 SkouraWe spent our first two nights in the lovely and quiet palmeraie (oasis) of Skour, near Ouarzazate. |  Dades ValleyWe made a one-day drive from Skoura up through the Valley of Roses, across the piste to the Gorges of the Dades, and then back down to Skoura. After leaving the pistes, the road ran frequently through narrow chasms and was lined with ruined ksour (plural of ksar, fortified town) and numerous kasbahs. | |
 Road from Skoura to AgdzThe road from Skoura, through Ouarzazate and down to Agdz through the Draa Valley was quite impressive, with much beautiful, though arid, scenery. |  AgdzIn Agdz, we stayed in a lovely guest house in the crumbling ksar, a really sad but very romantic site. | |
 Kasbah of TamnougaltThe huge and mostly abandoned ksar of Tamnougalt is unbelievable, with soaring buildings built of pisé, tunnels and kasbahs and a very large mellah (Jewish quarter). We were shown aournd for a good hour by a charming young guide who even introduced us to the grandson (our age) of the last caïd of Tamnougalt. |  Draa ValleyThe road south from Agdz follows the Draa Valley until it becomes a dirt piste leading across the erg (sand desert). | |
 Erg ChigagaWe spent two nights in a large and comfortable tent out in the middle of the desert of Erg Chigaga. We wandered in the sand and road on a camel (oh, all right, dromedary) to admire the gorgeous desert sunset. Just remembering that camel makes us sore again. But the quiet at night - you don't even hear a camel snoring. |  Road to MarrakechThe road to Marrakesh crossed more desert piste, then a stop for lunch and carpet shopping, and across the Haut Atlas and down to Marrakesh. The road over the mountains is amazing and beautiful. But it was a long, hot drive and our poor driver, Abdo, was exhausted by the tiime we arrived. We were rather tired, ourselves. | |
 MarrakeshMarrakesh is fascinating, although the area around the central square is very touristy. |  Road from Marrakesh to FezWhat John remembers best about the drive from Marrakesh to Fez were the wonderful kofta (meat balls) we ate in a town along the way. The scenery was quite beautiful, too. | |
 FezFez is THE city in Morocco. Less touristy than Marrakesh, with climbing (or descending, depending...) narrow streets sans cars, kasbahs all over, souks and sounds, colors, smells and LIFE! |  VolubilisVolubilis was a surprise. We never expected Roman ruins to be so beuatiful. The amazing Moroccan countryside contributed largely to the ruins' charm. | |