New Year's Eve in the Sahara desert

One evening we had dinner with my girlfriend and talked about joint plans for the New Year holidays. Long discussions proved fruitless, and we decided to pick a place at random from a book about the journey. After a bottle of wine, we have relied on the fate and opened the first random page - we had the Sahara. We can say lucky, it's not the worst of what was there :)

Since we are still tourists, not Fedor Konyukhov, we started looking for the easiest and most painless embodiment conceived and stay on a trip to Morocco.

So, this post is about our little trip to the country of sand and couscous, the ultimate goal of which was New Year's Eve in the Sahara desert.

99 photos will be.

The route we had planned in advance.





French airlines flying via Paris. The airport had to sit out a good five hours but we have entertained local drinks.

Around 8:00 pm on December 27 we landed in Casablanca. Temperature behind 18. Money should be changed immediately, the local currency - Dirham. Rate: 1 USD = 8.26 MAD. From the airport to the hotel were getting a local train, the cost of which was about 40 dirhams per person. The train took us to one of the / Railway station of Casablanca, next to which was our hotel (one of the hotel chain Ibis, we booked it through booking.com), because we were not going to stay long - to see the mosque Hassan II, pick up rental car and hit the road.

The cost of the hotel was 150 USD per night.

ibis Gare Casa Voyageurs (photo honestly steal on the Internet)



Waking up early in the morning and eating a hearty breakfast, we immediately went to look mosque. Great Mosque of Hassan II is the highest religious building and one of the largest mosques in the world. To get inside and get a small tour with English speaking guide you will have to pay 150 dirhams.



Wikipedia says that the architect (who, incidentally, was not a Muslim) when creating the mosque was inspired by the words of the Qur'an: "Throne of Allah is on the water." Therefore placed it on the Atlantic coast. But people in the know say that the thing is that there was a suitable rocky ground which could support the weight of so much larger project.



And here is the ocean at the foot of the mosque. Away - the lighthouse.



The area near the mosque.



Vacationers :)



Inside is very beautiful.



The mosque can accommodate about 20,000 worshipers and has many technical innovations from the heated floors to ceiling sliding. But note masked "column in the column" that serve as speakers.



The underground part is hamam, because in the Hassan II mosque should not only the purity of the mind, but also the purity of the body.



Here goes the ritual washing of the face, hands and ears before prayer.



More area.



Now for the car and the road. We rented a car in advance using the Site Budget.com. So we have been waiting for Citroen C3, which cost us $ 60 per day. The next destination - Marrakech.

By the way there are all sorts of beautiful :)



Arrived in Marrakech when it was getting dark, the hotel looking for 2 hours. The reason for this was the inability to travel in the old part of town by car. Medina (old town) is basically always blocked and is a maze of small shops with lots of nooks and levels. Lost - simple.

But when, with grief in half, communicating with local in broken French (be prepared for the fact that in English one says nowhere), we found a hotel in a dark alley and get inside - we were rewarded. Doors opened for a big black man smiling and led us into a real Aladdin's cave. Our riad called Le Rihani. Hotels such as "riad" is very common in Morocco. They are old houses, restored and filled with period furniture with antiques. In the courtyard is almost always grow orange / mandarin trees and split a small pond with fountains. Riads are designed for a small number of rooms and fully closed from prying eyes. If you believe the guidebook Lonely Planet, many come to Marrakech Riad purposefully enjoy.



We watered Moroccan tea and cakes.



Mandarin :)



And into your room. The room rate was $ 250 per day. But you can find much cheaper.



More photos of the hotel.



Bathroom.



Leaving things, we went to dinner. Sat in a small restaurant on the main square of Marrakesh.

Moroccan specialties cooked in a tagine (a special form of a ceramic pot). Meat and vegetables. The average cost - 50-70 dirhams. Fresh on the street - about 18 degrees.



And here is the view from the restaurant on the Jama El Fna, the main square. Haze you see over the area, formed due to local chefs who cook on the grill and fry the meat broth. Here you can eat and, after sitting for a large wooden table. We tried snails sharp - very questionable dish.



Light breakfast on the roof of our riad.



View of the neighboring house from the roof.



More home.



Neighboring Riad - this is how they look from above :)



Our riad in the daytime.



All rooms overlook the patio only. Outside riad - dull building.



Even the Christmas tree placed in the living room :)



Forward to explore Marrakech! :)

Clear plan we had, so we just wandered the streets and tried to discover interesting.



In the afternoon the weather is wonderful - sunny and about 25 degrees.



The ruins of the El Badi Palace.



