Ait Atta Amazigh Nomads Annual Migration

Photographer Abdullah Azizi has produced a series of extraordinary photographs of the annual migration of the Amazigh (Berber) Ait Atta nomads 

Each spring, nomadic Saghro in South Eastern Morocco, leaving their pastures with their herds of goats, sheep and camels, and their entire family. The caravan sets out to cross the plain of Dades and climbs the southern slopes of the Atlas over 3.000m to the the Izourar lake and highlands.

Ait Atta are a group of Amazigh population of Morocco from the Sahara. Jbel Saghro is their original stronghold. They spread around in the valleys of Tafilalet, Ziz, Dades and Draa.

To discover more, visit the photographer's website: azifoto.com


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Eating Camel Meat in Morocco

Regular View from Fez contributor, John Horniblow, goes gastronomic and salivatingly lyrical about eating camel meat in Morocco 

Camels, this great romantic creature, the fabled animal of the great caravans that transversed the great trade routes of the deserts are still bred and droved in numerous numbers and traded at livestock markets from the Atlas Mountains to souks of the Saharan towns. Whether its the nomadic tribes of Aït Haddidou still porting their belongings and tents on the backs of Camels as they move camps, or the Camels in the tent alley’s of the great moussems, saddled and dressed up in front of cameras to pose with children dressed in Arabian Night’s finery, or those that carry Moroccan and foreign tourists across the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi, the windy beaches of Essaouira, or the Palmerie of Marrakech; Camels are an indomitable feature of Morocco’s landscape and lore. While the great Thursday Camel souk at Bab el Khemis in Marrakech may have faded into a sunset of memories in the 1980’s even the occasional camel can found, sold and bought there today. However, the fact remains that most Camels in Morocco, which you encounter in any great number, are destined for the dinner table and always have been.

Finding Camel in Casablanca, while at first sounds improbable or verging on ironic, is not a hard quest. You can follow your nose to the aroma of barbequing meat emanating from Derb Abdeladir Sahat Moulay Abdellah, a short stroll from Habbous (The New Medina) heading east to Derb Sultan and across the railway bridge. In the wide open plaza of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah , or on what some maps call the Marche Viande ( Meat Market ) , is one of Casablanca’s few open air eating spots. Billowing plumes of white fatty smoke rise from the multitude of “grillades” or BBQ stalls dotting the square on the outside of a middle lane with two competing sides of butcher shops, facing each other. This popular Casablancaise eating spot is bustling and lively with grill chefs, customers with freshly butchered bags of bbq meat, frites vendors carts, sugar cane juicers, roving saffron sellers and beldi cheese vendors with their long shoulder poles tipped with hanging green, woven, palm frond cones filled with fresh cream cheese, and vegetable and fruit carts over flowing with a colourful array of seasonal produce.

On rare occasion a travelling troupe of acrobats in red satin tops, embroidered with the green star of Morocco on their chests and Sinbad pants, will materialise out of thin air, shouting orders to usher back the crowd and clear a path in the side alleys facing the grillades and an indulging and entertain-able luncheon crowd. Then proceeding with a spectacle of mesmerising leaps, bounds, stacks, jumps, and cart-wheeling they end abruptly in a finale of gravity defying flips. Caps in hand, outstretched to collect their entertainment fee and halting within inches of the luncheon tables, covered in plates of barbequed meat.

At Boucherie Lhaj Ahmed a crowd of loyal clientele mingles amongst the hanging camel heads, shoulders, rump and leg hocks, and white fatty camel humps. It’s easy to identify the Camel butchers. The severed long necks and camel heads with their long eye lashes and drooping lips, decorated with fresh sprigs of parsley laid over the tongue between the lips and teeth, hang in a line down one side of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah’s wide central lane. To the side of Lhaj’s main sales counter are his assistants and apprentices, busily trimming off the meat and fat of carcass pieces, paring them down to the bones that are discarded into piles in big wicker baskets. 

