6 April 2025
This morning, I am moving – slowly. Food has little appeal. I head for our bus. The day’s itinerary leaves no room for laggards. The drive will be long but broken up by several interesting stops. As Bette said: “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.”
First, I learn about agriculture and irrigation systems used in the Sahara Desert. Here, where water remains scarce, farmers use both traditional and modern methods of irrigation. They rely on oases, natural water sources often hidden deep underground. For centuries, communities have developed techniques to access these underground aquifers. Workers dig wells, some of them ancient, to reach groundwater, while hand or mechanical pumps draw the water to the surface.
Qanats and Drips
Alternatively, another method for moving water involves qanats, an ancient system of underground channels. These transport water from higher ground to lower areas, often over long distances. This system, used for centuries, remains effective in areas where there is a need to conserve water and prevent evaporation.
In contrast, farmers introduced modern-day drip irrigation, which delivers water directly to the roots of plants through a network of pipes and tubes, minimizing waste.
At left, channels direct water into individual farmer’s fields as needed. When done, farmer blocks channel with rocks and redirects it to another’s field.
Market Day in Rissani
We arrive into the bustling village of Rissani. Today is market day and business is thriving. Markets are colorful and provide one an understanding of how people work and live. Adding to our enjoyment, Samir walks us through the maze of souks and salesmen.
One finds everything here. Just like a massive department store, find the right section and you find several sellers with souks of the same product. I am not bothered in the meat and vegetable sections, but the ladies wear, shoes and purses stir up the salesmen. One must keep moving – pause and you will be trapped into a sales pitch.
Maison Touareg Artisanal
As I have said in the past, when traveling, one can hardly sling a cat without hitting a textile factory. The one we visit is disguised as a museum displaying all sorts of old Moroccan stuff. However, it is just a ruse to get one into the carpet showroom.
Then the show, once again, begins. “Special carpets, high quality, we bargain, we ship….” In the end, just more mint tea, sugar or no sugar, same carpet skills, high prices, and no interest beyond appreciation for their beauty.
Spotting Nomads and Desert Gnaoua
We also stop to visit the house of a local music group, the. Desert Gnaoua, where we can appreciate the music and dances they brought with them when they migrated from sub-Sahara. Sub-Sahara refers to the region of Africa located south of the Sahara Desert. It encompasses all African countries that lie below the northern desert region.
The Sahara, being one of the largest hot deserts in the world, forms a natural barrier between the northern part of Africa (which includes countries like Egypt, Libya, and Morocco) and the rest of the continent. Moroccan caravans were connecting Morocco to Timbuktu as early as the 8th century.
Their music revolves around the use of simple instruments such as drums, tambourines, castanets, and a 3-string guitar-like instrument called the guembri.
Generally, groups perform the dances using movements and body gestures often accompanied by chanting and drums. The dancers, typically women and children, wore elaborate costumes and painted their bodies, embodying both the spiritual and cultural expressions of the desert.
As with many of these types of “dog and pony” shows for tourists, the performers appear bored. They earn a paycheck and go home. Probably get all the tea they can drink for free.
Camels – Beasty Burdens of the Dunes
No tires here – just a dusty blonde, gum chewing, buck-toothed, doe-eyed mammal with an attitude. The creature produces a series of audible noises, which may be related to communication or expressing discomfort or warning. Maybe she is saying hello. She bats her long eyelashes as if teasing me to climb aboard.
Camels are commonly used as pack animals in desert regions like the Sahara. In Morocco, particularly around Merzouga Dunes, camels have long been essential for transport, trade, and tourism. Their physiology is perfect for this environment.
These dromedary camels, with their single hump and softly padded cloven-hooves, are well-adapted to the harsh desert environment, capable of enduring extreme heat, long journeys without water, and carrying heavy loads. Traditionally, they were used by nomadic Berbers and traders crossing the Sahara along ancient caravan routes. Today, they are still an iconic part of Moroccan culture, possibly carrying tourists to their doom.
The Art of the Mount
We meet our camel rides in Merzouga. This afternoon, we ride our chargers across the dunes of the Sahara to our lodging for the night, Azawad Luxury Camp.
Nomad Roma mounts her one-humped dromedary to begin an experience that immediately separates the confident from the overconfident. It starts with the beast kneeling in the sand, looking deceptively docile, chewing on something.
Roped around the lower jaw, tied to a line of six fellow camels, it is doubtful a camel will be too frisky nor obstinate. Maybe. The guide gestures for us to mount our camel. No stirrups.
Nomads did use saddles, but not always stirrups. The traditional saddle used was relatively simple, often made of wood or leather, and designed to fit the unique shape of the camel’s back. This saddle provided support for the rider and allowed them to stay on the camel, especially during long journeys across deserts. Riders would hold onto the camel’s saddle or use reins to maintain balance.
