November 1, 2018

November 1, 2018

From Erfoud, Morocco we made our way back to the highway and drove southwest following the flank of the Atlas Mountains. It is dry the whole route except where rivers flow out of the mountains. Our first detour is up the Todgha River where we encounter a wide date palm oasis and then further along a steep narrow gorge. It would be a national park in the western US, but humans have lived here for several hundred thousand years; the canyon floor is lined with date palms and houses.

Back on the highway we follow terrain that could easily be in Arizona with mesas and canyons. Another hour along we discover the Dades River flowing down from the Atlas Mountains and then paralleling our course. We stop for lunch and have Berber Pea Soup; it is identical to what Aimee makes for me, minus the Ham. Muslims and Jews alike eschew pork.

We continue following the Dades River to the city of Ouarzazate. Before stopping for the evening, we take a tour of the Taourirt Kasbah. This used to be the home of a powerful Pasha in the first half of the 20th century right before Morocco gained its independence in 1956. This Pasha was a brutal and controversial feudal lord and one of the richest men. His support of the French caused his assets to be seized after his death. The Kasbah decorations have faded in the interim and are unexciting.