We leave the desert behind at Merzoga and move on to the area of the ksar, walled Berber villages, where we meet new people and learn more about this magical country. Our 8 hour bus trip is filled with stops which show us the diversity of the area..
During our two day stay, we have a ” Day in the Life” experience where we spend time with a family and go to the Imik Simak Foundation, to learn about the Grand Circle Foundation’s efforts to help women become more self sufficient.
We get off the bus at our first stop to meet a man who shows us the ancient water system and go down a well. Ann gets help up and makes a new friend.
We visit a ksar, a walled Berber settlement, where we have lunch at a restaurant owned by a woman and drop in on a pre-school.
As it’s Linda’s birthday, she is given a makeover at the small gift shop. The restaurant also made her a birthday cake!
Later in the afternoon we arrive at the town of Ourzazate, where we discover that our guest house is also in the middle of the walled Berber enclave. Each room is unique. My room has a view of the mosque. The decor is gorgeous. The stairs are steep but hand railings help. The view from the rooftop area is magnifent. We have dinner on site.
The next day we visit a family with the help of a local guide.
The family consists of a mother, a father, who works three jobs, and four kids. The eldest boy is the product of a first marriage. We learn how to make bread, and the guys on our tour make a brick. We chat in their olive fields as we have mint tea and ask questions. The family believes in education and the eldest daughter, Fatima, is very articulate and asks us questions. She is in boarding school but comes home for the weekends. Every one of us falls in love with this charming young lady.
We have couscous lunch served in the large room we saw when we came in. This room is locked and is only used when visitors arrive. The neighbor kids sing the Moroccan national anthem and Fatima and her sister dance for us It is quite a show. I give her some school supplies and wish her well in her future endeavors.
We go to the Imik Simak foundation to discuss its aims with the director. My camera has lost its juice as has my portable charger.so I didn’t get any photos of this event.
Our last stop was to the Atlas Film Studios. Did you know that films are made here? It is the largest film lot in the world. We saw the sets for ” The Game of Thrones” and several other films. Many locals work as extras. Commercials are also filmed here. With the help of our guide, we also made a small video, which I will get and send out later. This was sooo much fun. I was able to get a few photos from Ann. You can google Atlas film studios Morocco for more information. I could have taken a million pictures here!
We had dinner in town, at the oldest Greek restaurant in the city, then took an evening stroll through the area, ending up at our gorgeous hotel.
Ourzazate is known as the ” quiet city” and I understood and appreciated this area for the simple pleasures of life and beautiful architecture. We’re on to the hustle and bustle of Marrakesh next.