THE KASBAH DU TOUBKAL

Transcription

THE TOUBKAL NATIONAL PARK, HIGH ATLAS, MOROCCO
Discover Ltd., ‘Timbers’, Oxted Road, Godstone, Surrey. RH9 8AD
Tel: 01883 744 392 Fax: 01883 744 913 Email info@discover.ltd.uk
www.discover.ltd.uk www.kasbahdutoubkal.com
www.kasbahdutoubkal.com
STUDY TOURS, EXPEDITIONS & TREKKING IN MOROCCO WITH DISCOVER.
Morocco is a country of enormous geographical contrasts. From its Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts,
plains sweep to the foot of the forested Middle Atlas mountains. Beyond, rise the High Atlas mountains
with peaks over 4000m, before the long, dry, stony descent to the great emptiness of the Sahara. It is a
country which embraces rich agricultural land, the oasis valleys in the south with their millions of palm
trees, and barren mountains and desert. Its variety offers sun, shade and speckled beaches for the
package tourist, the bustling thrill of the city souks and amazing landscapes reminiscent of Nepal and
Mexico. Such has been the diversity of cultural influences on Morocco over many centuries that visitors
from Europe, the Middle East and Africa south of the Sahara all find familiar reminders of home. They also
discover an extraordinarily exotic country where the trappings of the twentieth century have not yet
obscured its medieval framework. Morocco is frequently described as the place where Europe meets
Africa, but the 20km separating the northern tip, from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar could be 2000km!
Parts of Morocco were visited or conquered by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and Vandals, but the
defining event in its history was the conquest in the seventh century by Arab armies, and the introduction
of Islam. Although the indigenous Berber tribes expelled their Arab rulers within a hundred years, a
substantial Arab population remained in lowland areas. The great barrier of the Atlas ensured that
Morocco alone amongst North African countries, remained uncolonised by Europeans until the 20 th century
when a Franco-Spanish protectorate was established in 1912. Even then, the Berbers of the High Atlas
were not completely subdued for a further 20 years. Morocco became independent again in 1956, though
Spain retains two enclaves on the northern coast.
MOROCCO WITH DISCOVER LTD.
Discover have worked in Southern Morocco and The High Atlas for over 25 years. In 1989 we started the
process which led to the development of our study centre, “The Kasbah du Toubkal”. Our contacts,
resources and specialised knowledge enable us to organise a range of tours that will allow you to achieve
your academic, cultural and recreational objectives. Over the years our reputation has grown and means
that we now regularly act as ground operators for prestigious organisations. The majority of our work is
with schools, colleges and universities, organising study tours. The range of our regular tours also
includes:
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•
Fieldwork tours – geography, biology, science, sociology etc;
•
Trekking in the High Atlas including ascent of Jbel Toubkal; mule trekking; camel trekking,
community projects - e.g. installing water supplies in rural villages; bird watching; mountain biking;
•
Extended expeditions and tailor made tours to include several of these aspects.
Discover offers a personal friendly service dedicated to arranging trips which meet your objectives. One of
the hidden benefits of booking with Discover Ltd. is that your administration is greatly reduced, with a
single invoice covering the whole trip - transport, accommodation, work units and insurance. We are fully
bonded members of ABTA and ATOL. In recognition of our contribution to the development of sustainable
tourism in Morocco we have been awarded a Green Globe, and in 2002 were highly commended in the
British Airways “Tourism for Tomorrow” awards. In 2004, the Kasbah du Toubkal won the best Mountain
resort award in the Responsible Travel “Responsible Tourism Awards” competition.
Discover is also a Full Member of the School Travel Forum.
GEOGRAPHY IN MOROCCO
A geography trip to Morocco offers the opportunity for students to see, experience and study different
geographical issues whilst feeling sufficiently safe and familiar (most Moroccans speak French) to allow
students and staff relax and enjoy a different culture. After touring Morocco with us, many experienced
geography teachers are surprised at the diversity, contrasts and text book examples of physical and
human geography. Highlights for geographers are the contrasting living standards, especially the ruralurban divide and seeing the resourcefulness of the people, particularly in agriculture, where intensive
terracing and traditional irrigation systems have enabled people to live in extreme environments. Towards
the Sahara, the classic arid landforms and geological features are a breathtaking backdrop to the trip.
