Eight of us from the conference, two drivers and our guide Aziz drove almost to the Algerian border, across the High Atlas and Anti Atlas mountains, the Black Mountains, down to the edge of the Sahara for a tip toe into Berber nomadic life. Aziz is one of seven children born to a camel trader who put all seven of his children through school and university. A few of them are now in the tourism industry and many are teachers. Aziz is studying for his masters degree presently and was a very gentle young man with a gift for what he is doing. He was able to share not only the joy of his people but expand on current ideas and historical thought.
You can see from the photos (once again I wish I was doing this through the computer with better quality photos) how arid and awe inspiring the Atlas Mountains are - intriguing formations and then nestled into most gullies, Berber villages which blend into their backdrop. We had our pottery and artifact stops along the way and enjoyed delicious tagine on kasbah rooftops in congenial company.
Our all day drive managed to get us to the very first of the sand dunes - certainly enough to pretend we were deep in the Sahara with Lawrence of Arabia. The men all donned their white turbans and looked their part! Sleeping in a Berber tent was a little like sleeping inside a vacuum dust bag ...... very little sleep was had but the experience will be a lasting memory. Sunrise over the desert was almost more wonderful than sunset. As luck would have it, there was also a full moon that night. Just perfect.
