Morocco: a photo share

Several weeks ago, there was a thread here debating the pros and cons of going to Morocco. I wanted to share some photos from our recent 9-night trip.

We flew into Marrakech and spent the night at a riad, a former palace that has been restored and is now a guest house. The ornate tile work in these old buildings is exquisite.



The riads are located in the medina, the old part of the city, full of alley ways too narrow for cars to access.



Shopping in the medina is a delight. I wanted to bring everything home with me.



We went for henna.



Leaving town, we drove over the Atlas mountains, which are still snow-capped in March.



We stopped for a night in Ait Ben Haddou. This old fortress is featured in tons of movies and shows - Game of Thrones, Jewel of the Nile, Lawrence of Arabia, etc. Anytime a feature includes scenery supposedly shot in Egypt, it's usually filmed in Morocco.



We had to cross the river on these stepping stones to access the Kasbah, and a mule carried our luggage across for us. It does not have electricity and was lit with hundreds of candles.



The scenery for much of the drive was akin to the US southwest - lots of gorgeous red rock country. If you look closely you can see DH and DS climbing a via ferrata route on the wall - they are close to the top here. DD chickened out, so I stayed with her and played photographer.



Continuing on, our road trip took us to the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi. It is amazing how they just abruptly start, rising up from the black hamada landscape.



We spent two nights 'glamping' in the desert. It was unreal.





The Berber and Arabian people we met were so friendly and welcoming. We never for a moment felt unsafe.



Morocco is a wonderful family friendly travel destination. I would recommend it to anyone.