"Colorful Khenifra" by Marley Craine
This past weekend, my cohort went on a trip to Khenifra, a rural village in the Middle Atlas mountains. I had an incredible time, and felt like I was in a different world in a very good way. The landscape was stunning: rolling hills, imposing mountains, wildflowers and spiky plants. Everything was covered in a layer of dust. All weekend, I was surrounded by the pale beige of the mountains and fields of dry brush. I started noticing pops of bright color that stood out from the sea of brown. It was in the buildings, walls, cars, and food. I started collecting photos to create a colorful window into our weekend in Khenifra.
We stayed with Amazigh host families in Khenifra, and we ate well. On our first night, we had a roasted chicken that we pulled apart with our hands. There are slices of potato covered in green and red harissa—a hot chili pepper paste—on top of the chicken. It's beautiful, but very spicy, so beware!
On our first morning, we visited a dormitory for students who live far away from school. They stay in the dorms all week, and have the option to go home for the weekend. This is a salmon-hued view from a window in the girls' dorm. The walls of the dorm were also painted with colorful, intricate murals.
Here is just one example of Khenifra's colorful infrastructure. I saw this wall as I walked from my host home to our activities every day. One morning, I met this donkey on my way!
One afternoon, we drove down a steep mountain pass and visited the Tafnet Group School. I could see the bright, colorful school from the top of the mountains as we wound our way down into the valley. We met the students and helped them plant bushes and flowers in their front courtyard.
We bought fresh figs at a roadside stand. The greens and pinks were stunning, and I never want to eat a fig again because I know it can't compare to this one.
I saw a lot of vehicles in Khenifra—wagons, donkeys, horses, and cars—but this was certainly the most cheerful one.
On my favorite day of the trip, we hiked up a mountain, swam in the pool of a waterfall, and then ate a delicious lunch overlooking the water. Here is the sweeping view from the summit in contrast with this bright, luscious tomato salad.
In Arabic, Morocco is called Al Maghreb, which means sunset. The most striking color I saw all weekend was that of the sky. One evening at dusk, we took a long walk up a mountain in the heart of the Middle Atlas range. Truly, the photo doesn't show the full magnificence of the colors—you'll just have to visit Morocco and see for yourself!
Photo credit for all images: Craine, 2023.
Marley Craine is a student at Macalaster University studying abroad in Morocco this Fall 2023 on Amideast’s Regional Studies in French program.