Most camel meat is consumed as a mince or Camel Kefta and Lhaj’s mincing machines grind endlessly throughout the day. Camel Merguez , spicy camel sausages, are also popular. Typically the Camel Kefta is mixed with cumin, red paprika pepper, fresh parsley, fresh onion and a small amount of salt before being deftly threaded into long sausage skins then twisted and hung in long tailing ropes from the meat hooks above and in front of the stone slab sales counter. Like all other meats in Morocco, there’s little wastage when it comes to butchering or eating an animal. While you will never find it on a menu, widely discussed at the dinner table or in recipe book, a close peak at some of the camel heads reveals that they’re open. Skin peeled back revealing a wide pink hole in the cranium where the camel’s brain has been removed to grace a dinner plate cooked as an oriental delicacy. How its cooked I’ll never know, and no one could me, but it’s all very reminiscent of an Indiana Jones tale.

Camel meat, tasty, high-protein and low-cholesterol, is more expensive than its counterparts, the beef and lamb carcasses hanging from meat hooks in the butcher stores across on the other side of the lane. The hump is the most prized part of the Camel as it is tender and fattier than the rest of the beast (Camel humps are essentially mounds of spongy fat). According to the butchers its purportedly has a number of health or medicinal benefits (apparent antioxidant properties) and sells for 120 dhms/ kg, about 20% higher than a kilo beef filet and about 50% higher then the best cuts of lamb. The white fatty hump is commonly grilled or added to other meat tagines or added in small pieces back into the kefta mince. The other prized cut is a Camel Filet. At 150 dhms / kg, it’s certainly the most expensive cut of meat in Morocco and other the cuts on offer include Camel Rump steaks which also fetch a very good, but lower price. Even the Camel Merguez and Camel Kefta command a premium price above that paid for beef or lamb.

From Fez to Casablanca and now Marrakech, Camel Burgers are appearing on menus in the eateries catering to modern Moroccan tastes and the forever evolving state of Moroccan cuisine. The Café Clock, in Fez, apparently serves hundreds of camel burgers every day. Mike Richardson, proprietor of this landmark eatery shared the secrets of its delicious camel burger with cookbook author Tara Stevens in the Clock Book, a collection of traditional and modernized Moroccan recipes from the Café. Apparently it is was the loving hand of local butcher who added its secret ingredient, dried Rose petals from Kelaat M’gouna area around the Dades valley; a powerful aphrodisiac and subtle tasting condiment. Fez is well noted for its fascinating food culture and besides tucking into the Clock’s juicy, aphrodisiac Camel burgers adventurous eaters only need to take a short amble down Fez medina’s main pedestrian arteries, Talaa K’bira, or Talaa Segira to find tehal; Camel spleen stuffed with ground camel meat (and sometimes accompanied with beef or lamb) olives and preserved lemons spices and a little bit of hump fat. The stuffed spleen, resembling a giant sausage, is baked in a communal bread oven (ferran) then sliced and fried and served with Moroccan Bread (Khobz).

Unlike Morocco, where Camel meat can be eaten as a daily food, Camel is prized in the Middle East as a delicacy. You can find specialist Camel butchers from Damascus to Cairo, Oman to Baghdad and across the Gulf region Camel meat is eaten at parties and wedding receptions. Unlike beef, Camel meat is rarely sold aged. There is no tradition of ageing meat in Morocco, or the Middle East, for that matter. A high content of Vitamin E actually slows it’s spoiling and the meat would become too dry if it were aged.

The Camel, as you can imagine, is a fairly tough animal and it’s meat benefits from slow cooking. In Morocco Camel meat can be also be found cooked Tanjia style. Deliciously and slowly braised for hours with cumin, saffron, garlic, ginger, ras al hanout, and lemon in large clay, cooking urn (tanjia), over the ashes and coals of the wood fire of a hamman or ferran. In an idea not unlike the succulent Moroccan Camel Tanjia, famous French chef Alain Ducasse, experimenting with local produce, has styled a slow braised Camel meat dish for the menu at Museum of Islamic Art in Doha; “Rossini-style for five days at an extremely low temperature, followed by a sixth day at a slightly higher temperature to deepen the color” The outcome is similar to what you can expect of Tanjia and the Camel meat “has the tenderness of a seven-hour leg of lamb, a flavor reminiscent of an aged beef short rib. “ Yum!! No wonder camel is breaking out as alternate and exotic meat in some places in the world. In Morocco, while not as commonplace as lamb or beef you just need to ask your local good butcher and they’ll probably have it. Look for the happy camel sign out the front and I am sure they’ll oblige with some of this exotic beast. Lhaj Ahmed, on my first visit to Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah and with the true grace of Moroccan hospitality, satiated both my curiosity and inquisitive taste buds with a present. A ½ kilo of Camel Merguez and Kefta. Bismil’allah!


