Hassilabied

We stayed two nights at a camp site at Hassilabied, one of the many tourist villages in the Sahara. Visitors came in their coach loads for desert camel rides, to experience the dunes of Erg Chebbi and to enjoy the Berber lifestyle.

At first glance you didn’t notice the dark tents of the nomadic Berber camps but, once your eyes became accustomed, it seemed they were all around us. They had herds of goats and regularly to moved on in search of food. If you stopped your vehicle, they would wave and approach, often asking for a gift.

Morocco was a Muslim country with mosques in even the smallest villages. 65% of Moroccans were Berber although nowadays most of them did not live a nomadic life. Non Berber Moroccans were mainly Arabs who came to Morocco from the Middle East, bringing with them the Muslim religion.