Aouli
Morocco
1 Night
I don’t know where to start with Friday’s events as we sit here inside Pricilla after returning from an evening with a Moroccan family, in the most remote village, like no other place we have visited, a unique part of our whole tour.
The day began with goodbyes to fellow travellers, some of which we had met previously. Filling of water, dumping of waste and paying the bill for our two-night stay and a tagine for two. Then we were off along the Ziz Valley, on route north to the town of Meknes.
On route, we came across another rally of cars, this time Renault Twingos, part of the Twingo Raid, a bit like the Renault 4s the other day but in a Twingo.
Our destination was a bit of an unknown, a place called Aouli, an abandoned mining village, once one of the most important lead deposits in Morocco, the nearby Ahouli and Mibladen mines are now abandoned. Located in a valley along the upper Moulouya River, about 25 kilometres north of Midelt.
This road begins fairly normally, quiet with very little traffic. Then we turned off onto a minor, less well-made road, and then into an extremely rough road. Through a few dry water crossings, and then came to a wooden slatted bridge with no barriers or sides, or a weight limit. Then to the village of Mibladen, an a completely abandoned village, with derelict hotels, restaurants, cinemas, and a petrol station. An eerie ghost mining village.
Strange, huge murals of insects on the walls of the derelict buildings added to the strange and fascinating feel of the place. Only to be topped by three men making their way across the river on a rusty old iron footbridge, with head torches. They had been down the mines.
The road deteriorates as it winds its way into the hills. Continues along the track and eventually reaches the village of Aouli. The first house we came across, we were called at by Kahlid, we stopped and he said we could stay the night here, and he would show us around.
We had mint tea and chatted, then went inside for a tagine lunch, cooked by Helima, his mum.
After dinner, they showed us around their collection of crystals and rocks they had collected from the mines, before Kahlid took us on a tour of Aouli.
We walked into the lower part of Aouli village and across a rusty old steel bridge and into the entrance of mine. I walked in with Kahlid, with a torch shining the way until we could go no further, as it was full with water. Followed by visits up to the abandoned miners’ homes from the 1930’s that once housed 6000 workers.
After our tour, we spent the evening with Kahlid and his mum and dad, in their lounge with a stove in the middle, which warmed the place up nicely. Halima served a wonderful evening meal, followed by a game of cards, which I seemed to lose each time.
This is the most fascinating place, from another world. We loved it here.
