A la prochaine, incha'allah

Our last breakfast in the Riad.

The boys were impressed with the flowers in the pool.  The Riad was being decorated for the New Year's party that night. We got cheap tickets by flying on the 31st.  The flight was full of families with young kids who did not care to miss all the partying.

The entrance to the Riad.

One needs to be cautious in the Place Jemma El Fna as there are Diamondback Rattlesnakes, Cobras and other venomous snakes hanging out.

Jaxon wanted a picture but was not willing to get too close.

I am pretty sure these snakes had been devenomized, but sure makes you nervous to see these in such a crowded area. 

To finish off the trip we took a carriage ride through the old town

Baby Eva enjoyed yet another great meal

City walls

Royal Palace

Tired boy

The boys found a compromise to enable Jonas to lay down and Jaxon to kneel.   

Jewish synagogue in the Mellah (the old Jewish quarter)

Fruit market on wheels

a fight in the street

Male belly dancers...we did not stay to watch...

Our last meal in Morocco at a restaurant near our Riad that we passed everyday.  The lady who worked there had a baby daughter.  Everyone loved Eva.  The Moroccans snap their fingers to attract babies attention and Eva would often give big smiles in return.

This guy helped us find our Riad the first day and made sure we got a reasonable price with our Taxi.  We saw him many times throughout the week and he always greeted each of us with a big smile and kisses for the kids.

Jaxon meets the EasyJet carry on size restrictions.  Maybe next time we'll take him as carry-on.

Eva was an amazing little traveler and adventurer on her first trip to Africa.  She did great on the flights, buses, 4x4, camels and in the scarf and slept great in her Pack-and-Play we lugged around with us.  As we say - start them traveling when they are young! Traveling with the children was wonderful as they add so much to the discovery and experience.  We all experienced so many new things together and had an amazing Christmas in Morocco! 

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.