As early as the third century, Morocco became the starting point for the caravans of desert tribes such as the Sanhaga, Zagoua, Toubou, and Tuareg. These proud, sometimes warlike masters of the Sahara used their knowledge of the land and ownership of camels to become valuable middle-men between the opulent courts of Marrakech, Fes, Europe, and the mysterious realms of sub-Saharan Africa. Their heavy-laden camels conveyed cloth, salt, metals, and wood, pearls and writing paper from the Mediterranean and the Maghreb to Mali. In fabled Timbuktu, these precious commodities were haggled, sold, and traded for gold, exotic spices, slaves, ivory, and ostrich feathers.
Few images conjur up the romanticism of Morocco more than a camel caravan in the desert.
These long winding trains of camels, men, and treasures continued to cross the burning ocean of sands until the last caravan route was finally closed down in 1933. Still, the legacy of the trans-Saharan caravan lives on in the imagination of visitors to Morocco today.
While genuine caravans have been reduced to near non-existence in the modern era, the traditional dependence upon camels, poetically referred to as ‘Ships of the Desert,’ has not diminished. These hardy beasts of burden are still commonly found throughout the lands south of the Atlas Mountains. Berber families from Agadir to Merzouga rely upon camels for everyday tasks — much as families in the United States rely everyday upon automobiles. A commonplace occurrence is farmers, merchants, and families arriving with a small train of camels and donkeys to the weekly markets of Zagora, Rissani, and Erfoud.
Families from Agadir to Merzouga rely upon camels for everyday tasks — much as families in the United States rely everyday upon automobiles.
A sense of adventure and romance draws many visitors to discover the legacy of Morocco’s by-gone era of the caravan. And for some, a trip to Morocco is not complete unless they have ridden a camel and camped beneath the spectacular star-filled night skies of the Sahara. Fortunately, it is possible to arrange camel treks with local guides from Figuig to Merzouga to Zagora. These trips can be short, overnight adventures to nearby oases or extended treks following the nearly forgotten desert highways that connect the villages along the sandy perimeter of the Sahara.
The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert and covers 5,596,430 square miles, which is almost an area as large as the United States. Morocco sits at the northern most edge of the desert, and has only one genuine Saharan sand dune within its borders, called Erg Chebbi. This landscape of shifting sands is awe inspiring, and requires preparation to be safely explored. With the knowledge of expert local guides, visitors are sure to discover not just the majesty of the Sahara, but a philosophy or perspective of life that may be entirely new to them.
Bedouin tents can be used as semi-permanent dwellings, and usually have several sections for different uses.
Regardless of how long a trek is undertaken, there are some basic rules for desert travel that should be considered. The first rule of the desert is to never forget your sense of humor. The experience of riding a camel for the first time can be exhilarating and sometimes awkward. It’s important to laugh at yourself as you adjust to the unfamiliar gait of your camel! Eventually, you’ll discover that your camel has a personality and is your companion, not just a means of transportation. Camels sometimes get a bad reputation, but if you treat them well, camels will respond well to you.
Camels sometimes get a bad reputation, but if you treat them well, camels will respond well to you.
The most important conditioning for desert travel is not physical, as it is not necessarily demanding in that manner. Most people who are in normal physical condition should be able to walk or ride a camel at a steady pace with no difficulty. Because the desert is truly an adventure far from civilization and modern conveniences, it is important for you to be prepared to give up some of your daily comforts like being able to shower. There is no electricity and definitely no air conditioning! You’ll be sleeping under the stars or in a tent and dining around a campfire. When you consider the wealth of experiences and new emotions that the desert reveals to you, these seem to be relatively trivial concessions.
Two lonely figures make their way through the desert sands.
It stands to reason that one of the most evocative images that Morocco may bring to mind is the caravans of turbaned nomads disappearing into the horizon over the golden hued dunes of the desert. It’s imagery that has been inspired by the past, for Morocco has forever been a crossroads.
Jewelry is important in Moroccan culture for not just adornment, but as a means of communicating social class, wealth, marital status, religion, or to what tribe one belongs. Different types of jewelry are common throughout Morocco. Large beads of coral, amber, and other materials such as those pictured above are worn by the indigenous Amazigh, or Berbers. The jewelry of the Tuareg people, known as the Blue Men of the Desert, are made of silver and prominently feature stylized cross designs. Most Moroccan silver and gold jewelry, however, was traditionally made by Jewish craftsmen, who brought their skills in working the precious metals with them to Morocco when fleeing Spain during the Inquisition. The southern town of Tiznit is especially known for its silver jewelry, and Goulamine for its glass beads.
Mysticism and folklore abound in Morocco, so much so that it often intertwines with religion or medicine. Fortune tellers are a common sight, such as this shuwaff in Marrakech, waiting for patrons to ask her a question about their life. There are numerous ways this can be accomplished: tarot cards, palm reading, and numerology. If you’re down on your luck, you can purchase a blessing, either written on a piece of paper, or as a small bag called a hijab. Men will visit male fortune tellers, and women will go to a shuwaff. No matter the gender, mystics are generally held in higher esteem by elder Moroccans than the younger generation, and are shunned altogether as practitioners of satanic arts by the ultra-religious.
It’s certainly easy to walk away stuffed and satisfied from one of the dozens of food stalls that fill every foot of Djmaa el Fna in Marrakech, but just in case you’re itching for a little something sweet, you won’t have to travel far. Vendors that specifically sell sweets and various dessert items are in abundance here as well, such as the one pictured above. He is serving up a complimentary combination of ginger tea and a spiced cake called tkaout. Tkaout is a blend of myriad sweet spices, seeds, and nuts all ground together, but not baked. The grand total for a genuine Moroccan dessert with 2 or 3 glasses of tea? Less than 5 dirham, about $.40 at today’s exchange rate. And the fantastic people-watching opportunities are on the house.
One of Morocco’s largest and oldest mosques, the Koutoubia proudly stands over the city of Marrakech, keeping careful watch over the bustling square of Djmaa el Fna in one direction, and the peaceful visage of the High Atlas Mountains in the other. Founded by the Almohad sultan Abd al-Moumen in the 12th century, the mosque’s design was so grand that it would not be completed until the time of al-Moumen’s grandson, Yacoub al-Mansour. It is said that al-Mansour’s wife donated the gold to make the spheres that originally topped the minaret as atonement for accidentally breaking the fast during Ramadan. The spheres that exist there today, however, are made of bronze.
Pictured here is the entrance to Souk Rahbia in Marrakech. Souks are workshops, or more often, groups of workshops, that specialize in one particular craft or another. Souk Rahbia is a group of craftsmen’s shops that line an open-air square. The silver lining of Morocco’s staggering unemployment rate — well over 20% just a few years ago — is the overproduction of goods. While this isn’t the silver lining in and of itself, the ‘practice makes perfect’ aspect that comes into play because of it has turned Morocco into a country of master artisans. Souk Rahbia offers various wares: fine woven goods, spices, and myriad arts and crafts.