Our two nights staying at Kasbah Ait Ben Damiette had been so enjoyable and the staff so friendly and obliging, it was with a touch of sadness that we had to say farewell and start our day’s travel towards Marrakech.
Kasbah Ait Ben Damiette, Skoura
Saying farewell at Kasbah Ait Ben Damiette, Skoura
We drove westwards from Skoura on the P32 and headed to the town of Ouarzazate. On the eastern outskirts of Ouarzazate we could see to the south, a very large lake. This very substantial 30 km long water storage has been formed by building the Mansour Eddabhi Dam on the Dades River which brings water down from the High Atlas Mountains. The Dades and Todra Valleys now have a reliable water supply even during dry summer times like the present. The increased area of irrigated farming land in these valleys is a direct consequence of this new dam.
About 10 km north of Ouarzazate is an amazing ‘renewable energy’ project, the ‘Noor Solar Complex’ which is the world’s biggest concentrated solar power facility with a power output to exceed 580 MW when completed. The initial developmental phase of the system utilises an array of 184 000 parabolic mirrors that are mobile and keep directing the sun’s rays to a central 250 m high energy absorbing storage tower that looks like a giant Apollo rocket! The mirrors cover an area of about 450 hectares. The energy is stored in the form of molten salts at temperatures of over 1000°C. The hot liquid salt is then used to produce steam for electricity generation. The energy output is around 3 TJ (terrajoules) annually because this area has such a high percentage sunny days.
Noor Solar Complex in the distance, north of Ouarzazate
As part of this ongoing, massive energy project, a direct transmission line is being developed with 4 km of line under the Straits of Gibraltar, so that Morocco can sell energy to Europe. Great Britain is contracted to become one of the major potential customers for Noor Solar Complex.
Our first main stop for the day was at Aït Benhaddou where a fortified cluster of red clay kasbahs exists above the banks of the Wadi Mellah. This grouping of 11th century kasbahs is one of the most striking and best preserved in Morocco.
Aït Benhaddou on banks of Wadi Mellah
The village has been designated a UNESCO world Heritage Site.
Our guide, Aït Malik Ali led us across the Wadi Mellah’s stepping stones to the main entrance of Aït Benhaddou where we watched a farmer redirecting water from one irrigation channel to another section of his small plot.
Jak stepping across stones over brackish water to Aït Benhaddou
Farmer redirecting irrigation water, Aït Benhaddou on banks of Wadi Mellah
We followed Ali through the walkways and up the stone steps amongst the kasbahs and plain earth houses inhabited today by fewer than ten Berber families. Up the pathway to the peak, there are dozens of stalls selling tools, trinkets and artwork.
Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
Structure at top, Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
At the very top of Aït Benhaddou are the remains of a partially collapsed kasbah and from this high vantage point the panoramic view is glorious.
View through wall at the top, Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
View from the top, Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
View from the top, Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
View from the top, Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
It seems that movie directors the world over are drawn to the dramatic, thousand year old scenery of Aït Benhaddou, with the town featuring in numerous film and television productions. The ‘Game of Thrones’ was partly filmed here as were several scenes from ‘Gladiator I and II’. Ali our guide, reeled off at least twenty movies that had scenes filmed on this ancient site. These movie productions are linked to the sets we saw yesterday at the Atlas Film Studios in Ouarzazate.
Arena used for filming Gladiator I, Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
Poster showing movies filmed at Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
After some cold drinks, we began the drive up into the High Atlas Mountains on a minor and very twisty road, before pausing at the Kasbah of Telouet. This was one of the homes of Al-Thami el-Glaoui, pasha of Marrakech whose fiefdom covered a large part of the High Atlas. Although we didn’t enter, we were informed that the opulence of the kasbah is still apparent in some of its rooms despite neglect and the passage of time since the family were exiled in 1956.
Kasbah of Telouet, High Atlas Mountains
Section of highway over High Atlas Mountains
Our driver & guide Chahine in our van on highway over High Atlas Mountains
Boulders fallen from bank on section of highway
Boulders fallen from bank on section of highway
Boulder damage to houses, High Atlas Mountains
The highest point on the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass over the High Atlas range occurs at 2260 m where we stopped to look way down into the valley below and observe the numerous ‘S’ bends in the road we’d just ascended.
Highest point on the highway over the High Atlas Mountains
This high area was a region that suffered dramatically from the September 8th 2023 earthquake. There was ample evidence of destruction and damage in the houses we could see along the roadway, especially those made from mud and clay bricks rather than concrete blocks. Landslides associated with the earthquake resulted in massive boulders rolling down the steep mountainsides and crushing homes and blocking roads.
Descending the High Atlas Mountains
Repairing landslide damage to the road on the High Atlas Mountains
Descending the High Atlas Mountains
We joined the main highway P31, near Col du-Tichka and began the descent into Marrakech which took us about another two hours.
The traffic on Saturday afternoon at 17:00 was horrific, especially with hundreds of motorcycles weaving dangerously at speed in amongst cars and people with little concern for anyone’s welfare.
The crowd and car density made it very difficult to find a place to park anywhere near our hotel, so Chahine phoned for a porter to come and collect our luggage in a hand trolley. He then led us through the crowded main square and along several alleyways where eventually we found our hotel; Riad Palais Des Princesses.
We have first floor room with narrow and steep stairs but the room is ideal and comfortable with excellent lighting. At the hotel we chatted with another guest from Austria whose daughter worked for four years as an ENT medical specialist at the Launceston LGH before returning to Austria. He had visited his daughter several times and commented on how much he enjoyed his times in Tasmania.
A meal in the hotel’s dining room entailed a superb Moroccan soup, tasty chicken kebabs and fairly forgettable lamb chops!
Tomorrow is a full day taking in some of the highlights of this extraordinary tourist Mecca of Marrakech, the ‘southern pearl’ of Morocco.