Morocco, part three: the gorges

Some of the highlights of central Morocco are the beautiful Todra and Dades Gorges, next to the Atlas mountains. Driving west from Hassi Labied, we headed toward Todra Gorge.



This area is popular among rock-climbers. We saw a group of young (12- to 14-year-old) French climbers. Here's a shot of a narrow part of the gorge with the road between the rocks.



On the way to the Dades gorge, we passed some camels. No humans visible. Notice the snowy mountains in the background? That's the Atlas range.



Also on the way to Dades, there are some unusual rock formations.



Kasbah-style buildings abound in this part of Morocco.



That night we stayed in a hotel that left something to be desired (i.e. heat). It was nice to get going in the morning. We continued up the Dades Gorge.



The road wound up and up, and we could see geology at work all around us.



We stopped to take some photos, and out of nowhere this guy appeared. He was selling fossils. The price? "As you like." He meant it, too.



This old tower is decorated with a greenish spray-painted symbol (sort of a pitchfork shape). It's the Berber symbol for freedom and is seen all around.



On our way back down through the gorge, the sun illuminated the hairpin turns.



This building, impressively perched on a bit of rock, is a hotel. We should've stayed there.

Morocco, part two: near Merzouga

We rented a car and drove from Fes southwest to Hassi Labied, near Merzouga. Along the way, we passed through a cedar forest, snowy mountains, a town that resembled Switzerland, and the expected desert landscape.

We arrived in the dark at our kasbah-style hotel. The next morning, we went for a walk in the desert. (This is the northern part of the Sahara.)



You can't tell from the photos, but it was incredibly windy. Sand was flying into our faces and we had to lean against the wind while walking.



I had to hold my hands near my face to keep the sand away from my eyes, nose and mouth.



When we emerged from the dunes after our walk, we were greeted by this guy, who was selling fossils, jewelry, and knick-knacks. He hit us up at the beginning of the walk, but we told him "maybe later," and he actually waited for us. For around two hours.



The hotel next to ours had camels. Here's the obligatory camel shot.

Morocco part one: Fes

Long time no blogging. Been doing lots of stuff, and hopefully we can catch you up here eventually.



In March we went to Morocco for 10 days. Our first stop was the imperial city of Fes.



The old part of the city, the medina, is enclosed within walls and contains lots of tiny alleyways that take circuitous routes, sometimes to dead ends. Lots of people do their daily shopping there.



This is one of the doorways to the medina. It's called a bab.



Women knead their bread dough at home, let it rise, and then bring it to the communal bread oven to have it baked. Here are some loaves that have been baked and are ready for pickup.



The bees seem to be enjoying these sweets.



There is a Jewish section or mellah in Fes. Although most of the Jewish community has emigrated, 56 Jewish families still live here.



The synagogue is still in use.



This man is bicycling through the Jewish cemetery.



Here you can see a contrast of architectural styles, with modern high rises in the background behind the Moroccan archways.



In the medina, there is a leather tannery. It smells ghastly, but they give you a sprig of mint to hold up to your nose. That helps.



Each of these vats is filled with a dye, supposedly all natural, in which to soak the leather for a week or more.



The skins are hung up to dry before being dyed.



Wool is spread out on a rooftop. In the background you can see some dyed skins hanging up to dry.



Back at our small hotel, here is the view from the rooftop terrace in late afternoon.



Our hotel was in the traditional style, with rooms opening onto a central courtyard featuring a fountain, elaborate plasterwork, mosaic tile and wood carvings. This type of hotel is called a riad.



This turtle was in the courtyard and didn't seem to mind having his picture taken.

Return to Siena

We went to Siena during September of 2009 but didn't blog about it. We went back in December 2010 during S's visit. It was a bit chilly and rainy, but we had fun anyway. The city was festively lit up for the holidays. Here's the main square, Piazza del Campo:



That structure is the municipal building, or Palazzo Communale in Italian. Here's what the same place looked like in Sept. 2009:



The other side of Piazza del Campo:



This well-lit tree is in front of Palazzo Salimbeni, headquarters of the bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The statue is of Sallustio Bandini, champion of economic freedom.



Siena is known for its horse race or palio, held twice each summer in the Piazza del Campo. The city's neighborhoods, called contrade, compete against each other in the race. Each contrada has its own symbol, flag and colors.

Back in September, the palio was long over, but the flags were still flying.



S identified with the Contrada della Selva, whose symbol is a rhinoceros, a creature which once charged her. (She escaped.)



A symbol of one of the other contrade is the turtle.



Siena is also famous for its cathedral, one of the largest in Italy. It was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the September sunlight:



A December detail of the creatures emerging from the facade:



S examines the marble floor design outside the cathedral.



Siena is an interesting and pleasant town for walking. There are lots of pretty little streets and alleys.



Lots of shops have appealing displays.



I'm not so sure about this ham display. It doesn't look so nice with the skin on.



We saw some posters about "the great and magnanimous." Featured luminaries include Roman emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold the Second, and Nelson Mandela.

Return to Orvieto

Our loyal readers (har har, all two of you) might remember that we visited Orvieto our first summer here.

This December and January we had some visitors and decided to bring them there as well.

This area is known for its ceramics, and S wanted to buy some, so we checked out the shops.



Orvieto has a couple of remarkable wells. This is the San Patrizio Well, built in Renaissance times by architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.



There are double-helix staircases leading down, down, down to the bottom.



There are plenty of little shops selling culinary specialties of the region. No lack of pork varieties. (That hairy boar leg looks particulary appetizing, no?)



A poster advertises the Umbria Jazz Festival under a sign describing traffic rules.



We caught some music while walking around town. Check out this marching band, the Fantomatic Orchestra, whose electric guitar player carries his own amp on a shoulder strap.



Hear the Fantomatic Orchestra on this video:



What are these people looking at? If they were a band, this would be the album cover.



Behind them is the view of the countryside from Orvieto's wall: