Pickup is at 8:15 today as we are stopping at Ait Ben Haddou on the way back to Marrakech and it is a major tourist stop. We want to beat the crowds.
Ait Ben Haddou is a kasbah (fortified village) from the 11th century. It was on the caravan trading route between the Sahara Desert and Marrakech. Now, most of the buildings date back to the 17th century. It has a citadel, or high point, in order to view the surrounding countryside. The walls are adobe, red clay mixed with straw. There are shops selling scarves, ceramic bowls, earrings, jewelry, rugs and clothes.
Ait Ben Haddou’s claim to fame is that it has been used as a set in many movies. Recently, parts of The Game of Thrones and Gladiator were filmed there.
We choose to drive a road less traveled through the Atlas Mountains and it is very scenic. Once again Namibia, the Alberta Badlands, the Grand Canyon, and even Bolivia come to mind as the landscape changes. On the south side of the mountains, there are fields and agricultural plots, rivers supplying water. Trees in the valleys, looking very much like an oasis. Once we cross the high plateau and start the descent down the north side of the range, there are no crops and only scrub. Descending to a certain elevation brings trees, olive groves and agriculture back. The Moroccans know how to coax produce from inhospitable conditions with a plot of dirt and some water.
We have seen solar panels being used to supply power to water pumps. The panels sit close to a pool sized manmade reservoir where the water is pumped into. This water is then used for agriculture.
Murray spotted, for only the second time, evidence of wildlife today. A Barbary Ground Squirrel!