Day 4, Erfoud

Morocco has its share of natural wonders. The high Atlas Mountains, of course, but also the Sahara, and a number of gorges and valleys. After crossing the mountains on the first part of the trip, we arrived in the southeast of the country, a region of fertile valleys and arid deserts.

The city of Boumalne Dades lies in the Dades Valley. The valley is a low spot between hills and rocky cliffs that has been carved out by the movement of water. At the bottom of the valley, a river (sometimes) flows. Interestingly, even though I visited Morocco during a very wet year, the river was little more than a stream in late December. Ibrahim, our guide, said that spring brings the melted waters down from the mountains, and that is when the river flows strongest. He recalled a time when children swam and men fished the river but not for many many years. Boumalne Dades itself was a very interesting city to see with the way it terraces up the hillside; a nice change from the flat plains of Marrakech.

We had actually arrived in Boumalne Dades the night before, but it was late and not much was visible. We stayed at the luxurious Xaluca Dades Hotel which sits at the very top of the cliff, and commands great views of the valley below. The true beauty of the Dades Valley lies away from town, however. With the early morning sun peeking through the hills, we climbed into the bus to explore the valley route.  

Explore Dades Valley

Exiting the city and heading north, the road tracks the river fairly closely, and the valley grows deeper with every mile traveled. The rock formations here are interesting and unique. A place called “Monkey Finger Canyon” offers great views of a rock formation called… monkey fingers, due to the vertical cylindrical pattern of rocks. Small towns are crowded into the gorge along the road, with patches of family farmland nestled right next to the riverbank. At one point a man leading a donkey was level with the tour bus window, probably 12 feet up the canyon wall, plodding along. I couldn’t see a trail, so I was mystified, but I had no doubt he knew exactly where he was going. 

If you plan on visiting, I would devote some time to stopping along different points of the gorge to appreciate the views, hike a few trails, maybe dip a toe in the river. At any single point you are never very far from civilization, so it is a safe area to explore. Several trails either lead down to the river or around to various vantage points to better see the rock formations. The valley was particularly striking in the morning. As we drove in, everything was in shadow. But as we explored, the sun crested the valley and lit up the rock. The contrast of bright sunlight and deep shadow really emphasised the complex form of the rock, and by the time we left, it was almost unrecognizable.

Hike through Todgha Gorge

Next we headed to another natural wonder; not far from the Dades valley is Todgha Gorge. Just take N-10 east for about an hour. At first glance, Todgha Gorge seemed very similar to Dades Valley. As I saw more, I realized Todgha was much more dramatic – we entered at the same level as the river, walking through the riverbed at some points. Unlike the valley where the road is partway up the valley wall, and you look down onto the river, here you are at the bottom of the canyon. The gorge walls soar overhead, with a narrow sliver of sky peaking through. An aqueduct carries the river water out of the gorge and to the town beyond. A few exclusive riads and buildings squeeze in alongside the river’s source: a seeping underground spring, where the water just kind of…appears.

Todgha Gorge is an excellent place for rock climbing. It also features a camping area and hiking trails. There is a spectacular 13 km (8 mi) loop hike from the gorge, up the canyon and back down again, and to the far end of the gorge and back. Naturally occurring date palms grow on the banks of the river outside the gorge. A really dramatic natural wonder hiding in the expanse of Morocco. 

After having my fill of feeling small, we turned southeast. The final destination of the day was Erfoud. Erfoud is a small city that is known for one thing- their black marble filled with fossils. Stopping at any of the fossil shops is a must. We stopped at the Fossil ‘Factory’ a large shop that created carved art pieces and furniture out of the quarried marble slabs. There are many of these shops in Erfoud, but we went to Fossiles d’Erfoud. 

Watch Demonstrations at Fossiles d’Erfoud

They were kind enough to give our group a tour and explain the process behind quarrying and working the stone. 

The marble here was so dense with these fossils it was remarkable. Wavy sea stars (that looked remarkably like mimics from the game Prey) , fish, coral, trilobites, Ammonites, and strange squid ancestors were all clearly displayed. The squid and ammonites were so common that their fossils were cut through in certain planes to reveal the chambered interiors. They were decorative elements in the marble, and displayed in remarkable ways. You could buy individual fossils, or a huge slab marble sink counter. They created tables, chairs, and yard furniture out of the stone. The stone slabs, or chunks are cut with saws, then chiseled and sanded to the desired shape. The store owner talked about how the angles are carefully considered, to cut the fossils present in the piece and show them to their best advantage. 

