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MOROCCO:
FROM MAJESTIC MOUNTAINS TO ROMANTIC KASBAHS AND
DESERTS
Story
and photos by Habeeb Salloum
 Thanks
to the Africa Travel
Association's
6th Cultural and Ecotourism
Symposium
in Fez, Morocco during the
International
Year of Ecotourism, our ATA web site is receiving a
flood of e-mail requests for information on the
historic host city. The following article by Habeeb
Salloum captures the magic of Fez and its
surrounding area thanks to the writer's
professional style. The index in the left hand
column will lead you to more stories by Mr. Salloum
and other writers on Africa Travel Magazine's team,
plus information about ATA membership and
events.
For two days we
had explored Fez, Morocco's historic city,
glorifying in its ancient section which remains
enclosed within its ancient ramparts. Inside no
auto is allowed. Only donkeys contest with humans
the few feet wide medieval streets. Seemingly, we
had traveled back a thousand years in time. It was
a fabulous beginning for the trip we intended to
take across the Atlas Mountains to the land of
kasbahs (mud castles) and deserts.
 Fez,
with its air of the Arabian Nights, was still on my
mind as our tour group of five, along with
Abdelatif, our guide, traveled through the
foothills of the Atlas Mountains towards the desert
frontier town of Erfoud, some 480 km ( 298 mi)
away. I was still dreaming of the city's enchanting
medieval palaces and skilled craftsmen when
suddenly, the voice of Abdelatif, magnified by our
small auto bus's microphone, boomed, "During this
journey, we will see some of the most magnificent
scenery in the world. It will be a journey of
make-believe".
A lady next to me
snickered, "He's like all the other guides, always
exaggerating." "We will see!", I thought to myself
as we drove through a green fertile valley, covered
with olive trees, many newly planted, set in the
midst of sprouting wheat fields.
After about a 40
km (24 mi) drive, we turned and began to travel
upward on a road edged by stately maple trees, into
the Middle Atlas Mountains. Further away, small
apple orchards and patches of pine trees,
increasing as we moved along, dotted the slope of
the hills. Past the 1,220 m (4,000 ft) high
red-roofed resort town of Imeuzzer der Kandar, we
passed through an oak forest, then barren land
until we entered the attractive 1,650 m (5,412 ft)
high skiing town of Ifrane with its red-sloped
roofs.
A modern and
prosperous resort town, it is labeled by travelers
as the 'Switzerland of Morocco'. Located 60 km (37
mi) from Fez, this European-looking town is
snow-bound in winter and ideal for skiing. It is
the playground of the rich - the place where
affluent Moroccans build their second home. Ifrane
is also noted for the privately built Al-Akhawayn
University , specializing in foreign language
training.
Downward, we drove
through oak forests until, on the outskirts of
Azrou, we turned upward. A short drive and the oak
forests were soon inter-mixed with the majestic
cedar. However, this all-encompassing greenery was
followed by a barren countryside - the home of
shepherds and their flocks. We drove through this
arid Middle Atlas landscape, in the shadows of the
snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas Mountains,
until we stopped at Midelt - a town of 70,000,
located at the entrance to the Berber region in
Morocco - 200 km (124 mi) southeast of
Fez.
Situated between
the Middle and High Atlas Mountains, 1,525 m (5,000
ft) above sea level, this windswept town, an
important center for local carpets, defuses a calm
and friendly atmosphere. Besides being a rest
stopover, travelers come to this town to visit the
nearby convent of Kasbah Myriem - a nunnery staffed
by a handful of European nuns who make their living
selling carpets.
Continued
on next page
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