Berber singing for New Year
Another picturesque day driving through the desert, incredibly dry countryside interspersed with real honest to goodness oases, right down to the date palm trees. As the day came to a close we arrived in the city of Ouarzazate which believe it or not is the center of the Moroccan film industry. It has a number of film studios and many international films have been (partially) made here including the original Star Wars.
The evening turned out to be quite a surprise. We had been told earlier by our guide that the evenings dinner was included in the tour but what he did not tell us was that it would be a multi-course affair lasting from 8:00pm till midnight and that the food would be accompanied by a variety of entertainment ranging from Berber women in elaborate dress singing (or should I say screeching) to dark skinned men in colorful clothes beating away on drums and of course the inevitable belly dancing. Quite a spectacle.