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On our drive to Ouarzazate, we stopped in the small, primarily Berber, town of Kelaat M’Gouna where we ate lunch at the home of the local Imam, adjacent to the Mosque. His wife prepared our meal and his brother (studying to become an Imam) acted as the interpreter for the Imam.

We knew from our itinerary that we would have this opportunity to meet the Imam and, learn more about Berber culture and local wedding customs from him. We would also have an opportunity to ask him any questions we may have about Islamic practice and Berber culture.

I had waves of uncertainty in anticipation about meeting this person. And, this was the key to my recognition that because of the way Imams and Islam have been portrayed in our media, somewhere along the way, many of us have developed an inaccurate mental image of what Imam’s may look and act like.

The Imam we met with, and who hosted our Moroccan lunch, was friendly, welcoming, kind, knowledgeable and funny. His brother was the same, radiating kindness. In the primarily Sunni Muslim country of Morocco, the Imam is selected by members of his community. He is knowledgeable, wise and knows and can recite the Quran accurately. As the local cleric, he leads the five daily prayers, serves as a community leader and provides religious guidance. It is also a title given, as an honor, to renowned scholars.

He discussed his role, performed a Moroccan Berber wedding for us (re-marrying an already married couple who were in our group), and answered our questions. It was a fun, interesting and educational few hours.

 

The Atlas Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in northwestern Africa, mostly through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. They extend for more than 1,200 miles. The Moroccan High Atlas ends at Mount Toubkal at 13,665 feet elevation. There is a very winding road up one section of the Atlas mountains that we drove up. My image below is looking down on part of that winding section.

This section of road was also used for a television commercial for the Cadillac ATS. Below my image is a replay of that commercial:

The Atlas Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in northwestern Africa, mostly through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The extend for more than 1,200 miles. The Moroccan High Atlas ends at Mount Toubkal at 13,665 feet elevation. There is avery winding road up one section of the Atlas mountains that we drove up. At the this image is looking down on that winding section.

This section of road was also used for a television commercial for the Cadillac ATS. Here is a replay of that commercial:

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Henna Hand Adornment written by Cathleen

In North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India and other countries, henna adorns women’s hands for celebrations such as weddings and holidays. Henna is an English word derived from the Arabic hina, which is a flowering tree native to Egypt. Leaves are crushed into a powder that, when mixed with an acidic agent, temporarily stains skin.

Our tour guide Aziz warned that henna artists who approached us might use impure or fake henna. So he brought us a trusted henna artist, who showed us many wonderful designs. I was drawn to the beauty of a stylized eye surrounded by a flower and I liked the trails of delicate leaves on the fingers. The eye is a symbol of good fortune and protection from the “evil eye.” She needed only one quick look at the design I wanted, filled a plastic syringe and painted deftly, as if decorating a cake. It was all done in about four minutes but I could not touch anything for at least 20 minutes. For the final step she applied a fixative made of lime juice, sugar, garlic and pepper.

It was so beautiful I couldn’t stop looking at my hand! Aziz said it would last longer on my palm than another area that does not “take” the stain as well. As I opened my hand, I liked the vision of an opening eye and a blossoming flower. The henna started out the color of espresso, and as the days passed, turned to umber, then rusty orange until it gradually faded away. But I’m happy I had it while it lasted!

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About 2 Km. from Tineghir (also spelled Tinghir), is the small village, Ksar Afanour, which is mostly ruins.  Within Afanour are  the Mosque and Madrasa Ikelane. The Madrasa was restored by the Associatio Afanour for Development in 2007. The Mosque, and the Madrasa within, is one of the few open to non-Muslims to visit. It’s built partly on a cliff and partly on a small street in Ksar Afanour. It’s original date of construction is unknown but it’s thought to have been rebuilt during the second half of the nineteenth century. We sat with our trip leader Aziz in this Madrasa as he spoke with us of his childhood and his experiences going to school in a Madrasa where he studied the Koran.

Overland to Tineghir we came to a series of wells in the desert that draw from a spring below. Water is used by Berbers for drinking and irrigation of farmland nearby. I was intrigued by the simplicity and creativity of the design to bring the water up from below, which is shown in the photos below.

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