Through an issue-based approach, our group leaders guide the students through rural and urban
environments. A major benefits to students is seeing and experiencing geographical issues first-hand. In
Morocco, students’ senses are engaged and studies gain a sense of relevance. Our study units are
designed so that students can use their data to contribute to discussions and decision-making exercises.
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Students and staff often discuss the geographical issues in the evenings, after seeing and experiencing
them during the day. Our typical trip, which takes in a number of different environments, gives staff and
students a broad based insight into the human and physical geography of Morocco, a very rapidly
changing, diverse country. These experiences can lead to a wider enthusiasm for the subject once they
return! The following units have been prepared, and will be sent to you on CD-ROM, when you make a
confirmed booking:
1.
Land Use in Marrakech;
2.
A Study of the Reraira River in the High Atlas;
3.
A Study of Microclimates in the Ait Mizane Valley;
4.
Rural Settlement in the High Atlas;
5.
Irrigation on the Marrakech Plains and in the High Atlas;
6.
Agriculture in the High Atlas;
7.
Desertification and Sand Encroachment in the Pre-Sahara.
These are only a few of the possibilities for study in Morocco and are themes which can be adapted to all
levels from GCSE to first degree. Most of the data is easily collected from accessible locations and a wide
range of techniques for data collection is feasible. Throughout the trip it is possible to collect information
about the problems of development and LEDC economics. Discover Ltd. group leaders facilitate your trip
and take care of logistics – they will give groups talks of a practical and educational nature during your
tour, but it is not their role to deliver the academic content of your visit. Ongoing themes throughout your
trip could include:
Urban morphology;
• Endoreic river systems;
The processes of urbanisation;
• Nomadism as a way of life;
People / environment relationships;
• Land reform and agricultural change;
Berber subsistence economies;
• Overgrazing and soil erosion;
The impact of tourism on subsistence enconomies;
• Weathering in arid environments;
Irrigation and landuse in the pre-saharan oases;
Water as an agent of erosion in arid environments;
Wind action, sand dune migration and sand dune management.
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Inspire, challenge and learn in this fabulous environment!
DISCOVER’S TYPICAL
STUDY TOUR OF SOUTHERN
MOROCCO
10-DAY TOUR
Marrakech ~ High Atlas ~ Pre-Sahara
Marrakech
The result of 25 years experience in Morocco, our most popular tour begins in the enchanting and ancient
city of Marrakech, the most southerly and famous of Morocco’s four Imperial cities. Marrakech was
founded in 1060 and has twice been the capital of Morocco. Its importance and prestige in earlier centuries
derived principally from its role as entrepot for trade across the Atlas with lands south of the Sahara.
Within massive red-washed walls, on streets lined with orange trees and in the labyrinth of the souk, a
great mixture of Arab, Berber, black African and European influences has created what is arguably Africa’s
most exciting and romantic city. To the south, beyond the encircling palm trees and the olive and orange
groves of the Haouz plain, the snow-topped peaks of the High Atlas are an unforgettable backdrop.
The first day in Marrakech begins with a tour by horse-drawn caleche taking in the Kasbah quarter, the
Mellah, the Medina and a tannery. Then on foot with our Marrakech guide we explore the maze of souks,
each devoted to a separate trade, including pottery, woodwork, coppersmithing, leather, and slipper and
carpet making, and the apothecarists’ souk where we usually visit a spice shop. Afterwards, we head back
to the centre to the Jemaa el Fna – Marrakech’s famous square, which is the city’s living theatre, where
milling throngs of people watch displays by musicians, dancers, storytellers, boxers, snake-charmers and
more besides, and all put on for the benefit of Marrakechis, not the tourists. Stalls sell freshly-squeezed
orange juice, peanuts and roasted chick peas, while cooking smells waft from stalls selling soup, kebabs,
and grilled fish, amongst other weird and wonderful local delicacies.
Our hotel, the Foucauld, is near by, just yards from Marrakech’s most famous monument, the Koutoubia
Mosque. At the Foucauld, every Discover group receives the warm welcome that is typical of Moroccan
hospitality. If you are lucky, they will be serving one of their sumptuous hot buffets in their spectacularly
decorated restaurant, for dinner, choosing from a great variety of local dishes.
