TRAVEL THE WORLD - ERFOUD, MOROCCO

In 2002 we spent a day with this handsome young Berber tour guide who took us to see a kasbah - a walled, older part of a north African city. His story is a remarkable one. When he was a boy of about eight, he was befriended by a man from Spain who took a great interest in him and encouraged him in his schooling. Every year he would bring books from Spain for the boy. When we were introduced to him, he had just completed a Ph.D. in social anthropology and was fluent in eight languages. I have often wondered what became of him, if he remained in the desert or if he took a job in one of Morocco's cities. He told us that the aquifers near Erfoud - the only source of water for the area - were being depleted. I have also wondered what if anything has been done or could be done about that.

TRAVEL THE WORLD, ERFOUND OASIS, MOROCCO

In 2002, we travelled through the desert to the Erfound Oasis and walked through the kasbah that you can see in the second photo. In the first photo, our tour group are waiting for lunch to be served inside the kasbah.

Wikipedia says this about a kasbah: "

"A kasbah is a .... type of Islamic city or fortress ... It was a place for the local leader to live and (use) as a defense when the city was under attack. A kasbah has high walls which usually have no windows. Sometimes, they were built on the top of a hill to make them easier to defend... Having a kasbah built was a sign of wealth ..."

My main memory of that day is that the heat was stifling, yet we walked and walked, drinking lots of water from our indispensable bottles of water. Paul remembers it as having been at least 42 degrees Centigrade. In the desert, fortunately, the lack of humidity makes the heat bearable.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - TODRA GORGE, MOROCCO

While we were in Morocco in 2002, we stayed overnight at the Todra Gorge in the High Atlas Mountains. While out for a short walk, Paul and I came upon this mother and child. We were told by our tour leader that they were from the Taureg tribe and had been collecting used plastic bottles which they were washing in the stream with the intention of either using or selling them.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - FEZ, MOROCCO

In 2002 when visiting Morocco, we were taken to the medina, or old city, in Fez. Here, members of our tour group with our tour leader, Marc, in the centre, have been having a good time trying on the traditional Moroccan garment called a djellaba. I have a very beautiful one that has been hanging in my closet ever since, because I have never had occasion to wear it. Perhaps some day....

TRAVEL THE WORLD - FEZ, MOROCCO

These two photos from 2002 were taken in the medina at Fez. They show how the famous Fez pottery is made and painted.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - MERZOUGA, MOROCCO

We were with a tour group in the desert in Morocco in 2002 when this photo was taken. Here are the Berbers waiting for us to mount our camels and ride to where we would see the setting sun. Later, we got into our sleeping bags for a night under the stars in a large lean-to - an altogether memorable experience.

TRAVEL THE WORLD, MOULAY IDRISS, MOROCCO

This photo from our Moroccan vacation in 2002 was taken overlooking the holy city of Moulay Idriss. Because of its significance for Islam, non-Muslim tourists may not stay here overnight. The photo was taken from a steep path which it was necessary for our group to descend on foot in order to enter the city. Moulay Idriss was a descendant of Muhammad and is revered as a saint by Muslims. The square-shaped building with the pointed roof in the photo is the mausoleum, the holiest place in Morocco.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - MARAKESH, MOROCCO

Here we are in 2002 with members of our tour group in the famous Jemma El-Fna square in Marrakesh. The square is huge, and was very crowded. For entertainment, there were lots of buskers - musicians, magicians, snake charmers, dancers. After dark, we were taken to one of the food vendors where we had a dinner of grilled chicken accompanied by wine served in Coke bottles, drinking wine in public being illegal in Morocco. I think the authorities turned a blind eye not wanting to interfere with the success of Marrakesh tourism.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - SAHARA DESERT, MOROCCO

One of the highlights of our Moroccan holiday in 2002 was a visit with the Berbers in the desert. We rode on camels at sunset, slept in the open air, and rose in the dark for another ride on the camels to see the sunrise. Here are our camels waiting for us to return to them for the ride back to Merzouga.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - TANGIER, MOROCCO

In 2002 we arrived in Tangiers by boat from Spain, then took a train to Casablanca to meet our tour group. First, however, we had a day in Tangiers where the guide in the second photo above took us through the medina - or old city - featured in the first photo. The guide was very pleasant and spoke excellent English. Other than Turkey, this was our first time to a Muslim country and our first trip to north Africa. As we walked through the narrow lanes, we were totally absorbed by all the strange new sights. We had agreed a price with our guide, but when we told him it was time to go, he doubled his price. It was a frightening experience, because we had no idea at all where to find the exit from the area, nor, obviously, did we speak Arabic. Only when Paul refused to pay at all - and only after a prolonged argument - did the man finally agree to take us to the exit.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - CASABLANCA, MOROCCO

In 2002, my husband, Paul and I went on a two-week tour of the cities of Morocco with a British tour company called Explore International. We had a wonderful time. The tour group met in Casablanca, and the Hassan II mosque was the first sight we were taken to see. Built between 1985 and 1993 to accommodate 25,000 worshipers, this is one of the largest mosques in the world. The minaret is 689 feet tall.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - VILLAGE IN MOROCCO

In 2002, we drove in a bus with our tour group through the High Atlas mountains of Morocco - an area so dry it seems never to have had the slightest amount of rain. When you descend into valleys like this one, however, the irrigated land is beautifully green and supports productive agriculture.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - FEZ, MOROCCO

The souk, or covered market, in Fez is world famous. It is so large that tourists are advised not to enter it alone or they may never emerge, particularly if they don't speak Arabic. Here in 2002 is a stall selling dried fruit, as typically seen in markets all over the Islamic world. As we walked through the souk, we frequently encountered heavily laden donkeys and had to scramble to get out of their way in the narrow lanes. I wondered what happened if two donkeys ever met each other. During the French mandate between the two world wars, attractive modern cities were planned and built in Morocco. Fortunately, new construction took place adjacent to the old cities or medinas, leaving them intact and making it possible for tourists to see them much as they would have been ages ago.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - MERZOUGA, MOROCCO

Only twice, to Egypt in 2004 and to Morocco in 2002, did we take a guided tour rather than travel on our own. The Morocco trip was great. Everything was as near perfect as it could be. The tour company was British as were almost all of the people. Our tour guide, Mark, pictured here second from the right, was fabulous. He was very knowledgeable and competent and had a terrific sense of humour. The photo was taken just before we rode into the desert on jeeps for a camel ride and just after we had been instructed on the proper way to wear Berber headdress.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - THE DESERT, MOROCCO

Here we are in Morocco on our camels in the Sahara desert in 2002. Each group of five or six camels was roped together and led by a Berber. It was a most uncomfortable ride, but a wonderful experience nevertheless. We rode our camels into the desert to see the setting sun, then slept outdoors in a large lean-to, and rose before dawn to ride out in the dark and see the desert sunrise. On the previous evening a musical entertainment was presented by the Berbers who were looking after us. Berbers are the tribes people who have lived in the southern deserts of Morocco since before the beginning of recorded history.