progol

ibobi, this wasn't at all discussed with our guide (no surprise here) but of it's course a health risk. Another problem is the disposal of water, which is also toxic, and affects people's health. From what little I can find on the internet, there are newer tanneries being built that are safer for people and the environment, but don't have the "air of romance" that the old tanneries provide.

An article on the process at the Fes tannery:

The gruelling labour which created your handbags and shoes: Workers stretch hides and dye leather in 95F heat at a Moroccan tannery | Daily Mail Online

progol

We continued our exploration of the edges of the desert, and stopped by a nomadic encampment. The nomads travel in search of food and water for their flocks of animals, typically sheep or goats. And here, these nomads have an opportunity for tourists to see their lifestyle "up close".

Nomads in the desert


The encampment



Baking bread



You can actually see the bread here



Pouring tea

When we visited, there were other tourists in the tent who were also being served tea, so our interactions with the nomads were limited, and our very own Salem did the honors here. It was an interesting exposure to this life but not hugely memorable.

Les Pigeons du Sable
But I LOVED our next stop: a visit to Khamlia to see and hear the Gnawa musicians. These are people originally from "black Africa", thought to be from West and Central Africa, and have a very unique musical tradition. The music is very rhythmic, percussive, and has a beautiful hypnotic sound. These musicians perform daily for tourists - there's no fee to enter, although there are CDs for sale and it's expected that people would leave something after listening . I found it really amazing to be there, very powerful music. Even if it's become routine for the musicians, it's still a remarkable opportunity to hear a special kind of music.


The Gnawa performing









Who can sit still?

And unfortunately, I can't upload any of our videos as they are not an "acceptable" format. I found a brief video from Khamlia, but you'll have to believe me that it was special as I can't even post the link to a youtube video! Just look for "Les Pigeons du Sable" to find out what the Gnawa music is like.

annhig

Those photos are remarkably vivid, progol, as is your writing.

Shame about the videos not uploading but i will certainly listen on You Tube later.

yestravel

Catching up on your TR -- Pictures continue to be amazing. I loved the desert--it was the highlight of our trip. We visited a friend of our driver in the desert. Her life as a woman alone as a nomad was fascinating. However, I have never felt comfortable with these types of visits. Also when we visited Khamlia to hear the Gnawa musicians it was just us for most of the performance. Funny how the same trip brings such different experiences.

ibobi

You ought to be able to embed a Youtube or Vimeo link, if you have uploaded your videos to those platforms? Just paste it into your post and it should embed with the play button.

progol

Thanks, ibobi, I hope this works. I’m trying out Vimeo for the first time, so I hope this link works:


This is a video that Salem took during our visit to the Gnawa

progol

annhig, thanks again for following and commenting! I so appreciate knowing that there really are people out there looking at this TR!! And again, thanks for the lovely words -- fortunately, the pictures do a good job of speaking for me even when I can't find words to describe something!

yestravel, we really enjoyed the desert, too, though we did have a huge sandstorm when we arrived and overnight which limited our ability to fully appreciate it. But we still loved being there.

Anyone have any luck with the Vimeo video? It looks like it works.

yestravel

I could watch the video. Even your performance was very different from ours! or at least the portion your video showed.

progol

I imagine that the performance is greatly affected by who is present. There were a lot of younger folks who were very enthusiastic, with lots of clapping along. At one point, a good number of people got up to dance, so there was a wonderful energy there. I'm a big fan of all kinds of traditional music so this was really exciting for me.

ibobi

Fixed video embedding, so all you have to do is paste in the link and the player appears in the post itself.

yestravel

"I imagine that the performance is greatly affected by who is present."
And if they are like most musicians, what they play is determined by their mood Toward the end of their performance a family came in who got raucous with them, also dancing and clapping along. I particularly liked the instrument, qraqeb, that sounded like horses clomping along. The guys had used it alot in the tents in the desert playing music.

progol

Hi, yestravel, I liked the qrageb, too. I'm sorry I didn't buy any since I thought they were really cool-sounding. Though I don't know where I'd play them!

