I visited Erfoud and Merzouga in the Moroccan Sahara desert area. I took a camel ride into the sand dunes and stayed overnight in a camp in the desert.
View of the Oued Ziz valley. (783k) Zouala village in the Oued Ziz valley. (994k) Cemetery in Ksar Jdid village in the Oued Ziz valley. Each of the small stones marks a burial place. (1314k) Aoufous village in the Oued Ziz valley. (913k) Fences made from palm leaves stabilize the sand. (1044k) Erfoud. (897k) Tisserdmine, an oasis village in the Sahara desert, near the Algerian border. (831k) House in Tisserdmine. (649k) Nomad camp. (565k) Berber flag on one of the camps. (854k) Abandoned village Mfis. (938k) Houses in the abandoned village Mfis. (940k) House in the abandoned village Mfis. (625k) The cemetery of the abandoned village Mfis. (1042k) Takojt Kasbah, the hotel I stayed in for the desert visit. (893k) Entrance to the Takojt Kasbah. (900k) Inside the Takojt Kasbah. (643k) Takojt Kasbah grounds with a camel getting readied for a desert ride. (648k) Getting a camel ready for a ride. (828k) View of the sand dunes from the hotel. (458k) Another Kasbah hotel complex. (946k) This used to be a 4-star hotel. It was destroyed by a huge flood in 2006. (812k) Heat mirage in the desert. (775k)
Camel Rides and Camps
Large desert camp. (687k) Desert camp I stayed in for a night. (606k) Evening entertainment. (681k) Camel stop. (719k) Camels saddled up, ready to go into the desert. (795k) Camel caravan. (662k) Desert trip on camel back. (547k) There were a lot of camel caravans in the desert. (549k) My ride. (850k) Returning camel caravan. (621k) Camel rider. (685k) Lots of camel dung in the desert. (681k)
Oasis Agriculture
Small fields in the oasis. (984k) Irrigation channel in the oasis. (1117k) Blocked-off side channels. The side channels are opened according to the water rations for each small field. (778k) Smaller irrigation channels. (1415k) Underground water channel with periodic entry points to allow cleaning. (711k) Working in the oasis fields. (1206k) Fig Tree. (1327k) Pomegranate (Punica granatum, german: Granatapfel, french: Grenadier commun). (1427k) Almond Tree (Prunus amygdalus, german: Mandelbaum, french: Amandier). (1275k) Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera, german: Echte Dattelpalme, french: Palmier dattier). (1313k) Male Date Palm pollen stand (Phoenix dactylifera, german: Echte Dattelpalme, french: Palmier dattier). (908k) Female Date Palm pollen stand (Phoenix dactylifera, german: Echte Dattelpalme, french: Palmier dattier). (1013k)
Dr. Günther Eichhorn Travel Website
Soaring website