THE MOROCCAN SAHARA AND THE BERBERS

By: Daniela Ariza, Swammy Pérez & Alejandra Coha

The Moroccan Sahara is the largest warm desert in the world and
includes several countries, including Morocco. The Moroccan
Sahara is located in the north of the African continent. The weather
of the Sahara is considered one of the most aggressive in the world
because it’s very hot, especially in the summer (around 50 degrees
Celsius). Rain is very rare, but when there is rain there are floods.
It’s also possible to find sandstorms and small tornadoes.
In the Moroccan Sahara there are different nomadic and semi-
nomadic people, called Berbers. Their lifestyle is nomadic and quiet
most of the time, and they walk through the desert looking for water
and food for people and animals. Men and women dress in long
cotton robes and turbans that protect them from the sun and they
can be fresh.

The Berbers live in Jaimas. Jaimas are tents made with camel or
goat hair. In the jaimas nomadic families sleep, eat and spend their
free time. Some Berbers who are semi-nomadic live in mud houses
built in the middle of the desert. In the Berber culture, women are
responsible for cooking and caring for children and men take care
of their livestock in areas away from their home.
The Berbers have a very traditional cuisine, the Berbers eat foods
that can be found in the Sahara desert, such as cereals, lamb,
spices and nuts. The most famous dishes of the Berber people are
the Tajin, the Shua of lamb, the Madfouna or Berber bread and the
popular mint tea.

If you travel from to Moroccan to the Moroccan Sahara you need to

arrive by plane to Marrakch and then take a bus to the city of
Ouarzazate. In Ouarzazate you should look for a travel agency
specialized in tours for the Sahara
 In the Moroccan Sahara you can do
camel trekking, 4 by 4 car tours, buy
handicrafts in the desert surroundings
and enjoy exotic food in any of the
food markets. In the Moroccan Sahara
you can visit interesting places like -
Merzouga: it is a small town on the
border of the desert, where there are
tourist guides that can take you to
know the desert. -Chebbi and
Chicagga: They are ergs or sandy
areas of the desert where there are giant dunes up to three hundred
meters high.

They are the Hasbun family. They

live in the black zone of the
Moroccan Sahara. They are a
polygamist family. In the Berber
culture polygamy is accepted. The
father's name is Rumi and he has 3
wives (Aisha, Sumaya and Farah)
and 4 children. The family lives in a
house made of mud. The family
wakes up at 6 in the morning and the women light the fire to prepare
the food and take care of the children. Father Rumi leaves the
house at 6:30 in the morning to walk the goats and back home in
the afternoon. Women always weave traditional clothes for their
family and rugs to sell.

At 3 in the afternoon, usually the family drinks hot

mint tea. Around 7 p.m. the family have dinner and
they sleep early, around 9 p.m.