Ait Benhaddou - Sub-Sahara - Morocco

[Tidgy's Dad]

Day Three ; Locality One (Or Eight if you include Days One and Two) 

Ait Benhaddou, Morocco.

21st February 2019

 

We spent the second night in Ouarzazate, where the biggest film studios in Africa can be found and many famous films have been shot. In the morning we went briefly to the Atlas Studios where Anouar took some photos of the exterior for his blog, but non of us actually wanted to go in, so we headed for the kasbah of Ait Benhaddou. The road going south from Ouarzazate, at Ait Saoun, just before one reaches Agdz is a fossilized and genuine stromatolite reef, but it was out of our way on this occasion, so that's one for another day, but here's a photo courtesy of the Universities Space Research Program who test out Moon Buggies, Mars Rovers and stuff there. 

Just before we reached Ait Benhaddou, we stopped off at a viewpoint, I wanted to look at the rocks and hillside as fossils can be found in this area. I can't remember what they were as i didn't find any, but one of the hills next to the kasbah is quite famous, so i'm told. 

You can see the kasbah in the distance here and i think the hill just to the right of it is the fossil location. 

Hunting around, I did find lots of pieces of what I think is a porphyritic gabbro. Nice phenocrysts! 

 

[thebluecatapilla]

Beautiful locality! 

[ricardo]

2 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

You can see the kasbah in the distance here and i think the hill just to the right of it is the fossil location

 

Adam, great picture. That place is stunning! On the left side of that road to Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou you can see and find gypsum (Aït Kandoula FM) and a lot of nice sílex specimens. I collected  small fragment from the ground for souvenir but you can easily obtain large samples. 

 

Nice to see all these photos 

[Tidgy's Dad]

10 hours ago, thebluecatapilla said:

Beautiful locality! 

Thank you! It is. 

9 hours ago, ricardo said:

 

Adam, great picture. That place is stunning! On the left side of that road to Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou you can see and find gypsum (Aït Kandoula FM) and a lot of nice sílex specimens. I collected  small fragment from the ground for souvenir but you can easily obtain large samples. 

Thank you. 

Yes, lots of gypsum to be had, cherts and other crystals and minerals. 

It is an amazing place. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

The bridge crosses the river from the new town to the ancient town and kasbah. Most of the inhabitants and other people attracted by the tourist trade now live in the new modern part and the old city is mostly abandoned and slowly dissolving when it rains, as it is mostly made from mud / wattle and daub / pisé. Shame, as it is fascinating and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But four families still reside there, according to Wiki, or eight, so Anouar says. My guess is six. 

Fossils in a little while! 

[Dan 1000]

Nice report! Looks like a very beautiful place 

[dalmayshun]

amazing looking place, the original "organic architecture" Beautiful dwellings as an extension of the landscape. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

On 4/14/2019 at 3:09 AM, DanKurek said:

Nice report! Looks like a very beautiful place 

Thank you, it is a very lovely place indeed. 

 

On 4/14/2019 at 1:33 PM, dalmayshun said:

amazing looking place, the original "organic architecture" Beautiful dwellings as an extension of the landscape. 

Yes, and it will become a part of the landscape again as it slowly washes away. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Many of the houses, though no longer lived in have become shops for the tourists. 

Many of them sell fossils and there are a mixture of terrible fakes, composites and good stuff. 

Top Tip : Haggle. This is one of those places where you can really pick up a bargain. 

This Flexicalymene was only a dollar. Okay, it's got a pygidium badly cemented on, but for that price? It'll be added to one of my rubbish competition prizes.

One of the other shops had a nice spiriferid brachiopod with one of the wings half missing, but otherwise very good. 

However, the guy in the shop wouldn't come down enough for me to make the purchase. 

But some of the shops here have super stuff at excellent prices. 

Pictures to follow.  

 

 

 

[Al Tahan]

On 4/13/2019 at 10:44 AM, Tidgy's Dad said:

 

 

This looks more like a porphyritic andesite! If it was a gabbro you would see the mineral grains in the matrix and the associated feldspars would look different.  The phenocrysts stand out because of the fine grained texture of the background. I’m pretty they are plagioclase (type of feldspar) phenocrysts as well!  

 

This texture is neat because it records 2 cooling histories. Basically the plagioclase phenocrysts were cooling and crystallizing when the host material was still magma. Then there was an eruption that created the fine grained texture surrounding the already solidified feldspars. It started to cool then....eruption! 

 

Of course holding the rock is a true tell...but it looks more andesitic 

[Tidgy's Dad]

3 hours ago, Al Tahan said:

This looks more like a porphyritic andesite! If it was a gabbro you would see the mineral grains in the matrix and the associated feldspars would look different.  The phenocrysts stand out because of the fine grained texture of the background. I’m pretty they are plagioclase (type of feldspar) phenocrysts as well!  