Moroccan Qraqeb $10 OFF, Musical Instruments from Morocco at Moroccan Caravan

progol

Finally, time for us to make our way to the desert camp, Sahara Star Luxury camp, somewhere in the Erg Chebbi sand dunes. We chose not to go by camel --we had taken a 2-hour trip by camel several years ago in India, and let's just say that the "memories" of that ride stayed with us for over 2 weeks, so we opted to go by car. Driving with Salem through the desert, though, was amazing! Though there are parts that are definitely worn into dirt roads, we are definitely not on paved ones!

progol

Sand beetle
Finally, we arrive at the camp, and we're greeted by Hassan (Berber Space Morocco), who is the agent I worked with and who also now runs the camp. When we speak about camps in the desert, it's a far cry from roughing it, however! There are large tents set up for dining and for sleeping that aim for a more posh look -- you may be in the desert, but no need to sacrifice amenities!

Camping in the Desert


Our bedroom in the desert



And our bathroom - shower to the left, toilet to the right!

We arrived before the camel trekkers so watched the staff set up the camp, spreading the rugs and covering the area between the tents:








Wind and Sand, and all that!
We are here, at last! In the Sahara! We are in the Erg Chebbi sand dunes, which (according to Wikipedia) is part of the Sahara, and one of the 2 Moroccan ergs; an erg is a large sand dune formed by wind-blown sand. There are those folks who say Erg Chebbi is not part of the Sahara, but call it what you will, it's remarkable to be here! Unfortunately for us, there was a pretty steady sandstorm that had been blowing around when we arrived and lasted most of the night. We took a few pictures, but we both realized that sand gets in EVERYWHERE, and I realized that meant the camera, too. So the idea of sitting outside and having dinner and watching the stars was nixed. We stayed inside for dinner and after, as the staff sang and drummed.

Despite the sandstorm, we had a wonderful time here, though it would've been fun to see the stars.


Made it!



Which way?



Wind waves!


Sand beetle



Desert Shadow



And a very dramatic ending!

progol

The Desert, the morning after


Sand everywhere

Michael went off exploring...

The camels didn't seem to have a problem with the sand storm



Michael of Morocco - best selfie ever!

And the 4 of us: Salem and Hassan with Michael and Paule (yes, we make quite a picture, don't we?!)

annhig

They got the red carpet out for you, progol! It all looks very luxurious.

More super photos and you were certainly going fast across that desert. [and thanks for fixing the video feature, ibobbi]

What was the food like? any different from what you were normally eating?

progol

Hi, annhig, do you mean the food we ate generally? Or more specifically, the food in the camp? To be honest, I don't remember the food we had in the camp. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't memorable. I just asked Michael, and he has no memory of it either. There was beer and wine available but truly, I just don't remember the food. There were a few other couples staying but we sat separately and we didn't really interact with each other. We met Hassan for the first time so a good part of the evening was spent in his company.

By the way, my previous post is not meant to lead off with the words, "sand beetle". Somehow in my editing, I missed it and now it's too late to remove it. Oh, well!

annhig

I was just wondering if the food in the desert was any different from the normal fare you received. Given you can't remember it, probably not! Bill always used to say that I could remember not only what I'd eaten but what he'd had too, years later, but I think that was a "slight" exaggeration.

I hadn't even noticed the second sand beetle, till you mentioned it.

tripplanner001

Officially the Sahara or not, you definitely were in the desert! It's one of the images I have in mind when I think of Morocco. Did you feel you were in the "middle of nowhere" or were you close to civilization?

progol

Hi annhig, the camp is definitely trying to make people feel like they are having a “dining” experience as the tables were set nicely, each couple (a total of 4) sat at their own table. But I really can’t recall the food! I wish I had your so-called memory for eating! It wasn’t unique fare, whatever it was.

<<Did you feel you were in the "middle of nowhere" or were you close to civilizationl?>>
tripplanner , it’s funny you ask that - it’s a little of both. We really aren’t that far, and driving certainly didn’t take that long (Half hour at most), but looking toward the large dunes, it did feel like we are far, far away. There really is that feels timeless & very “other” about being in the desert, with its