There’s sand between my teeth. Waves of hot, dusty air blast my face. My arm is turning red from the scorching sun. But I don’t care.
Excitement races through me as I bounce around in a four-wheel
drive, plowing through the everchanging landscape of the Sahara Desert – the
largest hot desert in the world. Dust devils twirl around the sprawling, barren
land as we drive towards our camp perched along the massive Erg Chigaga dunes. It’s
a stormy sea of sand in one of the most hostile and humbling places I’ve ever been.
“The Sahara is always changing, so it has its own charm and
character,” says my guide Khaliad Aitionh. “You have black volcanic mountains,
flat terrain with stones, little sand dunes, villages and an oasis that can
come up in the middle of nowhere.”
I came to Morocco to join a 10-day tour with Intrepid Travel that takes travellers off the beaten track to explore the rich cultures and diverse landscapes found in the southern part of the country. After a two-year hiatus from international travel due to COVID-19, I was eager to explore a place that was completely different from my home on Vancouver Island and the Sahara Desert was calling me.
Considered a moderate Muslin country, Morocco is ruled by
King Mohammed the sixth – the 23rd king of the Alaouite Dynasty,
which started reign in the middle of the 17th century. Mosques are
the centrepiece of Berber villages that dot the landscape along the High Atlas
Mountains to the fringes of the Sahara. Prayer calls echo across the country
five times a day.
I arrived in Marrakech to sweltering 40C temperatures and was
immediately drawn to the colourful and chaotic medina, which is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Marrakech was founded in 1070-1072 by the Almoravids and was a
major political, economic and cultural centre of the Muslim world.
Enclosed by 16 kilometres of ramparts and gates that once protected the city from invaders, the souks are at the heart of the medina’s maze of narrow streets packed with various items ranging from tagines, decorative lanterns and rugs to live chickens and produce.
Shoes made in one-man shops eight feet wide line one street. Around the corner, streets are lined with bags of colourful spices and merchants eager to assault your nose with exotic smells.
.jpg)
“Do you know what this is?” asks a man pointing to a piece of wood amongst a display of colourful spices. I stare at him blankly, choking on the fumes of a motorbike squeezing through the cramped street.
“It’s sandalwood,” he says as he holds it up to my nose, waiting
to see my reaction. I politely smile, overwhelmed by the sweet and powerful
fragrance I recognize as incense.
Wandering through the medina, where mules still pull wagons
through the streets, feels like stepping back in time. It makes me think about
the ancient caravans with thousands of camels that used to travel thousands of
miles across the Sahara to exchange desired commodities such as salt, gold, ivory,
slaves and luxury goods.
A few days later, I am following one of the ancient caravan
routes to the Sahara. But instead of riding a camel, I’m in an air-conditioned
van with 12 sweaty travellers of various ages from Canada, the United States
and Australia.
Making our way from the village of Imlil in the High Atlas Mountains to the end of the paved road at Ouled Driss, I’m amazed by the ever-changing landscape and simplicity of everyday life. I see shepherds watching small flocks of sheep and sprawling kasbahs in Berber villages with traditional adobe homes that look like they’re growing out of the red and brown hills that change colour with the light. Olive trees dot lush valleys that transform into huge palm groves lining dried up riverbeds the closer we drive towards the desert.
In the village of Ouled Driss, where we switch to four-wheel
drives for the two-hour journey to the dunes, we explore a 17th
century mud-brick kasbah and wait out the sweltering afternoon heat. Sipping on
a hot mint tea, I again think about the ancient caravans that once came here to
rest after traveling through the harsh desert with the rhythm of their camels. The
journey across the Sahara could take 40 to 60 days and was only possible by
stopping at oases along the way.
Aitinoh vividly remembers his first trip to the Sahara in 2010 and has been there several times since then, showing visitors the natural beauty. Whenever he travels to the desert, Aitinoh isn’t sure what to expect – he’s experienced rain, vicious sandstorms and even a car stuck in a river that suddenly sprung to life.
“When you trek though the Sahara, you realize how valuable
water is. It will teach you a beautiful lesson about preserving water,” says
Aitinoh, who grew up in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. “I enjoy the serenity of the
Sahara. I encourage people to have a little moment on the sand dunes to just
enjoy that serenity, and the silence we lack these days with the hustle of
everyday life.”
- published by Postmedia News in July 2022: https://torontosun.com/travel/international/tracing-ancient-caravan-routes-through-morocco
If you go:
Intrepid’s 10 day tour, South Morocco Discovery, consists of trekking in the High Atlas Mountains, spending a night in the Sahara, and exploring the port city of Essaouria, along with other villages that are off the beaten track. For more information visit https://www.intrepidtravel.com/ca/morocco/south-morocco-discovery-138711
