The Atlas valleys; 500 kilometers and 500 years from Marrakech ….. as we traveled across the High Atlas from Marrakech past Ouarzazate to the south, we entered the Great Oasis Valleys and moved back in time.

Even though we had continual 3G cell service for the entire trip, we encountered people living lives that had not changed in centuries. Leaving Dades we came across a Berber nomadic family moving along with their entire lives on donkeys, horses, and camels – clothes, tents, food, and flock being moved to a new resting spot. I really had the impression that Mary showing up in Bethlehem would have recognised this scene.

In Igherm, we arrived for lunch on market day and this butcher’s shop was typical of the street and next door the fish merchant was frying herring.

In Taroudant, the Berber Market was a maze of stalls selling everything imaginable under one roof – this one had spices and sweets with all the local ladies clamouring for the best flavours and the best deals. A long way from Walmart but everything under one roof.

That evening, the walls of the Medina were the site of women cooling themselves with their children whilst the men drank coffee across the street.

These are not scenes for tourists. We were the only non-Moroccans in all of these places and for most of the week we traveled.