The Djema el Fna, the Arabic name of the large meeting place well known to anyone who has ever visited Marrakesh, is said to translate as "assembly of the dead". It was here that the heads of the Sultan's enemies were hung out for display having first been pickled in…

Following the Treaty of Fez in 1912 Morocco became a French Protectorate under its first Resident General Hubert Lyautey. Marrakesh had a population of 75,000, mostly living in the Medina, the Mellah and the Kasbah , and then saw the arrival of European colonists. By 1913 the French numbered three…

Leaving the beautiful Majorelle gardens to gathering groups of tourists we headed south west towards the wide streets of the Hivernage, trotting grandly in our horse drawn carriages like ladies of yore. We passed upmarket hotels surrounded by lush greenery and made our way south west to the Menara gardens…

After lunch we walked through the maze-like lane ways of the souk where even the most jaded of senses are restored to life by a myriad of colors, sounds and scents. As we were a group on a mission we did not linger or allow ourselves to be enticed deeper…

Having done enough sight- seeing for one day we returned to our hotel for a swim in the garden pool and a rest before ordering a minivan to take all seven of us back to Place des Ferblantiers for fish tagine. Our arrival cause a flurry of activity around the…

We were up bright and early next morning and as our bags were packed into two waiting four by four jeeps we breakfasted quickly on a simple breakfast of flatbreads, eggs and coffee. I sat up front with Abdulkhader our second driver and an acquaintance of Judith's husband who like…

The three possible passes over the high atlas were guarded by the three most important warrior tribes of the High Atlas. The M'tougga commanded the south east pass of Tiz-n-Test, the Goundafa controlled the central Oued Nfis, and the Glaoui the pass then called Tizn-n-Telouet. Each tribal leader was officially…

We took off once again and wound our way over the mountains passing by the salt mines that had enriched the Galaoui and Abdulkadher told me about his two sons Mohammad and Rasheed who were working at Hotel de La Valley in Ouarzazate where we would stay for the following…

Next morning we went to visit the Ouarzazate Film Studios situated outside the town in a flat hot desert area and we were surrounded by groups of visitors interested in seeing where parts of some famous movies were filmed. I imagine the actors found it tough going out here in…

Following a short rest some of us drifted back down to sunbathe and swim before a planned visit to explore the local town later than afternoon. A middle aged woman dressed in a black abaya spoke in a loud business-like voice on a mobile as she paced up and down…

 Our next stop would be the beautiful oasis at Tinghir which I had visited on two previous occasions. The first time was on my first visit to Morocco with Judith and Mohammad when we had stayed in a site run by Mohammad's cousin on the outskirts of town. Known as…

Before leaving the area we took a walk through the Todra Gorge where barefoot locals scurried up the sheer rock face like goats leading some well kitted out young tourists willing to have a go at rock climbing.  We passed the sellers of jewelry and other souvenirs ubiquitous throughout Morocco…

I recently had a conversation with a young Irish woman who was denigrating the Islamic religion and expressing her belief that abortion was murder and people who were pro -choice like me hated life. She had a strong belief in Heaven and Hell and when I pointed out to her…

The following day we had a long journey through the Atlas Mountains to our next halting site which was within walking distance of the Cascades d’Ouzoud. We stayed at the Kasba Oum-Hani. Well known to Judith and Mohammad it was owned by a Moroccan who had spent many years working…

Next morning feeling a little better for the long rest I decided to take a stroll alone through the souk to look for the Musee Douiria Mouassine, a 15th century Saadian house restored and renovate by a man who came across it while searching for a Riad in the old…