Platform 7 3/4

The jouney began with first stop, the Atlas Mountains which lie in northwestern Africa. Located in Morocco and Tunisia, the Atlas Mountains extend approximately 1,500 miles. The driver brought us to the highest range in the chain called the High or Grand Atlas. Along the way to Sahara Dessert, I could see dense forests containing cedar, pine, cork, and oak trees.
Aït Benhaddou, fortified city situated between Marrakech and Sahara, in the foothills on the southern slopes of the High Atlas. It’s a group of earthen buildings surrounded by high walls as traditional Saharan habitat. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The Berberian guide told us about how to build the kasbah, saharan tradition, and also told that several films were shot there. We had beautiful view during lunch since the restaurant was just across the kasbah.
Our van stopped in the edge of desert where dozen camels were waiting for us. Then Berberian guide helped us to ride and bound four camels into one joint. On the way to camp, we stopped by for a while to enjoy sunset, while full moon appeared from the other side. It’s so beautiful. It’s not very convenient while on the camel because it kept moving up and down. Finally we saw glimpse of light in the dark, home sweet home. We safely arrived in the camp after long trip (almost 10 hours).
I saw semi-permanent encampment of walled tents assembled in a circle. A grand candlelit tent laid with Moroccan carpets served as the dining room. It’s so lovely! In the middle of the camp stood a giant bonfire pit with some wooden chairs. Don’t expect comfortable bed, delicious foods, and roaring fire when you feel cold and exhausted in the Sahara, but I was just excited to camp in the middle of nowhere, no wifi, limited electricity, no signal. We had tajin poullet avec legumes for diner, typical Morrocon dish. A tagine is a unique type of ceramic or clay cookware, the bottom is a wide and circular shallow, while the top is cone shaped. Then we spent the rest of the night singing, dancing, playing traditional games, accompanied by music from Berberian drums. For me, the entire length of the night, the greatest luxury the Sahara give was a silence. Watching billion stars and full moon so clear from the top of the sand dunes up to midnight, while another people already stayed inside the camp is so peaceful. In the morning we're waiting for sunrise at 07.00. We watched the sky turn from midnight blue to gold, while the sand glowed orange.