Friday, November 16. The 6th day.
We got up at 3:30 in the dead of night at the hotel Salam in Erfoud.

When we got out of the hotel just after 4:00, the dark sky was full of stars. It was a star-spangled sky.
A tour member of my age came to my side and pointing upward said "It is the Big Dipper." I looked up and managed to identify it.
He talks rather to himself, "That is the North Star called Polaris, and the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper, should be ....." Whatever he says, I only nod and nod. It seems the brilliant stars are comforting me.

We, tourism members, started from the hotel riding in 6 four-wheel-drive station wagons.
We are going to watch the sunrise at Maghreb. The word Maghreb seems perverted, because it means the land of West Sunset.

The 30-minute drive was too tough until reaching the place "Merzouga large sand dune". The wagon dashed on the debris wilderness with no road and jolted violently all through. We, on the rear seat, were forcibly swung vertically and sideways. Without a seat belt, what would have happened?
The 6 wagons avoided violent dust from the front one and ran relying on their headlights in the total darkness, approaching and separating each other repeatedly. And finally some prospective light appeared faraway.

Sahara Desert, the world largest desert, lies in the northern part of the African Continent. It is 5,600 km east-west, and 1,700 km north-south. It is the territory of so many countries as Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, West Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan. "Sahara" means a desert in the Arabian language.
The area is about 10 million square km, nearly one thirds of the African Continent, which, needless to say, shows this present place is far less than a needle hole. It is also called Shebi large sand dune, a perfect sand desert.

10 people rode on camels and the rest of us walked from here.

We are realizing "The cold country with the hot sunshine" for the first time. Like other members, our couple wear thick scarf and gloves with long underpants, though probably we'll have to change clothes in the daytime.

The desert with smooth sand is expanded widely as far as the eye can see. Everybody to come here for the first time would have to be surprised at the walking difficulty and to have a struggle just like myself. They must deeply understand what I am saying is never an overtalk nor a lie.

In addition, the up slope becomes more from halfway. This tells on me with the weak left leg. I cannot go ahead only by the both feet, so I get on all fours and crawl up in the earnest desire to keep up with the members. Happily Emiko is not having difficulty like me. She even talk to me "Are you OK?"

I finally managed to get over the asceticism for more than 30 minutes without giving any trouble to the members.
The noble members riding on camels were waiting not knowing my hardship in an innocent smile. The time was 6:00 am.

The sunrise much later. Strange! No moon until here now since I saw the sky at the hotel. Not the desert of the moon, but the desert of the stars. But why?

We had to wait long even after the sky was beginning to brighten in the east. It was 6:40 when the sun appeared from the desert. It was not so dramatic as from the horizon. The sunlight, at the moment, did not come to us in a straight line on the sand. The sun just rose. How did other members feel? Al least my heart did not beat fast contrary to all expectations.

We decided to go back when the sun began to brighten the whole desert. The noble members rode on a camel and others had an ascetic walk. But luckily I did not have such an asceticism as on the way there.

True or not, a camel is born in the fourth month of pregnancy. A white camel has a good omen. A camel can drink 50 liters at one time and does not die with no water for one week.

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We stopped by at the tent of the Berber on the way and were served by mint tea. It seemed to be a popular hospitality for this kind of tour, so they served us with a practical hand and we were relaxed at last. The mint tea was good with moderate sweetness.

It is 470 km from Erfoud to the hotel in Fez.
Our bus ran for 7 hours heading for the north over the Moyen Atlas, taking a rest for lunch and a couple of toilet rests.

Going over this Moien Atlas was not so thrilling as High (Haut) Atlas two days ago.
For my such talk, Emiko murmured back in suspicious eyes saying " Do you think so? I have had more impression here over Moien."
Yes, she is right. According to her, we crossed the pass until Ifrane taking a rest at Errachidia and Midelt. During this pass, I was relaxed in the back seat, while Emiko sat in the front seat as she wished and seemed to enjoy sightseeing for a lot of time.

I take out my favorite iPod. What music shall I listen to? With musics in the ears, I am indulged in the illusion deeply relaxed on the back seat.
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Starting from Marrakech, the first tourist site, until here, we experienced the traverse over High Atlas, the surrounding area of Ait Benhaddou, Kasbah Highway, Sahara Desert, ...
At several places they overlapped with the landscapes in the United States at the time of my studying stay 40 years ago, especially the American south during the transcontinental drive !

