The city of Taroudant looks large and enticing. As we enter the city, I see miles of adobe walls enclosing the old Medina. The entire area looks relatively untouched by modern man. This is a good thing.
Fortified walls of Taroudant
People tell me that in these mountains, this city stands out as unique because the French usually built a newer city alongside the traditional one during their long colonial reign. In Taroudant, this was not the case. The city retains its traditional feel, the best of which is the historic, well-preserved red mud/straw walls surrounding the city.
Thomas Lawrence, soldier and archaeologist, served in Saudi Arabia during WWI as a liaison between the British government and the Arab tribes. Such reality never gets in the way of location shooting when it comes to movies. Those gorgeous desert vistas seen in the movie Lawrence of Arabia lay in Jordan and here in Morocco.
We visit the sand and village where filming occurred some 62 years ago. By now, I’m sure all the camels, like Lawrence, have gone to the big movie studio in the sky.
Early morning, we motor up the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs. Itinerary notes “we travel west.” This appeared commendable. I love fortresses/kasbahs. But then, yikes! Our vehicle points north into the gorge. Google maps allowed me to explore this region; I used my golden Pegman to follow the road into the gorge. The views were spectacular! However, I was hoping not to travel it in real time. Mother Nature may have outdone Herself here but then She has never been responsible for straight lines
True, sunsets are gorgeous. Libation in hand, quiet evenings, good company: it’s a wonderful time. Meanwhile, sunrises, though often gorgeous, depends upon timing. Sunrise at Merzouga Dunes is 6:59 am. This is a reasonable time to get a cup of coffee and watch the sun come up.
”Morning’s Glory” was a bit weak. However, the early camel trains coming over the hill and heading west made the rise worth it.
After breakfast, we board our 4×4 vans, camels still chewing in their sleep I suppose, and caravan across the barren desert to meet our bus.
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.”
There always seems to be a tour day of sit-and-ride. This is it.
I generally love these days. With professional drivers, I enjoy sitting back and watching the scenery roll past my window. I make a point to never sit in front, my rationale being an aversion to crashing through a windshield. We drive south for some 250 miles.
Today, I couldn’t be happier about it.
It had to be something I ate. Whatever, I and the porcelain throne became acquainted throughout the night. I feel like a camel being driven hard across the desert.
I do pop my head up on occasion in order to see my surroundings. Thankfully, the entire day is spent in travel.
Here, within a Mediterranean country, I consider myself a breakfast person. My breakfast usually includes olives, cheese, amlou (a delicious spread of honey, almonds and argan oil), croissants, maybe a baghrir (a pancake like bite drizzled with honey and butter) and coffee.
Our morning destination lies about 58 miles northwest of Fès. We explore the fascinating archeological site of Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
