15 – 16 February 2014 – Merzouga, Sahara Desert, Morocco

We travelled to Merzouga to get a taste of the Sahara Desert.  Our hotel was located at the base of the Erg Chebbi Dunes which separate Morocco from Algeria.

The dunes rise dramatically from a plain of black hammada (stony desert)

Once an ancient sea bed, the desert is now a source of fossils for souvenir shops

Souvenirs for sale at the Nomade Depot

On the edge of the village was a fertile palmery

Irrigation channel highway

Frogs living in the Sahara!

Snow pea flower

There was a sand storm on the day that we left Merzouga.  The sky was the colour of sand and a cool wind was blowing.

One of the gaily decorated vintage rally cars that we saw as we left Merzouga.  This was the annual Renault 4L Trophy Rally to help provide supplies for Moroccan schools.

A couple of our stops en route from Merzouga to Midelt

Thursday, 13 February 2014 - Dades Gorge, Morocco

The Dades Gorge runs off the Dades River valley separating the Atlas Mountains from the Anti Atlas.

Weekly market in the middle of the gorge

One of the several butchers stalls - you could tell what they were selling and how fresh it was by looking at the head of the beast hanging from the front of the stall

The narrowest point of the gorge

This lumpy section of cliff is known as the “Monkey’s Fingers”

On the way back to our Riad at Timadrouine, we met a local family

Tuesday, 11 February 2014 – Ait Ben Haddou & Telouet, Morocco

Ait Ben Haddou is a fortified village, or Ksar, along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech.  Ait Ben Haddou has been featured in many films including Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, and Kingdom of Heaven.

The Ksar consists of a number of houses surrounded by high defensive walls and towers, all built from red moulded clay blocks.

Views of the Ounila River and surrounding desert from the top of the hill

Only eight families live within the Ksar – the rest of the town's inhabitants now live in the modern village on the other side of the river

Some of the remaining residents

It was a scenic drive through the Ounila Valley from Ksar Ait Ben Haddou to Telouet

along narrow winding roads

past tiny red mud villages nestled in the hills amongst lush green valleys

Many of the earthen walls and towers of the Telouet Kasbah had fallen into complete disrepair

In contrast to the crumbling exterior the reception rooms were in amazing condition with lavishly tiled walls and floors and ornate plaster ceilings and archways