part 3, episode 11: MERZOUGA & THE DUNES

Arriving in Merzouga at sunset is rather indescribable. Arriving from the wrong side of Merzouga, we didn't find Mohammed Lhou's auberge straight away, so we ended up asking a local - Hassan - to show us the way, and followed him on his moped to the "Auberge familiale - chez Belkacem".

We arrived from the wrong part of town as we had crossed the desert (green track on the map) instead of taking the newly finished and properly surfaced road between Rissani and Merzouga (orange on the map) - we hadn't realised it was finished, and to be totally honest, we were craving for a bit of off-road adventure.  We stayed two days with Mohamed and his family. We strongly recommend to anybody going to Merzouga to stay in his auberge, it's a good price, around €16 a night for a nicely decorated bedroom with en-suite bathroom (and European style toilet).

 They do food as well, really nice tajine or couscous, nice coffee, etc. but above all, it's the warmth of Mohamed and his cute kids that will make you want to stay - "Belkacem" (the name of his auberge) is actually the name of his son. Mohammed used to be a touareg, he then started to take tourists for camel treks in the desert, and gradually realised that tourism was maybe the future of Merzouga. So he convinced his father, and they gave up their tough nomadic life in the desert to settle down in Merzouga and build an auberge.  If you want to know more about him and his auberge, here's a link to his site: http://www.merzouga-dromadaire.com/index_en.html.

Our time there was spent quietly enjoying life, with regular trips to the dunes,  riding a camel to the highest dune in the area at 4.30 in the morning and watch the sunrise (after a 3/4 hour climb to the top, the sand slipping under you feet at each step you take...) 

camel trek to the great dune

getting there...             .

sitting atop a dune and watching the sunset

Mohamed, his son, his nephew, & Paul

One of the other exceptional opportunities we had was to go to Rissani with Mohammed, to visit his wife and in-laws, and we had a meal there in the traditional way, with the washing of hands ceremony, mint tea, etc. A very good day we had there.

Merzouga, Mohammed and your family will always be in our hearts, we had the most wonderful time there, so THANK YOU

Mohamed also took us to a Gnawa concert. The Gnawa (or Gnaoua) are people from central countries of Africa, whose exile started in the 16th century. The ones we met have been living in this part of Morocco for around a century. They have a small settlement outside Merzouga, and still live in according to their ancient traditions. They are however starting to open to the outside world, and particularly to share their traditions with a few lucky tourists - with the help of Mohammed in Merzouga: they receive you in their 'ceremony' room, where they gather for meetings, ceremonies and parties, and they play instruments, sing and dance, and their music is beautiful.

If you want to know more, here's a few links to some good sites: http://www.chez.com/guenaoui/gnawa.htm, and http://www.festival-gnaoua.co.ma/videotheque.cfm (live video of a concert during Essaouira Gnaoua festival) - I'd add that the concert we attended was more traditional, the extract on this site sounds more modern and has been "north-Africanised" (closer to rai music) - the music we listened to was more typical of more central or southern regions of Africa, and was characterised by a fast and insistent beat of percussions along with vibrant and rhythmical chanting.

<-- sleeping on the roof (room temperature remains in the 40s even at night, so sleeping on the roof is very nice, and you can watch the stars at night, no light pollution there!)

Accommodation-wise, there are quite a few kasbah-style hotels around Merzouga (all outside the little town), mid-range to luxurious places at high prices, but if you want a real taste of Morocco, instead of these artifical places, Mohammed's familial auberge is THE place to go, and when you sit ouside in the evening having mint tea, watching the sun set, you can have a chat with  Mohammed and the friendly locals, and he'll tell you about life here, about his country, about the touaregs.

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slide shows: life in Merzouga - Camel trek at sunrise over the Erg Chebbi dunes - Gnaoua concert -