Ait Benhaddou

32km north of Ouazazate on the other great pass through the Atlas is Ait Benhaddou. We have never yet crossed the Tizi n'Tichka as we either go direct across the Atlas from Taroudant or are travelling west through Ouazazate but we did visit Ait Benhaddou. Like Taroudant walls it is now a World Heritage site. It has been a location for numerous films, Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles' Sodom and Gomorrah and most memorably Laurence of Arabia and Gladiator.
You approach the kasbah now a deluxe hotel, arrive early before the coaches. There are a couple of cafes and a post office and a row of tourist shops down a lane towards the river bed. There is then quite a long walk across the wadi bottom which in January was muddy and had water in the centre and then a steep ascent up the village. People gather with donkeys to help you cross and save the trudge up. The coach tours seem to include this in the price. It is impressive but to my mind not wildly more so than some other sites although the scale is perhaps more.

Ouazazate

If instead of going south you go east into the antiatlas you come to a magic land. First you pass through Talaouine where saffron is grown, so this is the place to buy it, not Marrakech or even Taroudant. You then pass through the mountains spectacular views and numerous "fossil" stalls some selling fossils and some concrete casts, some selling amesthyst and some selling dyed quartz. Eventually you get to  Ouazazate and this is where the magic starts because Ouazazate is the centre of the moroccan film industry. You can visit the studio- 8 euros- and will be given a guided tour of various props from Gladiator and other films and then you can drive out in the desert to various sets mostly from Kingdom of Heaven; spooky but fascinating.



Dead charioteers from Gladiator, Ouazazate Studios




Buddhist Shrine from Kudron, Ouazazate Studios




Throne from Asterix film, Ouazazate Studios




Ghouls from The Mummy, Ouazazate Studios




Barge from Asterix, Ouazazate Studios




Catapult, Ouazazate Studios




Imperial Lion from Kudron, Ouazazate Studios




Back of set, ouazazate studios




Set for Kingdom of Heaven, Ouzazate




Set of Kingdom of Heaven, Ouazazate




Set of Kingdom of Heaven, Ouazazate




The marketplace, Kingdom of Heaven, Ouazazate




Kingdom of Heaven Set, Ouazazate




War Machine, Ouazazate Studios




Ouazazate Studios




Battering Ram, Ouazazate Studios




Siege engine, Ouazazate




Market,Kingdom of Heaven, Ouazazate




Market Square, Kingdom of Heaven, Ouazazate




Projection Tower, Kingdom of Heaven, Ouazazate



Kerkous

The circuit goes on from Tafroute to Tiznit, a town just inland from the coast. From there one can take the main coast road down to Sidi Ifni (see earlier post) or back up past the Souss-Massa to Agadir and hence back to Taroudant. Tiznit has a walled medina and a newtown outside with modern hotels. The french used it as an administrative centre, but Tiznit's main claim to fame is the stunning enamelled silver jewellry made only there for which it has been famous for centuries. Ladies it's a must.
The circuit is too long for one day and you must stay for at least one overnight. This can be Tiznit or one of its nearby beach resorts of Mirfleht or Aglou, or Tafroute, but my preference is Kerdous
Kerdous is a renovated kasbah turned hotel on the col where the road ascends from Tiznit (or alternatively if coming from Tafroute above the steep descent the road being much steeper and spectacular on the ocean side of the range).It has wonderful panoramic views and the guidebooks suggest you stop for tea to view them. The hotel has painted doors and old furniture and a pleasant little swimming pool on a terrace. It will do you the usual moroccan food although you must give 2 hours notice for a tajine; much to the fury of the frenchwoman who was offered only grills for dinner whilst I tucked into the tajine I'd ordered at lunch but the real atraction is sunset.
I think it's the perfect Kodak moment.