The polishing process is critically important because it smooths out the stone, making it shiny and easier to see the color variations. They used a grinding wheel that had strips of denim tied to it, rather than sandpaper. When turned on, the wheel would spin, and the denim strips looked a lot like a car wash brush. The polisher would have the stone in one hand and a pumice stone in the other. The pumice stone would be applied first, disintegrating easily and coating the denim with its coarse dust. Then the marble would be pushed against the wheel. It was a quick process, and demonstrated for us to live by a different shop employee. A fossil was shown to us with a rough surface, and two minutes later it was shiny and smooth. 

Looking around the shop was a delight. There was no pressure to buy, and there were so many interesting things to see! They had something at every price point from eight-foot tall sculptures to individual two-inch fossil necklaces. My mother bought me one of the Ammonite necklaces. Rough on one side, then perfectly bisected and polished on the other showing the brilliant colors of brown, yellow, white, and black within the chambered interior. One of the store clerks said that by looking at the chamber sections you can determine what species of Ammonite it was and what time period it hailed from. Straight walled chambers were more recent while wavy, ridged chambers denoted an older specimen. 

After a quick dinner it was off to bed to get ready for the next day. Our hotel was the Kasbah Xaluca Maadid.

Day 5, Rissani

The next day, after a quick buffet at the hotel, we climbed aboard to drive the rest of the way to Rissani. It is only about 20 minutes to get from Erfoud to Rissani, so it works as a perfect jumping off point.

Wander through the Rissani Ksar

Rissani is a small town that holds a few sites worth seeing, the first is a ksar. The one we stopped at was called Hamou Daoud. It was similar to Aït Benhaddou, which we had seen a few days before, but this one was built on flat ground. A ksar is a kind of precursor to an apartment building. It is a complex with a single guarded entry point. The whole town lives inside this fortification, even if they work or shop outside of it. The idea was that it was easier to guard against bandits or armies when everyone’s property, valuables and families were in one easily defensible space. The beauty of a single entry point is it can be held with a few fighters while limiting how many enemies can attack at once. Marauders looking for easy pickings would look elsewhere. 

This ksar was still inhabited, though Rissani has expanded outside of its walls. Now it equates to a very fortified, historic, one-level apartment building. The government provides upkeep to the Rissani ksar to protect the heritage of the people. Modern conveniences like electricity and plumbing had been added, but the character of the building was largely unchanged. Painted on the walls of the interior hallways were Arabic slogans and signs. Ibrahim, our guide, told us that one was a reminder to help your neighbor and one another. A different text seemed directed at children, and it asked that to treat one another fairly, even if rank or economic statuses were different. 

Next, we walked over to The Mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif.

Pay Respects at the Mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif

The mausoleum is located inside the main mosque. A guard excepts our tour guides money and waves us inside. The center courtyard is a classic Islamic garden. Ibrahim points out architectural details on the building- carved cedar details, colorful zelige tile on the walls and floors. We don’t get complete access to every part of the mosque (it is an active religious site) however we can peer into various prayer rooms. At one doorway, our small group crowds in to peer inside. A robed woman who was praying, turns to see us. Understandably uncomfortable, she rises and disappears behind a column. Nothing like having an chatty audience while you try to spiritually commune.

This mosque and the mausoleum it contains is a popular pilgrimage site for many Moroccans. Our guide pointed out a man who was wearing a sign around his neck. Ibrahim explained that the sign says where they’re pilgrimaging from. That particular man had come from Ouarzazate, over 300 kilometers away. While we explore a number of men enter their prayer room. Ibrahim explains that it is almost time for afternoon prayer and we file out to see more of Rissani.  

Navigate the Rissani Souk

As our last stop in Rissani, we visited the local market. Our guide said that this Souk was virtually unchanged from centuries ago, and was a great example of a historic Souk. It was a covered outdoor market with stalls selling cloth, food, jewelry, and the biggest draw: dates. Date palms can be found all over Morocco but this region is known for their Medjool dates. Evidently the best of all the species of date, they are about triple the price of other date varieties. We got to try a box, and they were tasty. Sweet, with a dark kind of caramel flavor. Soft and a little sticky. It is good to know that if you buy a box, you cannot take them through customs into the U.S. so only buy what you plan to eat! 

