From the Serene to the Absurd! Enroute to Erfoud

Kharkiv’s El Kabbaba in Skoura was a wonderful, serene existence that should have been enjoyed more and would have been savored on a larger scale if we had only known what was in store at the next stop – Erfoud!!

Hold on to this picture. It will be desired the next morning;-(

Exquisite little Ksar.

A few hours drive will bring one to the entry point of Dades Gorge, created by the Wadi Dades. The land on the banks of the wadi is planted with many crops such as onions, alfalfa and wheat and is also surrounded by fig, almond and walnut trees. A beautiful hike with guides will take one through these fertile grounds where harvesting can be observed as well as other daily chores. Perhaps a beautiful, cool pool can also be found.

Is there a guide available?

Crossing the wadi – AND, this log is much higher off the water than it looks🫣

The poppies were beautiful!

This canyon was quite picturesque.

It took two guides to get us here!

A village woman harvesting some of her crops.

More chores.

A local doing the laundry! (Not appropriate to take the faces – so you get this shot.)

Typical football field here – all sand.

A feature of the rock formations in this area, is that erosion and pressure have pressed the rocks together so that they look like fingers —

After all this hiking a lunch is in order. The owner of the store across the street and the lunch spot is know for her kefta – basically meatballs. Today ground chicken was used and it was delicious in a very scenic setting. Even here, we had Moroccan tea (as you can see the little tea pot).

Still several hours to Erfoud, it was time to hit the road again. Instead of the deer or cattle crossing signs in the US – here one is more likely to see camel crossing signs – and maybe even the camels —

Another fascination along this route is lots of what looks like very large ant hills! These are access points to underground channels known as khettaras, which carry water from wells to the oases. This is an ancient and ingenious network, some covering considerable distances, brought here by the Syrians.

Access points to the khettaras.

Under one of those access points. These tunnels go on forever!

Aren’t these little guys cute – with our guide for the two weeks.

A bit further and Erfoud pops up on the horizon. Before the 1930’s, the French set up a military post here attempting to watch over the Amazigh tribes, who put up the longest resistance to surrender. It is now the jumping off point for tours of the dunes of the Erg Chebbi desert and stays at the desert camps. It also, apparently, is the starting point for different desert races and rallies – as we were about to find out!!!

Kasbah Xaluca is HUGE and a bit like a Las Vegas convention hotel😂 – in the middle of nowhere! It seems that the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles was to begin the next day and hundreds of competitors and all the support staff was being housed here. You might be able to decipher from the name that this is a race of many types of vehicles ALL DRIVEN BY WOMEN! Quite an interesting evening after the serenity of Skoura.