I just got back from 2 interesting weeks in Morocco.
I will try my best to describe the feelings and thoughts I had throughout the trip so you’re able to live a bit the experience I had there.
The first impact of getting in to the main square in Marrakech is always a great one as the Djeema El-Fna is the busiest square in the whole Africa, just so you have an idea.
At a first glimpse it is just a big mess, but once you let yourself loose you start noticing some sort of organization within its colourful stalls and mystic atmosphere.
To travel, to me is like doing anthropology of the Self, as I think that by learning about others we learn about whom we are and our place in the world.
In Marrakech the 2 days went quick, I visited the place where they paint and treat the leather, I had a snake put around my neck, saw some friends which I had photographed in the past, immersed myself in the scent of spices and fresh mint and at the end of the day enjoyed watching the sunset from the small terrace just listening to all the different sounds from the square; flutes, bikes, people, horses and of course the Imams at the many Mosques loud and clear repeating... Allah is the greatest.
After Marrakech, I headed east to a Berber village called Boutaghrar. To get there, Stephanie, Abdou my Moroccan friend and me, took first a shared taxi with other 4 people, (yes, three people in the front seat and four at the back) and the trip took 4 hours, after that we took a minibus completely packed with people, luggage, bags of potato on the floor and drove on this rocky road for another 2 hours. I laugh when Abdou said he was grateful that this time there was no one carrying goats inside the bus.
The landscape was stunning with dramatic views from the high mountains and empty curvy roads; we could see snow at the top of the M’Goun Mountains while the temperature inside the bus was the very opposite.
Boutaghrar is a small village where mainly Berber people live and it has a population of about 2500 people. It is situated on the margins of a beautiful river what only reminds me how essential water is to life. The water of the river is not crystal clear like some rivers in small towns in Brazil, they say it’s because now the snow is melting and it makes the water dirty but after watching the cook of Abdou’s hotel washing chickens and throwing the skin and some organs of it in the river and observing other people behaviours towards the river, I think they might contribute a bit more to the dirtiness than the snow… ☺
Nature was showing its first signs of spring, the fig trees had their first green leafs, peach trees were beautifully pink because of its flowers, the sun would heat the land during the day and during the afternoon frogs were singing marking the beginning of their mating period.
A bird was living in inside my room so every day around 6 am it would start flying as it couldn’t go out so I had to open the window for him to go.
I noticed that this is a place where kids are very free to play out in the nature.
To be in a place like this make me feel very small compared to nature. This feeling is good and incredible reliving because it seems not to have limitations implicit like when in a city, I feel very much present in the moment and my senses stronger, as you need to look and pay attention to the rocks on the floor, listen to the river to know where to cross it, get used to and notice the different smells, leave the animals just being around you, mainly to cope with the weather as it definitely not only affects the lifestyle but also the food that they eat changes a lot depending on the season. In winter they buy their food from the market as the soil gets very difficult to plant anything while when summer approaches the fields gets very green and lush, the soil with the warmth from the sun gets rich when mixed with the water making their diet a lot more diverse.
And that is what I went to Morocco for. To discover hidden aspects about the Berber culture though food.
From planting To preparation
The highlight of my trip was something that was not planned but it just happened as all good things in life and that was to spend three days living with the Berber nomads.
To get to their cave, Abdou and I took a ride with some Spanish tourists that had a 4x4 car, they all got in to the car and we went up on top of their car. They were so scared that I would go in the roof but I insisted that it was ok so we went. To be honest I was a bit scared of falling but I hold on tight to the car and tried to enjoy the beautiful orange sunset and the fresh wind.
Nomads are communities of people that move from one place to another, rather than settling down in one location. There are three types of nomads and the ones I stayed with are pastoral nomads. They spend summer in the higher mountains and winter in lower ones. They live out of agriculture as every good Berber.
The place has three caves and I slept in one of them with the other four girls. The second one is the kitchen and lounge and third one is also used as kitchen and the mother, father and little brother’s room.
Every one has a specific role within their ‘community’. The man takes care of the animals and does whatever work outside in the city like buying food at the market; he is also responsible for the tea making sessions throughout the day. The girls take care of the animals but also share the housework like cleaning and cooking, as well as making amazing colourful carpets. The mother also takes care of the animals and makes the thread with anything she can find, like goat fur or old sweaters, so the girls can make the carpets.
My experience there was a bit disappointing in the sense that they didn’t show any interest at me at all as if I didn’t really belong to that place. I felt like a completely different specie of animal, like being an ant in the middle of wild bees. I guess I was expecting a little more interaction with them.
They didn’t feel comfortable at all to be photographed.
I could go in details about the hygiene of the place but it would take me another few pages so I’ll summarize it as practically inexistent; although they would never eat without before cleaning their hands with water.
I can just say that this experience has definitely changed my views about things we consider dirty or unclean and I’ve learned a lot from observing them and just being there.
On the day we were supposed to go back to the village, we missed the bus so we went by foot; I have noticed that they always solve their problems with whatever sources they have instead of creating problems with what they don’t.
It was an easy walk for about 4 km.
I felt very welcomed in the village and had no troubles for being a woman alone in an Arabic country. As I wanted to understand their food from planting to making it, it took me not much time to be sent to the kitchen and asked to help the other women, which I thought it was great.
Needless to say that the research went great and now I have much work to do.
I hope you have enjoyed the little insight into my trip. I will update my website with more pictures soon.
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