Imlil and the High Atlas
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After a day of sightseeing, shopping and fieldwork in Marrakech we travel into the High Atlas Mountains,
now the homeland of the Berbers, the original inhabitants of the whole of North Africa. These friendly,
independent people have a way of life that has only recently begun to change as the services that we take
for granted begin to arrive in the mountains. Here Berber is spoken, not Arabic, and you will notice a
difference in the appearance of the people and in the dress of, particularly, the women. Berber carpets,
pottery, jewelry and cuisine will already be familiar from your wanderings in the souks of Marrakech, a city
founded by the Berbers.
We travel by coach/minibus through the spectacular Reraia River gorge to the market village of Asni. Here
we may transfer to smaller vehicles for the final 12 miles up the Ait Mizane valley to Imlil for the next stage
of the tour at the Discover Ltd. study centre, Kasbah du Toubkal, or our village house, Dar Toubkal.
Imlil marks the end of the road from Marrakech and is the starting point for the trek up Jbel Toubkal, at
4165m (13,665ft) the highest mountain in North Africa. The Kasbah is perched on a great rock outcrop
above the village and those looking ahead will have seen it long before the vehicles arrived at Imlil. It is
reached on foot up a steep path; your bags will be brought up by mule.
The word Kasbah is applied to single fortified houses and to the often vast walled huddle of housing, which
grew around such houses. Occasionally these larger Kasbahs were themselves subsumed as a town grew
up around them, as happened in Marrakech. The Kasbah at Imlil was built as a summer residence by a
rich member of the Berber Glaoui tribe “Caid Souktani”, once dominant throughout this region of the Atlas.
A wall encircles the great outer courtyard, which slopes up to the house itself, built on the remaining three
sides of the rock outcrop. So impressive is the scenery that film director Martin Scorsese chose Imlil as
one of the locations for Kundun, his film about the Dalai Lama, temporarily transforming the Kasbah into a
Tibetan monastery.
Inside the Kasbah, rooms are furnished in Moroccan style, clustered around a tiled inner courtyard. Stairs
lead to the large flat roof where many visitors choose to sleep under the stars and which offers spectacular
views. All around rise the mountains and on the steep valley sides, among walnut groves and tiny terraced
fields, are stepped clusters of mud-coloured houses. At the head of the valley to the south is the snowcapped summit of Jbel Toubkal.
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Hajj Omar Maurice Ait Bahmed and his wife Hajja Arkia, who live in their own house in the outer
courtyard, manage the day-to-day running of the Kasbah. It offers good, many say luxurious, communual
living accommodation, sleeping on couches around rooms, gallery areas, or sleeping on the floor for
groups of 50+. Everyone must bring their own sleeping bag but foam mattresses are provided for those
who wish to sleep on the roof. There are separate mens and womens toilet and shower rooms and a
hammam (steamroom). An en-suite room is normally offered to the lead teacher. There is a large function
room that can be used/shared by groups. Your Moroccan hosts provide traditional Berber food and
vegetarians can be catered for. If staying in the village at Dar Toubkal, guests have access to the facilities
at the Kasbah du Toubkal, incluing the hammam. A memorable experience awaits you and your group.
Options while based at The Kasbah or Dar Toubkal are numerous - as long as you are happy to walk! The
only certain thing is that you will not have time to do everything you’d like. Popular studies include
fieldwork on the river just below the Kasbah, microclimates, land use, and human geography, especially
the effects of the catastrophic flash flood of 1995 and the flooding of 1999. A walking expedition, with
mules to carry day sacks and the picnic (and anyone who cannot walk or who finds they are not as fit as
they thought) to one of the neighbouring Berber villages, is also highly recommended and can include
fieldwork en route, enabling students to see villages without road access, where life has changed little for
centuries. For the more adventurous and fit during the summer months it is possible to climb Jbel Toubkal.
Over the mountains
The next stage of the tour is a coach/minibus journey across the Atlas to Zagora on the edge of the
Sahara, stopping en route at Ouarzazate to break the journey. We return to Asni and the Haouz Plain
before turning onto route P 31 and heading up to the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass (2260m), after which the road
begins a long winding descent to Ouarzazate and the desolate Anti Atlas. There is constant visual interest
especially in the contrast between the green, irrigated areas of Berber cultivation and the barren
mountainsides above. All along the roadside through the mountains you will see stalls selling minerals and
fossils, evidence of Morocco’s fascinating geology, which has been described as “by far the most
variegated geological smorgasbord in all north Africa”. Just before reaching Ouarzazate, if time permits,
we turn aside to visit the small town of Ait Ben Haddou, which boasts one of the most dramatic Kasbahs
in Morocco. The ruined main house stands on top of a steep hill, the sides of which are covered with small
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houses and narrow alleys.