Just as one begins to feel comfortable, the camel decides it’s time to rise. Here, one either meets the challenge or flips face-first over the head of the camel.
First, the back legs shoot up, launching you forward at an angle that suddenly makes the ground seem very far away. Before you process your impending doom, front legs straighten and you’re awkwardly jostled into position – gripping the saddle as if your life depends upon it, which, in that moment, it may. Dromedaries stands about 6 to 7 feet off the hard-packed soil of the desert.
The Art of the Ride
Once upright, the camel lumbers forward in a gait best described as “floating on a wobbly canoe.” Each step sends a ripple through your body, and you quickly learn that rhythm is key. Too stiff, and you’ll feel every awkward bounce; too loose, and you risk becoming an unintentional acrobat.
But, short of a chaotic burst of energy, not usually the norm for these beasts, there is little fear of runaways. A large rope around his lower jaw tethers him to its handler.
We slowly sway our way through the dunes. Flies tend to bother my ride; he attempts to wipe them away using the shoulder of his handler. Totally unappreciated. Occasional ATVs break the silence. In this fashion, we play nomad and safari for an hour through the desert to our campsite.
Dismounting is simply boarding in reverse, except now gravity is actively rooting for your failure. The camel drops its front legs first while you pitch yourself backward, then suddenly collapses its hind legs, sending you lurching forward again. If you manage to stay upright and avoid an undignified face-plant into the sand – you have conquered the mighty camel.
Desert Camping – Merzouga Dunes
The Merzouga Dunes are an awesome expanse of golden sand stretching across the vast Sahara. Towering dunes, some reaching over 500 feet high, ripple across the landscape, constantly shifting with the wind. The play of light throughout the day transforms the dunes into a mesmerizing spectacle, from the warm golden hues of sunrise to the deep orange and red tones of sunset.
But don’t be fooled by this piece of paradise. Sand dunes are a small part of the Sahara, less than 25%. In actuality, the Sahara Desert is predominantly rocky.
We experience the desert in local fashion as we spend the night in a traditional Berber tented camp. The camp has a main tent for meals.
Totally surrounded by dunes, each of the large sleeping tents offers 2 or more beds, a table and complete bathroom. WiFi is weak, only USBs are available. It really is quite comfortable and the heavy blanket was used. We relax in “local fashion.”
“Local fashion” represents the euphemism for tourist luxury.
Sunset, Stars, Sunrise Caravans
Surrounded by the shifting sands of the Sahara, sunsets are a must. If the sun and clouds cooperate, one can enjoy a fantastic color show both in the sky and over the sands. Tonight, the sun sent golden shards of color in the West while the dunes darken a deep red.
Stars followed. With no city lights to dull the view, the stars stretch endlessly across the sky, glowing in a brilliance.The Milky Way makes no showing in the early night sky. But, planets shine with an intensity that makes them easily distinguishable. Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars are visible. The air is crisp and the silence of the desert makes the experience feel even more profound.
In the Sahara, many well-known constellations are visible. One of the most recognizable is Orion with his three-star belt with his bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, visible year-round, help guide my eyes to the North Star, Polaris. I look with the hopes of spotting ISS & Hubble but my SkyView App indicates they hide below the horizon.
The morning sunrise is unimpressive. Possibilities turn to a pink glow with rays of blue reaching the Sahara.
What remains more memorable are the silent camel caravans slowly crossing the desert slowly plodding along in a long line, they carry their burdens west over the dunes.
Ghost Stories “Ye Ole Call of the Siren”
One Moroccan ghost story from the desert is the legend of Aisha Kandisha, a supernatural being feared across Morocco, especially in remote areas and near water sources like desert oases.
Nomads tell of a mysterious woman who appears in the desert at dusk, draped in flowing robes, her face half-hidden behind a veil. At first, she seems like a lone wanderer, perhaps a lost soul seeking help.
But as you draw closer, her eyes gleam unnaturally, and something feels… wrong. Some claim she has the feet of a camel or goat, a sign of her otherworldly nature. Only that?
According to legend, she seduces lonely travelers or calls out to them in the wind, her voice strangely hypnotic. Some believe she is a djinn, a shape-shifting entity that preys on the weak-minded and the curious. If a man follows her, he becomes lost forever – either swallowed by the shifting sands or driven mad by what he encounters.
Those who survive claim to have seen her true form – something twisted, neither fully human nor beast. She laughs, swallowed up by the dunes.
Wind and Spots or Rain
The night is quiet except for the wind. I can imagine sands blowing and nomads and their camels hunkering down in their shelters. I pull up the big wool blanket I thought looked silly in the desert. Unexpectedly, spots of rain fall. It is a great night to sleep, cozily, in the Sahara. I wonder if Aisha Kandisha rests as snugly.
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