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Winter in the Sahara

Venturing into the Sahara during winter can be challenging. But as today's guest post from intrepid travellers, Mary Finnigan and partner Chris Gilchrist, shows - there is poetry to be found everywhere and at any time of year. 

Light glazes the dunes like honey - Photo Chris Gilchrist

"Four days in the Sahara fulfilled our R&R dreams like no previous holiday."  

We are middle aged and so were appreciative of the creature comforts offered by an impeccably managed and elegantly presented Moroccan guest house, Dar Daif. Situated three kilometres from the outskirts of Ouarzazate, Dar Daif is a short stroll from the shores of Lake Ouarzazate.

The RAMSAR wetlands - Photo Sandy McCutcheon

The lake is a RAMSAR designated wetland, teeming with bird life. We sat for hours in pleasant winter sunshine gazing at hundreds of cormorants and storks, alongside osprey, spoonbills, black wing stilts, ruddy shelduck, great crested grebes, ringed plover, many varieties of wheatear and wagtail.

Mary and Chris

We had two days of luxury either side of the bit in the middle that satisfied our craving for novelty and adventure. We camped, walked and rode with three camels and three Berber gentlemen - Echou the guide and Omar and Idir the camel men. Zaid the driver completed the ensemble.

Chris, dressed for comfort, stays warm

 The trek was glitch-free and enormously good fun. The stars at night, the silence of the days and the awesome beauty of the dunes are best captured in poetry and in pictures.

 Light glazes the dunes like honey, 
 melts them like wax, 
 fixes them harsh at noon, 
 draws lines with them at sunset, doubts them at night. 


 Wind and sand and powdered rock - 
 a life reduced to mere clinging at the surface, 
 thin as a camel's cough, 
 the sussurant shower of a small cascade of grains. 


 No body lives here; 
 all burn out, dry to wisps and curls of hair, 
 talismans of bone. 


 Fold upon fold, the voluptuous dunes 
 threaten a serpentine erotic embrace. 
 Sandriffs build a symphony 
 always fading away. 
A set of fading footsteps 
 is my only hope of return 
 to browsing camels, water, 
 the small fierce dry-wood fire 
 under the starless heft 
 of the ancient tamarisk. 

Poem by Chris Gilchrist 

 the ancient tamarisk 

  DETAILS

Find out more about Dar Daif and the Ouazazate area here; Ouazazarte

Dar Daif is an old kasbah house. Owners Jean-Pierre Datcharry and his wife Zineb have recreated the feel of a desert caravanserai with richly coloured carpets, plants and artifacts. The guesthouse has been awarded La Cle Verte - one of a handful in Morocco - due to its ecologically sustainable practises.

Visit Dar Daif


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America's Next Top Model in Morocco

There are, of course, some people who wouldn't notice if a bomb went off in the main square of Marrakech. The crew and contestants of America's Next Top Model, on location in the Red City, are concerned with much more important things, such as whether make-up will stay on your face while you're riding a camel in the desert, and the size (4!) of one of the contestants.


Apparently there are four girls left in the contest: like Big Brother, one is voted off each week and this week's loss was the 'fat' one, Kasia (above). On location in Morocco, they have had a photo shoot in the souk as well as in the desert, and have visited local designers.

May the best girl win!

Moroccan Photography Competition no. 18

This entry for The View from Fez Moroccan Photography competition comes from Nora Fitzgerald.


It's entitled Desert March. Nora says, "I'm an American woman who has lived in Morocco almost her whole life. This year I finally made it out to the desert with my husband, two older kids, and in-laws. The highlight was a camel ride by the light of the full moon out to the oasis camp where we spent the night. This picture was taken by my husband the following day as we made our way back to civilisation. It's really just you, your camel, and rolling sand dunes as far as the eye can see."

If you would like to submit a photograph taken in Morocco, please email it in jpeg or gif format to fes.riad@gmail.com and put "photo entry" in the subject line.

A regularly updated collection of all the photographs is now available on The View from Fez Photo Journal

Camel meat ~ is Australia out of touch?