Another interesting aspect of the Souk our guide pointed out (subtly) was the gathering of widows. Ibrahim pointed out a collection of women at the front of the market, gathered to the side against the wall. They were dressed very modestly in black niqabs. These women represent the unfortunates and loners. He explained that they were very old, widows with no means of support, who had no children or family. They gathered for community but also to beg. They were very unassuming and quiet, but somehow known and seen in that public space. As a tourist I may have seen them gathered on the stoop, talking quietly and assumed they were part of a religious order, or just happened to all be wearing black. More likely, I wouldn’t have even noticed them. But to the locals, once glance told them the women’s stories, their needs, and their status.  

The Rissani Souk was interesting, though sadder compared to Marrakech. Trinket sellers were persistent and numerous, hawking goods constantly. The worst part is these weren’t men trying to make a sale to get one over on you. These men were older, thin and desperate. One in particular had the weariest eyes, and after pitching his wares to everyone in the group sadly said “welcome to Morocco” and walked away.

Sahara Lunch Picnic

By now it was getting to be around lunchtime. Rather than stick around Rissani, our hotel had organized a desert lunch.  First we drove out further into the desert. Rissani is a border town on the edge of the Sahara. You have to drive further into the heart of the desert before you hit the classic sandy dunes that we all picture. After about a forty-minute drive over flat rocky wastes, patches of sand started to appear. Eventually we arrived at an oasis. The oasis was set up as a very nice pit stop. It had bathrooms and a palm grove fed by routed well water which trickled through irrigated ditches. Large tent structures were scattered with tables, chairs, cushions and rugs. There we were treated to a picnic lunch.

This was also our first chance to experience the desert sand. The oasis was surrounded by a berm that I couldn’t tell if it was natural or man-made. It was quite difficult to scramble up that incline with the sand slipping under my feet  – though another member of our tour group managed to do it in heels! 

After lunch, we loaded into 4×4’s to head further into the desert. And by further into the desert, I mean off-roading. At one point we were driving parallel to rows of crops, plainly crossing someone’s farmland. (I know, a farm in the desert?) Small villages dotted this edge of the Sahara known as Erg Chebbi, the largest sand dune desert in Morocco. Our driver pointed out a nomad house placed in the middle of nowhere. We heard about nomads a lot during the trip. The original Berbers were a nomadic people, and there are still some that hold to the old ways. They follow their flocks, coming into town to sell their animals, then departing again. The nomad families don’t go to school, have traditional doctors, or live in permanent homes. It was fascinating to imagine a way of life so different from my own. 

At another point we stopped to watch a camel caravan. Not one that crossed the entire Sahara bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh, but a real caravan none the less. The young man leading the camels was very bemused as we all piled out of the 4×4 and chased after the camel train. He stopped for us, letting us take pictures as the camels waited patiently.

Observe the Culture of Merzouga

After a time we came to the village of Merzouga, the gateway to Erg Chebbi. Here we stopped briefly at a random house. Out front they had a huge pen of camels, sheep, and goats, with a dog in the midst of the milling herd animals. We kept our distance but looked at the sheer variety on display., Dromedary camels are the beast of burden of choice in Morocco. They come in a surprisingly array of colors, ranging from dark brown, to nearly pure white. Merzouga was mostly a collection of houses with quite a few having livestock pens. But something more lay just beyond the borders of Merzouga. 

Have you ever seen a sand dune so high it looked like a mountain? The sun painting the peaks different shades of yellow, brown, gold and white? I was expecting an endless expanse of yellow against a bright blue sky. But the height surprised me. Dotting the base of the dunes were an array of riads, ranging from ornate palaces to simple tent complexes. All of these places offer a range of experiences in the Sahara: star gazing, camping, sleeping under the stars, picnic meals and of course, camel rides.

Play in the Sands of Erg Chebbi

For now, it was time to really test out the 4×4’s. The great thing about sand is it behaves a lot like wet pavement, making drifting really, really easy. The smaller dunes can be climbed, and driving them at speed feels just like a roller coaster; just with the added thrill of tumbling off the side of the dune. Our driver was great. He didn’t speak much English but he responded to our laughter and squeals of joy with braver maneuvers- eliciting bigger reactions from us. 

