Moroccan Road Trip Part 2 - The High Atlas Mountains
CuriousOyster
Steve & Trish Brown
Tue 16 Sep 2008 16:40
From Marrakech Trish and I drove east into the High Atlas mountains. We
had reserved a room in the Kasbah du Toubkal, a renovated fortress now
serving as a "mountain retreat" but in a great position at the end of a
long valley and beneath North Africa's highest mountain...Toubkal. Kasbah
du Toubkal The Kasbah was renovated by two English brothers, who wanted to create a model for eco tourism. The company adds a 5% levy on all expenditure within the kasbah to be used for development projects for the three valleys surrounding the Kasbah. To date they have supplied a medical centre, an ambulance, an incinerator for the village, assisted the local school and are now trying to open a school for the education of the girls from the local villages. The premise being that to educate a girl is to educate future generations. A worthy project that also employs only local people and suppliers. Imlil village  From Imlil we drove South through the winding valleys and over the Tiz'n'Test pass. Punched through the mountains by the French in the late 1920's and is now one of the great road journeys. Passing by dozens of high Berber villages that have changed little over the centuries apart from the coming of elctricity in the mid 1990's and then the addition of the ever present satellite dishes.  The recent elections throughout the country exposed the problems of Morocco's high illiteracy rate and new ways had to be found to enable those that could not read or write to vote for their favorites. This was done by painting squares on walls and numbering the square or placing symbols linked to the candidate in the square. These ranged from Palm Trees to Fish.  Throughout the High Atlas there were many examples of ancient Kasbah fortifications that had been allowed to fall victim to the wind and weather. Built from the local soils and without binding agents any lack of maintenance soon led to decay.  These valleys were ruled by warring clans and their chiefs built fortresses to defend the valleys and their wealth.  The Tiz'n'test pass winds its way along the mountainsides and eventually leads to a high Col, down the southern edge of the mountains and back onto the fertile plains below.  As we approached the Col we saw clouds billowing over the pass and once into the clouds had zero visibility until we reached the plains below.  We had heard stories about the goats that climb the Argane trees to reach the fruit.  And there they were!!!!!!! To be continued! |