My usual reference when I hear “oasis” is the Garth Brooks bar song. But, not this time.
Thanks to Audley Travel for recommending the beautiful Ksar El Kabbaba.
You can see the ruins of the original fortification looming over the newer buildings. The property has been in the same family for more than 230 years, seven generations.
The gardens were beautiful with many intimate nooks and pathways.
The facilities were spacious with smaller lounge areas outside clusters of rooms. The dinner service was wonderful. I’d love to know how they made onion soup so delicious.
Now, I’ll try to explain our hammam experience.
It is traditional for Moroccans to do a hammam every week and there are public facilities throughout. We are going the private spa route.
Let’s say it was a very revealing experience. First we were placed in a steam room. I don’t know how hot it was, but I can report it was the hottest experience I have ever had. It felt like I was literally melting.
Then, after laying on marble slabs for a black soap cleanse, we were doused with water – it seemed like a lot of water (waterboarding came to mind). At least by now, we were cooled down. It was followed by a wonderful one-hour massage with locally pressed olive oil (no worries, you do not smell like cooking oil). Be prepared to shower after and wash your hair several times to get the oil out.
Even though the intense steam heat was tough, it was a great experience that I think every female visitor to Morocco should try.
It was dark and cold when our alarm went off this morning. After a quick cup of hot black tea, our guide, Ahmed, led us across the sand.
He showed us how to walk along the ridges and judge the direction of the slopes. It was too easy to take one step to the side and have your foot sink six inches. Likewse, it would be easy to slide down a dune.
Along the way, Ahmed drew our attention to the tracks of desert fox and gerbils, beetles, song birds, and flowering plants. It’s quiet, other than any birds or our own voices. The scent is clean and fresh with a light breeze.
Back on the Road
We walked about two miles across the dunes before breakfast, but it felt like 10! It was a very special experience that I won’t soon forget.
Then we were off on our second long road trip, headed to Marrakesh with an overnight stop in Skoura.
We drove along the bottom of the Todra Gorge. Rock walls soar almost 1,000 feet and a natural spring keeps clear water flowing.
The nearby town of Tinghir provided some storybook oasis views. Water-fed Palmeraie like this one, anchor the centers of many desert towns.
This is a route that connects Fès, Marrakesh and Timbuktu (that’s a place I’ve yet to see – only 2205 miles away!).
It’s a long drive from Fès to the Sahara desert (about 7 hours), but we made it in plenty of time for a sunset ride on camels. Well actually, in Morocco, they are dromedaries – one hump, not two.
I’d be lying if I said it was a comfortable ride. Particularly getting on, off and holding on for dear life when they stand up or sit down – whew! But, I did it, no matter how ungraceful it looked.
The dunes are hundreds of feet high. It’s an amazing sight.
The long drive was interesting. We could see the snow-covered High Atlas Mountains in the distance, as we drove through the Middle Atlas Mountains. Part of this area is ski-country and looks very European.
Here are a few scenes from the road:
A Visit to Nomads
Our Audley Travel guide took us far out in the desert to visit a Nomad encampment. It was shockingly primitive. They seem to live just as they did thousands of years ago.
BTW, we are in Morocco’s eastern corner, actually close to the Algerian border. The Sahara stretches across 10 African countries.
Back at Camp
We were in Erg Chebbi at the Desert Luxury Camp.
After a dinner of typical Moroccan dishes, we listened to some music outside around the fire pit and then took advantage of the darkness and minimal moon to do some serious star-gazing. I wish I still had my school-days knowledge of all the constellations. A few standbys were easy to find as was the Milky Way.
Tomorrow we are up before dawn for sunrise in the Sahara.
Most of today we continued exploring the fascinating Fès Medina. Note: I am now spelling Fès the Moroccan way.
Once again, we had a guide arranged by Audley Travel who helped us navigate this 690-700-acre maze. We have at least learned what kind of sign (hexagon) means the alley-street is a dead end.
Today is the first day we really ran into large groups of tourists. Partly because we were visiting a few of the iconic historical Muslim sites within the Medina, such as the oldest university, School of Koranic studies, and mosques.
Shopping the Souks
It was a cool, clear day, perfect for some targeting shopping. We explored shops with silver teapots, jewelry, textiles, and antiques. Our husbands may be happy to know we didn’t buy anything of significance. But, be forewarned, we are now very educated for our upcoming visit to Marrakesh.
BTW, a souk is an open-air marketplace, often organized by category of product, and usually within a Medina.
Across from the old University, we got to see an incredible centuries-old home that once housed the school’s faculty and their families. Today it has been repurposed as a beautiful multi-floor, multi-room shop with carpets and antiques. Even though we are carpet-averse, our guide said there would be no pressure – and he was spot-on. We had a delightful presentation about the carpets made by the seven families that supplied the shop, many of them Berber. It was really interesting.
After a light lunch on a terrace overlooking the city and Medina, we headed back to our beautiful Riad Maison Bleue. After the repacking needed for our early morning departure, we made one last visit into the Medina.
It proved easy to arrange an escort to get us to the right place. In this case, the Ruined Garden (cash only) deep in the Medina, for a light dinner. We loved the cats who had the run of the place and the instructions not to feed them, because the staff would. We got another escort for a very energetic walk back.
Otherwise, we’d likely still be wandering ….