It was hot early September in 1969.
Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and California. By way of St. Louis, Navajo Indian Reservation, Painted Desert, the village white mortar houses (Taos Pueblo), the wilderness from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, Grand Canyon, Brice Canyon, Montezuma Ruins, Joshua Tree Desert, ...
And finally we three guys got to the seaside of the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica just north of Los Angeles spending 10 days of one-way.

Harboring such illusion, then I begin to listen to Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite. "On the Trail" soothes my mind. It is the scene a man is getting down a long winding mountain path of the canyon on a donkey. But the image of this music does not match the Todgha Gorge. It is a different view to my regret.

What about the musics of Spanish composers? Some of them might be suitable to the views of this traverse over the Atlas.
I listen to Falla for a while. "Nights in the Gardens of Spain", "The Three-Cornered Hat" and "El Amor Brujo".
Next, Sor's guitar music played by Segovia.
None of them do not sit well with me in this situation.
Then, Ravel? Debussy? French composers are not fitted, either.
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Without any reason, I chose Piano Concerto No. 1 by Beethoven just when our bus was going up the winding pass. I could look out over the whole view from the near valley to distant mountains with no obstacles. The rolling of the bus sometimes brings me back to the reality, but I am mostly in my own world.
Strangely this music does not sound odd to my present circumstance. At least it fits me more than the other musics I listened to until now. The views are moving and changing with the melody sound of the concertos. I listened to them through until No. 5 popularly known as "Emperor Concerto", played by Martha Argerich with Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Claudio Abbado.
I listen to No. 1 again, and this time my illusion spreads to the relationship between the musics and the movies directed by Akira Kurosawa.

This table is what I referred to in the essay of the Daibosatsu- toge climbing during the typhoon 11 years ago.
Director Kurosawa does not use a music showing any present scene. For example, in the tense atmosphere of the movie 野良犬 (Stray Dog) "Cuckoo Waltz"is a background music. "Solveigs Song" of "Peer Gynt" in the case of 影武者 (Double of the Samurai).

In a similar feeling of Kurosawa's movies, I enjoyed the bgm through my iPod.

We stopped by at a town Ifrane before 1-hour drive to Fez, where we strolled around the park for 30 minutes. The atmosphere there was totally different from the noise in Marrakech or the views and historic ruins until Sahara Desert. It was just like a local town in Eastern Europe.

Royal Mirage, the hotel in Fez, was much better compared to the travel fee. I felt it chic and for high society.

Shame on me. I knew the name only. I take a note by the help of Wikipedia article.

Sahara Marathon is a six-day, 252 km (156 ml) ultramarathon, which is approximately the distance of six regular marathons. The longest single stage (2009) is 91 km (57 ml) long.
This multiday race is held every year in southern Morocco, in the Sahara Desert. It has been called the toughest foot race on Earth. The first event of the Marathon started in 1986.

The marathon was the brainchild of French concert promoter Patrick Bauer who in 1984 traversed the Sahara Desert on foot and alone. He covered 350 km (214 ml) in 12 days without encountering a single oasis or desert community along the way.
Two years later in 1986 the first Marathon des Sables was run. Twenty-three runners participated in the race with Bernard Gaudin and Christiane Llumere, both from France, finishing as the winning man and woman.
By 2009 over 1,000 runners participated in the event and the Solidarite Marathon des Sable association was created. The aim is to develop projects to assist children and disadvantaged populations in the domains of health, education and sustainable development in Morocco.

In 2017, two new Marathon des Sables events will take place for the first time: the Half Marathon des Sables on Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands in September, and another full-length Marathon des Sables event in Peru in November.

Just an aside, Rallye Dakar (Dakar Rally), which was formerly Rallye Paris-Dakar (Paris-Dakar Rally). It is said to be the severest motor-sport competition in the world.
From last year, the place moved to South America, where the competition is held circling Chile by starting from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. But until then it had been held along the following route every year.

Starting from Paris, France, via Barcelona, Spain, then running over to African Continent, and finally Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Total distance: 12,000 km.

One of its sections was this Sahara Desert between Erfoud and the south of Ouarzazate.