NORTH STAR OF NORTH AFRICA( 2 )

A recap from episode 1……….from where I left……..

We were in the vicinity of Sahara desert. I hoped that we just do not get to the base camp in daylight or a desert sand storm with thunderclaps should sweep across the Sahara till dusk. And then…???

NO, nothing of that sort happened and no sooner our car entered the base, and our camels were waiting for us to ship us across the desert, Alas! That was all my worry about. I dreaded the idea to be seated on a camel’s back- it was haunting me ever since I saw the itinerary. The earlier day in Fes, someone in the restaurant was telling that she was bitten by a camel – that added to my misery.  I even asked the camel walker as to whether I could walk with him- he laughed in a noisy gleeful way and said it is an art to walk in the desert and I can never make it even 100 meters; that reaction was enough for me to stand beside ‘my’ camel with a sheepish grin. To add up to my camel phobia was the movie ‘Princess of the Desert’ telling the story of a Berber boy bonding with a camel as they cross the Sahara, which I saw in the flight from JFK to Paris. It was camels, camels everywhere in the movie! 

Finally the dreaded moment came. My camel was the leader of the pack and I – (the scape) goat (had to sit) on a camel ( hahah…) To climb on a sitting camel itself was an ordeal- I thought I was going to split into two halves vertically- somehow I got on it- the palan (as saddle for a horse) was quite broad, but the iron rod to hold ( rather cling ) on which my life hangs, is the smallest a person can think of. It just was enough for a palm. The nightmare is when the camel gets up-first with its hind legs, then folds his fore legs, then stretches it- a roller coaster movement….it’s a wonder of wonders how I managed to cling on to it. Suddenly I was some 15-20 feet above the ground level with only open expanse of sand- even the camels head is few feet down. Every time it crossed a dune, my heart skipped- I thought I was going to have a free fall. I was sure that I’d end up with chafing thighs. As time passed, I slowly developed a love for the animal. We were taken to a highest sand dune from where we could watch the sun setting – had to disembark – again a trial. Setting the feet on Sahara- wow, for me, probably it was nothing less than Neil Armstrong’s stepping on the moon…the sand below was very soft. When touched, it gave a silky feeling and the surprising factor is that it did not stick to our shoes or dress. The horizon turned red, clouds were hiding the sun, but it was a spectacular scenery. Darkness started swallowing the light fast- we were going to stay in a camp in middle of the desert, which was another 20 minutes away. Got to ride the camel again- but this time I got the knack of riding him– Lawrence of Arabia reborn! The desert camp was phenomenal- rows of tents erected and tastefully decorated- a combination of traditional tents of the nomads and the luxury of a star hotel. Each well-lit tent has an attached bathroom , room heater and what not?( I saw a similar set up recently in the video of the extravagant pre-wedding functions of the Ambani family, where affluent from world over were accommodated in Jamnagar, Gujarat)  After a sumptuous dinner, there was a bonfire lit under the jet black vast open sky. An unwinding time for us with other inmates in the camp, dancing around the camp fire to the rhythm of the Berber music and drums– a real fun time. That was where I seem to have lost the elegant stole ( scarf) bought during our Scotland trip.

The next morning the sun rise was at around 7:45am. An incredible experience of seeing the tallest dune sparkling as the dawn’s early light reached it- a magnificent sight. The shape of the dune what I saw the previous evening seemed to have transformed by the night- in the day light, it seemed to have gotten bigger, leaving a crate somewhere near. Learnt that, as they are created by opposing winds continuously, the shapes do not remain the same – that is the reason why people stranded in the middle of a desert tend to get lost forever.

After a light breakfast, we were transported in a car to the base camp- not before having the experience of a desert safari akin to the one in Dubai. Our destination for that day Ouarzazate, is a 350 kms drive through the Toudra gorges- a spectacular scenery of the natural oasis created by the prehistoric river Toudra carving its way through the limestone making it a trench of gigantic rock canyon walls- it vertically shoots up to the sky- it is a savage grandeur. With its unique rock formations, we’ll start believing that we are in some other distant planet! The gorge is a much sought after place for rock climbers and adventurists and also a shooting spot for the celluloid. The spring from where the river originates is so unassuming- the once mighty river is now seen as a small stream.

Enroute we lunched at a typical traditional Moroccan joint. The view all along the oasis is spectacular as we enter the ‘Rose Town’ where we were taken around a distillery where rose water is made. We crossed the biggest concentrated solar power plant in the world situated in the outskirts of Ouarzazate. A tower has been erected with a mirror in such a way that the reflection from the solar panels of the sun beam is focused on it- we can see this from 50 kms away- looked like a miniature sun.

