Morocco Part 2

So, after our lovely day in the Auberge, we clambered in an old Mercedes Taxi. This taxi took us up into the High Atlas. The whole time we were in Morocco we kept remarking on how similar it was to the SouthWestern part of the United States.

About an hour into the drive to Taroudant we came up to this big building perched up on the top of a hill. We wondered what it was, so Grandma asked. Turns out it's a 12th Century Mosque which is being rebuilt. It's still used, but because it's a ruin, they let tourists visit. So we went up. It was really beautiful! The carving in the plaster and wood were amazing.
The arches were really lovely, also, even the ones which weren't carved. There were row after row of them. Kind of reminded me of Cordoba.













The old Mizhab (the fancy bit in the wall that faces Mecca) was not as ornate as some I've seen, but had an elegance that sometimes gets lost amongst the glitz and glamour of the more embellished models.








Back on the road again, we headed up into the serious roads of the High Atlas Tiz'n Test Pass. (Actually, that's redundant. Either Tiz'n or Test means Pass, but I forget which one.) We climbed and climbed and climbed, which, won switchback roads, flings you around pretty well. Eventually we got to the top of the pass and . . .glory be. . . stopped for some lunch! It was a beautiful view of the whole valley below. Lunch was Berber Omelet (which is egg and stewed vegetables all steamed in a Tagine. Really nice) and Berber Salad (bunch of bell peppers, tomatoes and onion chopped real fine and mixed up). And

Mint Tea. The Ubiquitous Mint Tea. Kind of nice up at the top of that pass. The elevation was such that it was cool, plus the wind was keeping things brisk. We were huddled into our jackets to keep warm.

Right. Onwards and Upwards. Er . . . Downwards!