Farah Al Janoub Hotel Ouarzazate

... trees here for the wood for the kilns ? Anyhow it would appear that when it rains the mud bricks - well get muddy, so I think it's helped that the film sets help keep the place uptogether. We stayed at an OK but slightly dodgy mud brick hotel. First thing in the morning, 7.00 am we did the trek up through the Kasbar (read fortified town or village) to the Keep at the very top. It was a great time for this ...

... whizzed south across the interiorior of Morocco - in a nice new Toyota 4x4. We sped though Todra Gorge, the Dades, Valley of the Roses et al, and landed for the night at a lovely little riad overlooking the city. Had a beer (along w/ my Muslim guide!) on the rooftop terrace, dinner, and then set off for Marrakech the next morning.

... Jewel of the Nile) and Ali Benhaddou with its famous Kasbah. We also drove through the rose growing area which was quite a surprise.<br>Ahmed shopped for some initial provisions - so that will be the meat from the hanging sheep carcasses then, plus fruit and vegetables. The snow looms on the mountain tops and a local shop is delighted that we want 36 bottles of water between the 4 of us.<br>A jolly first evening as we manage some sort of interaction ...

Ait Ben Haddou is one of the oldest Kasbahs in Morocco. Onthe way to the hotel we saw goats on the side of a maountain. And from the roof of the hotel I took pictures of the kasbah and the neighbors garden. We met 2 German girls the next morning and gave them a ride to Casablanca. They were lots of fun.

So a lot has happened in the past couple days but I dont have long to write about it all. I went on a three day trip with seven other people, all of which spoke english which I was thrilled about. This little excursion was definetely the highlight of this trip. We drove hundreds of miles through Eastern Morocco to visit some amazing sights. We went to Dades Gorge, a mini grand canyon with mountains all around ...

... has been sold on a given day (or period of hours). If there are many tourists around prices go higher and bargaining even small amounts off the asking price becomes quite difficult. Most vendors and they prefer clients that don't appear hurried and are willing to take the time to negotiate. It is most often necessary to give reasons why you believe the price should be lower. The reasons you might give are limited only by your imagination and often lead to some very ...

... of tooth removal. Reasonable price for a night in the desert and the deal was sealed over "whisky berber" better known as warm sugar syrup with scattered tea leaves - local version of chai, consumed en masse and in vast quantities - hence the local knowledge on dental extraction. Ali and Mahjoud introduced us to our camels the next morning and we were off, but not before donning some Berber garb for the trip. We started from Oulad Dràssi ...

... a welcome respite from the gathering chill. Our gîte was simple. The locals build the gîtes mostly by hand out of the clay and rocks they find in abundance in the mountains. Our room was furnished with two mattresses on the floor. There was no heat and the "showers" consisted of a dribble from a hose that ran hot only for a brief period of time. The beauty of living like this was when night fell you had very little to do but go to sleep and wake ...

... was so kind to help me get out of the city, by taking his car and driving in front of me until reaching the highway so that I wouldn't get lost, and taught me a few tricks of the trade, like that you should give some coins to the guy putting petrol in your car.<br><br>Then I was on my own. Driving up to 2.100 m altitude in the Atlas Mountains was a piece of cake for my little Fiat, even though some hills were quite steep, but it was a reasonably powerful car.<br ...

... seen anywhere : adobe fortified villages set amidst lush oasis , against a backdrop of ocher, black or red cliffs. It is no wonder that Hollywood regularly uses the region as the set for countless movies. We apology for the ****** photos : they only give a fain idea of the intensity of the colors and the enormous scale of the views. But what ? You have been warned , it is well worth the trip. Just come and check it out for yourself.