Morocco: Visiting a Nomad Family, a Fossil Factory, a Divorced Berber Woman and More..

This nomad (our host) is 75 years old and no longer goes out with his herds.  Instead his son now does the work. He and his wife (deceased) built their home where he now lives with his son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. As far as we could see there were no other families anywhere nearby.  His grandchildren do not go to school and are illiterate.  When questioned about their future he said he is waiting to go to Allah and what they do with their lives is up to them. 

The grandfather was constantly praying. 

The daughter-in-law with her youngest child. 


The family hides their food in here so no one will steal it. 

A nomad “pizza” and tea was prepared for us.  The pizza is two flat breads cooked with a stuffing inside.  It looked delicious. You can see the oven used to bake their daily bread. 

We had tea and a nomad pizza in animal hide covered tent. 

Grandfather and grandson.  The grandfather is disappointed that his grandson refuses to go to school.

The nomad’s home with his granddaughter playing outside.

During our long bus drives we had regular stops to admire and photograph the scenery. 

We visited a fossil factory where we learned about the geology and history of fossils. 

The fossil factory we visited was fascinating. Here you see the detailed work as the ancient fossils are painstakingly brought out of the stone where they have been frozen in time for 320,000,000 years.  

Crynoids were embedded in this stone and slowly

brought into relief. It will make a spectacular table top.  In case you were wondering, we bought a new dining table for Rabelo. It isn’t anything like what you’re seeing here.  It has a few ammonites and one other type of fossil scattered across the top.  

Some fossils in a piece of stone. 

We visited a divorced Berber woman living in the Arab community of Meknès-Tafilalet.  She and her children are ostracized by the rest of the community. 

The maze we went through to enter the Berber’s home where we had tea and the opportunity to discuss her life. 

Entering the home of the Berber woman.  She has many strikes against her making it difficult for her to live in this community of Arabs. Besides being divorced, and being a Berber, another issue they have with her is the fact that she allows OAT visitors into her home. 

Inside the divorced Berber woman’s home. She did not want to have her face on Facebook. She had heard that people would use her face and put it on the body of a naked woman to post on Facebook. 

We were offered mint tea by our hostess. Her brightly decorated caftan shows she is a Berber. At each home visit we brought gifts 

We were greeted by this band when we arrived at a hotel. 

Tom and Bruce got into the rhythm of the music.

We saw a herd of camels as we were driving along and stopped for pictures.

Ouarzazate-Tinghir…another photo stop

The Miller family have always liked snakes. 

 

Volubilis, Meeting a Shepard, Visiting Two Berber Nomad Women, and The Mausoleum of Sultan Moulay Ismail, Morocco

Volubilis is one of the best preserved Roman cities in North Africa.  It was also one of the most remote cities of the Roman Empire.   It’s located between the imperial cities of Fes and Meknes.  Unlike the ruins in Athens, Greece we were allowed to walk on the original stones.

Volubility is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There were many beautifully preserved mosaic floors.  Here you see the artist had a sense of humor by having the rider sitting backwards on his mule. The mosaics are over 2000 years old and still showing their original designs and colors.

The Romans had a sophisticated drainage system set up. 

A Shepard we spoke with. He hopes for a better life for his children. 

One of the Shepard’s dogs.  They are well trained and good at their jobs.  The main predator for the sheep are wolves.  The dogs will attack any wolf that makes the mistake of trying to catch a free meal. 

The Shepard had a large flock of sheep.  When asked, he had no idea how many miles he walks a day. He owns 350 sheep.  While chatting with him we saw his herd mingle with another herd.  We wanted to know how, at the end of the day when he took his sheep home, he knew which were his and which belonged to someone else.  He said he knew every one of his sheep.

We had the opportunity to stop and speak with two nomad women and go inside their homes. Plastic is now used to cover their homes and to sometimes line the inside walls. They replace the plastic every two years which is all it lasts. 

The life of two nomad families. In the winter when the families travel with their animals searching for food, someone stays to protect their home. 

This nomad is a Berber of which 85% of Morocco is made up of Berbers. We were invited inside her home.
 

This is one home of a nomadic family. 

Inside the home

Drinking tea is an important part of their day.  They drink a combination of green tea with the pot also filled with fresh mint leaves.  A tiny cup will have the equivalent of seven cubes of sugar in it. When you visit a Moroccan family they offer you tea with lots of sugar.  Otherwise they would be considered miserly. The children start drinking tea at around seven months. 

A kitchen of a nomad family

This is the wash house for the family. They wash clothes and bathe in here.  The water is hand carried in from a distant source. 
 

Another Berber nomad we spoke with who also allowed us into her home. 

Inside another Berber home.  That is not fabric against the back wall.

The nomads have a solar panel, a car battery and a small television. They said the tv is only used for weather reports.

The worldly goods of a nomadic family.

The entrance to the Mausoleum of Sultan Moulay Ismail, who made the city of Meknes his capital in the 17th century.

It’s important to always look up at the ceilings of these Moroccan buildings.  Because the Moroccans had no furniture, they sat or laid on floor cushions.  Thus they were always looking at the ceilings. Therefore they had magnificently detailed and intricate ceilings.
 

Look at the detail in the walls of the mausoleum. That design is all carved by hand

This alcove is where the Inman (one who leads Muslim worshippers in prayer) prays.  He prays facing the wall.  The acoustics are such that everyone standing behind him can hear clearly.  Again look at the exquisite mosaic tile and carvings in the wall. 

Life hasn’t changed in the countryside of Morocco

 

Fes, Morocco

We had various opportunities to visit peoples homes, share a meal, and discuss controversial topics.  Each visit was outstanding. We were also invited to try on traditional clothing. 

The fantastic meal prepared by our hosts. Everything was delicious. I need to learn to cook Moroccan food now. 

Part of our host family in Fes

17th Century Synagogue

Jewish cemetery 

We visited a pottery factory where everything is still hand made 

Clay being made by hand

Example of a mosaic table top

Artist hand painting bowls 

This will become a custom table top. Each square will have a different design. What patience. An added note is that each little piece of tile you see has been hand cut.  You are looking a the under side of the table. The top will be the colorful tiles which are already glazed. 

At the pottery factory there were beautiful items to choose from. All hand made and hand painted.   The selection was overwhelming. 

A small sample of items for purchase at the leather factory we visited. In case you were concerned, we helped out the Moroccan economy.  It’s a shame we didn’t have more time there.  

Pigeon poop is used to treat the animal skins. The smell was horrible.

It’s hard work treating and dying animal skins before they are made into their final product
 

Leather is treated in large vats. It’s a many step, time consuming, back breaking job. 

Original Jewish section of Fes.  The Jews were wealthy in those days and all the homes had balconies. 

Delightful flower shop filled with artificial flowers for many uses.  The shop seemed endless. 

Charming street

They weren’t thinking of Tom when they made these streets. 

Baking by hand

This section of the souk had dyed leather and yarns

Notice the supports used to keep the ancient walls from collapsing 

There are endless shops in the souks with an infinite number of items to purchase. It’s extremely crowded and overwhelming. 

Mosque Al Qaraouiyine