A short excursion from Fes took us to see the button makers in Balil, a small village where many of the old houses were built as caves in the hillside - about 23 remain.
Our friendly guide Mohammed took us to his family cave home. His daughter and her family live there now, while he lives above it.
They gave us traditional mint tea, served with ceremony, and poured from a great height! Then we saw some of the local village women sitting together to make the little buttons which commonly decorate the jelabas of both men and women. They look like little knots, but are made with a crochet hook, and come in many sizes, from about 1/4 inch up.
Can't help wondering whether the younger generation will continue this tradition?
Travelling on to the High Atlas Mountains and Marrakech we saw
macaque monkeys in a forest area
a peacock and a pea hen in the gardens of our hotel (he didn't oblige and display his tail for me)
along with a cactus in bloom - not really. They are bouganvillea flowers caught on the spines
a town market
and rising higher into the mountains, panoramic views of the green plains under agriculture,
the roads winding up and down the mountains,
snow on the peaks in the distance
the mighty Ouzid Falls at Azilal with a macaque welcoming committee
with strangely brown falls after heavy rainfall during the night.
We shared a tasty tagine for lunch with local musicians playing traditional instruments
and travelled on to Marrakech, known for its many palm trees
This is the splendid minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, the largest in Marrakech - no building can be built higher than it, so nothing in the city is more than about 5 stories high.
We chanced on a wedding procession for the groom
and found our way to our next splendid riad, hidden once again behind a very plain doorway.
The rooftop dining area
looked out over the city. More about the city next time.
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