Trevor's Travels

More photos of the Fossil factory

No Comments »20th December, 2015; Category: Africa, Holidays, Morocco

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

In my last post here I wrote about our visit to the fossil factory in Erfoud during our holiday in Morocco. I should add that the factory does not ‘make’ the fossils. They are dug out of the ground in the desert nearby.

Once they find suitable fossils in the desert, they are brought to the factory to be made into all kinds of objects for sale. These include small items like key rings, larger items like bowls, dishes and through to fountains and table tops. The last part of the manufacturing process is polishing. The results are stunningly beautiful.

Today’s photos show some of the machinery used in the factory. In my next post I will show some of the finished products.

Part of the guided tour is to take visitors through the retail outlet. Most, if not all, items could be shipped to Australia. The would have been prohibitive for my budget anyway. I did buy two small key rings with a fossilised stone attached. I could carry them in my pocket and not worry about excess baggage.

Links:

Macro Fossiles Kasbah. Please note that this website is not in English
Achour Fossils Erfoud. An excellent website with photos and a video of their products.

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

Fossil factory at Erfoud Morocco

2 Comments »18th December, 2015; Category: Africa, Holidays, Morocco, Shopping

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Our next stop on our tour of Morocco was at one of the fossil outlets in Erfoud. There appears to be an abundance of a range of different fossils to be found in the nearby desert. The factory and obligatory retail outlet we went through was the Macro Fossiles Kasbah as shown in today’s photos.

On our guided tour I found out that there are millions of fossils in the area, mostly trilobites but also a variety of other fossilised creatures. This factory finds the fossils, cuts them into various shapes and polishes them ready for sale in the adjoining shop. The range of items for sale is amazing. It includes small items like key rings, plates, bowls and dishes, wah basins, fountains, tables and much more.

I would love to have bought one of the wonderfully polished tables, but the cost of buying it would have blown our holiday budget. The cost of shipping it to Australia would have added greatly to the cost. I could but dream. (I also had the same feelings in the ceramic factory in Fes – see here for photos.)

I will show more photos of this factory and the shop in coming days.

Further reading:

Website of Macro Fossiles Kasbah Please note that this website is not in English
Website Achour Fossils Erfoud An excellent website in English with many photos, a short video and instructions for ordering.

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Lunch in the Ziz Valley

No Comments »16th December, 2015; Category: Africa, Exotic Destinations, Holidays, Morocco, Plants

Maison Vallee De Ziz

After leaving Errachidia and travelling along the Ziz Valley we stopped again at the Maison Vallee De Ziz for lunch. This hotel and restaurant was a road side stop but our guide knew that they served good meals. In fact, we were never disappointed with any of our meals during our two week tour of Morocco.

I think I actually amazed my wife and daughter with some of the meals I ordered. They were quite out of the ordinary compared with some of the food I like and order when we are dining out here in Australia. This trend continued into Spain, the next leg of our journey. I will write about that here in a few weeks’ time.

Meanwhile, please forgive me for posting a photo of my lunch. I will try not to bore with such things too much.

My lunch at the Maison Vallee De Ziz

Maison Vallee De Ziz

My wife and some of the million plus palms in the valley.

Scenes of the River Ziz Valley

No Comments »14th December, 2015; Category: Africa, Holidays, Morocco, Plants

Date palms in the Ziz Valley

In recent posts here on my travel site I have shown photos and written about our holiday in Morocco several years ago. Today I feature another set of photos of the River Ziz Valley in south eastern Morocco. Our tour guide (who was excellent – Peregrine Adventures) stopped our mini bus near the edge of the gorge so that we could get out and look down into the valley. After many hours of driving it was good to stretch one’s legs. I also liked the opportunity to take plenty of photos, too.

A feature of the gorge is the many date palms growing in the valley. Said, our wonderful guide, told us that the 140 kilometre valley had over one million palm trees, and he assured us that they had actually been counted. I would not like that job – even if paid in dates. Someone came to our bus and sold us a few boxes of dates. we enjoyed sharing the large, delicious dates for many days after that.

The last few photos in today’s post show several mud houses and some of the local people. They were immediately below where I stood on the cliff edge. I was able to get close-up views of them with my zoom lens.

In the coming days will be sharing more photos taken on this tour.

Date palms in the Ziz Valley

River Ziz Valley

Life in the River Ziz Valley

Dates from the River Ziz Gorge in Morocco

No Comments »12th December, 2015; Category: Africa, Exotic Destinations, Holidays, Morocco, Mountains, Plants

River Ziz Gorge Morocco

After travelling through the Atlas Mountains from Midelt we travelled through Errachidia until we came to the River Ziz Gorge. Our tour bus stopped near the edge of the gorge in one spot so that we could get out and wander over to the edge of the gorge to get some good photos.

The River Ziz Gorge is truly spectacular and meanders through this part of Morocco for about 140 kilometres. One of the features of this gorge is the enormous number of date palms. In fact, our guide told us that they number over one million trees. And yes – they have actually been counted! I don’t think I would like that job – you just figure out why!

Soon after stopping our bus a local date seller came along and we bought several boxes of the local produce. For the next few days we enjoyed sharing in this delicious fruit.

Further reading:

River Ziz Gorge Morocco