This photograph was taken from a car window on the road between Essaouira and Marrakech. It is very evocative of rural Morocco as it contains two key, commonly-found, elements: Berber man wearing a traditional Jellabah (the hooded garment) and his donkey, still the mode of transport of choice in the countryside. Donkeys and mules, described humorously by local as Berber 4x4s, are capable of carrying loads of up to 100kg or so and perform an invaluable function in Berber society. In poorer communities you'll find virtually no motorised vehicles, and many of the villages in the High Atlas are so remote that they are not connected by roads (dirt roads or otherwise) to the outside world. The donkey is therefore an essential mode of transport, particularly for carrying harvested crops from the fields (which may be some way from the farmer's home) to the family house or to market. Each region has a town where a market, or "souk", is held once a week, and on this day an otherwise sleepy town or village will come to life. Locals from miles around will make the journey to market where they will trade goods, buy essentials (like flour, vegetables and tea) for the week ahead and meet with friends to discuss the week's events. It's generally a day that is enjoyed by all and is heralded by swarms of people, market stalls and temporary restaurants where tajines will be served. For most it's the only occasion in the week when villagers may eat anywhere but in the family home, and to many the notion of going out to eat in a restaurant is an alien concept, such is the level of poverty in most rural regions. The diet of Berbers in the poorest communities is a simple one which consists of a lot of bread (made in the home in special clay ovens), vegetables (meat is expensive and is only eaten on special occasions) cooked in a traditional conical tajine pot, chick pea and corn soups, and tea, made with herbs (sometimes mint, sometimes tyme or saffron) and green tea. If you have the opportunity to eat in a family house during your travels in Morocco then don't miss the chance as you'll find that the quality of the cuisine matches the extraordinary hospitality that you will be shown, as a foreign visitor. To get up close to the Berbers we recommend our "Walking with Nomads" tour that follows the migration of a family of the Ait Atta tribe of semi-nomadic Berbers through the High Atlas Mountains and the Jebel Saghro .
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