Morocco. French Forts and Caravan Ports
Like massive ocean swells, Erg Chebbi’s dunes rise 150 meters above rocky terrain near the village of Hassilabied and Morocco’s border with Algeria. Formed by windblown sand, the dune field covers an area of more than 200 km2. A Moroccan legend says that the dune was left there as punishment for local people who turned away a weary traveler. Although appearing to be unending, Erg Chebbi is a somewhat small erg (sea of sand), and not technically part of the Sahara Desert. Geographically, it is within the Pre-Saharan Merzouga Desert.
We arrived at our desert campsite after a two-hour 4x4 drive from Errachidia. For the last few kilometers, we drove on a piste (a dirt path). Erg Chebbi came into view long before we reached the small hotel adjacent to our campsite. We unloaded near the hotel’s courtyard that is enclosed by a low wall, and carried our luggage fifty meters across the sand to a group of Berber tents that encircled a fire ring. Woven from camel hair, each tent had a large door fashioned by a hanging blanket. Inside were cots and carpets that formed the floor.
The next day we set off in a four-wheel drive vehicle for Rissani and the ruins of Sijimassa, located 40 kilometers northwest of Erg Chebbi. Established in 757 during the Midraid Dynasty, the ancient city of Sijimassa was located on a major trade route between Tangiers to the north and the Niger River to the south. For hundreds of years camel caravans carrying copper, brass, and salt left Sijimassa bound for Timbuktu (in present-day Mali). On their return, the caravans carried gold and slaves. Historian and geographer, al-Bakrī, described Sijimassa as “the last civilized place” before traders began their 40-day trek across the unforgiving Sahara. Once a wealthy city of 40,000, little remains of Sijimassa except for a few crumbling adobe walls and building foundations.
We made another stop at the ruins of a French Foreign Legion fort built in the 1920s. Created in 1831 by King Louis Philippe I, the French Foreign Legion was established so that foreign nationals could serve within regiments of the French Army. Arranged around a lookout tower, the fort’s adobe walls showed severe weathering. Fans of the 2005 movie Sahara (featuring Matthew McConaughey) may recognize the fort from a scene involving a helicopter chasing a classic automobile. We made another stop a short distance away to see the Tafilalet Oasis. Encompassing an area of more than 77,000 km2 within the lower valleys of the wadis Ziz and Ghéris, the Tafilalet is among the largest oases in Morocco. Its name comes from the Amazigh word meaning "jug." Among agricultural produced there are delicious Medjool dates.
On our second evening we participated in a sunset camel ride led by a handler who was assisted by several boys wearing djellaba (a traditional blue robe worn by Amazigh). The first task for the handler and his helpers was to assist our group of twenty mount our camels. The process of climbing on top of a one-hump dromedary (aka Arabian) camel is entirely different from mounting a horse. It’s necessary for the handler to make the camel sit before the rider climbs onto a saddle tied to the camel’s back. With the sun low in the sky, our single-file line of riders and camels projected long shadows on the sand. It took about 25 minutes to reach the top of a high dune where we dismounted to watch the sunset.
Returning to camp, we enjoyed a dinner of chicken tagine, a traditional Moroccan meal served with chicken, potatoes, onions, and olives that is cooked with spices. The term “tagine” comes from conically shaped pots used for cooking and serving. Following the meal, some members of our group sang, played drums, and danced around an open fire. Walking several meters from the tent complex, I could see the Milky Way Galaxy stretching across the sky. Sometime during the night our camp experienced a sandstorm. Our tent sheltered us from the wind, but sand entered through seams and small openings, covering suitcases, carpets, pillows, and our exposed faces. The next morning, we could see how the previous night’s winds reshaped the dunes, erasing human footprints and camel tracks.