Not surprisingly, it has been used as a set for about 20 films, including
Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and more recently, Gladiator.
Continuing south, the road climbs into the mountains, running alongside the astonishingly shaped Jbel
Kissane, nicknamed ‘The Pavlova Mountain’ by one geography teacher traveling with us. The arid Anti
Atlas landscape, which rarely gets rain, eventually gives way to the Draa Valley palmerie and the river
itself, running alongside the road.
Most people are ready for the swimming pool among the palm trees at the hotel when we arrive in Zagora!
Those with energy left walk up the mountain behind the town to view the sunset over the palmerie. Our
guide for our time in and around Zagora, appears dressed in the blue robes of the desert man and
patiently begins his never-ending task of teaching people how to fix on their desert headdress. The next
day we visit the village of Tamegroute with its ancient Koranic library and wood-fired pottery. Then we
investigate the village of Tinfou, a living workshop for trials of methods against sand encroachment, and
the first chance to see sand dunes.
The camel ride (optional extra)
After lunch we return to Zagora and mount camels for a 2 to 3 hour ride into the desert night, to sleep out
in a Tuareg tent. Sipping a glass of mint tea, watching bread being cooked on hot stones, eating a superb
meal sitting cross-legged on carpets spread on the sand, listening to Berber music as Mohammed and the
cameleers join the dancing, and falling asleep with the stars blazing brightly make this the highlight of the
trip for many people.
The next day after returning to Zagora, we visit the nearby village of Amezrou with its Jewish Kasbah. The
Jews left for Israel after 1948, but the silver smithing, which they controlled, is carried on by Moroccans
and we will see jewelry being cast.
An early start the following morning puts us back on the road to Marrakech where the souks await anyone
who still has a souvenir or a present to buy, the Jemaa el-Fna seethes with life and a last feast awaits us
at the Foucauld before departure from Marrakech airport the following morning.
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TYPICAL OPTIONS 8-day (Option A)
MARRAKECH AND THE BERBER VILLAGES
OF
THE HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS.
[Typical itinerary ex. London - exact itinerary may vary due to preference of the group and/or due to
logistical reason.]
Day 1:
Depart London airport for flight to Marrakech (normally via Casablanca). Welcome
drink and room allocation.
(Accommodation - local hotel)
Day 2:
An insight into life in Marrakech, a traditional Arab City with its city walls, Medina,
Kasbah and Mellah, plus its unique Square - the Jmaa El Fnaa - with its snake
charmers, jugglers and storytellers. The day will include a tour of the city by "caleche",
the traditional horse-drawn taxis of the city.
Day 3 - Day 6:
Depart for the mountains. The next few days are spent exploring the lush terraced
valleys and Berber villages of the High Atlas, with their snowcapped peaks towering
above, and following the selected study units or trekking, depending on your wishes.
(Accommodation - Berber houses, Kasbah or Dar Toubkal)
Day 7:
Return to Marrakech, if possible via the Saturday Souk (market) at Asni, for our final
night in this vibrant city.
Day 8:
Return flight to LONDON (normally via Casablanca).
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TYPICAL OPTIONS 8-day (Option B)
MARRAKECH, THE BERBER VILLAGES OF THE HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS
AND THE
PRE-SAHARAN OASIS
TOWN OF ZAGORA.
logistical reason.]