Hotel Kerdous




Sunset over the Anti-Atlas at Kerdous




View over Anti-Atlas at Kerdous




View over Anti-Atlas at Kerdous




Sunset at Kerdous



Sunset at Kerdous



Sunset at Kerdous




Sunset at Kerdous




Sunset at Kerdous



Tizergane

If instead of crossing north from Taroudant you go south into the anti-atlas there is an interesting circuit one can take. The first part goes along winding roads towards Tafroute.Many people find Tafroute a magical place and Justin Adams has written a paeon to it on his Desert Road CD. Tafroute is a nice enough town but I think its attraction is mainly its access to trekking in the Ameln valley and as I don't trek I've never been tempted to linger. However the road there is stunning with numerous fortified villages cling to the hillside the most notable of which I've seen only from the road but I believe to beTizergane although it could possibly be Tioulit. It dominates the valley and is redolent of some huge bailey castle a la Edward 1 or perhaps even more so of the British Camp in the Malverns or some other Iron Age fort.

Tifnite

Drive south on the coast road from Inezgane toward Tiznit and you pass the Souss-Massa national park a nature reserve with rare species such as Bald Ibis and Flamingos. Just past Sidi Bibi turn off right to Tifrite, the perfect fishing village.
The road ends at the sea where there is a car park of sorts. When we first went there was a cafe there but it has disappeared without trace so take a picnic. The village is not at the end of the road but about half a mile away along the dunes or the beach depennding on the tide. There is a shop which will sell you cold drinks and, tide depending, fishing off the rocks.The fishing boats pull up onto the beach but fish every day and if you arrive at the right time you can buy fish off the boat.; otherwise the boxes of fish are placed on ice and taken away to the road by donkey.



Tifnite beach




Tifnite beach




Tifnite beach



The day's catch from Tinite carried awy by donkey

Tin Mal

Tin Mal mosque lies just off the Tizi n' Test below the col on the Marrakech side. Its village is now called Ifouriren and is just your average Atlas village of some hundreds of inhabitants, but when the mosque was built in the 12th century this was a town of some 20,000. It was the original stronghold of the Almohad dynasty from where they conquered Marrakesh and then the whole of Morocco and Islamic Spain.
The mosque is being restored using historical building techniques (no cement) and except for the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca is the only mosque in Morocco open to non-muslims. There is a small entrance fee and the guardian will give you a guided tour in expectation of a gratuity. The mosque is important architecturally because it is the prototype for all Almohad mosques and the Koutoubia mosque in Marrakesh is modelled on it. 
The Almohads appear to have been the Taliban of their time.Their founder Ben Toumert was a native of the Atlas but when he was about 26 he journeyed first to Cordoba and thence to the middle east. He returned after 12 years in 1118 travelling through the Mahgreb preaching against the Malakite strand of Islam which was orthodox under the then ruling Almoravid dynasty. He preached a strict form of Islam, combined a nationalist appeal by writing in the Berber language and having the call to prayer cried in Berber. He preached against wine, music and women mixing in male society; woman going unveiled or men wearing the veil.He acted as Iman and Judge and used whippings and public executions to encourage those lacking in religous fervour.He also set up a strictly heirachical government and administrative system , identified himself with the Mahdi and called for a Holy War against the "godless states" of the Almoravids. It was however his successor Abd al-Moumin who was able to seize Marrakesh  and eventually the Mahgrebi/Spanish empire. He built Tin Mal mosque in memory of Ben Toumert .
The mosque is very simple with minimal ornamentation in accordance with Almohid religous doctrine. It is an austere 61mx42m rectangle comprising a prayer hall and forecourt. The central aisle opposite the mihrab is slightly wider than the others and has some stucco decoration the arches having friezes of geometric decoration. The whole is surrounded by a crenellated wall which probably formed part of the town's fortifications.There is a single short tower-like minaret.



Tin Mal mosque in the High Atlas




Stucco decoration on horseshoe arches. Tin Mal mosque.




Central Aisle Tin Mal Mosque




Horseshoe arches Tin Mal Mosque




View to courtyard Tin Mal Mosque



Restored roof Tin Mal Mosque  





Tin Mal Mosque