Hôtel Kasbah Ouzina, Er Rachidía, Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco
Golden red sculptured sand dunes are the backdrop for this traditional Kasbah hotel, surrounded by rocky outcrops and mountain ranges, acacia trees, tamarisk, pampas grass and a fossil strewn desert. Accessibility is with locally experienced drivers and 4×4´s along the old Paris Dakar Rally tracks that crisscross this remote semi-arid region of around 300 kilometres between Zagora and Merzouga in the Moroccan Sahara.
The landscape is surprisingly diverse and starkly beautiful, interspersed with rugged mountains, wind carved dunes, dramatic black desert, soft golden sands and scattered vegetation. A few villages survive in this harsh environment and the village of Ouzina is one of them.
The oldest remaining village, it has around 20 small dwellings with animal shelters built of local stone, adobe, local vegetation and palms. These are Berber people who are very friendly, welcoming and accustomed to tourists visiting to see their way of life. There is a small school which is always happy with gifts of materialsand an association for women who make artisan products. The breads and other staples are cooked there by the women for the hotel and by the family of the hotel owner.
A small garden adds a vivid green to the seemingly barren landscape and these people have ancient knowledge of wild vegetation and how to survive in the challenging environment. There is a seasonal river and water is pumped from wells. The surrounding dunes hide a maze of underground activity, this is the home of the sand fish, a delicacy in the desert, grilled and eaten like fish.
Epic Morocco Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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