Excursion to Ait Benhaddou

Poor Jonas. Is it that obvious he was being run into the ground?  Look at the bags under the poor boy's eyes.  Luckily we planned a relaxing day of 12 hours of driving on bumpy roads in the mountains and desert.

When we were planning our trip to Morocco initially we had toyed with the idea of spending a few days in Ourzazate in the Atlas mountains, 4-5 hours from Marrakech. We eventually decided against it as we didn't know what the condition of the pass would be. But then we decided to spring for it and do the trip in one day. So we would have more flexibility we ended up doing an excursion in a 4X4. Also so that we could have a car seat for the baby.

We saw this truck full of chickens. "I bet they are taking them to a farm to live," said Jaxon.

The scenery crossing the Atlas mountains was phenomenal.

Pass mules on the right!

We stopped off to visit a defensive kasbah. A local guide was very nice and showed us around.

Danial felt so cultured when he said, "This really reminds me of the Alhambra."

The boys continued their epic battle in the royal kasbah halls.

Outside a man was making bricks from the mud.

The boys loved climbing around here.

Jaxon and Jonas loved the long sticks and it was all fun and games until Jaxon accidentally hit our driver in the head.

Next we stopped off at a salt mine.

Next we traveled through the Ounilah valley and were struck by the beauty of the mountains and the numerous Berber villages. At least Daniel and I were. The kids had fallen asleep.

When we reached Ait Benhaddou, our ultimate destination, we had lunch before venturing in. 

Ait Benhaddou is a fortified city, or ksar, and has been been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Many films including Jesus of Nazareth, The Mummy, Gladiator, Prince of Persia, Four Feathers and Kingdom of Heaven.  This place is truly amazing and blew us away.  We have never seen anything like this.

The sunset over the Atlas Mountains. It was a very full day and we were tired by the end, but the kids had done great and we were very glad that we didn't miss the opportunity to visit some sites that were so new for us. Our chauffeur, Bubarak was so nice and we had to get a picture before the left. We said our adieus the Morrocan way, "A la prochaine, incha Allah." (Until next time, if it is God's will). I think that is so much nicer that goodbye.