Moroccan Odyssey Day 17

Morocco Day 17: Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh

Today we had a long, very windy, mountainous ride from Ouarzazate to Marrakesh across the High Atlas Mountains.  The High Atlas Mountains form the highest mountain range in North Africa, running across central Morocco for about 430 miles from the Atlantic Ocean near Agadir to the Moroccan-Algerian border.

It is often called the “Roof of Morocco”  with the tallest peak in North Africa, Jebel Toubkal  13,671 ft.

This area was hit pretty hard during the 2023 earthquake and is only now slowly rebuilding. Abandoned damaged mud-brick homes are interspersed with new construction.  Given the rugged terrain, it is understandable how difficult the rescue efforts were.

The highest point of the pass that we took was 7,000 feet, the Col du Tichka.

The Tizi N'Tichka is the windy snakelike road that winds through the peaks and valleys of the High Atlasw Mountains.

We took a break at rest stop that boasted clean bathrooms and Argan oil products. Argan trees are native to and grow only in Morocco with an ideal combination of weather and soil conditions. The trees thrive in dry, rocky soils and intense sunlight, with roots that reach deep to find water and prevent soil erosion.

Argan trees are evergreens that can live to be 200 years old.  The fruit is eaten by goats and the pits harvested and dried. 

Most argan oil is produced by women’s cooperatives in rural Amazigh (Berber) communities — especially around Tamanar, Tafraoute, and Agadir.

These are then cracked by hand (traditionally by women) between two stones and the 

kernels removed.

They are then ground by hand into a paste and the oil extracted by pressing.  It requires 70 lbs of fruit to produce 1 quart of oil, thus the moniker, "Moroccan Liquid Gold". The kernels are roasted before processing to produce edible Argan oil which is rich in vitamin E, antioxidants, and unsaturated fatty acids. Unroasted argan kernels are used in cosmetics production.

After another long day on the road, we reached Marrakesh.  Our bus dropped us outside the medina (too large to drive in) and we walked from here to our riyahd. Marrakesh is another world! The sights, smells and noise were all overpowering. 

There were traditional water carriers, Guerrabs, who, before modern plumbing, were essential for providing fresh drinking water to residents, travelers, and merchants in the souks and public squares (now just trying to help you part with your money for a picture)

snake charmers (also looking for money in exchange for a photo)

monkey handlers (you guessed it cash for photo)

and loads of fruit sellers.

Since I already paid good money for my telephoto lens, I did not encourage the exploitation of the cobras and monkeys.  The animals are really mistreated with the snakes being defanged, and the monkeys kept out in the hot sun all day.  Hopefully, the Moroccan government will end this practice or at least put laws in place to protect these animals.

The Jemaa el-Fna, the world famous, enormous square in the medina was under construction (almost everywhere in Morocco is under construction in order to get ready for the Africa Games this month and the World Cup in 2030) which reduced some of the traffic.  We finally got to our riyadh at the far end of the square.

After settling in we met for our first walk through the souk.

The narrow streets of the souk were jam-packed and bikes and scooters made there way through the stream of people, miraculously without killing anyone.  Shoppers would not be as lucky if we were out on our tandem.

Many of the lanes had open wooden coverings to allow airflow but also giving shade, keeping the street cool. 

We passed the oldest hammam in Marrakesh.  The concept of the hammam comes from Roman baths, adapted by Islamic culture after the spread of Islam in North Africa. In Morocco, hammams became essential because Islamic tradition encourages cleanliness, especially before prayers, and many traditional homes lacked private baths. The hammam served as a social and spiritual space, not just for washing but for renewal. It was a place to hear the local gossip and where many marriages were arranged.

A hammam is a sequence of heated rooms that gradually increase in temperature — much like a sauna but using moist steam and buckets of water rather than dry heat.

The hammam heating system

Traditional Hammam Ritual

The classic Moroccan cleansing sequence (usually done with the help of an attendant, called a kessala for women or tayyab for men):

1.  Warm up — pour buckets of hot water over yourself to open pores.

2.  Apply savon beldi — a dark olive-oil-based black soap, rich and soft, which cleanses and softens the skin.

3.  Scrub with a kessa glove — a rough exfoliating mitt that removes dead skin (very satisfying!).

4.  Rinse thoroughly.

5.  Apply ghassoul — a volcanic clay from the Atlas Mountains that purifies the skin and hair.

6.  Finish with argan oil or rose water to moisturize and perfume the skin.

The whole ritual lasts 45–90 minutes and the cost for a private hammam is about $50.  Molly and Dave tried to partake, but were blocked repeatedly by time constraints. The public baths are much cheaper and give new meaning to BYOB (bring your own bucket)

We returned to our riyadh after grabbing a bite to eat and renegotiating the vast square.  The riyadh was quite beautiful with fountains and gardens.

Since the rooms of the riyadh were not designed originally for guest rooms with baths, they each had little quirks.  Our bathroom was so narrow that i kept hitting my head on a towel rack strategically place behind the door. Though the shower was huge, the rest of the bathroom reminded us of a head on a sailboat. Just part of the adventure.

View from our room of the square at night