Day 1:
Depart London airport for flight to Ouarzazate (normally via Casablanca). Welcome
drink and room allocation. (Accommodation - local hotel)
Day 2 & 3
Travel to Zagora. Based around the oasis town of Zagora, we explore the surrounding
area of date palms and villages seemingly carved out of mud. Visits to the Koranic
library and pottery makers of Tamegroute and the village of Tinfou - being overrun by
sand encroachment. For those that choose we ride out on camels for a night spent out
in the Sahara desert. (Accommodation – pension / Berber tent)
Day 4 & 5
Depart early for the long drive over the Atlas Mountains to the Kasbah du Toubkal in
the High Atlas Mountains. Explore the lush terraced valleys and Berber villages of the
High Atlas, with their snowcapped peaks towering above, and following the selected
study units or trek. (Accommodation - Berber houses, Kasbah or Dar Toubkal)
Day 6 & 7
Return to Marrakech, a traditional Arab City with its city walls, Medina, Kasbah and
Mellah, plus its unique square, the Jmaa El Fnaa, with its snake charmers, jugglers
and storytellers. The day includes a tour of the city by "caleche", the traditional horsedrawn taxis of the city. (Accommodation - local hotel)
Day 8:
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TYPICAL OPTIONS 9-day
MARRAKECH, THE BERBER VILLAGES OF THE HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS
AND THE
PRE-SAHARAN OASIS
TOWN OF ZAGORA.
logistical reason.]
Day 1:
Depart London airport for flight to Marrakech (normally via Casablanca). Welcome
drink and room allocation.
Day 2:
An insight into life in Marrakech, a traditional Arab City with its city walls, Medina,
Kasbah and Mellah, plus its unique square - the Jmaa El Fnaa - with its snake
charmers, jugglers and storytellers. The day will include a tour of the city by "caleche",
the traditional horse-drawn taxis of the city.
Day 3 - Day 5:
Depart for the mountains. The next few days are spent exploring the lush terraced
valleys and Berber villages of the High Atlas - with their snowcapped peaks towering
above, and following the selected study units or trekking.
(Accommodation - Berber houses, Kasbah or Dar Toubkal)
Day 5:
Travel to the town of Zagora on the southern edge of the Atlas.
(Accommodation pension)
Day 6 - 7:
Based around the oasis town of Zagora, explore the date palms and villages seemingly
carved out of mud. Visits to the Koranic library, pottery makers of Tamegroute, and the
village of Tinfou being encroached by the desert. For those that choose we ride out on
camels for a night in the desert.
(Accommodation – pension / Berber tent)
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Day 8:
Return to Marrakech for our final night in this vibrant city. (Accommodation – local
hotel)
Day 9:
TYPICAL OPTIONS 10-day
INCLUDES MARRAKESH, THE HIGH ATLAS, OUAZARZATE
THE PRE-SAHARAN OASIS TOWN OF
AND
ZAGORA.
logistical reason.]
This tour follows the same itinerary as the 9 day option, but on day 5 after our journey across the High
Atlas, via the Tizi-n-Tichka pass (2260m) we spend the night in Ouazarzate, a former French
administrative centre. Day 6 continues south, following the exotic river valley of the Draa to the oasis
town of Zagora.
Day 5:
Travel to the town of Ouarzazate on the southern edge of the Atlas.
(Accommodation - Pension)
Day 6 - 8:
Based around the oasis town of Zagora, we explore the surrounding area of date
palms and villages seemingly carved out of mud. Visits to the Koranic library and
pottery makers of Tamegroute, and village of Tinfou being overrun by sand
encroachment. For those that choose we ride out on camels for a night spent out in
the Sahara desert.
(Accommodation - Pension/Berber tent)
Day 9:
Return to Marrakech for our final night in this vibrant city.
(Accommodation - Local Hotel)
Day 10:
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COSTS FOR 2006 EX MARRAKECH (EXCLUDES TRAVEL TO MARRAKECH)
8 day, 2 centre (Marrakech High Atlas):
£335
8 day, 3 centre (Marrakech, High Atlas, Zagora region - fly into Ouarzazate):
£399
9 day, 3 centre (Marrakech, High Atlas, Zagora region):
£418
10 day, 3 centre (Marrakech, High Atlas, Zagora region):
£445
Approx. cost of air fare, £300 to £360 depending on time of travel.
Camel trek option £25 (only available on tours which visit Zagora)
•
The cost is based on a minimum group size of 10 paying places, with 1 free place per 10 paying
passengers.
•
For the 10-day trips groups of 20 or more paying places will travel in a coach exclusively for their
use. For smaller groups, Discover may need to combine your group with another for transport to
Zagora, or a surcharge may apply.
•
We are happy to arrange other itineraries to suit your individual requirements - perhaps prolonging
the tour and visiting the coast at Essaouira or a different itinerary altogether. Please contact us to
discuss your requirements.
