| Málaga – the beginning | |||||
| Day 1 - Leaving Spain | Day 2 - Chefchaouen | Day 3 - Fes | Day 4 - Er Rachidia | Day 5 - Merzouga | Day 6 - Tinghir |
| Day 7 - Aït Benhaddou | Day 8 - Marrakesh | Day 9 - More Marrakesh | Day 10 - Cascades (Ouzoud) | Day 11 - Ifrane | Day 12 - Tarifa |
| Day 13 - Málaga | Day 14 - Torremolinos | Day 15 - Torremolinos-1 | Day 16 - Torremolinos-2 | Day 17 - Caminito del Rei |
May 11-12th
No Map
Aït Benhaddou
(This page will cover the two visits I had to Aït Benhaddou: Saturday evening and then again Sunday morning. Day 8 of the trip starts after this page)
It was a twenty minute walk from our hotel to the new town of Aït Benhaddou, with the old town located just across the Ounila River. Dating back to the 11th century, the original town was an historic ksar (fortified village) along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. The most visible point of the town was the granary, located on the highest point so as to keep it protected from raiders. Today the structure was slowly melting back to the earth, and the recent earthquake had really hurried its demise.
The granary as seen from our hotel
ZOOOOOM for granary details!
Five of us made the trek to Aït Benhaddou in the late afternoon heat. We turned off from the (quiet) main road and wound our way between some unremarkable buildings. Less than five minutes later we were on the banks of the river, and the majestic setting of Aït Benhaddou visible beyond its shallow waters.
Irrigation channel in the river bed
Camel tracks in the river’s muddy base
Looking back across the River Ounila
I had never heard of Aït Benhaddou before today, but I had seen it – unbeknownst to me. The ancient town is the site of many, many movies. Recognize any of these titles?
Lawrence of Arabia
Sodom and Gomorrah
Oedipus Rex
The Man Who Would Be King
The Message
Jesus of Nazareth
Time Bandits
Marco Polo
The Jewel of the Nile
The Living Daylights
The Last Temptation of Christ
The Sheltering Sky
Kundun
The Mummy
Gladiator
Alexander
Kingdom of Heaven
Babel
One Night with the King
Prince of Persia
Son of God
Queen of the Desert
A Life On Our Planet
Yeah, so Aït Benhaddou wasn’t exactly off the beaten path. This also explained why there were so many people making the trek up to the Granary. Our little group crossed the bridge, meandered up the main streets (there appeared to be many ways to ascend to the top), and enjoyed the markets along the way.
Market kittens have been fed
The parade of tourists
The walk was relaxed and not difficult at all. Yes, there were frequent steps but they were shallow steps and the markets offered a great distraction along the way. It wasn’t long before we had reached the top of the mesa and all of Aït Benhaddou was laid out before me – and a lot of desert, too.
Market kitty
Camel trekkers in the river bed (with a baby!)
Apparently, one can also go for a horseback ride
View of the Granary up close (no zoom needed this time)
Having been to the top, the only thing to do was to go back down. We retraced our steps, stopping by some market stalls to check out the wares. I bought a couple of small things, but otherwise just satisfied myself by looking. The vendors were all incredibly polite, and not overly pushy. Of course they tried to entice me to buy something, but never to any point where I felt uncomfortable. I am not very good with just walking away, so sometimes I was “stuck” a little longer than I wanted to be.
What the old building style looks like when the rain isn’t properly directed
I love the wooden arch piece
We all trekked back to the hotel, with Hana pointing out further earthquake damage to nearby buildings. Our own hotel had been closed for four months while they made repairs, although I couldn’t tell what had been done. I guess they did a good job!
Dinner was an amazing chicken egg noodle (?) dish that was different than anything we’d had until now. It was really good and I took more than one helping of it. I felt a little awkward during the meal, though, as our group seemed incredibly loud in the small and intimate dining area. This was made worse when someone knocked over their wine glass and spilled red wine all over the stone floor and nearby seats. Apparently the stone was rather porous and the proprietor looked annoyed at the mess, even though it looked to clean up ok.
Our group eventually went back to our rooms, where a nice ceiling fan helped me sleep well. Unfortunately, the barking dogs outside weren’t sleeping, and I could hear them every time I did wake.
Sunday
I woke up feeling refreshed in the morning, whereas everyone else were still behind their rooms’ doors. I took advantage of this time (and the cooler temperatures!) to revisit Aït Benhaddou. The twenty minute walk was under fifteen minutes with no one to slow me down. I re-crossed the bridge and found empty and quiet streets.
A hazy desert sunrise
Morning bird at our hotel
Morning song – video
Ancient streets of Aït Benhaddou
This guy stuck with me for the rest of the morning
Amazing door – cedar is one of the more common local trees (when you can find a tree, that is)
It was obvious which areas had been restored for movie sets
One of the city gates
A Roman-style street food stall set (probably from The Gladiator)
Morning sun
Fertile land by the river
Full view of the main gate and the old city behind it
Earthquake damage
After crossing the river again – this time without the bridge, as the water was low enough – I left the old town behind. I took a different way back to the main road, enjoying the sights as the town woke up and more people were bustling around in the morning sun.
New town building
A door within a door – beautiful!
Another door style
Looking back across the river
Stork on the Minaret
Speaking of Minarets, I observed that while the call to prayer times varied, the calls themselves varied. Over the last few days, I noticed that the chanting could be smooth and sing-song, or shrill and accusing. Each region had their own style, and it was interesting to listen to.
Looking at how the new buildings are designed
I walked brusquely back to the hotel in time for breakfast and our departure. Tonight we’d be in Marrakesh!