Âit-Benhaddou and Telouet - the old caravan trade route

Âit-Benhaddou is a UNESCO World Heritage site, 3kms from the campsite we are staying and our Berber hosts told us there is a path you can follow along the Asif Ounila that will lead us straight to it.  So armed with plenty of water, as it was already reaching 24°C at 10am, we set off.  Not an easy task as our version of a path and a Moroccan version are worlds apart.

We saw a couple of these interesting fellas – A Barbary Ground Squirrel, these are native to the western Sahara and hard to photograph as they don't stay still for long

And evidence of irrigation systems

A common site was seeing women doing their washing down by the river – there are no washing machines in this part of Morroco!

About an hour later and trecking through fields bushes and trees, Âit-Benhaddou came into sight!

The back of  Âit-Benhaddou

The bridge to access the Ksar

It is the most famous Ksar (fortified tribal village) in the Ounila Valley and its buildings are constructed out of earth and wood.  It is well known for its location for a lot of films namely Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, and more recently Game of Thornes, and dates back to the early 18^th century and played a vital role in the caravan trade between the regions of the former Sudan and the imperial cities of Morocco (Marrakesh, Fes, Rabat and Meknes).

List of films made at Âit-Benhaddou

From the top of the Ksar, looking back down the river where we had just walked

Snow on the tops of the High Atlas Mountains

Looking down on the old Kasbah

The Granary, considered the first building in the Kasbah

Into the old Kasbah, which is now laid out into a museum and giving you an insight as to how they lived

Unfortunately, a lot of it is crumbling away

As the temperature ramped up to 27°C it was time to head back.  The question is can we pick up the trail again!

The following day we took the motorhome up to Telouet, a remote area in the Atlas Mountains, about 40kms from our campsite.  Passing through lots of small villages on the way we witnessed the worst poverty we have seen since coming to Morocco.  We saw men and women, young and old with heavy loads on their back and young children who looked like their body hadn’t seen clean water or much food for a while waving to us and some flagging us down.  

They only spoke Berber so it was difficult to communicate with them but it was clear they just wanted sweets so we obliged but we also gave them pens.  Not sure if there is much hope of them getting an education out here, as we didn’t see any schools but hopefully if they manage to they can use them, if not at least they will be able to draw.

There are some steep roads here, as the sign suggests, with sheer drops and no safety barriers - not a good road in a motorhome but the views were spectacular!

Looking back at where we have just come from

Even steeper if you have to climb it on foot and by donkey! 

The snowy tops of Jbel Toubkal

At Telouet we were greeted by Ali.  His English was really good and he told us he has lived in the Atlas Mountains all his life and travels to Telouet by Donkey every day – takes him about 2 hours!  He works in the café, (where we sat and had coffee with him) and is also a guide around the Kasbah.  He offered to be our guide around the Kasbah for 100DH.  He was a really nice man and he gave us a good history of the place.

Mel, with Ali - our guide

The Kasbah was once the palatial residence to the the Glaoui Family.  Brothers Madani 1866-1918 and T’hami el Glaoui 1879 – 1956, the greatest and most ambitious of all the Berber tribal leaders, and known as ‘Lord of the Atlas’ who controlled the caravan trade between Marrakech and the Sahara. 

The family resided here from 1912 to their eviction in1956 (after Morocco’s independence), governing the country in barbaric and ostentatious splendour.  Since their departure, it is fast crumbling but some rooms remain intact with delicate iron window grilles and fine carved ceilings from the late 19^th / early 20^th Century. as well as stunning mosaics and intricate wood carvings

The Reception Hall

Into the Hareem, used by the many wives and concubines

Beautiful ornate grills on the windows

Star of David inlay on the ceiling

The ruins as viewed from the top

According Ali, the family entertained Winston Churchill, General Paton and Charlie Chaplin in this courtyard with music and dancing.

A stop off to admire the views in the Atlas Mountains

We have been at this campsite 3 days/nights and had a fabulous time.  We have eaten in the restaurant every night – 5-course meal of olives and bread, soup/salad, lamb/chicken tagines, fruit salads and coffee and all for 160DH for 2 people.  We were also entertained with Berber music by our hosts and encouraged to join in.

This place is so relaxing we could stop here for weeks, but Morocco is such a big country and we have only just scratched the surface.  So we will stop one more day/night then it’s time to move on!

Sally x