While our friends and family back home were gobbling turkey and stuffing, Nicole and I hopped on our trusty camels and rode into the sunset. After a couple of hours drive from the Ziz Valley, we arrived in Merzouga and had an hour or so to relax, have some tea and prep for the journey to the (tourist) Berber camp in the desert.

View of the dunes from Merzouga

And off we go! I named mine Camel. Nicole named hers Tom Hanks.

Riding into the desert at sunset

Camels are slow, uncomfortable and sometimes fussy modes of transportation. Mine was loud and grumbling, but Nicole’s became naughty, knocking off the guide’s turban and chirping in defiance for the last five minutes before we got to camp. Riding camels isn’t so tough, the worst being when they stand up (they rise from the back first, so they tip forward quite a bit), and when they walk down a dune (same prob).

Sand dunes

Pretty waves in the sand

Camel footprints (and poop)

Me and Camel, Nicole and Tom Hanks

View of Camel’s head from my perch on his back. Camels have small ears and long eyelashes.

Camel and Tom Hanks

Gorgeous sunset

Another group of camel-trekking tourists off in the distance.

Once the sun went down, it got dark quickly, so it was almost pitch black by the time we got to the camp. When we got to our tent, we realized we had a roommate. I named him Mouse. Nicole was not amused.

Dinner was served in the dining tent. We started with a delicious hot “Berber” soup, which had a little kick. I loved it. Perfect for the chilly night we had ahead of us.

The main course was a chicken tagine, with preserved lemons and olives. This is one of the most common tagines in Morocco.

After dinner, I wrote in my journal and watched a little TV on my iPhone. Nicole had a cell phone signal, so she texted “Happy Thanksgiving from the Sahara Desert!” to some friends and family. Nothing like a little technology out in the middle of the desert! Here I am, all bundled up for bed. It was pretty chilly out there, but we had some good, heavy wool blankets to keep us warm.

Nicole bundled up in a hat and scarf, and put her shoes in a bag to keep out scorpions. I don’t know if there really are scorpions out there, but there weren’t any in my unbagged shoes the next morning.

We woke up bright and early to watch the sunrise. Absolutely breathtaking.

At night, to keep the camels from running off, they tie one of the front legs. They can stand, but walking on three legs would be a challenge. Seems a little cruel, but I can’t say I would have been happy to have to walk back to Merzouga over the sand dunes.

Sun rising over the dunes

A few minutes later, the sky went from pink to yellow.

Tiny animal tracks

Our desert guide said this is a mouse house.

Entrance to the Berber camp (now that we could see it in the daylight!)

The tent we shared with Mouse.

The camp bathrooms. There was running water (little sink on the side) and flushing toilets. This is my kind of roughing it.

While we packed up to go, the guide warmed up our camels for the ride back to town.

Farewell to our Berber camp!

Breakfast awaited when we returned - fresh OJ, hot coffee and tea, freshly fried dough, bread and hardboiled eggs.

Mini tagines with preserves, honey and butter.

After breakfast and a quick shower, we headed out to a museum and the Todra Gorge. This would turn out to be a very long day on the road.

The Ziz Valley, a little oasis of palm trees tucked into the desert mountains, consists of three rural villages of date farms. The residents grow many varieties of dates and sell them in markets in other parts of Morocco. They also farm much of their own food. Tata took us on a tour of the village where he was born. It seemed everyone we encountered knew him, as if he’s a local celebrity. We learned a little about how dates are farmed (some are pollinated by nature and the wind, while other trees get a hand from the farmers), how each village has a president, and that women can vote and can be president, but family and cultural obligations would make it difficult for her to do the job fully. We also learned how the municipal water system is set up and regulated amongst the three villages. We made our way to the next village and to Tata’s family’s home, which houses 17 people, including his parents, wife, three children, and some other siblings and their families. Tata’s wife made us a delicious lunch before we headed out to Merzouga.

The Ziz Valley oasis

Tata and Hicham admire the view

This desert plant was dried and hard as a rock. Tata said camels eat this plant in the desert.

Nicole, Tata and me

Date palm trees in the valley

In the village where Tata was born, this is a gathering place for celebrations.

In the past, there was a door to this gate.

This little dam controls the flow of the water to one farmer’s land and home for a day or so, then the dam is moved to send the water to another farmer. The valley’s water system is dictated by a schedule and village laws, one of the many things the village presidents are responsible for.

Smaller garden in front of Tata’s family home

Dates hanging from the tree

Tata’s son built a dog house on the edge of the stream, in hopes that his parents will give him a dog.

Tata’s wife adding dried palm branches to the oven.

