Morocco: Having Tea with the Berbers in Ourika Valley
Blondine and I have had enough of the drum beating noises and busyness of Djemma el Fna so we decided to go off the beaten track for a day and booked a trip to Ourika Valley in the High Atlas mountains. Wooh! The travel agency Hilali (a recommendation from the Riad Manager) gave us a 50DH discount each because we booked 3 excursions with them. Nice, shukran!
Berber whisky
As expected, and this is with most developing countries, time does not exist. The mini bus that will take us to Ourika Valley was already running late, half an hour late to be exact, and all we hear from the agent every time we ask—(do not worry)It is coming! The weather was also bad; windy and cold, probably around 12-14C with intermittent rain showers and I was tempted to go back to the riad to change but helaas the mini bus finally arrived. Well, I should really have really changed because the weather got worse up in the mountains, and not only that, because of miscommunication – their English is very limited almost nil as well as our French, well guess what, I was overdressed for the day! My goodness. We realized only after lunch that part of the program is the waterfalls trek. We crossed rivers, scaled the mountain and climbed rocks, and I was wearing a flowing dress!?
The first stop is tea with a Berber family in the mountains. Berbers are the indigenous people of Morocco. The family we visited was poor, their living conditions were very basic but quite interesting as visiting them brings you back in time.
The whole house is open. There are no doors, only doorways and halls that brings the stinking smell of the cows that live with the family beside the kitchen from room to corridor to room. I also got confused for a moment which one was the main living room as there were several sitting rooms in the house. Then I saw other tourist groups leaving and some that are just arriving. Then it dawned on me that this Berber family makes a living by inviting tourists to have tea with them and see how they, the Berbers live. I made sure to give some tip after our tea with them.
The mint tea arrived and the mother explained to us that the mint they (the Berbers) use is much stronger than the mint leaves in Marrakech. One by one she poured tea for us. When she gave me my glass I smiled and nodded at her, “Shukran bessef.” She beamed and said something back in Arabic that I do not understand, haha.
Making a living out of tea serving
Yes, seriously, the Berbers in this area of Morocco do make a living from the tourists by serving tea at home. It is a brilliant idea and a win-win thing I guess for both parties. The tourists get to experience tea served by a local at home and the local get his or her money.
The house we visited had several rooms to receive guests. It looked like this is what they do the whole day here. The rooms were very spartan and a bit primitive but decorated in Moroccan-Berber style.
Next: Lunch and the Waterfalls trek
Travel Period: April 2009
Destination: Ourika, Al Haouz (Marrakesh-Safi), Morocco
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
Berber whisky
The mother of the household preparing tea for us. There is a running joke in the Berber mountains: Berber mint tea = “Berber whiskey”.
As expected, and this is with most developing countries, time does not exist. The mini bus that will take us to Ourika Valley was already running late, half an hour late to be exact, and all we hear from the agent every time we ask—(do not worry)It is coming! The weather was also bad; windy and cold, probably around 12-14C with intermittent rain showers and I was tempted to go back to the riad to change but helaas the mini bus finally arrived. Well, I should really have really changed because the weather got worse up in the mountains, and not only that, because of miscommunication – their English is very limited almost nil as well as our French, well guess what, I was overdressed for the day! My goodness. We realized only after lunch that part of the program is the waterfalls trek. We crossed rivers, scaled the mountain and climbed rocks, and I was wearing a flowing dress!?
The first stop is tea with a Berber family in the mountains. Berbers are the indigenous people of Morocco. The family we visited was poor, their living conditions were very basic but quite interesting as visiting them brings you back in time.
The whole house is open. There are no doors, only doorways and halls that brings the stinking smell of the cows that live with the family beside the kitchen from room to corridor to room. I also got confused for a moment which one was the main living room as there were several sitting rooms in the house. Then I saw other tourist groups leaving and some that are just arriving. Then it dawned on me that this Berber family makes a living by inviting tourists to have tea with them and see how they, the Berbers live. I made sure to give some tip after our tea with them.
The mint tea arrived and the mother explained to us that the mint they (the Berbers) use is much stronger than the mint leaves in Marrakech. One by one she poured tea for us. When she gave me my glass I smiled and nodded at her, “Shukran bessef.” She beamed and said something back in Arabic that I do not understand, haha.
This Moroccan Berber girl never smiled back. I have this sad nagging feeling that she hated all the tourists that come to visit and take pictures of her and her primitive kitchen.
Fresh mint used for Moroccan tea.
Here we are being served with freshly homemade bread with olive oil, honey and locally made butter.
Making a living out of tea serving
Yes, seriously, the Berbers in this area of Morocco do make a living from the tourists by serving tea at home. It is a brilliant idea and a win-win thing I guess for both parties. The tourists get to experience tea served by a local at home and the local get his or her money.
The house we visited had several rooms to receive guests. It looked like this is what they do the whole day here. The rooms were very spartan and a bit primitive but decorated in Moroccan-Berber style.
Here is another room in the house. This family is making a living from tourism.
And another group of tourists seated in the corner of the living room.
These are oven stalls made of clay outside of the house.
This is the (pet) cow that lives with the family, just beside the kitchen!
Next: Lunch and the Waterfalls trek
Travel Period: April 2009
Destination: Ourika, Al Haouz (Marrakesh-Safi), Morocco
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
