Casablanca Adventure: The New Normal - The Middle Atlas Mountains and Ifrane

Royal Crown Sculpture, Ifrane, Morocco

Okay, I admit that the combination of American and Moroccan/Muslim holidays can make it seem like we have more time off than school days at GWA. In our own defense, we do hold school until very late in June, which adds the requisite number of learning days. Anyway, no complaints as we found ourselves enjoying another four-day weekend. Woo-Hoo!

Mohammed VI Bridge, Bouregreg River near Rabat (finished in 2016)

The bridge at night, taken on a subsequent trip in November, 2017; it lights up in different colors

We had traveled to another part of the middle Atlas mountains last year when visiting Fes. This weekend we ventured further south into the heart of the region, where we spent most of the long weekend in tranquil Ifrane. Although Richard had taken a few junkets here with his friend, this was my first opportunity. I was very happy to finally see this part of the Morocco, which is very different from the region where we live.

Arabic writing in white on the side of a hill on the way to Ifrane (In English: God, King, Country)

The drive from Casa to the Middle Atlas area took about four hours. The Atlas mountain range is huge and fills much of Morocco. This expanse is the furthest north of the three Atlas Mountain chains Morocco, and has snow in the winter and is cool in the summer. Its location is about equal distance from Meknes and Fes.

Middle Atlas Mountains

Entering the quaint town of Ifrane is like leaving Morocco and arriving in Switzerland. This planned community was built by the French administration in 1928 as a summer retreat "garden city". Rural low density housing, with single family homes, surrounded by gardens was the urban model for Ifrane. It was conceived as a colonial type of settlement where expatriate Europeans could escape from the heat of the tropical colonies. The goal was to create a resort in the alpine style, giving the illusion of country life. In short, Ifrane reminded vacationing displaced Europeans of home.

After Morocco became independent from France, the Moroccans moved into the city. The small town has expanded over the years to include a mosque, public market, gated communities, condominium complexes and a university. Many larger corporations maintain apartments for their employees to use while vacationing in Ifrane.

Deborah and Allan in front of their beautiful Ifrane home where we stayed;
about one mile up in altitude, it was tough to breathe!

Red-roofed, alpine-style homes; view from our room

It was very pleasant experiencing the unexpected green of the "town of peace". Atlas cedar, scrub oak, and London Plane trees abound, along with many beautiful flowers and plants. The buildings are chalet-style with red roofs, and the center of the town contains a large park with public gardens.

Stunning Arbored road of London Plane trees

Located in the town square is an old statue of a lion. Moroccans and tourists from other countries were waiting to get their picture taken with this lion, so we figured 'why not?' The statue was sculpted by a WWII prisoner of war whose name is not known, back when Ifrane was used as a POW camp. Sadly, it commemorates the 1920's shooting of the last Atlas lion, now extinct. I feel kind of guilty posing with him and looking happy about it.

Lion Sculpture; Richard and Judy

On Friday afternoon we had the opportunity to join some Moroccan friends in their home. Here we were served an appetizer of chicken skewers, followed by an authentic Moroccan chicken couscous meal. We finished with fruit, desserts, and Moroccan mint tea. It probably took Saida at least 5-6 hours to prepare our feast, which we ate in their salon. What a treat to be invited into the home of this family.

Karem, Saida, Said and yummy couscous

Will there be enough?

Eat, eat, eat . . . Friday dinner was enjoyed at Le Grande Carte restaurant at the Michlifin Suites and Spa. My favorite part of this attractive hotel, built in the Tyrollean style, are the lovely views from the porch.

Interior entranceway; slate floors, beautiful wood everywhere, leather furniture

View from the hotel balcony

Sunset view from the hotel balcony

Moroccan coat of arms in lights, introduced in 1957, with the royal crown on top
On the ribbon underneath, the Arabic inscription from the Quran is written
If you glorify God, He will glorify you
إن تنصروا الله ينصركم‎‎

One of the many royal palaces/residences is located in Ifrane. The King used to visit often, but has not been here for a number of years.

Royal Palace in Ifrane

View on the way from Ifrane to Azrou

I was very interested in spotting some Barbary Macaques, which are an endangered species of monkey. Right now there is plenty of food in the woods, so they didn't come into the neighborhood while we were there. So, we drove and saw them enjoying their natural habitat in the Ifrane National Park, Cedre Gouraud Forest, in Azrou. The forest is named for Henri Gouraud, a French general. Spending time in the forest of the national park was quite pleasant. Huge, Atlas cedar trees and wonderful greenery abounds, and there are monkeys!

The Barbary Macaques are wild, but some have become used to humans, and are plentiful in this area. We got to see many of them jumping around in the trees, and coming right up to us. One-quarter of the world's population of these animals live in this area. However, when they do venture into the town they can be somewhat destructive, climbing on the roofs of houses and breaking the tiles.

Of interest is a 900-year-old Atlas cedar tree called "Le Cedre Gouraud." This tree unfortunately died in 2003, but still remains standing. How mind-blowing to stand near a tree that was alive the year the earliest use of the compass was recorded and well before the United States was even born!

900-year-old Atlas cedar tree called "Le Cedre Gouraud."

Global liberal arts college Al Akhawayn University, is located in Ifrane. The college was established in 1995, and classes are taught in English on this residential campus. Interesting fact: This university was funded by Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. The money was originally meant to clean up an oil spill off the coast of Morocco. However, the spill ended up being washed out to sea, hence the money was available to start the university. The name Al Akhawayn means 'two brothers' and refers to the two kings. We had an opportunity to have dinner with some faculty from the university, as well as some other local Americans at the home of our hosts.

Al Akhawayn University, photo clearly not taken by me!

We passed large fields of onions both traveling to and from Ifrane. They were growing about 15 miles outside of town and are stored in a very practical way. Moroccan farmers build "onion caves" . . . First they dig a ditch and then add rock walls, and finally they cover the onions with plastic. This is a lot cheaper than building warehouses and it keeps the onions in excellent condition.

Onions being stored all along the roadside in "Onion caves"

Onions being stored all along the roadside, workers nearby

It was fun to to experience this popular Moroccan vacation spot and to learn a bit about the history of this place. Ifrane is a lovely respite from city life and a great place to relax and just breathe.