Morocco: Day 6, Erfoud-1, 10-'10

Our hotel in Erfoud

Entrance to our very nice hotel, the Kasbah Tizimi, seen in the daylight.

Our hotel in Erfoud

Entrance to our very nice hotel, the Kasbah Tizimi, seen in the daylight.

Kasbah Tizimi

Close–up of its entrance. Remember that this was a budget tour––our hotels were very nice.

Kasbah Tizimi

Part of the lobby.

Kasbah Tizimi

A passageway.

Kasbah Tizimi

Its roof––you could walk on it if you wanted. When you look from a distance at buildings with roofs such as this, they can look like they are actually missing their roofs. You can dry laundry on them, make them into a rooftop patio, or put on air conditioners, etc. What still amazes me about these roofs as they must have been built with excellent water drainage. My amazement comes about because part of my own home’s roof is flat and I have had many problems with its water drainage.

Erfoud

Rachid told us that only 9% of Moroccans own cars, so the Moroccans transport themselves by horse– or donkey–driven wagons, on the donkeys themselves, on bicycles, and on foot. You see many people walking in Morocco––I noticed they seem to walk a lot slower than in–a–hurry–to–get–there Westerners do. The following photos were taken on the road in front of our hotel.

Erfoud

On the road outside our hotel.

Erfoud

On the road outside our hotel.

Erfoud

On the road outside our hotel.

Erfoud

This is Ali, our local guide. He is one of the Blue Men, one of the Berber tribes. His English was perfect and he had just received his PhD in, I think, cultural anthropology. He was adopted by a Spanish family and both that family and Cosmos Tour people ensured that he would receive a very good education. When his tribe travels by caravan into the desert, he teaches other people of his tribe. I asked him if Blue Men’s skin still turns blue from the indigo dye of their headgear (why they are called “Blue Men”) and he said yes. He also told us they have discovered the wonders of skin block and mosquito repellent.

Erfoud

We first visited the Manar Marbre company down the street of our hotel. But before visiting it, we were given some bad news about one of our tourmates, a woman. She had been feeling ill and hadn’t eaten. She was being seen by a doctor who thought that she was just weak and would improve. The next day we were informed that her legs had become paralyzed and also that she had lost bladder control. Rachid found a taxi (no small feat as the taxis were on strike) to transfer her to a clinic in Marakesh. When we reached Marakesh several days later, she was still not diagnosed and they were trying to arrange a medical evacuation to the UK but was having trouble with her travel insurance company about having it done. That is all the information I have on her condition. Whether she came down with something in Morocco is not known. A number of people on our tour were complaining about stomach upsets, etc., including Rachid. I was fine all throughout the trip and so were others. It would be wise before you take a trip out of your own country to take out travel insurance with medical evacuation coverage. However, after going over some of these policies, you could still have a fight with your insurance company on the medical evacuation part.

Erfoud

These are fossils, some of them looking like succulents. You can buy them.

Erfoud

Here they slice marble inbedded with fossils.

Erfoud

Some of the slices.

Erfoud

The polishers.

Erfoud

Bottom of the photo: sink made from polished fossilized marble.

Erfoud

A fountain. I couldn’t determine where one would put a fountain pump in it as my similar–shaped fountain at home, but made from clay, has a door for it between the two bottom tiers. I asked about it: you just pull the top off it––handy design, easier than with mine.

Erfoud

Various cups and plates were also of fossilized marble.

Erfoud

Marble pieces you could buy.

Rissani

We drove to a nearby town called of Rissani and stopped here both the view the gate and to buy water from a nearby store.

Rissani

We started to see the different clothing of the women here. Erfoud is at the edge of the Sahara Desert. Most of the people who live or rest here are Berbers, Bedouins, and Saharans, which are nomadic or semi–nomadic tribes, though the Berbers are quite integrated into Moroccan society. You can distinguish the tribal affiliation of the women by the type of abaya and head scarf they are wearing: the Bedouins wear black, the Berbers wear black with embroidery, and the Saharans wear colors. The Berbers are the indigenous people of North Africa and they have their own language. The Bedouins are Arabic–speaking people of the desert. The Saharans are of mixed Berber, Arab, and black African descent. The woman in the photo would be a Saharan.

Rissani

A group of black–clad women––Bedouins.

Rissani

From the back. I think these were the women I saw later at the market. Photo to come.

Rissani

Carrying this bundle on her head is quite a feat.

Rissani

This looks like a total covering, which would be a burqa.

Rissani

Street scene on our way to the market, called the Rissani Souk.

Rissani

Passing a “male–only cafe.” The Asian girls sitting on the right seems to have broken the gender gap. I don’t think they realized it was a traditional male–only establishment.

Rissani

Walking to the market.

Rissani

The entrance to the market.

Rissani

A donkey being ridden into the market.

Rissani

A woman pulling her donkey.

Rissani

The woman on the left would be a Saharan.

Rissani

A butcher.

Rissani

Dates. The dates were harvested in September, a month ago. There is a big date festival in Efoud when the dates are picked.

Rissani

More dates.

Rissani

I think this is the group of black–clothed women we saw on the street.

Rissani

Flip flops for sale.

Rissani

Baskets for sale.

Rissani

Corn and grains for sale.

Rissani

Clothing souk.

Rissani

Outside the regular market––making sure the donkeys avoid each other.

Rissani

The donkey market.

Rissani

A friendly, photogenic donkey. Do you think it wanted me to buy it and take it home with me?

Rissani

Another “take me home” pose.

Rissani

Donkey love.

Rissani

Next, the sheep market.

Rissani

Sheep.

Rissani

More sheep.

Rissani

Many sheep.

Rissani

Chickens for sale.

Rissani

This woman bought a live one. If you wanted, you could have the seller kill the chicken for you.

Rissani

How to carry two live chickens.

Rissani

Back in the regular market. There was a run on buying bananas by our tour group, so Rachid took over the ordering (either 1/2 kilo or a full kilo) and counted out the money to pay what would have been an overwhelmed vendor. A tour guide extraordinaire.

Rissani

Friendship. Note the embroidery on the woman’s cuff––a Berber.

Rissani

Another Berber.

Rissani

Spices––many spices, including saffron.