ZAGORA, MOROCCO
The Road to Zagora is full of Wonder: ancient cites, stark landscapes, and lush oases.
From the terra cotta imperial city of Marrakesh, I joined a team of travelers and rode by bus through the desert. Our first major stop was the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou. Located on the southern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains, Aït-Ben-Haddou is the most famous Kasbah or fort in the Ounila Valley, Morocco. Due to its classic 17th Century Moroccan architecture and unique clay walls, the Kasbah has been the location for many Hollywood productions.
From there we traveled to meet our Berber travel guides. Berbers are pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa. It was truly a sight to behold as these men led us by camel back under the Saharan moonlight to our camp in the Zagora desert. We broke bread with them, sang their songs, and spent the night in their tents.
I awoke the next morning to the African sunlight cascading across miles of moroccan sand dunes and plateaus.