Drive towards Ourzazate and you must wind your way through the dramatic High Atlas Mountains, home of the indigenous
Berber people who forge silver and gold jewelry and trade goods.

Arrive in Ourzazate, the quiet city, and discover the golden glow that filmmakers can’t resist. Here you‘ll encounter cloaked locals who invite you for mint tea at sunset beside the secret oasis.

Follow along the Draa Valley, Morocco’s longest river, like prehistoric humans following the abundant orchards and date groves.

Continue towards the Sahara desert and, if passing through on a Thursday, find yourself in the largest palm oasis in the world, haggling with a hospitable, toothless nomad over meticulously cleaned silver jewelry at one of the oldest souks.

Keep going and you’ll start to see the camels roaming alone.

Go even further and wind up at the door to the Sahara Desert. Search for the invisible steps of the desert Nomad, who takes no more dates than he can consume during his solace. Listen for the midnight drum beats summoned from the Nomad’s heartbeat, known since the womb.

Throughout your journey, you’ll fill your stomach with homemade bread dipped in the caramelized onion juice from the bottom of a steaming tajine (and of course the spiced lamb and/or veggies).

Get back to Marrakesh and suddenly you’ll see how the big picture— the busy souks filled with shiny things, the people wearing the long headscarves, the dates in their colorful packaging— was put together by all these tiny pieces, each with a story marked by orange sands and smiling weathered faces.