 

This texture is neat because it records 2 cooking histories. Basically the plagioclase phenocrysts were cooling and crystallizing when the host material was still magma. Then there was an eruption that created the fine grained texture surrounding the already solidified feldspars. It started to cool then....eruption! 

 

Of course holding the rock is a true tell...but it looks more andesitic 

Righto. 

Thank you. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Here is a selection of pieces in one of the shops. 

Lots of excellent specimens at very good and negotiable prices.

Not fully prepped, but genuine.

 

The nodules contain Flexicalymene ouzregui trilobites.

@Manticocerasman

Look at the goniatite in the top left of the photo below. 

This is how they should look. Instead they're mostly polished to death.

Here's a bivalve just like the one I found outside of Erfoud. It's more complete than mine, but mine had another on the reverse.

The gastropods are interesting too.

The big trilobite is gorgeous but the starfish with brittle star plate is sensational.

The heteromorph, top left, is pretty nice as well.

 

 

[Manticocerasman]

56 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

 

@Manticocerasman

Look at the goniatite in the top left of the photo below. 

This is how they should look. Instead they're mostly polished to death.

I agree, I prefer them prepped instead of polished  It is propably more pleasing to the eye of the tourists to see pollished specimens.

It is uncommon to see unprocessed goniatites from Morroco.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

6 minutes ago, Manticocerasman said:

I agree, I prefer them prepped instead of polished  It is propably more pleasing to the eye of the tourists to see pollished specimens.

It is uncommon to see unprocessed goniatites from Morroco.

 

Yup, I should have asked the price, but I was running out of money and it was wifey's birthday in three days time. 

Hey ho. 

[Monica]

I agree with you, Adam - that starfish/brittle star plate is beautiful! 

[Yoda]

13 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Yup, I should have asked the price, but I was running out of money and it was wifey's birthday in three days time. 

Hey ho. 

As a generalisation.....do these fossils go for a lot cheaper than one sees them on offer in Europe or the USA?? 

[minnbuckeye]

Another wonderful report!! Just curious about the items in the lower left of the picture? Outdoor market in the middle of nowhere?? Also, who feeds Tidgy while you are away playing?

 

[RJB]

Wow!  Great report!  If i was there I wouldnt have enough strength to carry all the stuff i would buy.  Great photo's too! 

 

RB

[Tidgy's Dad]

6 hours ago, Monica said:

I agree with you, Adam - that starfish/brittle star plate is beautiful! 

Thanks, Monica, it certainly is.

4 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

Another wonderful report!! Just curious about the items in the lower left of the picture? Outdoor market in the middle of nowhere?? Also, who feeds Tidgy while you are away playing?

Thanks, Mike. The place is a viewpoint where you can stop to admire the kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou in the distance. Anywhere where there are tourists there will be people trying to earn a living and sell them something. Here, there were three or four chaps with tables or blankets on the ground selling curios and local goods. There was also a snake charmer, but i don't photograph them or give them more than a mutter under my breath. They either remove the snake's fangs or sew the mouth together so they soon die and another snake is procured.

Tidgy is usually cared for by my best friend Zak, but he was in France this time, so I'm rather afraid Tidgy was left on her own, but with plenty of food, water and heating. It's fine for just a few days, though she tends to be a bit grumpy when we return and follows me about for a week to make sure I don't escape again. 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

6 hours ago, RJB said:

Wow!  Great report!  If i was there I wouldnt have enough strength to carry all the stuff i would buy.  Great photo's too! 

 

RB

Thank you very much, Ron. 

8 hours ago, Yoda said:

As a generalisation.....do these fossils go for a lot cheaper than one sees them on offer in Europe or the USA?? 

Well, you saw the Flexicalymene above for a dollar, here's one I picked up in the shop I showed above. It's not perfect, a bit battered and badly repaired, but the guy was honest and sold it to me for the equivalent of $7 which is much cheaper than you'll find on line or outside of Morocco, i should think. 

Ectillaenus, 7.5 cm long.

And safely at home. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Scylla]

Thanks for another excellent trip report!

[Tidgy's Dad]

On 4/21/2019 at 1:15 PM, Scylla said:

Thanks for another excellent trip report!

You're very kind. 

It's a pleasure.

[Archie]

Awesome photos, fossils and report!  

[Tidgy's Dad]

3 hours ago, Archie said:

Awesome photos, fossils and report!  

Thank you very much for looking. 

[Wrangellian]

I like all the same pieces you do... the big bivalve, the snails, the goniatite (I agree about the prep job - it's refreshing to see things done that way when they are usually polished), and esp. the starfish plate!

We should arrange some way for some of us to forward you some money to buy these things so you can snap them up when you see them, instead of having to pass them by!