Berber Village

Atlas Mountains

While Morocco was filled with wild and wonderful sights, my favorite part was our visit to a Berber village in the Atlas Mountains. The Berbers are the indigenous people group of Morocco, and maintain their own culture, language, food, dress, and traditions to this day. The call themselves the Amazigh, meaning free people, yet they are still treated as second class citizens in Morocco today. Thus, with the Arab Spring, Berber groups have pushed for recognition and the guaranteeing of basic citizenship rights from the Moroccan government.

Berber Village

Atlas Mountains

The drive up through the Atlas Mountains took us through some of the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen. It actually looked at lot Central Oregon, except with Berber houses made out of dry clay built into the mountainside. So basically the same thing. We stopped for lunch along the river, and had wonderful Berber tangine and cous cous. We stopped and shopped, many of us coming away with handmade Berber carpets (its a lifetime investment Mom!) The artisanship of the Berber craftsmen is incredible, filled with bright colors and geometric patterns. Our visit to the Berber village was like stepping back in time, back when life was simpler, and people lived by the land. An incredible experience for sure. 

Mosque 

Lunch on the river

Women doing washing in the river

Waterfall coming down from the mountains

Our Berber guide, Choani!