Gara Medour

Gara Medour is another film location but a much more natural one. Also called as Jebel Mudawwar (round mountain), it is a horseshoe-shaped geological formation technically known as an erosion cirque. It looks like some sort of volcanic caldera but is actually a water worn formation. Although looking at it sticking up in the middle of a desert it is not at all obvious to me how this can have happened. Naturally it is pretty much a complete fortress and in the 11th century the structure was completed with the addition of a 12m wall. From here the city of Sijilmasa (gold coins) could be protected along with various trade routes.

We had to drive way off the tarmac road to find it. This was considerably more satisfying than finding some of the previous classic tourist traps. There were a couple of people trying to sell trinkets but for the most part, we had the place to ourselves.

In the evening we drove a bit further out into the desert to a couple of palms and a dried up well. Made for a lovely campsite where we met up with Liz, Andy, Lars and Inge again.