For Marrakesh I will dedicate another post but today I would like to write a few words and show you one of the most wonderful places I´ve seen - Sahara desert.
On the way to the desert we´ve seen quite unusual views for Morroco as it was raining for a long time and the rivers were very high.
We could see very woried people looking at the buildings not prepared at all for this kind of weather. Luckily just as we came the rain stopped. As I´ve been living in UK at that time I was laughing I brought a good weather from England :)
People living near Sahara called Berbers are completely different then those in Marrakesh. They are more kind and friendly.
The Berbers lived in north Africa long before the arrival of the Arabs, and their culture probably dates back more than 4,000 years. Berber states known as Mauritania and Numidia existed in classical times.
Today, there are substantial Berber populations in Morocco and Algeria, plus smaller numbers in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. In Morocco, about 40% acknowledge a Berber identity, though many more have Berber ancestry.Berbers are identified primarily by language but also by traditional customs and culture – such as the distinctive music and dances. (http://www.al-bab.com/arab/background/berber.htm)
To be on the teritory of Sahara dessert you need to walk through Rissani Gate. It´s very beautiful although a bit strange, standing lonely in the company of low buildings which have completely different style.
In a short time we arrived to the point where our trip was taken over by Berbers and camels.
We both decided to walk to the camp to have more possibilities of good shots and go by camels on the way back.Running around in the sand and trying to get a good composition wasnt easy at all. The camels were quite fast too and didn´t really want to pose. :0)
Desert was absolutely beautiful, especially towards the evening the colours of the sand and the sky made absolutely breathtaking composition.
I found some inhabitants too and had to be very careful to take a photo of them. Their dinner wasn´t very elegant, but well....if you live surrounded by sand you don´t have much choice I guess.
We arrived to the camp where we had fantastic, huge tangine for dinner made by our berberic hosts. We played some music and talked. After dinner we went for a walk on the dessert and it was magic. Me and Miguel separated from the rest of our little group and we sat on one of the hills. We were staying there quietly, watching huge moon hanging over dark and silent desert. I will never forget this feeling...
In the morning we sat on the camels and walk back through the sand. The place looked very different this time. Sunrise made the sand almost pink. I could hear the nature waking up. Suddenly I´ve seen little bird diving to the sand and flying up again several times. It looked like same strange dance purely from the joy that the day is here again.
I love the desert - contrary to appearances that it is only sand and the sky, I feel the strong hand of nature there. Nature which can´t be disstroyed by human. All the creatures there cherish live more and are happy to survive another day. Maybe that´s the reason why Berbers are more happy and friendly too...
I definitely will be back to Sahara
