MOROCCO MONDAYS | THE DOOR OF THE DESERT - THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS & OUARZAZATE

Ouarzazate Province, Morocco | We left Marrakesh to take a three-day trip through the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert. The sharp mountain switchbacks were kind of terrifying (made even more so after we heard about all the buses that topple over the cliffs). As our driver careened about, we white-knuckled it and tried to savor the view--which was truly extraordinary. 

After patting ourselves on the back for surviving, we got to spend time in Ait Benhaddou, a traditional fortified city nestled on the edge of the Atlas Mountains. If I were a cultured person, I might recognize this place from Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, or Game of Thrones. 

But even without having seen those, I could still appreciate the awesomeness. And I kind of loved how Ouarzazate Province  rests on its film making laurels--it even has a museum dedicated to cinema made in the region, plus toots its own horn for having "the world's largest movie studio"--at least in acreage. Way to use the Sahara Desert to your advantage. 

The city is made out of a bunch of mud blocks that get worn down with every rain. Because of the weather-induced deterioration, the walls and structures are in constant repair by the locals. It seems like a lot of work and I can understand why only a few families still live there. Most have migrated to the new city across the way. 

Ouarzazate means "without noise" or "without confusion" in Berber. I love when languages have phrases for things we don't have in English. It is a rare thing to be without noise or confusion but Ouarzazate was both of those. The quality was illustrated time and time again by the nearly lunar landscapes that pop up as you drive along. Don't these rock formations look like a cross between Mars and a brain? Crazy. 

In which I try to get artsy/meta with the camera. Warren and I totally rocked wearing sunglasses over our glasses the entire trip. Classy. 

I loved the stark contrasts of everything in Ouarzazate Province: the big blue sky highlighting the red cliffs and embedded cities, foiled against the lush greenery that grew out of thin little streams that wove through the canyons. 

In which I sun like a cat, soaking up all that good, healing vitamin D that was so scarce in Spain.

We wound our way from Ouarzazate through the Valley of Roses, where flowers are cultivated for perfume worldwide. 

We lucky ducks got to stay the night in an old chateau that overlooked a bubbling river. It was gorgeous and serene.

Okay, so driving the crazy roads through the Atlas Mountains was not my favorite thing in the world, but I definitely loved how peaceful it was everywhere we went. It was such a different pace from the crowded din of Marrakesh. I'm so glad we were able to see a glimpse of the Moroccan countryside. 

Stay tuned: Next week we'll visit a Berber village where Warren tapped into his true identity as a Berber washerwoman. Plus, we'll show you the ridiculously awesome and beautifully embroidered rug we got.  Can't wait!