Many people who have visited Morocco can attest to the wonderful flavour of camel meat. Either as steaks, minced up in kefta, or even (if you visit Cafe Clock in Fez) - camel burgers. But in some places, camels are being shot and left to rot. The View from Fez investigates:


It is not very often that you hear people on the streets of Morocco talking about events in Australia. So it came as a shock to many people that Australia, a country with between 600,000 and one million camels, is planning to simply shoot thousands of them and leave their bodies in the desert to rot. The question has to be asked; how many people could be fed with that amount of camel meat? Just how many burgers could you make?

According to press reports, the long drought has brought what has been described as a 'biblical' camel plague into the small town of Docker River. The camels come in search of water, leaving residents cowering in their homes as they have smashed through water mains and even invaded the airstrip. The response? Australian authorities are preparing to use helicopters to round up a 6,000-strong herd of wild camels and shoot them dead in the desert.

"This is a plague of biblical proportions laying waste to a sensitive and arid environment":~ Luke Bowen, head of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association.

Graham Taylor, a local official, said the thirsty creatures were posing a real danger to residents, with fears they could resort to forcing their way into homes. "I think the words 'under siege' are good words because it talks about people being stuck in their homes and looking out and seeing just numbers of camels at your front door," he said.

According to historians, the first camel arrived in Australia in 1840 from the Canary Islands. Legend has it that this was not a very lucky voyage because it accidentally killed its owner and was shot.

The camels arriving over the next fifty or so years were dromedaries (the one humped variety Camelus dromedarius)from India and Palestine. Theses days camels are scattered through the arid interior of Australia with an estimate of 50% in Western Australia, 25% in the Northern Territory, and 25% in western Queensland and northern South Australia.

Not everybody is happy with this action

The newly-formed Australian Camel Industry Association has been set up to capitalise on up to a million wild camels roaming central Australia. And they take a dim view of the waste that will be caused by simply killing the camels and letting them rot.

Nick Swadling from Queensland's Department of Primary Industries says a pre-feasibility study has been done and stakeholders have met to discuss the potential of camel exports.

"It was decided to call it the Australian Camel Industry Association, so it's an Australian-wide representative body that enables the industry to talk to government and other bodies," he said.

"The pre-feasibility study contains recommendations for the development of a commercial camel industry .... as a meat product."

Closer to home, Aisha (23), a Fez resident who broke the story to The View from Fez, said "I am horrified that such a thing is happening. It is irresponsible to cull animals that could feed so many starving people."

According to Mike Richardson, proprietor of Cafe Clock, which does a roaring trade in camel bugers, says " What a stupid waste! One camel will produce on average, 150 to 200 kilos of kefta (minced meat). As our burgers are around 180 grams, that works out at 1000 burgers per camel. Now simple maths will show you that the Australians are wasting six million burgers! "

So what should Australia do with its camels?

Apart from tourism (camel rides) and the export trade of racing camels to Saudi Arabia, they could produce a lot of camel products. These would include, milk for consumption or the production of yogurt and cheese. While being low producers compared to cows, camels need less feeding and produce over a longer period of time.

Camel Oil is lower in cholesterol than other animal cooking fats, camel oil is also suitable for manufacture of soaps and cosmetics. Camel oil based products have unique properties with baby dermatology creams being one specialist product. The uses and quality of camel oil goods is evolving with research and development.

Camel wool is a valuable 12-27 micron fibre with production of over three kilograms per camel. Camel wool fabrics could provide a source of income for many isolated communities in Australia. Camel hides also make excellent leather four to five times stronger than cattle hides.

And then there is the meat. It is tasty and as it is low in fat and high in protein, camel meat has the approval of the Australian National Heart Foundation. More information on the development of the camel meat industry can be found at Camels Australia Export website.

One odd thing: According to Jewish tradition, camel meat and milk are not kosher. Camels possess only one of the two kosher criteria; although they chew their cuds, they do not possess cloven hooves. yet the meat is not haram for Muslims.

Explore the desert from Ouarzazate

The southern Moroccan city of Ouarzazate (pronounced Wazza-zat) is the perfect jumping-off place to explore the desert region by camel, mule, quad-bike or on foot. The View from Fez team visited recently.
The city comprises the ancient kasbah as well as a French-built garrison town built in the 1920s. There are plenty of restaurants, and supermarkets for stocking up for a desert trip. It's also a good base for visiting the Dades Gorge, Todra Gorge, the Valley of the Roses and surrounding kasbah villages.

