Archive for the 'Holidays' Category

Fossils for sale in Erfoud Morocco

Sale items in a fossil shop in Erfoud

Sale items in a fossil shop in Erfoud

I found it fascinating to watch the workers in the factory we visited in Erfoud. We were on a two week tour of Morocco. The factory featured in today’s post was one of our stops on our guided tour. The fossils are unearthed in a nearby desert. They are then processed in one of several factories, cutting them to various shapes.

After being made into plates and bowls, fountains and table tops they are polished and placed on sale in the adjoining retail outlet. Many other items are made as well. I would have loved to have been able to afford one or more of the items for sale, but shipping costs to Australia would have been prohibitive.

Links:

Sale items in a fossil shop in Erfoud

Sale items in a fossil shop in Erfoud

Sale items in a fossil shop in Erfoud

Sale items in a fossil shop in Erfoud

Sale items in a fossil shop in Erfoud

Polishing a table top featuring fossils

More photos of the Fossil factory

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

In my last post here I wrote about our visit to the fossil factory in Erfoud during our holiday in Morocco. I should add that the factory does not ‘make’ the fossils. They are dug out of the ground in the desert nearby.

Once they find suitable fossils in the desert, they are brought to the factory to be made into all kinds of objects for sale. These include small items like key rings, larger items like bowls, dishes and through to fountains and table tops. The last part of the manufacturing process is polishing. The results are stunningly beautiful.

Today’s photos show some of the machinery used in the factory. In my next post I will show some of the finished products.

Part of the guided tour is to take visitors through the retail outlet. Most, if not all, items could be shipped to Australia. The would have been prohibitive for my budget anyway. I did buy two small key rings with a fossilised stone attached. I could carry them in my pocket and not worry about excess baggage.

Links:

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

Fossil factory in Erfoud, Morocco

Fossil factory at Erfoud Morocco

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Our next stop on our tour of Morocco was at one of the fossil outlets in Erfoud. There appears to be an abundance of a range of different fossils to be found in the nearby desert. The factory and obligatory retail outlet we went through was the Macro Fossiles Kasbah as shown in today’s photos.

On our guided tour I found out that there are millions of fossils in the area, mostly trilobites but also a variety of other fossilised creatures. This factory finds the fossils, cuts them into various shapes and polishes them ready for sale in the adjoining shop. The range of items for sale is amazing. It includes small items like key rings, plates, bowls and dishes, wah basins, fountains, tables and much more.

I would love to have bought one of the wonderfully polished tables, but the cost of buying it would have blown our holiday budget. The cost of shipping it to Australia would have added greatly to the cost. I could but dream. (I also had the same feelings in the ceramic factory in Fes – see here for photos.)

I will show more photos of this factory and the shop in coming days.

Further reading:

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Fossil factory in Erfoud

Lunch in the Ziz Valley

Maison Vallee De Ziz

Maison Vallee De Ziz

After leaving Errachidia and travelling along the Ziz Valley we stopped again at the Maison Vallee De Ziz for lunch. This hotel and restaurant was a road side stop but our guide knew that they served good meals. In fact, we were never disappointed with any of our meals during our two week tour of Morocco.

I think I actually amazed my wife and daughter with some of the meals I ordered. They were quite out of the ordinary compared with some of the food I like and order when we are dining out here in Australia. This trend continued into Spain, the next leg of our journey. I will write about that here in a few weeks’ time.

Meanwhile, please forgive me for posting a photo of my lunch. I will try not to bore with such things too much.

My lunch at the Maison Vallee De Ziz

My lunch at the Maison Vallee De Ziz

Maison Vallee De Ziz

Maison Vallee De Ziz

My wife and some of the million plus palms in the valley.

My wife and some of the million plus palms in the valley.

Scenes of the River Ziz Valley

Date palms in the Ziz Valley

Date palms in the Ziz Valley

In recent posts here on my travel site I have shown photos and written about our holiday in Morocco several years ago. Today I feature another set of photos of the River Ziz Valley in south eastern Morocco. Our tour guide (who was excellent – Peregrine Adventures) stopped our mini bus near the edge of the gorge so that we could get out and look down into the valley. After many hours of driving it was good to stretch one’s legs. I also liked the opportunity to take plenty of photos, too.

A feature of the gorge is the many date palms growing in the valley. Said, our wonderful guide, told us that the 140 kilometre valley had over one million palm trees, and he assured us that they had actually been counted. I would not like that job – even if paid in dates. Someone came to our bus and sold us a few boxes of dates. we enjoyed sharing the large, delicious dates for many days after that.

The last few photos in today’s post show several mud houses and some of the local people. They were immediately below where I stood on the cliff edge. I was able to get close-up views of them with my zoom lens.

In the coming days will be sharing more photos taken on this tour.

Date palms in the Ziz Valley

Date palms in the Ziz Valley

River Ziz Valley

River Ziz Valley

Life in the River Ziz Valley

Life in the River Ziz Valley

Life in the River Ziz Valley

Life in the River Ziz Valley