Deserts and Camels

My head rattles against the window of the 4x4 as we bounce across the desert through the darkness. I wonder for the umpteenth time how it is that our driver could know where he is going—from what I can tell, there aren’t really any landmarks to indicate any sort of relative location. We are not even on a paved road anymore, just driving at high speeds across the desert. It’s only a little after 5 in the morning, and I definitely did not get enough sleep earlier. I start to doze off again when I am started awake by the 4x4 screeching to a halt. I open my eyes and am shocked to see, in the glow of the headlights, a few dozen camels sitting in front of us.

This could probably be called the culmination of our study abroad experience in Morocco—after several weeks of classes, project work and cultural study, we are finally getting our camel ride through the Sahara. We should be at the sand dunes early enough that we could watch the sun come up. For now, there are just thousands of stars shining more clearly than I have ever seen them. The air is cold, and I am surprised at how much warmer it feels when one of our Berber guides ties my headscarf properly as a turban covering my hair and face. As soon as he finishes, another beckons me over closer to the camels and helps me onto its back. With a grunt, the camel stands up (a scary experience, as I am quite sure I will fall off!) and we begin our journey to the sand dunes.

A short while later, I am taking as many pictures as I can as I watch the sunrise on the horizon of what looks like endless sand dunes. It is a very clear morning and the scene is incredibly picturesque. It is, in some regards, easy for me to see why this is one of the most popular tourist attractions for Morocco, as it is definitely one of my favorite experiences that I have had during my time here. However, it also feels very catered: our professor has informed us already that the dress of our guides is from an entirely different region of the Sahara, but that it is used because it is recognizable for tourists, and at the end of our camel ride he lays out a rug for me to sit on so that he can display various souvenirs and fossils, hoping I will purchase one. It is a strange paradox to have a natural phenomenon be so staged at the same time. Nevertheless, I find myself feeling like this is one of the most “Moroccan” experiences that I’ve had—even though I know this is more based on my preconceptions than on the reality that I have seen in Morocco.

The image of camels and deserts is a very prevalent cultural meme for the Morocco, maybe the most prominent. (This has been briefly addressed in the entry about the geographic destination image that Morocco has, however there is still more to say about the image itself.) Why would the desert hold such significance? What is the intrigue with dunes and camels, making this image win out over some of Morocco’s other beautiful landscapes?

The Sahara has always been important for Morocco, both for Moroccan residents and for foreign destination image. For many Western travelers, it is a blank image that they can imagine themselves in. It is mysterious, exotic, and adventurous. They picture riding a camel into the horizon or camping out under thousands of stars. Many Morocco travel guidebooks feature a panoramic view of the sand dunes on the cover, often featuring a camel or two and maybe a man whose face is covered by a turban. Ambiguity and mystery are concepts that are held as ideals in the destination image of the Sahara; any human element (aside from maybe a Berber to lead one’s camel through the desert) would be seen as a disruption. However, there is a human component to everything that a typical tourist would experience in the Sahara. There have also been adjustments and exaggerations made in the desert to attract tourists, such as the common appearance of “Blue Tuaregs” as tour guides and shop owners, when tuaregs, in reality, only originate farther east in North Africa.

The Sahara has held significance in Morocco not only for foreigners, but for locals as well. Berbers, the original Moroccan demographic that populated the desert, have played a crucial role in Moroccan cultural development over the years. Berbers originally populated Morocco in nomadic tribes until the coming of Arabs during the expansion of the Islamic Empire. The language and culture of the Arabs became more and more influential as Islam became more and more integral to the identity of Morocco. Berber-tribal frameworks persisted in Morocco through the nineteenth century, when a growing sense of Arab nationalism pushed for Berber culture to give way for Arab. Berber language and culture are only now beginning to be re-integrated into the curriculum and everyday life of Moroccans. There are still a few desert nomads who live in Morocco, and the Sahara still holds strategic and symbolic importance. Algeria and Morocco have been in conflict over who should have control over Western Sahara, a Spanish colony now annexed.

One of my professors in the States is Moroccan, and a student asked him once (in all sincerity) whether or not camels were his primary mode of transport in Morocco. Within the desert destination image is a stereotype of Moroccans as nomads who live in tents and ride on camels wherever they go, and it seems that this stereotype has not changed even with worldwide development. It’s as though Morocco (and other countries in the Arab World, for that matter) are expected to remain frozen in time before modernization and technology. Although in some regions there certainly are nomads, this generalization is completely inaccurate. This typecast fulfills a character for the dramatic backdrop of the desert, much more romantic than a Moroccan who lives in a house and drives a car. There is a degree of effacing that happens with people in the desert context, to keep in line with the ambiguity and mystery that the destination image of the Sahara holds.

The Desert has played an important role for Morocco, both in the destination image and the developing culture. As the country continues to build into its own identity as a nation—having only just a few decades ago gained its independence, hopefully it can grow in and beyond the desert to create an image that encompasses all of the beautiful landscape and culture that Morocco has to offer.