•
The invoice price is fully inclusive and includes the following:
*
Air flights (additional cost as detailed) and insurance;
*
All transfers in Morocco (taxi, local buses, coach/minibus);
*
All accommodation, food and drink with meals;
*
Hire of pack mules as necessary - not necessary to walk with heavy packs (the amount of walking is
arranged to suit each party);
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*
Services of a Discover Ltd. group leader;
*
Provision of worksheets and background information for the trip leader - it is your responsibility to
photocopy these resources as necessary for your group.
TEACHERS COMMENTS
“As the leader of a trip you inevitably see the experience through the eyes of the students and are often
managing the present and thinking about the future, rather than enjoying the experience. It is a credit to
everyone that for much of the trip Morocco was not like that.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”
Dr. Andrew Dimberline, Head of Geography, Wolverley High School
“I feel privileged to have been invited to take part in the
launch of this wonderful new field study centre.
The Eagle’s Nest Centre in the Cevennes already has a
first class reputation and I feel sure that La Kasbah will
And soon gain a similar reputation.”
Tony Binns,
University of Sussex and President of The GA 1994-5
“The Jemaa el Fna, as I perceived it was like a fountain that overflowed with breathtaking colours epitomized
in the carpets that astonished me. Curious sounds and music radiated throughout that seemed soothing and
“Anyet,
astonishing
experience
which will
livetowith
“So much of the trip to Morocco had a similar effect
to begin with,
uncomfortably
alien
myme
ear.”
for many years. The Kasbah represents a unique
of challenging familiar ideas by seeing them in an
educational opportunity. I cannot wait to return
unexpected setting or an exaggerated form. Our
with some students.
notions of poverty, of community, of prices, of diet,
Murray Fowler, Wellington College
and of public transport (!) were all given a series of
severe and salutary shocks.”
some thoughts from the students…
Mr. K. Madden, History Teacher, Wolverley High School
“An incredible opportunity to visit and
study a variety of human and physical
environments in a developing country.
I shall be back with ‘A’ Level
geography students.........many times.”
Ian Selmes, Oakham School
“Staying at the Kasbah really made the week special. The place
had a strange feeling attached to it....... The morning sunrises
were the most spectacular I have ever seen, very worth waking
up to after a very cold night on the Kasbah roof!”
“Visiting a Berber Infant school, riding off into a Sahara sunset
on my camel, walking round a village that was being taken over
by the desert sand, and taking mint tea in a traditional Moroccan
house, are thing that I may never get the chance to do again!”
Dec. 2005
“It felt like I’d been there for months and
the sense of freedom and achievement
which I felt made me reluctant to leave,
though the thought of home was
appealing!.......The experience made me
appreciate my privileges enabling me to
put things into perspective and it also
opened my eyes to a different world
which it is difficult to understand without
actually going.”
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COMMUNITY WORK AT THE KASBAH
DU
TOUBKAL
Carrying out community work is an option available during your stay in Morocco. Rather than let us tell you
about it, here are the experiences of a student who carried out community work in Imlil towards her
‘Creativity, Action, Service’ requirement of her International Baccalaureate, whilst staying at the Kasbah du
Toubkal:
“We, the selected students of Antwerp International School, ventured forth from our protected dwellings
into a world where hardship is commonplace, yet smiles are freely offered and openly given. The students,
whose normal labour is to type on computers, met another side of their generation another side of their
world; we discovered the underlying culture of Morocco, the land of mystery. When first encountered with
the promise of a school trip to Morocco, most students fell prey to the common misconceptions that
tourists are programmed to remember; snake charmers, pickpockets, men in funny hats, the mosque
calling to prayer every four hours. However, the trip yielded something far more special... It offered a
glimpse of life on the other side, beyond the camera flashes and tour brochures. We designed a trip that
would offer community service credits for students enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Program.
The area that received our help was a town called Imlil, which lay at the base of the tallest mountain in
North Africa, Mount Toubkal of the High Atlas Mountain range. Our local Kasbah, conveniently named
Kasbah du Toubkal, rested oil top of'a small hill upon the valley floor and offered lavish comforts such as
cushioned communal sleeping areas, a steam sauna (hammam), hot showers, and delicious food.
However, arriving there was no slight adventure in itself.
