Today began, for me, hearing the call to prayer at 5:00 a.m. A good breakfast at Riad Mahd Salam with the usual rolls, bread, hard boiled eggs, coffee and a very yummy fig jam. In the bus to pick up our guide in Rissani who will educate us about the Ksours in this area. The little town of Erfoud was built by the
french beside the Ziz River. It is supposed to have good hotels, restaurants and an interesting souk. Erfoud would be a good place to base yourself and explore the desert surroundings if you don’t want to move around daily.

A few more bits of information learned on the 30-minute drive to Rissani:

- Women wearing all black are Arabs;

- Women wearing black with sequin decorations on the back are Amazigh (the name Berbers prefer meaning “free people”);

- Women wearing bright colors are Saharan tribes originally brought from this area for the slave trade; and

- Veils are worn to keep out the dust. Girls are veiled at puberty.

Erfoud is also a popular destination for filmmakers. Desert sequences of the Mummy 1, Mummy 2, Sahara, Smile, and The Sheltering Sky were filmed in several locations near Rissani. Erfoud is also surrounded by small Ksours/Ksars, Arabic for “castle” and a term describing a Berber village consisting of attached houses. These were widespread in the oasis regions of Morocco but most are now vacant. They were meant to provide protection from raiding nomad tribes and scorching sun. An old Ksour/Ksar was going to be the first of many sights and visits today…

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