A walk in the Moroccan farmland
Farming country near Midelt, central Morocco
After our overnight stay in the central Moroccan town of Midelt our tour bus took a short drive off the highway and through some of the local farming districts. We stopped and then went on a short walk through some farms. I always found it interesting on our tour of Morocco and Spain to compare these countries with the rural areas I know so well here in South Australia. There are many similarities except for the style of houses and the imposing Atlas Mountains shown in the photo above.
And you don’t see too many donkeys here in South Australia.
Farming country near Midelt, central Morocco
Farming country near Midelt, central Morocco
One of the farms (shown below) was obviously an orchard of some kind. I am guessing that it is likely to be apples growing here. The area around Midelt is a plateau between the Middle Atlas and the High Atlas Mountains. The higher altitude – over 1500 metres – would be most suitable for apple growing.
The final photo today is of our tour guide, Said. He was a wonderful guide willing to share his local knowledge of all things Moroccan. He lives in Marrakech with his family. He actually left his wife with a week old baby to go on our tour.
Apple (?) orchard near Midelt, central Morocco
Our guide, Said, in Morocco
A comfortable hotel in Midelt, Morocco
Hotel Kasbah Asmar, Midelt, Morocco
It has been quite a while since the last time I shared some of my photos and experiences while travelling Morocco. Over coming days and weeks I intend continuing with this series subject to my health. For all of the old photos and articles go to my archives (see task bar under the title).
Our overnight stay in Midelt was a memorable one. One of the more beautiful places we stayed in was the Hotel Kasbah Asmar. As usual in Morocco mosaics feature prominently in the buildings. Our hotel was no exception as the photos below illustrate. Our room was comfortable and spacious and we slept well. We did try to do a bit of hand washing in the bath tub and we were worried that it would not dry overnight. Hanging it in front of the heaters certainly helped in this. The food was also a feature and was delicious – like everywhere we stayed in Morocco. The sumptuous spread for breakfast was one of the best.
Midelt is an easy drive east of Fes and is situated between the Middle Atlas and High Atlas Mountains on a high plateau making it one of cooler towns in Morocco. There is often snow on the surrounding mountains in winter. It certainly was cool when we were there in late December.
Midelt is a relatively new town of some 45,000 population. It is a commercial centre for the local mining industry with gypsum, lead and other minerals being mined in the region. Fossils are also mined in this area and these are made into all kinds of objects for sale, mainly to tourists. The town also supports a large agricultural industry. Farmers bring their produce into the local market. Locally grown fruit and vegetables as well as goats and sheep for meat and wool are the main farm products.
Hotel Kasbah Asmar, Midelt, Morocco
Hotel Kasbah Asmar, Midelt, Morocco
Hotel Kasbah Asmar, Midelt, Morocco