Friday, May 3, 2024

Erfoud, Morocco (February 2024)


Erfoud is a small oasis town in the eastern part of Morocco, located at an altitude of 800 meters. It is the gateway to the Sahara Desert. This town has a small population of approximately 25,000.  We stayed at Xaluca Hotel which was built with adobe bricks in a Kasbah style. The rooms were quite unique with interesting decorations, representing nomadic life.




We had dinner at the hotel and the buffet was fabulous.







One of our tour group members had a birthday and the celebration was quite noisy and hilarious.



The hotel was so unique that I ended up taking some photos as a reference. Noteworthy was fossil decorations. More to come later.











We visited a fossil product manufacturing factory. Apparently, the area used to be in the deep sea so the area had a lot of fossils discovered. This factory brings these fossils to life and sells the products. The prices were quite inexpensive. I was unsure if the fossils were as valuable as they claimed. Value derives from scarcity and the abundance of fossils may make them not so valuable. 















We spent some time in a town called Rissani with an arched gate in the front. We walked around the local market with a local guide who was wearing a bright blue wardrobe, representing his tribe. 













The area produces high-quality dates and olives. We tasted the dates and it was really delicious.






We also tasted the local bread that came right out of the oven. It was so good that we gobbled one up.



We also visited a place called Khsa which represents a large adobe architecture. Kasbah is smaller in size and used for residences whereas Khsa is used for community purposes.




I put on a traditional Moroccan scarf to look like a Moroccan. So did Kristin and we took a photo together. How do we look?





Although we enjoyed the Erfoud tour, our minds were busy getting ready for the Sahara Desert Excursion.- Jeffrey 

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