Ram’s blog without reference to movies?? Mummy, Asterix & Obelix, Gladiator, Mission Impossible,  Game of Thrones , NTR Balakrishna’s 100^th movie- Gautamiputra Satakarni, many Biblical epics & ancient Egyptian myths to name a few, are the films shot in Morocco’s Hollywood- the sprawling Atlas Studios. It was amazing to hear it from the Studio’s tour narrator that even for a few minutes scene, sets worth millions of dollars would be erected and retained as the studios property and modifications will be done as required for any other cinemas. The adjoining desert and the bordering Atlas mountains offer ample scope for any kind of films to be made. The production cost in Morocco is one quarter of what would be spent in USA. The studio is a lifeline for thousands of Moroccans- be it the technicians, support artistes, material suppliers, builders. drivers, tour operators. Egyptian, Chinese sets were amazing. Bethlehem and Jerusalem did not look like as a shooting set at all- everything seemed so real. The Cleopatras court was the most magnificent of all. We had a surprise one minute shooting there- we were a dozen people in the group tour. Our guide narrated us a sequence and wanted us to enact- Pavithra as Cleopatra, I with one other, were the gatekeepers and rest of the others were the subjects in her Court. He shot it in our phone-mixed music- no retakes, perfect in one shot. We reached the Hotel for an overnight stay where our dinner was served in style in the tagine.  

The penultimate day destination in Morocco was Marrakesh- crossing the silver filled Atlas mountains through the dominating scenic surroundings. I am borrowing an expression which I have read somewhere and is etched in my mind, which perfectly sums up our feelings about these majestic natural wonders. ‘Mountains have always been a source of awe and beauty, and sometimes we don’t have the words to capture how much we admire them’. The never-ending winding roads run up and down for a stretch of about 60 kms with steep gradients and sharp bends. Hamid was at full control and not once we felt startled! Stopped at a couple of viewpoints and capture photos of the natures beauty. We also saw the mud houses from a distance that were affected during the earthquake thar rocked the region a few months ago.

No sooner, we reached the Imperial city of Marrakesh, we checked in a place right in the centre of the souk.. As in all places, the exterior of the Riad we stayed was unassuming. Compared to all other places we visited, it seemed to be noisy and crowded. Our local guide Mr. Mohammed was already waiting for us in the ‘courtyard’. The next four hours, we submerged into the rich history of Marrakech. The Bahia Palace, has been opened for the public on the King’s behest – it was built in seven years in the last century. During colonialisation French had their administrative centre here. The architecture is a combination of the Moroccon, French and Italian style. The garden boasts of scores of various fruit-bearing trees. Later, we dove into the energy of streets-waded through the colourful and rather loud crowded bustling souks in the narrow alleys – a shopper’s paradise for handicrafts, leather products, textiles, ornamental vases, sweetmeats, traditional jewellery- you must learn how to haggle purchase anything! An exquisite set of leather bags was purchased- though the cost was exorbitant, the product looks genuine and sophisticated. Amitabh Bachan has visited that shop during his film shooting in Marrakech.

The visit to the Ben Youssef Madrasa- the once flourishing Islamic Universities of the erstwhile centuries- it has now been turned as a monument preserving the antiquity. It’s just not the magnificence of the two-storied super structure, but the history behind it. It was amazing how water from the hills were channelised to places downhill- the water system is still prevalent and now scientifically maintained. It runs through the monument.

The market square called Jemaa-El-Fna is the meeting point of all the backstreets- this is where all activities in the evening happens. First time ever, we experienced a traffic jam of pedestrians. In a particular junction of the lanes, honestly-no exaggeration, hundreds of people from four sides converge- literally a near stampede situation. Seems this is the scenario day in day out at that 100 meter radius. No untoward incident has happened- its become part of their life. However for tourists, this is not a pleasant experience.

In this context, I should mention a couple of things:

The respect an Indian has in Morocco; In all the countries I have travelled thus far, I have never experienced this kind of warmth from the locals I have interacted with- with a cheer in their face they’ll ask “Indian”? – “India- Nice people”, “India-Good people”; Indian cinema has severe impact on the Moroccans- many shopkeepers sing some Hindi song as they greet us, mention the names of Amitabh, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai- enquire about them.

Second aspect : it is very heartening to see and experience people feeling proud of their heritage, history of their country. Be it a guide or a driver or a camel walker or a stores keeper -they know the antiquity of the place- knows the importance of preserving it and promulgating it to the tourists without any extra spice ! I think it is a form of patriotism to their country and a quality worth to emulate.

This is one of my l..e..n..g..t..h..i..e..s..t  write-up. Morocco has become very close to my heart. We can drift between old-fashioned customs and traditions and the modern way of life quite quickly in this country. We travelled along the sea coast, in the snowy mountains, in the rocky terrains and of course the desert- a cross section of the country. Incredible memories of this trip will ever linger in my memories, over the elaborate splendour of this Continents pole star-Morocco.

Till I lace for the next….

.J.Ram