Tinghir to Ouarzazate, February 2026

The next two days were a mosaic of long drives, and short intensive stops.

Each day held a week's worth of experience. 

This is turning into a long post, but it was only two days.

Technical notes: As usual, Blogger continues its spiral into the incomprehensible. I have put some effort into the comments for the photos, but to see the photos at their best, click (or sometimes double click) to get a slide show of the photos at their best.

If anyone has suggestions as to a better blog program, I would love to hear from you

The Camel Parking Lot

These are some of the most pampered camels in the world.

 

Khettars

There are ancient, new, and combination versions of the underground water systems.
By keeping the canals underground, the water is protected from the arid conditions.
I did not manage to come away with a photo of the modern version, 
a concrete box with a vent shaped like an upside down J.
The ancient versions are tiled, like this beautiful one at the oasis we walked.
These venting station prevent the water from expanding and exploding.
The requirements are that they must keep out snakes and camels.

Oasis

 These are not just romantic places in the desert.  They are a complex management system that includes physical infrastructure and cultural use patterns. As climate changes, we should take closer look at how these agricultural places are managed.  Look at the Hydria website that documents one of these places. 

The water is above ground, but sheltered along the path.
Various openings distribute water to the plots on a rotational basis.

Each holding is a about 10 meters wide. 
Some families have 20 meters.
The depth varies, but is limited to how far the water will reach.

On the designated day, the plot owner and his family
 will manage where and how the water is distributed
according to his needs

Ownership of a plot goes from father to son
or uncles and nephews.  
These are old and very difficult to change or for Europeans to comprehend because we have a different idea about land ownership.

There were several of these huts built from
large hunks of palm.

    

All of the plots are mixed cropping.
Date palm tree, with olive at the farthest and driest end.
Fava beans and barley make a cover crop.
And where possible, a smaller bit of something that is more chancy,
but can get a higher price .

Sand Dunes

Booked as a "a thrilling 4x4 excursion."
But really it was turning a bunch of guys loose to go tearing across the desert.
Not my usual type of thing, but I loved it.

Amazigh Encampment

One of the most memorable outings of the entire trip was this stop at an encampment. Their name for themselves is Amazigh, known in history by the name the Romans gave them Berber.

This encampment is where many of these nomadic people have ended up living.  This is a usual stop on their circuit, but many families/clans have ended up being here for 2 years and more.  The current drought has eliminated the grazing they need. And there are schools and outside employment available. And the nomadic way of life is hard, just very hard. 

One of the ways GAdventures and other community positive tour groups do to support this at risk community is to pay a family group to host us in our afternoon tea. 

This is a typical kitchen.  

A firepit/oven and a 

kneeling pad

The tent is a patchwork of 
fabrics, some quite old. 

These are knots
known for generations

Our fearless leader Rachid
Tea is not just a drink.
It is a ceremony and necessity.
Water, boiled so now potable.
Green tea, with caffeine.
Mint to refresh body and soul.
And sugar.
This pouring from height is not just for show
It adds air, and identifies health, 
as degraded tea or mint will not froth on pouring.

This is my origami moment.
This lad lives a nomadic life,
he may not have much experienced much paper or books.
I told him this was a bird, and he tossed it in the air.
When it refused to fly, he took it apart.
So I made him an airplane that would fly.

Dar Gnaoua Bambara Khamlia

I generally avoid tourist centers, so I assumed that this would not be one of my better stops. But in Morocco these tatty little centers are the ones that house the better experiences.

And, as usual, I could have stayed here all day 

I was fascinated by the roof construction.

The music and discussion of the music pointed out the deep relationship that Morocco has with its slaving past. They have a unique way of presenting slave history. This was a huge part of their history. Yet they manage to acknowledge what went on, that it was bad, very bad. But remember and move forward

Those castanets, round on the end. They are descended from the heavy thick chains that linked the slaves as they were marched across the desert. Listen for the moan in the song. These people were linked closely, sitting was impossible. That sound is the sound of deep misery.

Notice the skin color.  The peoples of Morocco include those stolen from their village, and abandoned in Morocco when for various reasons they could not be sold on. 

If you want to read a book about the North African slave trade, let me recommend: Selim Aga: A Slave's Odyssey It is not easy to read about this painful history, but it is a very different story from the slave trade in the Americas.

Fossils

I promise you a whole post just on rocks.

But Rachid added a stop, just for me.  Rocks, rocks, rocks.  They hauled me out kicking and screaming.

Near Disaster

When something goes wrong is where one learns how good a team is.

Our driver managed to not dump the van, pull to a safe spot. And our van had all of the necessary equipment to get us back on the road in 20 minutes. (some companies pull equipment from one van for various reasons, and the jack and/or spare tire is missing when  you need it.)

If you have never experienced this is a Sprinter van you may know know just how amazing this was.

I can not begin to tell you just how good this driver was. And our tour group was a group of troupers and made the best of the unscheduled stop.

Hôtel Tomboctou

     

We stayed at standard hotels, luxury hotels, and a couple of shabby places  My favorite were these places that managed to walk the narrow line between Moroccan standard stays, and the level of sanitation and security I prefer.

The oddity here was the "hook" on the bathroom door to hang our towel or clothing on. It was an ancient flat nail, bent. 

Monkey Fingers

Another stop that I could have spent days at.

These are the Moroccan hoodoo formations.  And let's just say that they resembled a different part of the anatomy. But they were as good as I have seen in Arizona or Chatsworth Ca.

Gorges Dadés

We managed to be in the driest part of the world, deep in a drought and be in the middle of flooding.

We stopped for tea at La Source Du Dades and a walk up this very narrow gorge. I did not get a photo of any of the huge vehicles that threaded their way under the rock overhangs.

We took a walk up this dramatic walk, under cliff overhangs, dodging large trucks.

There is a rock story here, but I will save it for the Rock Post.

This boy selling scarves that his grandmother made.

         

      

These holes in the cliffs are Amazigh encampments.
Yes people are living there now.
These photos were taken from way above across the canyon.

   

     

This is so far twistier than any road I have
ever been on.
Ever happy to have Ibrahim at the wheel.

Taourirt Kasbah



You may not have ever been here, but you know this place. Taourirt Kasbah is the home of many movies.  This particular kasbah has been preserved and is now a museum. 

At first it is stark, and bare, but the more you look, the more tiny details emerge. Our host had enough English to do his spiel, but not much more.

 Ouarzazate is the city and district around this. As the center of the Movie District, there is lots of money developing housing, hotels, restaurants.

    

    

Ya'll know it broke my heart to not stop here.

The Herbalist.

This is a herb grinder
Herbs are dropped into a hole in the top, 
and the handle is used to turn the stone.
We saw many of these in the marketplaces. 

     

         

Our host gave a wonderful

  talk and demonstration

of medicinal and cosmetic

    
    

This is not bush craft.
Rather it is a historic medical practice

           

Our night in Ouazazate was in one of the poshest places I have ever stayed. Berbere Palace. I suppose we needed to have one posh night.

This particular hotel hosts lots of people from the film industry. So the place is littered with relics from the sets.  There are two dining options. The group area has the same breakfast we had at so many other hotels. Well with a few more options, but boring. The other is a small restaurant with good food, wine (not always available in this Islamic country) and a waiter that fawned over us like the best French waiters.