At one point we stopped at a point where nothing was visible. No roads, no villages, no resorts. Just us and the desert. So, we played. The sand is very, very fine. Like dry silk running between your fingers. From the top of the closest dune, it was like looking out at a windows screensaver.

The wind leaves patterns in the sand that are mesmerizing at a large scale. And there was a surprising amount of life among the dunes. Down low, in a depression between two dunes, shrubs and greenery lived in surprising abundance. They were also green healthy plants, thriving under the desert sun. I attributed the amount and health of the plant life to the amount of rain Morocco had gotten recently. And where there were plants there was life. Silver ants glistened under the sun, scurrying along the ground. A scarab beetle scuttled by, drawing many of us to gather around it. You could see tracks in the sand from birds, lizards, and even the bugs. The only place I can imagine tracking being easier is in the snow. 

There were 15 of us in the group, and you would have thought everyone there was about 10 years old. People were rolling down the dunes, playing with the bugs, and digging holes.  The sand got way cooler if you dug even a few inches down. Moisture wasn’t hard to find either.

Desert Camel Ride

We weren’t done yet. Our drivers herded us back to the cars for one final activity:- a camel trek up and into Erg Chebbi. We drove yet again to a camp by a salt lake where camels were lined up and waiting. There we were divided into groups of four and given over to a camel guide. I have ridden camels before, but I love to do it because it is such a unique experience. The camels were laying down, chewing their cud or groaning their displeasure as they were prodded into position. With the camel still laying down, you climb onto the saddle. It is very different than a horse’s saddle, with no reins or stirrups. However it does have a horn to hold onto, or in this case a metal handle.

The guide urges you to hold on as the camel rises. Sitting on a camel getting up is like riding a rodeo bull. They alternate elevating each end until their legs are fully unfolded. Each time the camel unbends a joint, you get lifted about a foot higher into the air, saddle tilting to wild degrees. After what seems like more transitions then a normally-jointed animal should have, your camel is standing and you are towering over the landscape. Dromedary camels are about 6 feet tall. In addition to that, you are sitting on padding and a saddle. Along with the length of my torso, my eyeline had shifted to about 8 and half feet off the ground; a very neat change in perspective. The main guide tied groups of four camels in a chain, interestingly, leaving very little slack from one animal to the next.

I considered that this was to discourage the camels from spitting, and after hearing some of the guttural complaining that came from them, I was a little leery. I needn’t have worried. The camels were very well-behaved the entire time. As we headed out along the dry lakebed, the camels bumping along with an unusual churning gait, we slowly started to climb. Our camel guide took many pictures of us riding the camels on the crest of dunes, and back along our caravan line. We didn’t guide the camels so much as we were taken along for a ride.

As we steadily climbed higher and higher in the soft sand, I thought about what an advantage camels have over horses. Camel hair is used to make carpets, their meat and milk good for consumption. They seemed to have a very even temperament; nothing spooked those camels. Not the surprised scream of a tourist as they mounted up, not flapping scarves or clothes. They simply walked on as ATVs screamed past, sailing over the dunes. The camels did not move quickly but they worked hard to carry us up that sand mountain. They didn’t require a lot of persuasion, and were happy to settle down once we reached the top. I even managed to give mine a pet. It just stared at me, chewing away.

 The sun was starting to set as we dismounted at the top. The temperature chilled down, but it felt nice to sit in the sun, gazing over the desert all the way to the mountains. Our camel guide had a sense of humor, taking more pictures of us messing around in the dunes.One particularly memorable photo was when he had my husband jump and me kick the air at the same time. Some other groups sledded down a small incline on old carpets, while other groups created pictures in the sand. After our photos, we rested, watching colors paint the sky. 

The ride back was just as fun as the ride up, though I was starting to get a bit saddle sore. It was probably 40 minutes each way. Arriving back at the camp, I was happy to be headed back to the hotel for dinner. It was a great day, but a long one. We must have made a loop as we drove around, because the ride back to Xaluca Maadid was only about half an hour. Everyone was quiet. Absorbed by what they had gotten to see and experience. 

