Morning tea in Ifrane, Morocco
Scenes of Ifrane, Morocco
On our brief visit to the town of Ifrane in Morocco we stopped near a restaurant to have a delightful morning tea break. I had enough time to wander around nearby to take a few photos of the beautiful buildings in this delightful town. I would like to have visited after a heavy snow fall, but that was not to be.
Morning tea in Ifrane, Morocco
Morning tea in Ifrane, Morocco
A visit to Ifrane in Morocco
Buildings in Ifrane in Morocco
On our tour of Morocco we spent a few days in the Sefrou area and then moved on to Midelt in the east of the country. On the way we drove through a part of the Atlas Mountains. We stopped for a morning tea break in the town of Ifrane as shown in today’s photos.
I would guess that most Australians would think that Morocco is a hot country with sand, deserts and a generally bleak environment, complete with camels and little else. Few would realise that this part of the country has a thriving snow skiing industry. The beautiful town of Ifrane is in the centre of one such skiing location. The style of the buildings in this village would not be out of place in the Alps of Switzerland.
Although the day was sunny, the air was still very cool. Our guide explained that up to the point of our visit the snow falls had been extremely poor, compared with most years. Although there was some snow cover on the mountain peaks, most was still unsuitable for skiing.
Ifrane in Morocco
Houses in Ifrane in Morocco
Streets of Ifrane in Morocco
Market day in the village of Sefrou, Morocco
Market day in the village of Sefrou, Morocco
Towns like Sefrou near Fes in Morocco become bustling centres of trade on market days. Farmers from the surrounding districts bring in their produce for sale, setting up on stalls in the squares, lanes and streets. The chaotic arrangement seems to work very effectively and the range of items on sale is enormous: vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflowers, carrots, onions, cucumbers, pumpkins, capsicans, and fruit like mandarins, oranges, bananas, dates, apples and a range of spices and nuts.
Then, like in the photo below, some vendors offer an enormous range of items: pens, radios, clothing, key rings, scarves, DVDs, cassettes, tools – the list goes on and on. It is a fascinating scene.
Market day in the village of Sefrou, Morocco
Market day in the village of Sefrou, Morocco
Farmers’ markets in the village of Sefrou, Morocco
Farmers’ markets in Sefrou, Morocco
Over recent days I have been showing photos taken on our visit to the village of Sefrou about 30km from the city of Fes in Morocco. We visited on the day they had the farmers’ markets in the streets and lanes of the village. Today I share a few more photos.
Farmers’ markets in Sefrou, Morocco
Farmers’ markets in Sefrou, Morocco
Photos of market day in Sefrou, Morocco
Farmers’ produce on sale in Sefrou, Morocco
On our visit to the village of Sefrou we were lucky to be there on market day. Sefrou is about 30km from the city of Fes. The farmers from the surrounding countryside bring in their produce and set up stalls in the streets and lane ways. It brings the town to life and the hustling crowds flock to buy their fruit, vegetables and other goodies – like the pastries shown below.
We couldn’t resist and bought some delicious bananas and mandarins.
On reflection, these markets are not so different to what we have here in Australia. Certainly, there is much variation in some of the produce for sale – no local farmers grow bananas or dates here in South Australia, for example. But they bring what they grow and local people flock to these events knowing that they are buying good quality food produced locally. It’s a growing trend here in Australia, but I’d say that in places like Sefrou it has been a tradition for many years, perhaps even centuries.
Farmers’ produce on sale in Sefrou, Morocco
Farmers’ produce on sale in Sefrou, Morocco