Ramadam Ramblings in morocco

Ramadan Ramblings

In December 2000 I went on a trip to Morocco with Exodus Expeditions. The group travelled by midibus visiting many of the old imperial cities and historic sights. Having visited Morocco in 1989 on a trekking trip to the Central Atlas I was keen to see more of this this spectacular country The personal highlight for me being the camel trek in to the Chebbi Sand Dunes near the Algerian Border.

These pictures show just a small part of this wonderful trip.

Camels on the Chebbi Sand Sea" at sunset on Christmas Day 2000
	Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca
The Hassan II Mosque Casablanca Our first outing was to the Hassan II mosque. Situated on the coast, the mosque, built in 1996, was far more impressive than I would have ever expected. The 210m minaret towered over the city. Higher than London’s Post Office tower, it was the highest building in Morocco. It was not only the size that impressed. The quality of the exterior stonework and ceramics, the marble plaza, the gorgeous archways and the huge titanium alloy doors (to resist seawater corrosion), were magnificent to say the least. On entry to the prayer hall we could see little at first of the grandeur within. Once our eyes adjusted, it was like a dark curtain lifting. The sheer scale and beauty of one of the worlds most spectacular places of worship, soon became apparent. The vast hall could accommodate 25000 worshippers in the most spectacular surroundings



Talking Amongst Lamps : Fez	Pottery Workers: Fez
FEZ The atmosphere in Fes El Bali was totally absorbing; butchers shops with sides of beef hanging out over the open drains with people, handcarts and mules brushing past. Liver and raw sausage meat being picked at by street urchins; out of sight of the butchers. There was barely room to squeeze out of the way when shouts of Belek! Belek! From muleteers, signalled their presence. Small woodwork and coppersmiths lined the route. One of our party tried to photograph a horseman bearing down on us, He spotted her camera and put his hand to cover his face demonstrating his disapproval. Andy had warned us earlier that many Moroccans dislike having photos taken by tourists. In spite of this, discrete use of a camera and requests amiably received resulted in good photo opportunities.
	South From Fez The drive over the atlas was a cold one, with sleet, snow and ice. Once over the watershed the weather improved somewhat. Even so, the Icy wind at 1500 metres was so cold even a truck had a yashmac on!! At a truck stop cafe A female member of the party who will remain nameless, entered the minibus to change. She discretely dropped her trousers in the minibus. Unnoticed by her, a busload of Moroccan builders pulled up alongside. The resultant eye-popping from the men in the bus, at the blonde Australian and embarrassment when she discovered her onlookers; sent paroxysms of laughter from those of us in the café who witnessed it .
South Of the Atlas Dropping down to the town of Azrou, the scenery changed dramatically. Cedar wood soon gave way to stony scrub with wide extents of snow as we headed down from the Atlas. We were soon crossing the "Plateau de L’Arid" which summed up well, the stony landscape. At over 1400metres; a cold windy place indeed. To the north, a spectacular rainbow appeared I shouted "L’Arc en Ciel" to our Driver to attract his attention. This prompted a photo stop. I took this shot through the drivers open window as we stopped. The ephemeral rainbow faded as we exited the Bus to the road.		*"Rainbows in the desert….Who ‘d a thought it! "*
The Sand Sea on Christmas Day I got up around 5:30 to give enough time for the hour long walk to the dune. It was fresh outside and fleece and gloves were definitely needed. The glow in the east spread over the sky extinguishing the stars as we heaved ourselves up the vast pile of sand. It was a matter of two steps up ant one back as the fine sand filled our shoes. It was much harder work than it looked but we soon attained the summit, where the sun was now close to erupting into life.
My desert moment was shattered by Dave P wheezing up the last few metres of slope behind me and barfing up and calling for Huey. "Well Dave, you really have spoilt my magic desert moment" "that was no Dessert, that was last nights dinner!" was Dave’s reply.		The sunrise was brilliant; so much so that I nearly blinded myself looking through my 300mm lens. The red glow and the shadow effects on the dunes were a most sensational experience. The mountainous waves of orange sand sweeping in lines towards the cliffs of the "Hamada Du Guir," an immense plateau extending well inside Algeria. Ali one of the guides helped Helen with her blue scarf then both her and Dave posed with the jelabas on the dune.

Sunset in the Chebbi Sand Sea
Camels in the Sunset. looked behind to see the orange glow of the setting sun, hidden behind the dunes. I turned my neck , but as I did so the camels moved in the contrary direction and it proved impossible to photograph. The glow became a spectacular fire in the sky behind us and I called to the boy who was leading, to let me down. At first he ignored me then at my insistence he reluctantly called my camel down. I leapt off it and tuned to look at the amazing sight developing to the west. I stumbled along a sand ridge looking to the camels now being led away. I attempted to get a shot of them silhouetted, but the boy had no thought on my aesthetics so I turned my lens elsewhere. Minute by minute the high level cirrus became enveloped in tongues of fire with lower level cloud casting dark rays and shadows. The stunning spectacle advanced across the heavens to a point where virtually the whole sky was ablaze of colour. Even using my 24mm wide angle lens I couldn’t capture the extent of that fantastic sunset.

After the euphoria of the Sahara we headed along the road of a thousand Kasbahs to the Atlas where we had the opportunity for a few days walking. On a spectacular hill walk in the High Atlas We came across a few patches of remaining snow on a rocky summit. Andy (our Trip leader) started making Mohammed the snowman. (:-) ….. he was only small but was made with care using stones for buttons, twigs for arms and a walnut for his nut. Below this point an Azib or summer shepherds settlement came into view. We climbed to a rocky peak at 2350 metres gave stunning views of the Western Atlas possibly including Toubkal the highest peak in Morocco and the fourth in Africa.
		Mohammed the Snowman
Return to Marrakech New year 2000

After 11 years, my return to Marrakech, proved to be one of the most exciting, and vibrant places in the world to experience the New year. Even under normal conditions the medina is just too sensational to take in at once. The month long fast of Ramadan having just ended, invoked a sense of celebration and liberation throughout the city. In the Djema El Fna square, the percussive sounds of the Berber tribes mingled with snake charmers flutes, fiddlers and drummers from all over North Africa. Every available space that was not filled by the thousands of onlookers; had acrobats, story tellers, water sellers, snake charmers, and spice stalls. We had to be careful where we pointed our lenses, as the wily water sellers and musicians, lost no time in pursuing camera toting tourists like us for Dirhams. Quack doctors laid their potions and lotions neatly out on the street; one eagerly asking whether I wanted Viagra. As afternoon drifted to evening, hundreds of food stalls were set up. The smoke and flames from the barbecues scattered the light from garlands of lamps. Mouth watering aromas of spices, cinnamon turmeric and cumin drifted to entice the pallet. Beyond the square, the ancient Koutobia mosque, silhouetted against the last rays of the evening sun, with the call to prayer booming out; completed this sensational picture. To contrast with this; the pedestrian street opposite the square was buzzing with the sounds of mobile phones from the track suited lads and elegant women. Signs advertising "Acces D’ Internet" "Teleboutique" fast food takeaways and ATMs, brings one swiftly back to modernity.

The Koutobia Mosque on the last night before returning home to cold grey Britain.

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