While you might think that Ouarzazate would be all sand and dust, there's a suprising amount of water. Just outside the town is a massive dam on the Draa River and a wide expanse of wetlands that forms a Ramsar protected area, ie a wetland of international importance.

Ramsar-protected wetlands in Ouarzazate

Birdwatching here is highly recommended: spotted recently were Grey Heron, Ruddy Shelduck, Kentish Plover, Marbled Teal and even Osprey. White Storks nest on the ruined kasbahs and on every minaret.

storks nesting on the ruined kasbah next to Dar Daif

In Ouarzazate, the Team discovered another oasis, Dar Daif, which is a great place to stay. Just 3km from the city centre (there's a shuttle bus to take you into town), Dar Daif is an old kasbah house. Owners Jean-Pierre Datcharry and his wife Zineb have recreated the feel of a desert caravanserai with richly coloured carpets, plants and artefacts. The guesthouse has been awarded La Cle Verte - one of a handful in Morocco - due to its ecologically sustainable practices.

the patio at Dar Daif

Jean-Pierre and Zineb organise desert trips - and are especially happy to cater for children or physically challenged people. The trips can be anything from a couple of days to a few weeks long and are run by pure professionals. In fact, Zineb was the first ever woman desert guide, accredited over 20 years ago.

the bedrooms are very comfortable

See Dar Daif's website for more information, or book through Fez Riads.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Desert Trips - a rare experience

…..”And the moon fell on the desert’s silence, and a man’s journey in search of treasure….” “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho.

The desert is another dimension, a world apart from what we know and expect. In the expanse of the dunes there are no distractions to appreciating man’s greatest treasure - his own soul. Nothing exists but the undulating sand, the expansive sky, the moon, the stars and silence. Here, there is room for meditation; reflection on the essence of life and the magic within it.

The power of the desert is omnipotent with the sudden rising of the winds, the shifting sands and the constant need to search for life giving water. The desert’s secret touch is about learning our own humility and coming away from this sacred place with each memory and experience etched into our minds, providing us with priceless treasures.

All this majesty is one of the treasures of Morocco. There are a number of options available, but one of the best we have come across is offered by Desert Majesty SARL who offer a superb service and a unique opportunity to experience the desert in all its splendour. At sunset or sunrise with the dawning of a new day, from the heat of midday to the cool of evening, when the colours of the dunes shimmer and reflect inimitable hues or whilst trekking on a camel sharing the rhythms of life of a Saharan nomad; if only for a few days or hours your time will have you savouring the spirit of the desert and understanding why the world’s three great religions of the book stemmed from here. For the single reason that no value may be placed on the desert because man is exposed to its whims.


Desert Majesty SARL are based in Ouarzazate

Contact:

Felicity Greenlaw-Weber
00 212 (0)661 23 56 36

Abdelhadi Slimani
00 212 (0)671 66 04 94

www.desertmajesty.com
info@desertmajesty.com
Hay El Wahda No 1865
Ouarzazate
Morocco

“The essence of life is unpredictable. The greatest joys are experienced at the moment they are least expected….leaving deep longings in the heart….” “Wind, Sand and Stars” Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Beware the camels of Zagora

Every now and then (especially when the boss is away in Ireland) I cruise the internet looking for unusual stories about Morocco. Having not much luck this week, I was somewhat pleased to discover the homely column by Bob Morgan Jr who writes in the strange little New York journal The Garden City News. His articles come out under the heading The View from Here...

Bob Junior's latest piece is about a trip to Morocco and a short journey on a camel...

At Zagora, each of the seven of us on the tour got on a camel for the 2 1/2 hour trek to a campgrounds in the desert. Our two guides, both Berbers from the surrounding region, served us a traditional meal of Moroccan tagine, and even improvised a show of traditional music. When it was time to turn in, the tent lodging actually proved pretty good, with numerous blankets sheltering us from the cold night.

Unfortunately, however, the return trip from the campground, also a 2 1/2 hour journey, proved to be my undoing. While I was a little sore from the trip to the campgrounds, somehow my thigh muscles completely locked up on the way back. By the time I got off the beast at Zagora, I could barely walk and I have been hobbling ever since, with only a very slight improvement in the last 24 hours.

Yes, I see the humor (and believe me, so does Robert) of getting injured by a placid creature that rarely goes faster than five miles an hour, but my thigh still hurts.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news