Homemade bread, ready for baking.

Dates

Families welcome guests with dates and milk.

Here’s that freshly baked bread - definitely the best we had this entire trip!

Salad of tomatoes and peppers

Cucumbers dressed in something slightly sweet, maybe rosewater.

Roast chicken

Vegetable couscous

Tata shared his lunch with his 3-year-old daughter

On our way to Merzouga, we drove behind a van with sheep on the roof. Can you spot the sheep?

Our fourth day in Morocco was spent driving through the Middle Atlas, from Fez to Errachidia, passing through Ifrane, Zaida, Midelt, the Ziz Gorge and past the the Hassan Eddakhil reservoir. We stopped for lunch at a super touristy spot, along with busloads of other travelers from who-knows-where. Luckily the food wasn’t bad. We took lots of (blurry) pics from the moving car, created a car game called “Ditch Donkey,” and stopped a few times for scenery. It was a long seven or so hours in the car.

Residential area around Alakhawayn University in Ifrane - looks like any suburb in middle America.

Wild turkeys on the side of the road, spotted the day before Thanksgiving.

Parc National d’Ifrane

Roadside sheep

Stop sign in Arabic

Macaque de berbérie (Barbary apes)

Donkey crossing the highway

The touristy restaurant had a couple of kitties looking for free nibbles. We did not oblige.

Nicole ordered a tagine - beef with prunes.

I chose couscous with veggies and chicken.

Random “hotel” sign in the mountains.

Maybe not so random hotel sign after all.

Ziz River

Gorgeous pool at our hotel in Errachidia

Dinner started with vegetable soup with our Ziz Valley guide, Tata.

Kefta tagine with eggs (I forgot to take a pic before we dug in and ate the eggs)

Fruit in juice for dessert

After our lovely breakfast in the rooftop dining room of Dar Attajali, our Fez guide, Nadia, picked us up for our tour of of the Fez medina. We got an amazing education about the history, artistry, architecture, culture and so much more about this amazing city.

Our first stop of the day was the Medersa Bou Inania. It was built in the mid-1300s by sultan Bou Inan.

These carved wooden walls hid women from view.

A brisk walk through the produce and meat souks was one of my favorite things. There were vendors selling all sorts of fruits and veggies, olives, grains, preserved items, like olives and lemons, meat (including chickens, lamb and camel), breads and more. I was in heaven!

We saw sheep everywhere, as families prepared for the upcoming Eid al Khabir holiday.

The Blue Gate

The Fez medina is pedestrian-only, and donkeys were are commonly used to transport things through the maze of narrow streets. pedestrian-only city, so

Public bakery

Harem window - another architectural device that allowed women to see outside without being seen.

Dar Adiyel - music school

Political party postings

Hay and grains for the Eid sheep

Royal thrones for wedding couples

Carpet cooperative, where we sipped Moroccan mint tea and learned all about different kinds of wool, weaving and carpet patterns. Nicole bought an amazing carpet, which was wrapped into a neat little package, the size of a pillow!

Sheep on the rooftop of Nadia’s family’s home.

The family rooster

Lunch with Nadia’s family - tomato and onion salad, olives, roasted peppers, and roasted chicken with quince.

Inside the Kairouine Mosque (non-Muslims cannot enter the mosque)

The leather tanneries were fascinating. The process for dying leather includes a soak in limestone to remove any last bits of hair.

Next, the leather gets a soak and scrub in a pigeon poop solution to soften the leather.

Finally, the skins are soaked in vats of natural dyes. The longer the soak, the more intense the color.

Drying yellow leather in the sun.

After visiting more artisans’ shops and the Zawiya Moulay Idriss II, we ended up back at Dar Attajali. Dinner was again served in the rooftop dining room.

Tonight’s starters were zucchini, tomatoes and peppers (like the previous night), and gigante beans.

The tagine was potatoes, peas and Jerusalum artichokes.

And dessert was a Napolean of cooked apples and yogurt, topped with crushed nuts. What a lovely way to end our amazing day in Fez!

I kinda loved our Fez riad. It was cute and charming, and the food was amazing. Check out the breakfast spread!

Fresh fruit sprinkled with cinnamon

Yogurt with oats

Dates, sweet fried dough, dried figs

Goats milk butter, chevre (goat cheese), cow’s milk butter

Semolina cake (very dense, bland)

Pan fried dough, many layers. This was delicious, drizzled with honey. (We learned how they make this a few days later, at our Marakchi family’s home!)

Best. Egg. Ever. Soft-boiled and sprinkled with salt and cumin. So good!