|
 | Marrakesh Off the Beaten Path | Tips 31 - 40 of 91 |  |
Just outside the souk, close to the city walls and the Bab Debbagh (Tanneries Gate), you'll find the tanners district, where leathers are still tanned with vegetal proceeding. The floor is covered by big holes used ad dying and tanning thubs and all around the smell is unbearable. It's like going back to pre-industrial era!
The kids around who offers themselves as guides (and later will desperately try to bring you to one of the leather shops nearby) offer you some mint leaves. Use them to cover your face and absorb part of the terrific smell.
Try to ask about the myths about tanners, who are said to be in contact with unseen world of the dead and considered to be masters of fertility! Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |  | Landscape Around Marrakesh: Tizi-n-Test Pass – through the High Atlas | Tip Rating:    |  |  | |  |
The road over the Tizi-n-Test Pass was built by the French and opened in 1928 and is linking Marrakech with Taroudant (and Agadir) over the Tizi-nTest (almost 2100 m).
Before the road was built, the mountain Berbers could easily close the pass and block the passage to the south. But since the French opened the ‘new’ road the south and the mountains have become much more accessible.
We made this day trip with a car with driver (grand-taxi), because we didn’t know what to expect on the Moroccan roads, having seen the crazy traffic in the medina of Marrakech. But once outside the city there is not much traffic at all and driving wouldn’t have been a problem.
Tahanaout is the first village we passed, situated in the foothills of the High Atlas and already on a height of almost 1000m. After the Moulay Brahim Gorge we reached Asni, a Berber village with a souk on Saturdays (see tip). Asni is a pleasant little town in a fruit growing area with the highest mountain of Morocco (Toubkal – 4167m) in the background.
After Ouirgane, a village with some hotels, the mountains became higher and the landscape got more and more scenic. The road followed for a rather long time a river and we passed some Kasbah’s and Berber villages, which had mostly the same colours as the surrounding rocks.
We visited the Tin Mal Mosque (see tip) and the road started winding along barren slopes, higher and higher into the mountains with really breathtaking views. The peaks of the High Atlas were snow covered and during the last part of the trip we even had some fresh snow on the road. After 135 fantastic kilometres we reached the top of the Tizi-n-Test Pass (2092 m).
On top of the pass are a small and simple gift shop and café/restaurant. Our driver advised us not having a lunch here, because they charged much too much. So we made on our way back a stop in the Berber village of Ijoukak and had a perfect Berber omelette in a very local restaurant.
Our hotel made the reservation for the grand-taxi; we paid 750 Dirhams for the day. Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
More Sponsored Links for Marrakesh |
|
on January 17, 2007
on August 26, 2002
on October 7, 2006
on December 12, 2006
on July 2, 2005
on December 7, 2005
on February 6, 2008
on April 15, 2007
