The other day as we drove the highway toward Ait BenHaddou we were waved down by a motorist whose vehicle had broken down beside the road. After a brief debate about whether we should stop and risk being kidnapped or otherwise pillaged, we decided to stop and “pay it forward”. It turns out we were perfectly safe, and the driver, wearing a robe and turban and speaking excellent English, only asked if we would deliver a written message to his cousin in Ait Ben Haddou informing him of the need for roadside assistance.
The directions he gave us said: “Drive into town on the main road and turn right at the road that goes to the Kasbah, next to the post office; if you get to the mosque you went too far. After turning right, go twenty meters and look for the house with the two green doors and ask for Hassan Ali.”
After driving beyond the mosque, we turned around, found the correct turn, and then found the two green doors. As we were getting out of the car, a man walked up to us, so we asked if he knew where we could find Hassan Ali. It turns out he was Hassan Ali! After delivering the note from his cousin asking for help, Hassan Ali invited us inside for tea. We tried to beg off, but after several pleas of “just 5 minutes, it will be my pleasure” we gave in.
We learned that Hassan Ali was just visiting there and actually lives 60 kilometers south of M’Hamid where we were going the next day for our camel trek. Hassan Ali is a caravan trader who sometimes provides transportation services for the French charity “Doctors without Borders”, which is how he learned to speak English so well. He regaled us for an hour with stories of caravanning and trading with people along his 5-month route in the desert through five North African countries. He showed us some handmade Berber silver jewelry made from old coins that he bought and sold along his route. A pleasant and interesting glimpse of Morocco!
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