A few days before our journey from Marrakech to Imlil, there were flash floods that wiped out the only road
that lead to the valley villages. Instead of taking an hour and a half by car, we took 7 hours hiking across
mountains and down ice-cold rivers. We were merely visitors, but the locals had lives to live, and such an
inconvenience posed only a temporary hindrance in their daily businesses. This alone shows the
natural hardships these people must endure not to mention the man-made tensions such as money,
family, and property.
The feeling encompassed in that beautiful scenery helped to put our lives into perspective, and helped us
put childish values aside. We got down and dirty, and helped the people for four days. Perhaps the work
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itself was not extraordinary, but at least it gave our hosts a few days of rest and merriment. During the
working hours of the days we helped carry river sediment to sites where the soil would later be used for
irrigation systems, we helped rebuild a path, repair a bridge, and create a mule path up a small river by
throwing rock and moving boulders. In our free time we climbed another thirty minutes deeper into the
Atlas Mountains to play football with the local boys of the village.
We danced and sang and beat drums in attempt to follow the traditional folk songs of the natives; we
helped cook and clean; we were invited to local homes, and we would finally end up on the Kasbah roof,
night or day, to absorb the immense space around us. Leaving was a sad affair, for both our group and the
Kasbah'
s employees - we spent energy, smiles and time there (120 hours of time). And now, the dirty
business of dividing the CAS (Community Action Service) hours ... In honesty I believe I deserve 60 hours
of service and 60 hours of action (though often times those words could have been applied
synonymously). Despite this apparently greedy excerpt, I still believe my greatest gift from this trip will be
the trip itself, whether you believe I deserve the hours or not.
We spent our final days in Marrakech, being witness to the snake charmers and tasters of mint tea (a local
speciality). We smelt the pungent reputation of their traditional tanneries, and got lost in the matted souks
of the poor and the silken souks of the rich. For some, the most fun of all was to commence the game of
bargaining with the locals, where prices dwindle to the final handshake and compromise is a mutual
reward. Mystic beauty is undeniably this country'
s magic, and kindness it'
s greatest attribute. And I am
sure that I will never forget what I have received, the most generous trade in my young life; a few days
work for memories that will last a lifetime.”
Melissa Murphy, Antwerp International School
15
Dec. 2005
MAKING A BOOKING
The first step is to contact us to make a provisional booking, so that you know your dates are secure and
you can begin to recruit your group. We will normally hold your provisional booking for one month.
If you have any queries, wish to discuss your trip in more detail or wish to make a provisional booking
which we will hold whilst you recruit your group, please contact Jacquie Crofts at the Discover Ltd. office.
Normal Office hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Further information about the many services
offered by Discover Ltd. can also be found by visiting our websites.
THE SCHOOL TRAVEL FORUM
Discover Ltd. is a Full Member of the School Travel Forum, a group of leading school tour operators who
promote good practice and safety in school travel. All Full Members of the STF adhere to a rigorous Code
of Practice and Safety Management Standards which meet the requirements of DfES guidelines and are
externally verified each year by suitably qualified independent Health and Safety professionals.
During the course of developing the STF Code of Practice, and in addition to liaising with the DfES, advice
has been sought from all leading educational Unions and Associations. The STF initiative is welcomed by
the Outdoor Education Advisors Panel (OEAP) and the DfES. It has the support of the SHA, NAHT, ATL,
NUT, PAT and the NASUWT advises members wishing to organise school trips to use companies that
have this type of scheme.
Details of the School Travel Forum Code of Practice are available at www.schooltravelforum.com
16
Dec. 2005
USEFUL PLACES TO FIND INFORMATION
www.abta.com/benefits.html - link to the ABTA Website page for information on benefits and financial
protection. The ABTA Website includes information on other useful links. The main address for the ABTA
Website is www.abta.com
www.atol.org.uk – link to information about cover provided by atol.
www.fco.gov.uk - link to the foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for advice on travelling abroad.
www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAdviceForTravellers/fs/en - link to the Department of Health for
information on health requirements/vaccinations.
www.ukpa.gov.uk - link to the Passport Agency for information on UK passports.
www.wtgonline.com - link to the World Travel Guide for information on passport/visa requirements and
other general travel information.
www.schooltravelforum.com - link to the independent auditing body for companies providing school trips
overseas.
www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/healthandsafety/visits/ - links to the main DfES site which advises
teachers on taking trips out of school.
17
Dec. 2005

THE KASBAH DU TOUBKAL

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