Mad wind-powered race starts in Morocco.

Going across the Sahara by camel can be a dry, dusty, time-consuming undertaking. Crossing the Moroccan Sahara in a buggy, however, is a wild idea. Even wilder if you contemplate making the buggy a kite buggy. Mad? Yes. Crazy? Yes. But it's happening and it doesn't take much of a sleuth to figure out that the most likely nationalities to dream up such a scheme would have to be Kiwis and Aussies.

TWO KIWIS AND TWO AUSSIES RACE ACROSS THE SAHARA DESERT BY KITE BUGGY ...

The idea is the brain-child of adventurer and vet, Geoff Wilson, who says that the wind powered odyssey, dubbed the Mad Way South, began as a personal challenge but quickly became competitive.

“There’s no way on earth you can put Ozzies and Kiwis together on a trip like this without it turning into a race” jokes Wilson. “It was inevitable"

The Australian and New Zealand teams travelled from the antipodes and met up in the UK and according to Adventure World Magazine:

"The convoy of three vehicles set off today from Portsmouth heading for the Sahara. When they reach Agadir in Northern Morocco, they will unload four specially adapted kite buggies and two Australians and two Kiwis will embark on a race across 2,500 km of the world’s harshest terrain."...

What was that?

(Yes, we read it again as well. Ahem, lads... try Southern Morocco. When we last checked, Agadir was in the same place it used to be...)

Hopefully they have the correct maps and with luck will set off from Southern Morocco through the Moroccan Sahara, Mauritania, and finally ending in Dakar, Senegal. Steve Gurney and Craig Hansen will represent New Zealand while the Aussie flag will be flown by Geof Wilson and Garth Freeman.

The race is set to start on August 3rd 2009. Mad Way South will also be a forum for road testing and demonstrating the effectiveness of survival and outdoor equipment. It will also focus on promoting eco-friendly, carbon neutral travel. The entire adventure will be filmed and an adventure series made by Jason Markland Productions in association with Lincoln Williams of Fotomedia.

The View from Fez has its money on the Kiwis... but think that the desert temperatures at this time of year might well defeat the lot of them.

Training in Queensland, Australia.

random factoid: These great machines can reach 70 mph.

More facts than fiction: Go visit the Mad Way South Blog.

Fez - Makes the Top World Tourist Cities List

For the first time Fez has made it on to the list of the world's best tourist cities.

Each year Travel + Leisure Magazine publishes the results of its surveys into airlines, cities, hotels and resorts. This year Fez was ranked the 15th best tourist destination in the world, thus surpassing London, Paris, Barcelona and Marrakech four popular destinations which did not even crack the top 20. Fez was #2 in Africa and the Middle East.

Readers ranked the Indian city of Udaipur as the most tourist-friendly destination. Nicknamed "the Venice of the East" due to its canals and palaces, Udaipur unseated Bangkok as the top tourist city. The Thai capital finished third in the poll by the magazines's online readers. The second best tourist city chosen was Cape Town, South Africa.

Top 10 Cities Africa and the Middle East
RANK NAME SCORE

1 Cape Town 87.69
2 Fez 83.82
3 Jerusalem 83.23
4 Marrakesh 82.05
5 Cairo 77.32
6 Essaouira 77.12
7 Tel Aviv 75.96
8 Rabat 73.05
9 Amman 70.69
10 Tunis 70.12

Morocco was also recently named Africa's tourism destination of the year at the annual African Business Awards.

The country was recognised for the innovation it has shown in promoting its tourism industry with initiatives such as its Vision 2010 strategy, which aims to attract some 10m visitors to Morocco by 2010.

As part of the project, six new purpose-built resorts are set to be opened across the country, providing tens of thousands of extra beds for holidaymakers.

The first new property, Mediterrania-Saidia, opened last month, while Mazagan, which is being developed by Sol Kerzner in El Jadida, will begin welcoming guests in October.

Commenting on the award win, Ali El Kasmi, director of the Moroccan tourist board in the UK, said: 'We are delighted to have won such an accolade. Morocco offers a quality product and a cultural destination full of energy, mysticism and spice.'


