Meski was the source of the Ziz river. When we first came to the village we would swim in the cool waters of a pool fed by natural springs. The pool attracted travellers like us as well as day trippers. In the last few years drought meant there was no water in the pool so less visitors came. This affected the livelihood of the souvenir sellers who became more and more desperate for business.
Meski was the home of Hamid and his family. Hamid had been our travel guide in Morocco for years and he and his colleague, Hassan, had escorted us on a wild camping trip into the Sahara. We were also well acquainted with the shopkeepers on the site – “friends” who wanted to sell us something. They needed to earn a living and we bought as much as we could from them and we received a lot of attention which made us feel very important! When we left Meski we were given “gifts for madame”, meaning they felt well paid for their efforts.
