Day 12 - Ait Benhaddou to Zagora

NOTE:  Having lots of internet challenges, and we are headed off into the Sahara with no internet, so posting this even though it is not totally done.  If we get good internet somewhere I will update and repost.  If not, this gives a flavor of our day yesterday.

Today we spent time in the morning visiting Ait Benhaddou, and then headed south east to the town of Zagora. It was about a 5 hour drive.

In the past centuries, Ait Benhaddou was a major stopping point on the trade route between Timbuktu and Marrakesh. There were also salt mines in the area, and in ancient days salt was worth as much as gold.  We spent a couple of hours going through Ait Benhaddou. The previous day hwe had taken a bridge across the river and entered from the side and directly went to the top to see the sunset.  Today we crossed the river on a temporary bridge, and approached from the main gate that people may recognize from Game of Thrones and from various movies.  We then toured a house that is owned by one of the families still living in Ait Benhaddou.  While this home is not occupied, it did have a number of historical items in the rooms.  We then wondered through the narrow alleys of the complex

We then left Ait Benhaddou and headed southeast, with a brief stop in Ouarzazate. Atlas Studios is located there, and is is the largest movie studio in Africa. We were going to take a tour, but the price had recently increased by 50% and our tour leader said it was not worth it.  We also stopped for a carpet weaving demonstration - interesting, but ultimately an "opportunity" to purchase rugs.  Fortunately it was not a hard sell.

I think I need to change by description of the drive from yesterday afternoon. I had described it as brown and barren, or almost barren. Today's drive was BROWN AND BARREN. Image terrain varied from rolling hills to steep mountains and canyons, but the bleakness reminded me of the most desolate parts of Nevada.

View from bathroom at one of our rest stops.

There were a few exceptions. We stopped in Agdz, small town with thousands of palm trees, probably tens if thousands of palm trees, as for several miles the valley was filled with date palms.   It stood out in stark contrast with the surrounding area.

By the time we arrived in Zagora in late afternoon it was overcast, but still bright enough to see distinct shadows and it was hot in the sun, but there was a breeze so it was comfortable in the shade. Zagora was also an oasis, with lots of palm trees as well.   The hotel had a lovely pool and courtyard.  Karen read and I worked on the blog next to the pool, then we walked to find a restaurant for dinner.  It was dark when we got back and we joined some others of our group by the pool for drinks and conversation for a couple of hours before going to bed.