Morocco travel diary (Part five) In Morocco when it rains, the smells resurrect. May 8, 2014 , Marrakech, Djemaa el Fna South direction... inchallah (it will be as God wills ) The night is spent with a strong storm, but this morning it does not seem fresher than the other one. Its soon, the strong smell of the previous night reveals the secrets of the square, the odorous theater is staged every day until late evening. Ive seen in the warm afternoon yesterday women and men cover their noses as not wanting to hear the odors , the smells of this city ; Instead I remain fascinated every time, while not recognizing all the smells . Standing and looking at the Cafe de France, we wait the car by which today we driving a long road that will take us from Marrakech to El Kelaâ , in the roses valley, through the TizinTichka mountain pass, stopping to Imouzzer and Ouarzazate. Its me, Federica and Roberto. In front of this coffee I am reminded the time when I lived in Morocco and Ive created my second perfume named Shukran, its amazing being able to live in the same place with a completely different feeling, makes me realize the beauty of the research; who knows which effect has the flow on the metamorphosis of each of us . I give to me a clear and decisive answer to this question, Inchallah. My gaze out through the window leaves the chaotic Marrakech medina, but it seems not to want to disconnect; the poetic vision vanishes in one moment because we stop for supply and the stench of petrol envelops me. In a few miles the vision of the city changes completely, from the medinas shady alleys we pass the gardens of palm, olives groves and even nine golf courses! These are a legacy of Hassan II reminds me Roberto. In the last fifty years the socio-political Moroccos history is rich of many behind the scenes, especially related with royal familys life; just if you living here and without the filter of Western press you are able to understand (partially) the human and social movement who lives this country. Even today the heat is very intense, the hot asphalt smell dominates everything, the eucalyptus tree give us shade at times; around the barren lands we see sheeps, shepherds, and very few houses. The mist does not allow me to see the spectacular views of the High Atlas. Leaving Marrakech in the south-east, we travelled throught many villages and in close proximity to each of them I like stick out my head as to capture odors; its almost lunchtime, the tajines aroma on roadsides gives me a break from the obsessive asphalts odor. We stop for a break, I discover that the nus-nus (milk&coffee hot and sweet), is identical to the one my grandmothers Vincenza cooked me many years ago... olfactory memory or my Berber origins? Travel with Federica and Roberto allows me to enjoy long breaks , I let my eyes close, the taste of milk and coffee, the tajine , the asphalt and the sound of a few cars . Come on . On the steep mountain grows junipers red, aleppo pines and holm oaks. The High Atlas is a real climatic boundary, a real barrier that protects the central area of Morocco from the hot winds of the Sahara allow the moist Atlantic air masses to turning into rain. Here the annual rainfall is very sporadic, but the frequent rains and the snow on the Atlas helps southern lands, along the oasis, rivers very important for the region and botanical cultures who live there. Before arriving our destination we meet two hail storms , Roberto looks at me with the gaze of someone who wants to say ... In May, it never happened! I enjoy these pauses in the rain , the smells resurrect : green pines, oaks, red clay smell, the embers of tajine and wood wet banquet on the roads edge. Other break, other nus nus, closed eyes, my grandmother ... lets go. After two hours of travel beside large oak and walnut trees, we arrived at Tadder a little city, simple cafes and small grocery stores, just before the Tizi-n-Tichka mountain pass ( 2260m ); we drive along a small dirt road that leads us to Imozzeur ; here we are guests of Mohamed Kachtoun and his family. Imouzzer is a berber village, the Mohameds welcome is typical of these areas, we are immediately surrounded by the beauty of his person, Mohamed is not only a friend but also the President of the Wifaqs association who has carried out many projects in education , business and agriculture like dams and irrigation canals. The purpose of our responsible travel is this one: support local projects over the years. A little walk with Mohamed between Juglas regias specimen (400 years old), to arrive a few kilometers from the village to see a waterfall where stands the Oued Glaoua , a creek that feeds the village , (Imouzzer means waterfall ) . We thank Mohamed for hospitality, for the incredible lunch and the time spent with us walking through walnut trees and waterfalls, now we continue our journey to Ouarzazate ... one more time hail to the south, Inchallah . We drive miles in a lunar territory and rarely we meet other travelers, everything is desertic and I wonder how it can sudden appear a rose bush. Finally we are arrived in Ouarzazate, we visit the Kasbah of Taourirt , one of the many settlements of the Marrakechs Pasha ; the street of a thousand kasbahs is the name of the path will lead us from here to El Kelaâ. Other hours by road , as a visionary mystic now I can not see anything besides the beautiful desert areas then finally green areas , we get through the plains and the palmerie of Skoura. Everything it stops , words , thoughts , feelings . I do not know what this will lead my trip, but Im definitely living in a intense manner , knowing that someone is reading it ; maybe friends, acquaintances, people who I dont know and probably many others that I will know later. Last story to close this page of my diary: when I was a child and I went in Sicily I anxiously waited to see a sign that indicated Mazara del Vallo and when I saw the first, I closed my eyes and I breathed the scent of my land.... Even now, on the long way for El Kelaâ when appears the first signpost, I close my eyes... As far we can go back in history , men have always used plants , first for food, then for treatment and finally to dream and join the great whole in the course of a sacred journey (Claudine Brelet - Rueff , The sacred healing arts from ancient) Pubblished by Extrait in Italian language extrait.it/in-marocco-quando-piove-gli-odori-resuscitano-meo-fusciuni/
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 12:29:33 +0000
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