Day 6, Ouarzazate

The drive from Erfoud to Ouarzazate is around 5 hours, not a short trek. We started early, as we made our way out of the Sahara and back towards the center of Morocco.  To break up the drive we stopped to shop at Maison Berbère Todgha to shop for the famed Moroccan rugs. Our tour guide explained that this shop was a co-op where Moroccan women made the rugs, the men sold them, and the women were paid when their rugs sold. 

Shop Moroccan Rugs at Maison Berbère Todgha

Being in the carpet shop was quite the experience. We entered the showroom, and an attendant served us mint tea while the salesman talked through the different kinds of rugs. I enjoyed this show immensely. As the main salesman talked, his assistant carried different rugs in from the side rooms, rolling out each with a huge flourish. The more he talked, the more carpets covered the floor and the faster they came out. Some were made from camel hair, some from sheep wool. The baby camel hair rugs were incredibly dense. Different designs were made by different Berber tribes: some specialized in raised embroidery, and others were double sided. The salesman explained the symbolism and colors in some of the rugs- the geometric shapes  for the tents where they lived, colors for the sky and mountains. 

After the rugs were laid out, we were free to feel them, inspect them, and browse the rest of the collection on the walls and in the adjacent rooms. I had read about the haggling culture before we came to Morocco, but reading something and experiencing it are two very different things.My husband managed to beat them at their own game, with absolute complete sincerity. 

As the salesmen showed us the rugs, I whispered about the colors and how about maybe we do need one… darling that he is, he agreed. A nearby salesman sensing our interest swooped in immediately to try and lock in the sale. After showing us several types of rugs (I was drawn to colorful rugs, my husband to strong patterns. Don’t we sound like people with great taste?), the salesman threw out the first number.

$500? I let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a heart attack. My husband explained this was too much for us. We had a budget of $100. The salesman protested, waxing eloquent about the exquisite detail, the hours of work that the women had put into making the rug. At this point we assumed everything in the store was out of our price range. Tactfully trying to extricate us, my husband said “I’m sorry. That is out of our budget, but the rug is beautiful.” In carefully planned mild outrage the salesmen let us back out onto the main floor, grumbling. A calculated 30 seconds later, he comes back. “Come come, I think we have something you may like.” 

He then pulls us back into the same room, but whips out much smaller rugs saying, “Smaller size, smaller price.” We were hopeful at this, as a small rug didn’t bother us. I was imagining it as a kitchen runner, or as a drape on a side table. The salesman said, “For you, $200.” My husband, unfazed by haggling culture, stuck to his guns, very politely saying, “I am sorry, but that is out of our budget. We only have $100.” The seller pulled out a thinner, much plainer and lower quality rug, saying that it was a $100 rug. Seeing our faces, his point made, the sad rug vanished. 

Again, he exhorted us to look at the color, the quality, how the fibers won’t come loose.  To his complete surprise, my husband agreed. “It is wonderfully made. You have a great product here. But we can’t afford it. You should sell it to someone who can pay you what it’s worth.” Baffled, the salesman said “No, I offer a number then you offer a number,” trying to get Daniel to play by the rules. In turn, Daniel tried to explain the concept of a budget. The salesman exclaimed “If you don’t have now, just use a credit card. Then the budget doesn’t matter!”

From there it devolved into escalating compliments from my husband, with a firm refusal to budge off of $100 dollars. At this point I think he was honestly trying to decline the sale. The salesman thought my husband was playing hardball. He turned to me, clasping Daniel on the shoulder “He bargains like a Berber! Berber man!” After yet another failure to reach agreement, we headed towards the door to catch up with our tour group, with the parting words“I could not possibly sell my rugs for $100!” As we walked, I was trying not to bust a gut at the wild clash of cultures. 

We only made it halfway across the showroom before the salesman we were talking to started talking to one of the more senior employees in Arabic. We almost made it to the exit before our salesman stopped us. “My boss, he never does this, he will sell for $100.” We were totally caught off guard and quickly agreed. In seconds the rug we were looking at was brought forward and we were ushered into a very practical office. The man behind the desk, who I presumed was ‘the boss’ , very carefully took our payment, writing out a receipt and recording the sale in his ledgers. By the time we exited the carpet was very neatly wrapped for transport, and every single other person in our tour group was gone.

We were bowed out of the store, clutching the steal of a century. As we dashed towards our tour guide and the awaiting bus all we could do was laugh. There was not a single second of that interaction that I understood, but it makes for a quite the souvenir and story, of a lifetime. 

