the dry riverbed in March to play some football.

The Gorges of the Dadès

Photo of the bottom of the Dadès Gorges, where there is an oasis fed by the Dades River. The river is lined with palm trees, fruit trees, crop fields, and communities. — The Dadès Gorges.

Our driver rushed to get us to our next stop, the Dadès Gorges, before sunset. We soon learned why. These awesome gorges provided a different landscape than we had encountered in Morocco. The gorges put on their best show as the sun sets on the sandstone walls.

The Dadès Gorges are near the town of Boumalne Dades in Tinghir province. The Dades River carved the Gorges out of the sandstone over millions of years. At the bottom of the Gorges, there is an oasis fed by the Dades River which nourishes palm trees, fruit trees, crop fields, and communities. The Gorges are about 60 km in length; the river is much longer, providing drainage for a large swath of south-central Morocco.

Photo of the Dadès Gorges with unusual sandstone columns that resemble monkey fingers sticking up. The golden rays of the setting sun on the brown columns makes a stunning photograph. — The Monkey Fingers of the Dadès Gorges.

The eroded sandstone walls of the gorge provide fabulous opportunities for photography, like these Monkey Fingers along the Monkey Paw Mountains which make up the south wall of the gorge. The setting sun shining on the brown columns makes a stunning photograph. We arrived too late into the sunset to get the best shots. Plan to arrive at the gorge at least two hours before sunrise or two hours before sunset. Scout out the best vantage points and set up for the best light during the golden hour.

There are excellent hiking opportunities along the Dadès Gorges, with well-rated riads and hotels too.

Boumanle Dades

An early morning photo, taken from the Kasbah de Dades Ex Chems in Boumalne Dades, and looking north towards the Dadès Gorges and the High Atlas Mountains. — Boumalne Dades.

After photographing the sunset in the Dadès Gorges, we spent the night at the Hôtel la Kasbah de Dades Ex Chems in the nearby town of Boumalne Dades. Then in the morning I shot this view from the kasbah hotel looking north towards the oasis, the Dadès Gorges, and the High Atlas Mountains.

In this photo, Amazigh/Berber khanjars (daggers) in their sheaths are formed in a 'X' pattern and hanging in a hall of the hotel. There is a small video camera hidden amongst them. — I see you!

I see you! We spotted a security camera hidden in a pair of khanjars that were hanging in a hall of the Hôtel la Kasbah de Dades Ex Chems. It was a nice enough hotel, all the same.

A khanjar is a curved-blade knife with a decorative sheath. They are now primarily ceremonial, but some Arabic men still wear them everyday. There are different names across the Arabic world for these daggers. Khanjars originated in Yemen; the Yemeni call it a janbiya, or a jambiya from the word “jamb”, meaning “side”. When Moroccans adopted Islam, they also adopted the Khanjar, but Moroccans seem to call it a koummiya. We didn’t notice any men in Morocco wearing a koummiya. In many other parts of the Arabic world they are “khanjars”, or some variant of that word.

I recall a 2006 controversy in Canada where a school banned a student from wearing his kirpan. A kirpan is the small dagger that Sikh males wear on their waist as a religious symbol of justice. It is similar to a khanjar. The student’s Sikh parents insisted the school allow him let to wear his kirpan and took the case to the Supreme Court of Canada. The court ruled unanimously that such a ban infringed on the student’s right to religious freedom under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Both sides compromised; the school permitted the kirpan hidden under clothes and sewn into it’s sheath. The kirpan is an important religious symbol in Sikhism. I don’t know if the same is true for Muslim khanjars.

The Oasis of Tinghir

Photo of the city of Tinghir's huge palmeraie. — The Palmeraie de Tinghir.

One of the largest oases in Morocco is the Oasis of Tinghir, just south of the High Atlas Mountains and the Todra Gorge. On both sides of the Todra River lie 48 kms of palm trees, vegetable fields, wildlife, and the city of Tinghir. There is even the Palmeraie de Tinghir, a large nature preserve. Palmeraie is French for “palm grove”.

This photo shows the old town of Tinghir, largely uninhabited but still standing. — The Old Town of Tinghir.

Like Aït Ben Haddou, Tinghir’s old town was built with rammed earth and mud bricks; it has been largely abandoned; and it stands next to the modern city of Tinghir.

We noticed that many of the Moroccan cities and villages we saw have left their old, abandoned earthen towns standing and built a new town next to them. A wise move because those old towns have served as tourist attractions. In Tinghir, the Todra River is lined by the vegetation of the oasis first, then the buildings of the old town, and finally the modern city.

This photo shows two Amazigh/Berber women working in a field of crops made possible by the oasis. — Amazigh women working in the fields.

The Amazigh women above work in a garden made possible by an intricate system of pipes and canals that distribute water from the Oasis of Tinghir. The oasis irrigates a large expanse of palm trees, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens in the middle of the Moroccan desert. The system is the result of a cooperative effort among the residents. Tourists can walk among the gardens and palm trees.

Photo looking across the Todra River at a Tinghir neighbourhood, where the bright white minaret of a mosque stands out against the red ochre of the other buildings and the desert. — Looking across the Todra River.