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan Trivia #43

The View from Fez is in debt to a twitter from zest4travel for the following trivia.

Medical statistics from the Marathon des Sables in Morocco: number of treatments: 4394, diarrhoea tablets administered: 3200; bandage used: 1.8 km!

For those of you with no experience of the race here in a nutshell is the crunch, it is 6 day / 151 mile (243km) endurance race across the Sahara Desert.It is not for the faint hearted. But if you are feeling desperately masochistic then the next Marathon des Sables is scheduled for March/April 2010.

However, before you send off your application to enter - do watch the video. It may change your mind!



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Flying Car, Spain to Timbuktu - via Morocco!

A voyage to fabled Timbuktu in a flying car may sound like a magical childhood fantasy. But a British adventurer set off from London on an incredible journey through Europe and Africa in a souped-up sand buggy, travelling by road - and air. With the help of a parachute and a giant fan-motor, Neil Laughton plans to soar over the Pyrenees near Andorra, before taking to the skies again to hop across the 14-km (nine-mile) Straits of Gibraltar. - BBC NEWS

Neil Laughton's daredevil 42-day expedition was intended to cover 4,000 miles (6,400 km) through France, Spain and Morocco, head into the Sahara by way of Mauritania and Mali, before returning home via Senegal.

He had also hoped to make the 22mile (35km) flight across the English Channel, but that plan was vetoed by civil aviation officials.

Other things went wrong and instead of cross in the Mediteranean and landing in Morocco, the flight from Tarifa in Spain started well, but ended up in Ceuta, the Spannish occupied slice of Morocco on the coast of the Med. His intended destination in Morocco was suddenly off-limits because of a Moroccan military exercise in the area. Worse was to come. When he finally arrived in Merzouga, the winds were too strong and he had to continue on-road.

Eventually, Ex-SAS officer Neil Laughton, piloted and drove the Skycar Expedition microlight dune buggy completing the journey from London through Spain to Africa with only the occasional mishap.

The fly-drive included soaring over the Pyrenees, the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the Sahara Desert. Other notable obstacles included minefields and 100ft sand dunes.

Said Neil: "Despite a few near misses - landing in the sea and on a tree - the highlight for me was an extraordinary 15-minute flight from Europe to North Africa, crossing the Straits of Gibraltar."

The intrepid adventurer, who has also climbed the highest mountains on seven continents and trekked to the North Pole, completed 10 flying missions before arriving in Timbuktu.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

U2's impact on Fez -

When we recently mentioned U2 in one of our posts, we were inundated with some really interesting emails. Many of them were reactions to the music, with a an overwhelming majority of people really liking the No Line on The Horizon cd.

However, a couple of regular readers who have been following the story of U2 in Fez from the first day we broke the news (Why is Bono in Fez?) that the band had rented a riad in the Medina, commented that maybe Fez will get some great publicity and many more visitors wanting to visit the place referred to in the track, Fez - Being Born.

U2 above the "small middle-east town of Fez!"

Well, be that as it may ( or may not be) ~ there is another side effect and that is the number of instant "Fez experts" amongst the music reviewers! Yes, believe it or not... ( and we quote )

"For "FEZ-Being Born," lyrics from "Get On Your Boots" are layered under the synthesized beginnings ("Let me in the sound / Let me in the sound sound…"). Fez is a small town in Morocco where some of this album was recorded. You may recognize flavors of the region in this music."

"Fez - Being Born, is dedicated to the country where the famous Fez hats come from."

"Fez - Being Born, is inspired by the music of this middle-east country."

More readers contributions welcome.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Moroccan triva #42

Possibly the least useful piece of information about Morocco and one you will only ever need for a trivia night. But should someone ask about the average height of Moroccans, you will now know the answer.

Moroccan footballer Jawad Zaïri - taller than average.

In a recent comparison of people from all countries, the average height of Moroccans (18-30 years) was 173 cm, putting them in 47th place. Topping the list was the Netherlands at 184.80 cm.

