checked it out and tidied it up. Then he held out an arm ushering me in. Who would have thought I’d go to an Islamic
country and find unisex bathrooms???
THE MAJESTIC AIT-BENHADDOU
That afternoon we drove past the Atlas Studios, a famous movie set. Many movies had been filmed here: Sodom and
Gomorrah, 1963, The Man Who Would Be King, l975, Marco Polo, 1982, The Jewel of the Nile, l985, The Mummy,
1999 and more recently, Game of Thrones. A huge Mickey Mouse mural adorned the bathrooms nearby. All this seemed
incongruous since we seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere. This was not a metropolis area.
The day trip included the Ait-BenHaddou, a historic ksar (fortified village) found along the former caravan route between
the Sahara and Marrakech. It is considered a great example of Moroccan earthen clay architecture and has been a UNESCO
World Heritage Site since l987. The ksar has been significantly restored in modern times, thanks in part to its use as a
Hollywood filming location.
The landscape was so dramatic and picturesque. Nearby was an eclectic roadside stand featuring antiques, jewelry, clothing
and even a dancing cobra to a flute player. Katia bought a Tuareg lock and a bracelet that was hollow inside. Addi said the
women would use it to hold a little perfumed cream creating a pleasant scented waft around them. Men would use it to store
extra gun powder.
We saw large, white windmill farms and Addi said the King had made Morocco a top wind producer in the world! The King
is also very pro-solar production. I wondered what it would be like to have a leader like that.
We were startled to find our van pulling off the road next to a little village store. Our driver rolled down his window and a
man gave him a package. Was this a drug deal or what??? As we sped off, we all chirped like birds to Addi. “What was that?”
“What’s in the package?” Addi proudly presented Zoe with this package. It was her beautiful leather coat that she had
ordered days ago at the leather store in Fez! Her alterations had been done and somehow the rendezvous delivery had been
set for this obscure roadside place. Zoe was ecstatic and modeled this
butter-soft coat for us. We were all envious and happy for her. This
delivery service was quite impressive.
MARRAKECH
Our bedraggled group arrived that night into old Marrakech. Our
luggage was loaded up onto a little wooden cart and we all took off
walking through alleyways and more alleys/streets. Compared to Fez
and the desert and mountains, we were experiencing culture shock.
This was a noisy, crowded, “real” city. The narrow streets were super
crowded, and everything was moving at different speeds. Pedestrians,
donkeys, hand-pushed carts, motor scooters… The fumes from the
scooters filled the air. We almost got run over a few times. Addi taught
us to walk in single file against the wall and that helped. So many
unusual items for sale—raw meat, raw fish, a pastry shop with bees
inside, dental shops... There were hard-looking city faces and we had
to be careful of pickpockets.
After about a 25-minute hike, we found a very tiny narrow doorway
to our hotel. Down the steps, sharp turn right and up the steps…and
inside we went. This place was called a “riad”. It is a type of traditional
20 The Belly Dance Chronicles � July 2020
Alley in Light - Photo by Katia