This part of our journey proved to be the toughest but very rewarding as well. On one hand, we were excited about driving through the Grand atlas of Morocco, crossing its highest peak at an altitude of 2500m.
On the other hand, the roads twisted and turned up and around the great mountains. Driving on average about 40-50kmph, it took us twice the time to get to Ouarzazate.
At first, we counted as the GPS indicated our altitude. After a while, our attention was drawn to our surroundings instead.
Although the drive was long, we were constantly presented with beautiful views and sights. The atlas with its snow mountains, the villages and amazing nature kept us excited at every turn. This journey itself was a wonderful experience.
It was during this drive that we were able to observe how old the nature around us was. We had earlier visited Iceland. If you make a comparison, Iceland is a baby when compared to Morocco. The Atlas Mountains have been shaped since more than 300 million years ago.
After about 8 hours drive, we finally arrived in Ouarzazate just before sunset. If there is a colour I can attribute to Ouarzazate, it would be gold. We were greeted by the sunset and different hues of pink, yellow, orange.
The town known for its kasbah (fort) and movie studio. Films like Gladiator, The Mummy, Asterix & Obelix and Babel were filmed in Ouarzazate. Obviously all the international interests has resulted in Ouarzazate being one of the most clean and developed city outside of the imperial ones. The Muhammed V avenue is wide and clean. The buildings were impressive with the kasbah dominating the heart of it.
We checked into Riad Salam. As I look back now, this was not a real riad as such. By Asian standards, it would be classified as a 3-star hotel. It was basic and clean. The big plus is that it is 20 minutes walk from the kasbah and a little bit more to the night market.
We enjoyed the night market and zouk as it had a nice mixture of locals and tourists. We also had a good dinner there. Later on, we bought a few small items at the market after some bargaining.
One thing I remember specifically about Ouarzazate is that we were approached by a group of children who were begging us for money. This is stucked in my mind because when one is standing on the avenue, with the kasbah behind, poverty does not come to mind. This made me think that Ouarzazate is dressed up for foreigners and movie makers. Some locals obviously have not reaped the benefit of foreign investments brought here.
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