Moroccans are taller than the overall world average which was found to be 170,60 cm The shortest nation is Cambodia with an average height of 162.50

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Who was the first surfer in Morocco?

Michael Scott Moore, a blogger in Berlin, is after information about the first person to ride a wave in Morocco. The author, Michael is a novelist and journalist from California, living for complicated reasons in Berlin. He’s also a surfer, an American, and a German (with two passports). Here is what Michael has to say:

The last push for an elusive surf-book fact has started: I’m looking for the name of a U.S. serviceman who first paddled a surfboard out in Morocco in the 1950s. The session happened, according to legend, at Mehdiya Plage, and the guy in question was stationed at Port Lyautey. He would have been the first person ever to surf Morocco, period. If anyone has any information post your story over here.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

A thought for the day.

The visitor to a place whose charm is a result of its backwardness is inclined to hope it will remain that way, regardless of how those who live in it may feel. The seeker of the picturesque sees the spread of improved techniques as an unalloyed abomination. - Paul Bowles ( from the introduction to his book - Their Heads are Green)

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Little known facts about Morocco #4623!

When you think about Morocco, you probably think great music, tagines, yellow babouche, Islamic architecture, and wonderful streetscapes. What you probably don't think about are the products that Morocco exports. Let's just check the list: Argan oil (now being sold on French television as "the secret ingredient in the best shampoo"), roses for the French perfume industry, sardines, saffron and peppers! Wait, did I just say peppers (capsicum if you are English)?



According to the website Peppers Today ( yes it really does exist) Morocco is up there competing with the big source of peppers - Spain. According to the Moroccan Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters (APEFEL), a total of 35,200 tonnes was exported in the 2006 campaign, whereas in 2007 the total tonnage was 34,400 in the period from October to May.

Moroccan companies face logistical problems: “Morocco has its own problems. The cost of transporting 14 tonnes of product from Agadir, in Morocco, to Perpignan, in southern France, is nearly EUR 4,000. Our production costs must be reduced in order to improve profitability.”

Morocco is ready to provide properly certified peppers to the European market, while the retailers are intransigent on control levels. Over 70% of the pepper harvest from Moroccan companies has been grown under biological control in this campaign. In the case of the Fusetto and sweet blocky varieties, several companies have applied IPM techniques to 100% of the harvest.

APEFEL added that the development of the crop benefits from Morocco’s climate, which is similar to that of Almería: “There are few countries apart from Israel that could consider growing in the winter period. The cost of the pepper shipments in the winter season has to come down, if a regular supply chain between Morocco, the Netherlands and the UK is to be established.”

Check out our earlier stories about: Saffron, Sardines, Argan Oil

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Leonardo DiCaprio films in Morocco

Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Body of Lies

David Ignatius, columnist at the Washington Post and established novelist, wrote the novel that's currently being filmed in Rabat as Body of Lies. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a former journalist, now CIA operative, in this political thriller, who is searching for a high-profile Al-Qaida terrorist in Jordan. Russell Crowe plays his boss. The film is directed by Ridley Scott, and will be released next year.

Yassir Yaghfouri, on his blog yaghfouri.canalblog.com, reports that the good citizens of Rabat are not all that pleased to have the filming going on around them. Residents of the block where filming is taking place are annoyed by wires, bright lighting and large numbers of security forces in the neighbourhood. They’re also not that keen on the fact that Arabs are typecast as the ‘baddies’ once again. Yassir makes the valid point that it would be useful for the public to know what the regulations are regarding filming in Moroccan cities, and how much film companies have to pay for permits. Then at least we'd know how much the city is benefitting from any inconvenience filming might cause.

Shooting apparently moves on to Ouazarzate soon.



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

The Mannequins of Fez

You pass them every day - but do you notice them? Individually quite interesting - collectively they become... er... bizarre. We took to the street and captured the images in the Talaa Sghira.

The damaged, abused and strangely coloured

Below is a collection of our favourite Fez girls

Below is an outstanding example of the Fez nude.

The child models are spooky.

"I took the Valium, but still can't get the lipstick right"

The mangled hands are quite macabre

Photographs: Sandy McCutcheon

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news