Did you know one of the largest film studios in the world is in rural Morocco. Atlas Studios is in Ouarzazet. Scenes from Babel, Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, Game of Thrones and many other films have been shot in the area.
Atlas Studio
CLA Studio nearby
Set used as Jerusalem. Atlas saves many sets and has tours.
Parts of Gladiator were filmed at Ait Ben Haddou, a historic village along old caravan route. It is a Unesco site.
No trip to Morocco is complete without a night at a tented camp in the red sand dunes. We were in the Erg Chebbi near Merzouga. Our trek included a 30-minute camel ride over a flat surface into the dunes, but the rest of the trip was by 4X4.
Me and my camel. Most of the pictures of the dunes were taken from the 4X4 because I was afraid to let go of the camel’s swaying saddle. The wrapped cloth turbans are a type of traditional headdress for the Berbers tribes, now called the Amazigh, any of the descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa.
The tented camp. At home in the desert with all the amenities, except wi-fi. Luckily, I could still get a signal.
We had a Moroccan musical performance of Gnawa, a mystical music originating from West Africa.
“Gnawa is one of the most popular types of music in Northern Africa. The Gnawa are slave descendants who were brought to Morocco by the Arabs and claim to be descendants of Sidi Bilal. Their sub-Saharan music has a lead, long-necked lute player who sings and is accompanied by metal castanets. . . .This style has been blended with hip-hop, jazz, rock, and funk but still preserves the traditional sound of their ancestors.” (from https://simply-morocco.com/moroccan-music/)
“For Gnawa music is a fusion of Arab, Berber and African rhythms. It is powerful trance music that goes back to the 16th century and has gained international popularity over the last few years. If you are in Morocco during the month of June, don’t miss the three-day Gnawa festival in the city of Essaouira in the south of Morocco. The main instruments of Gnawa music is the double-headed drum – or tbal – and metal castanets or qerqbat. Gnawa has also gone through changes and can be heard mixed with different musical styles such as Jazz.” (from https://www.morocco.com/culture/music/)
Morning brought clouds and then rain as we left the dunes behind.
Fes is Morocco. It has it all. It is vibrant and rushed and bursting with color and sound. It is more old than new, unlike Casablanca which feels much like many other modern cities. Fes is one of the four royal cities of Morocco and is its spiritual and cultural capital. Fes is famous for its medina, or historic city. The medina has two quarters, Fes el-Bali and Fes Jdid.
Fes it know for its arts and crafts including pottery, metal working, leather goods, and carpets. We visited a pottery. The artisans and craftsmen are paid by the piece and times were hard for many of them during the pandemic when tourism was slow.
Fes el-Bali, the original historic city of Fes and generally called the medina, is a maze of streets and passageways, some barely wide enough to walk down. The medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is said to be the world’s oldest urban pedestrian zone, though donkeys are allowed. And a motorcycle or two.
On a 17 day tour of Morocco. So far have been to Rabat, Assilah, Chefchauon, Ouazzane, now Fes. What a wonderful country. A few shots from Rabat.
Main gate at Royal Palace, Rabat.
Chellah, a medieval fortress on the edge of Rabat
Sub-Saharan musicians in front of the gate at Chellah
King Mohamed V Mausoleum
Hassan Tower. Unfinished minaret, c. 1150 and remains of unfinished mosque.
12th century wall of unfinished mosque
Cats are everywhere in Morocco
Modern graffiti in the Kasbah
Where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean from Kasbah overlook. Kasbah mean fort
Kasbah Gate
Andalusian music, Moroccan music from Spain
Chicken and almonds tajine
Playing with my Samsung S22 Ultra and low light
Lecture on Moroccan clothing styles at the Cross Cultural Center for Learning, our hosts in Rabat.
The entrance to the sandstone Temple of Rameses II at Abu Simbel. He reigned from 1279–13 BCE. Photo taken from the deck of the small ship cruising Lake Nasser, which was created when the Nile was dammed at Aswan. The entire temple complex was raised piece by piece to rescue it from rising waters. The rescue was part of an international effort to save the tombs and temples in Nubia from the rising lake.
Join The Life Captured’s Photo Prompt (LCPP): Ornate Entrance
The New 3 Rs: Retire, Recharge, Reconnect 