Rockin' the Kasbah

AIT BEN HADDOU, MOROCCO -- April 5, 2006
(a collection of impressions)

...Crossing a crystal stream to reach the kasbah, with sandbags for stepping stones. Local boys hang around the banks to earn a few dirham as they guided tourists with expensive cameras safely to the other side.

...Sitting atop a donkey with a young local boy, wondering how a little guy so young could be so proficient at riding this animal without the help of anyone else. Surely his mother would send him into town for a bit of grain or milk. And he would be riding right alonside the rest. Young drivers, this country! ;)

...Exploring the ancient kasbah with its winding alleys jutting up rocky ledges and overlooking the palmerae and gentle stream in the valley below.

...Staring out at the vastness of the desert just beyond the kasbah, wondering in awe at the stillness that seems to encompass all. Only the sound of sheep calling softly in the far distance can be heard above the roar of the wind.

...Feasting on a simple omelette cooked in a shanty cafe. Shoeing away flies from the plate holding my lunch. The owner bringing us spices in small bowls for pinching -- salt, pepper, and cumin.

...Walking out to the ridge just outside Ait Ben Haddou. Climbing to the top of the small peak, and feeling myself literally being carried away in the strong currents.

...Hitching a ride back to town with a local Berber man.

...Sitting in the bed of his pickup as he speeds along the piste, sand and dust flying, wind whipping across my face, through my hair, as we snake along the dirt road towards Ourzazate. the kasbah slowly leaving my sight.

...Villagers milling about the simple shops, catching up with neighbors, chatting with strangers, hoisting a new sack of grain to the side of the donkey they'll ride back home.

~Melanie