In February 2016 we traveled to Morocco for 1 week with friends.
Since we landed in Marrakech, we also spent the first day there and the next morning we went to Essaouira by rental car.
In April we went with Driss and our driver Ali on the first round trip from Essaouira to Meski, Errachidia.
We were glued to the window pane the whole time, because there were so many new things to discover: the old Berber settlements, well camouflaged in the mountain slopes, small rivers, which immediately pawed a lush green around them, sometimes goats, sheep, dogs or donkeys jumped in front of the car on the road. There were people on foot, with handcarts or on a fully loaded donkey, schoolchildren walking tens of kilometers to the nearest school.
Our first stop was then in the ancient city (Ksar) of Aït-Ben-Haddou. It has served as a backdrop for many films, such as Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (1954), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Bible (1966), James Bond – The Touch of Death (1987) and many more.
The next day we continued to Merzouga and from there with a camel tour to the tent city in the sandy desert. That night we were also allowed to learn what a sandstorm is.
After we returned from the desert and had a good shower and changed our clothes, we continued to Meski.
Driss showed us almost all of Meski. The campsite in the oasis with the swimming pool and the pools with sacred fish, we were allowed to watch how the fresh pita bread was baked for our tajine and in the evening there was a live concert at Mouloud.
The next day we enjoyed another guided tour of the old Kasbah and a long walk, on the edge of the oasis, overlooking the sunset.
We were completely flattened by all the impressions and the overwhelming hospitality of the inhabitants, that we found it a bit hard to say goodbye and we directly decided to come here again soon.
On the way back to Essaouira we made a detour to the Todra Gorge and spent the night there.
After we arrived back in Essaouira a few days later we sat together with Driss in his store and he told us that he bought a piece of land in Meski on which he wants to build a guest house.
After leaving the store we spontaneously agreed that we would like to buy two rooms in this guesthouse, because we can spend the winter there. So the next day we talked to Driss about it and he agreed right away.
After our return to Germany, we talked to Driss regularly on the phone and he always informed us about the latest status of the construction of the guest house.
At the end of November, however, he sadly called and said that he had not collected enough money this fall to continue building the guesthouse. So we decided to lend him some money so that he could continue building.