Take a Tour of Atlas Studios

After a few hours of driving we were in Ouarzazate. It is a larger city and a little bit like Moroccan Hollywood. Several film and production studios are based out of Ouarzazate. As such, it is more modern, and as young people flock to the job they create, the bigger the city grows. That afternoon, we were given a tour of Atlas Studios, with a personal guide to take us around the various film sets.

 After greeting the resident kittens, we headed inside. Our guide, Abdul, was young but spoke excellent English. He mentioned that he took the job so he could practice and that talking with tour groups is how he got so good. He also had an excellent sense of humor. 

Abdul first took us to the Egyptian themed sets. They had an interior hall, an exterior courtyard, and a number of hallways. He mentioned that Atlas Studios had general themed areas that are then tailored for what each movie requires. This used to be done by repainting the set, but now it is largely handled digitally. For “Cleopatra”, the main hall we were exploring was used as a throne room. 

Along with the Egyptian themed rooms they had ready made Greco-Roman rooms as well, easily switched between what ‘location’ the film required. Our tour guide mentioned that the films that get shot in Morocco are usually set in exotic places. Morocco has a wealth of biomes that can mimic other places- the snowy Atlas Mountains, the coast, the Sahara. In addition, Morocco is a lot more politically stable than many of those locations. Filming there is easier than going to Egypt or the Middle East just to film a movie. Lastly, the existing infrastructure and inexpensive local economy make it easy to continually attract movies to Ouarzazate.       

I am not much a film buff but I was surprised at the extent of their filmography:

Ben-Hur, Game of Thrones (they filmed in Essouira too), Prince of Persia, Prometheus, Hercules, Gladiator, The Hills have Eyes, The Mummy… the list goes on. 

After Rome/Greece, we stopped in a generic historic city square. Stone houses, thatch roofs, cobbled streets. Evocative and suggestive, but of what and when? Abdul said that this was used as a marketplace recently, stalls were set up with fake fruit. Concrete troughs filled with water, then the costumed extras bring the place to life. Evidently the Moroccan people make good extras because they are ethnically varied and also a bit ambiguous to western audiences. Studios can put out a call asking for almost any physical traits, and they will get responses because the population is so diverse. 

As we walked through a “city street” where during the “Passion of the Christ’”Jesus carried his cross, Abdul explained how the sets are made. Buildings and structures are made from wood, and almost everything is covered with plaster and painted. Plaster is quick, can be made into any shape, and through paint and CGI can be made to look like any material. The only problem is that when it rains, which is relatively rare in Morocco, the plaster kind of… melts. And the set designers have to go out and repair everything after the rain stops. As we walked behind the sets to see the backsides of scaffolding Abdul joked “It’s just like Instagram! Pretty, but fake”. 

It was very confusing to wander the sets, as everything blended together and it was very disorienting to pop from a Tibetan temple out into a Hermes watch commercial set on the moon. Tanks and Humvees from war movies sat off to the side, belonging, yet so out of place. Interestingly, most of the movie sets don’t extend up that high. Filming is often shot at eye level and with closeups of people – why build what doesn’t get seen? 

The last thing we did at Atlas Studios was to create a short film with our tour group. Abdul walked us to an outdoor courtyard with a throne and gave us all very simple directions and parts. A queen to sit on the throne, servants to bow and open doors. He shot everything on his phone in one take. Ten minutes later, he had edited together a really impressive little film. By using strategic framing and zoom, then adding filters, music, and transitions, it transformed a bunch of dorky tourists into something believable. As much as it was a fun activity it also was a real insight into the world of movie making and acting. Something fake and silly can become representative of so much more. 

Our time at Atlas Studios probably lasted about an hour and a half, and it was great fun. Considering the joy of exploring Erg Chibbi the day before, I would have thought that would have been a tough act to follow. But the film studio was so different that the experiences can’t really be compared. 

In Ouarzazate we stayed at the Berebere Palace, which was my favorite hotel as far as decorations and designs go. Every hotel we have stayed at has been incredibly nice- luxurious rooms, amenities, huge buffets for meals. I can’t take credit for these accommodations as they were picked by Gate One, but Gate One does their homework. 

And that is a wrap for the central part of Morocco. The last part of the trip we head for the coasts, and will be posted soon!