The cost of entry - 10 dirhams.



Storks.



Went to see the Majorelle Gardens. Jacques Majorelle masterpiece and Yves Saint Laurent. The cost of entry - 10 dirhams.



Travelers bit.



Pond.



Lots of bright colors - very cool! :)



Memorial Yves Saint Laurent.



Total travel time not heard next to a single Russian word. A feeling that Russian tourists do not.



Returned to the center. Jama El Fna Square in the afternoon. You can porazglyadyvat people.



And finally couscous! :)



Vegetables, semolina, inside the chicken. Cost - 100 Dhs.

Got beer rejoice :)

Basically never sell alcohol. And if they sell it only at restaurants aimed at tourists and hotels.



Went to wander through the markets.



Everywhere can and should haggle.



More markets.



There have purchased home chandelier made of leather.



Now she makes us happy home. Arab wanted 400 dirhams, bargained for 150. Surely overpaid :)



Market.



Begins to darken, but the area still full of people.



El Koutoubia away - the main mosque.



Returned to the hotel where we were asked to go to the hammam at the riad. The cost was 200 dirhams per person, after the hamam filed gray (!!!) wine with salted peanuts and traditional tea.

In the morning, again in a way. Through the Atlas Mountains in Todgha Gorge, passing Ait Ben Haddou.



At the entrance to the mountains.



On the way across small villages.



Began mountains. Serpentine pohlesche Crimea.



Mountains.



So far - Ait Ben Haddou. This is a small fortified city, which the whole is protected by UNESCO. Yeah yeah. It was here filming Mummy, Alexander, Prince of Persia, Gladiator, and much, much more.



Light lunch in a local restaurant - salad with sweet onion and tomato omelette. All delicious and quite inexpensive.



Omelette they also cooked in tagine.



Small courtyard otelchik where just went for lunch.



In QSAR (so-called fortified Berber villages) has four inputs, two free and two paid. We went through the free over the bridge.



All homes are built of Ksara red-brown clay.



More photos.



Ruins :)



Like its trying to restore, but somehow very slowly.



View of the city from above.



And we leave QSAR. Along the way there are amusing structure.

Net Minecraft.



On the road, almost no one.



Late at night reached the gorge Todgha Gorge. Stayed at the Hotel Les Roches. The hotel is simple - 500 dirhams per night. But in the depths of the gorge. The night was bitterly cold.

View from the window in the morning.



This gorge known among the French and Spanish climbers area and for good reason. Wide riverbed cuts through the tall cliffs of 200-300 meters, there are areas with an overhang.



Our hotel, we spent the night in one of the towers.



Rode a little gorge.



Goats.



The main part of the gorge has a length of about 1 kilometer on both walls pierced by a great variety of tracks and climbing routes.



The area is not only interested in climbing and mountaineering terms, it is very beautiful!



We go further.



Savannah begins, we have almost got to Merzouga, where we leave the iron horse and peresyadem on camels.



Local hotel. We rented a room here in order to leave the car and luggage.



Funny bed.



Camels are waiting for us :)



So, December 31, 2012. We take the conductor and two camels and deeper into the desert.



Here it is - the Sahara!



Landscapes, of course, monotonous :)



Young Berber leading our camels on a rope behind him. Berbers - the natives of North Africa. They are very offended if called by the Arabs. The most famous in the world of Berber - is Zinedine Zidane.



More desert.



And More))



We got to the camp.



Our royal tent :)

For up to 8 people, but we were there together.



Well that's all, the sun sets, soon the new year.



Away - the border of Algeria.



New Year, almost eaten dinner. He smiled at us! :)

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Night in the desert was 0. slept under several blankets in camel coats, hats and boots. But the night was truly magical: instead of the president's speech - absolute silence, instead of fireworks - an endless starry sky :)

And only we and several Berber for miles ...

Happy New Year!



On the way back we still looked in Fes.



Wander around the local market.



Looked into the tannery, where you can observe all stages of treatment of the skin: sheep, cow, goat and camel. Then it is washed, dyed in large vats and then dried in the warm Moroccan sun.



To clean the skin from wool using Natura Product: droppings of pigeons, chickens, dogs and other animals. Scents appropriate, we as nervous, issued by a sprig of mint :)



Color, incidentally, also with natural dyes: henna, indigo, etc..



Here you can buy a ready final product. Prices are much lower than ours. Can be quite inexpensive grab yourself a leather jacket or bag. Last will cost you 200-400 Dhs.



Well, that's all. I hope you enjoyed my little footchet about our New Year's madness :)



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