Typically, minarets are part of a mosque. The Islamic call to prayer, the adhān, calls out 5 times a day from the minaret; at sunrise, noon, mid-day, sunset, and at night. Cities restrict building heights so the the public can see the minarets and hear the adhān from everywhere. Today, they make the adhān over loudspeakers.

Photo of Amazigh/Berber women working down by the Todra River. — Amazigh women working down by the Todra River.

Imazigh women in Tinghir work down by the Todra River. The two women in the foreground probably collected those grasses for weaving; the women farther back look to be washing clothes.

Gorges du Todra

Photo of the entrance to the Todra Gorge, showing the city of Tinghir continuing along the banks of the Todra River and into the Gorge. — Tinghir spreads into the mouth of the gorge.

The Todra River flows out of the Todra Gorges, just north of Tinghir. The river carved the gorges into the High Atlas Mountains centuries ago. When we walked into the entrance of the Todra Gorge we saw, to our surprise, that the city of Tinghir continued into the gorge with pockets of civilization nestled in the cliff faces.

Photo of the parts of the old town and the new town that was built within the gorge. The photo also shows a friendly Amazigh/Berber. — Another friendly Amazigh.

In the entrance to the Todra Gorge, there is an abandoned earthen neighbourhood and a modern neighbourhood. The residents of the city of Tinghir are predominately Imazighen. The friendly Amazigh above was happy to have his photo taken; he smiled for my camera and didn’t expect money it. We found the Amazigh people all over Morocco to be helpful, friendly, and welcoming.

Photo of a passageway in the old town. The passageways are narrow with not a lot of light, but that protected the Imazighen/Berbers from the hot sun. — A passageway in the old town.

In this closeup photo of an old earthen building the wall appears to be made of bricks of rammed earth with a sand-based mortar between the bricks and a sand-based, stucco-like covering on the bricks. Despite the fragile appearance of the walls, the bricks form some intricate patterns on wall. — A mud brick wall.

We explored the ruins of one of the old neighbourhoods in the Todra Gorges. The residents had no need for wide boulevards, and the narrow passages shielded the residents from the heat of the mid-day sun. The residents abandoned the sandstone buildings in the 1900s.

As evident in the pictures above, the walls in the old town were made of rammed earth and mud bricks, typical for the area. Some walls had intricate designs formed out of the bricks.

Photo of the floor of the Todra Gorge, which has a road/sidewalk running alongside the river. — The main Todra Gorge

The cliff face of the Todra Gorge is steeper the further in you go and the gorge narrows in some spots to 10 metres. The walls max out at about 300 metres high. A paved path runs alongside the river, making the gorge very accessible. Apparently, rock climbing is popular in the gorge, although we didn’t see any climbers.

Photo of the Hotel Yasmina, which is at the bottom of the Todra Gorge and dwarfed by the walls of the gorge. — The Hotel Yasmina

It surprised us when we came across a hotel about a kilometre into the Todra Gorge. The Hotel Yasmina closed a few years ago due to a rockfall. I don’t know if it has reopened, but there are other hotels and a couple of campgrounds in or near the canyon.

Merzouga, on the Edge of the Sahara Desert

About 3 hours after leaving Todra Gorge we arrived in Merzouga, the “gateway to Erg Chebbi”. Merzouga was our final destination before riding off into the Sahara Desert. Several camel excursions into the erg depart from Merzouga, which is in Errachidia Province.

We didn’t spend much time in Merzouga because our camel train into the desert departed soon after we arrived. There is the Dayet Srji salt lake to the west of the Merzouga. The lake is usually dry in summer, but many species of birds, including flamingos, visit the lake at other times of the year, particularly in springtime. Enquire about the lake’s status and how to get there.

Stay tuned (subscribe) for our third post in this series, our excursion into the Sahara Desert.

Among the Berbers Tour Summary

The Tour Company

We booked our tour through Viator.com: 3-Day Tour: Marrakech to Merzouga by Way of Dadès Valley plus Erg Chebbi Camel Trek. The tour company booked the the transportation, sightseeing stops, restaurants, and lodgings.

Itinerary of Our Tour

Pickup at our hotel in the Marrakech Medina

Stop in the Tizi-n-Tichka pass through the High Atlas Mountains

Lunch at L’Oasis D’or Restaurant in Aït Ben Haddou

Tour the historic Ksar Aït Ben Haddou (a UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Stop in Quarzazate for an optional tour of the Cinema Museum, or free time

Stop in Kalaat M’Goun

Walk in the Dadès Gorges during sunset

Spend the night at the Hôtel la Kasbah de Dades Ex Chems, Boumalne Dades

Stop at the Oasis of Tinghir

Walk in the Todra Gorges

Stop in Merzouga, the “gateway to Erg Chebbi”, to begin the camel ride into the Sahara Desert

(We do not guarantee every instance of this tour will conform to this itinerary.)

Activities We Regretted Not Doing (Not Part of the Tour)

Touring “Quarzawood”, the Hollywood of Africa.

Seeing the Valley of the Roses in Kalaat M’Goun during the annual Festival of Roses in May

Hiking more in and around the Dadès Gorges

Walking among the gardens and palm trees of the Oasis of Tinghir

Hiking more in and around the Todra Gorges

Seeing the birds congregate at Dayet Srji salt lake in springtime, near Merzouga