Times Gone By…..
The emergence of the Sahara 7 million years ago would have affected the plants and animals in the region—and possibly the early ancestors of human beings. For instance, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, which may be the earliest member in the human family tree, lived just to the south of the Sahara (in what is now northern Chad) around the time of the transition. Overall, the team writes, the study adds to evidence that changes in precipitation “were fundamental to the evolution and dispersal of hominins in north Africa.” - Smithsonian Magazine
The Sahara Desert now incredibly arid was once a great sea. The nomads of which there are now few, living this harsh nomadic lifestyle, have navigated the night skies and underwater rivers as a way of life and indeginous survival. There is a huge respect for water and the land, involved in this dance of living, with important knowledge being handed down generations to generations. Very little wasted and a use can be found for anything.
Philanthropic Travel
Morocco Retreats was founded on an ideology of philanthropic travel. We aim to not only bring a cultural experience to tourism in Morocco but to form a connection between cultures and a remembering of how we all once lived in harmony with the earth.
Before the Arab invasion into Morocco the indigenous people were the Amazighr (Berber as renamed by the French). The Berber language is more than 9000 years old and is the oldest language still written and spoken in the world. The Amazighr people are a mix of Asian and African communities. They are mainly found in the mountains and the desert. Other tribes in the desert are the Saharawi people (the nomads of the desert) often Tuareg decendants. The peopole of the Sahara mainly dress in black and Indego. The Indego they also rub on their skin to protect from sunburn and the black khol that is used on their eyes is to avoid eye infections and contact with insects.
When visiting the camp you can visit the Old Kasbah Museum of Moulay Idriss. We endevour to support initiatives of the local community in the area. The Museum is a great way to see the different tribal clothing and ancient ways of life in the Sahara. With a visit to the Old Oasis of Mhamid we also support the women’s co-operative where you will find wonderful embroidery and gifts. You can purchase directly supporting our aim of fair trade.
Please talk to our superb team in the camp and ask questions about their culture and way of life.
Water
At Camp Adounia we ask clients to respect the water they use for washing and explain the great lengths that is taken to aquire this water. We also have dry sand toilets and hammam style bucket washing for minimal water usage.
The Sahara has only two permanent rivers and a handful of lakes, but it has substantial underground reservoirs.
Its permanent rivers are the Nile and the Niger. The Nile rises in central Africa, south of the Sahara, and flows northward through Sudan and Egypt and empties into the Mediterranean. The Niger rises in western Africa, southwest of the Sahara, and flows northeastward into Mali and the desert then turns southeastward, through Nigeria, and empties into the Gulf of Guinea.
The Sahara has some 20 or more lakes, but only one with potable water--the expansive but shallow Lake Chad, a continually expanding and shrinking body of water that lies in the country of Chad (I have fond memories of family pikniks here when it was full of water), at the southernmost edge of the Sahara. The river flowing through Ait Ben Haddou on the way is salt water and the people of this town have had to adapt to this.
Reference
For adults and children I recommend you read a beautifully illustrated book called ‘The Pilot and the Little Prince’ which gives you incredible insight into this world war II pilot who flew across the Sahara delivering letters to the South of Morocco. He often took nomads on board to navigate him in the plane.
‘I lived three years in the Sahara. I also, like so many others, have been gripped by its spell. Anyone who has known life in the Sahara, its appearance of solitude and desolation, still mourns those years as the happiest of his life. The words “nostalgia for sand, nostalgia for solitude, nostalgia for space” are only figures of speech, and explain nothing. But for the first time, on board a ship seething with people crowded upon one another, I seemed to understand the desert.’ - Antoine Saint-Exupery
I highly recommend you visit the Berber Museum which is inside the YSL Museum in Marrakech.
