Yippee today we actually get a lie-in and don’t have to board the bus with our bags until the slightly later time of 9.30am. We start with a nice surprise as our guide Omar greets us in traditional Berber dress which looks fantastic. However, our the next couple of days we often lose him as guides for other groups have all done the same and guess what they’ve all chosen the same colour!
Our first stop of the day is the Morabit Marbre factory, at Erfoud for a spot of fossil shopping. Erfoud is the fossil capital of Morocco and no I’m not joking, the plains in this region are literally strewn with fossils. The factory amongst many others in the region specialises in the extraction and polishing of fossilized rock that are literally brimming with fossils. Approximately 380 million years ago the Moroccan Sahara was the floor of a large prehistoric ocean where a variety of marine animals existed. What this is a means for us is that this region of the sahara is strewn with ammonites, goniatites orthoceras and many many other varieties of fossils. We’re guided through the extraction, preparation and polishing process before finally being able to wander and marvel at the simply ridiculous amount of fossils. We’ve never seen so many fossils in our life, what a way to start the day.
Completely fossiled out, our next stop is to view the remains of Morocco’s first city, Sijilmassa which dates back to 767AD. Little remains of the once-great city just two decorated gateways and a handful of semi-collapsed structures. Rewind back to the 8th century and Sijilmassa was a major staging post for trans-Saharan trade, caravans of up to 20,000 camels would depart for the salt mines of what is now modern-day Mali, then continue to Niger and Ghana, where a pound of Saharan salt was traded for an ounce of African gold. The city was finally destroyed by Aït Atta nomadic warriors in 1818. There was some serious wealth in this part of the world at one point in history.
We move onto Rissani where we get the opportunity to explore a fortified village, Ksar. Ksour El Fida has recently been restored and gives us a real insight into not only how the Ksars were built – straw and mud walls – but their layout providing natural lighting, drainage, ventilation and how people live within their protective walls.
Next stop is Rissani an oasis town of approximately 20,000 and after the destruction of the nearby city of Sijilmassa , it assumed the role of main hub for the trans-Saharan caravan trade. Today it is continues to be a main commerical centre for the region and we visit the main market to get a feel for just how important commerce is to the town. Rissani is a hub of cultural diversity where Berber, Arab and Desert communities merge retain their difference by their style of clothing and their particular colour preference. It’s also an opportunity for some of our group to purchase scarves ahead of tonight’s desert camp. The feel of the market is very relaxed and laid back. The market is held 3 days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays), we visit on a Sunday which is the best day to visit for livestock trading. We watch sales of cows, goats and sheep there are literally animals everywhere.
We move to the busiest part of the market, the donkey car park which doubles as a free donkey parking area but also a place to buy and sell donkeys. There are donkeys and donkey carts everywhere and its a visual reminder as to just how important donkeys are to the largely rural local Moroccan economy. So far outside of the big cities, the donkey cart is more often than not the preferred mode of transport. But that’s not forgetting the importance of bicycles as they’re also everywhere. The market is an absolute assault on the senses and if we were buying lifestock we’d certainly need to have our wits about us and know exactly what we were looking for.
After a morning jammed full or Moroccan history and culture we’re bound for Merzouga, a small village on the outskirts of the Sahara Desert. We stop before our final destination for lunch of Berber Pizza, which although its called pizza its more like a calzone. Its a stuffed flatbread and we have some with beef and some with chicken. They both contain diced onions, and various spices and some cheese. Appearances are deceptive and they’re good and tasty. Baked in a fire pit or Berbers traditionally cook them in a mud oven.
After our pizza lunch Omar informs us that we have one more cultural stop for the day as we stop at cultural centre to listen to the rhythms of gnaoua, a style of music traditional sub-Saharan African roots. The musicians perform to a small crowd, shaking krakebs (metallic castanets), strumming the lute-like sintir and keeping the beat on tbel drums. It’s an energetic and enthusiastic performance.
We reboard the bus and after a very short drive arrive in Merzouga, the gateway to the Sahara and the dunes of Erg Chebbi where we are headed. We take our overnight bags from the bus along with supplies of wine and water and pile them into 4WD jeeps. We’re not going via the jeeps to our final destination instead we’re going via camel. Brownie’s not ridden a camel before and for 40 of the 80 minutes that we’re riding through the desert she doesn’t stop talking, a sure sign that she’s nervous!! She survives and we arrive at our luxury desert camp for the night.
Erg Chebbi is over 30km from north to south and reaches up to 160m in places, this burnt-orange
sand sea rises dramatically above the pancake-flat hard-packed stony desert. Its beautiful and a wonderful place to spend the evening.
Our trip notes had stated that our camp was to be basic. However, Omar our fantastic guide has other ideas and upgrades the group to a luxury camp where we have an enormous tent with its own bathroom and a 4 course meal in a beautiful mess tent. A sandstorm comes up just before dinner so they’ll be no campfire or stargazing this evening. However, it’s just our group and no one else, the silence of the desert as the wind swilrs the sand is absolute bliss.
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