“Rim of the Sahara” is part one of a two part, silent, color travelog created by Clyde Diddle, an American amateur filmmaker, documenting travels around Morocco. The film is composed of beautiful scenes that encapsulate Morocco’s diverse landscape from desert to sea and the richness of the Amazigh / Berber, Arab, and Saharawi cultures and traditions of its people. There is no record of when the production took place, but probably the late 1960s or early 1970s.
Map North Africa, Southern Spain highlighting Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sahara Desert, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea (0:14). Tuareg men prepare tourists for camel ride (1:05). Green trees of oasis contrast dry arid landscape (1:55). Todgha Gorge (2:24). Perhaps Ouarzazate (3:23). Man bikes through desolate landscape (3:58). Herd of camels (4:08). Amazigh women walk barefoot (4:43). Oasis town, red homes, palm trees at base of mountain (5:11). Various scenes men, children riding on donkeys (5:45). Scenes of perhaps Guelmim – red colored buildings match hue of desert landscape, men in Djellabas, others in Tuareg dress on motorcycles, in cars, or driving donkey-drawn carts (6:01). Small roadside restaurant with French name, empty except for some chairs scattered about (6:35). Men donning djellabas, Tuareg head wraps, young boys gather at perhaps Guelmim Camel Market in open area – other livestock like sheep, goats weave in and out of people (6:59). Crystallized fossils (11:22). Boys stand holding gemstones wearing suit coats, Taqiyah caps (11:35). Young girl carries infant sibling on back using colorful scarves (11:45). Perhaps Marinid Tombs in Meknes (12:00). View from hilltop of Meknes Medina below (12:21). “Gharrib” (water vendor) carrying goat-skin bag sells water in front of Bab El Mansour Laalej, Lahdim Square (12:40). View of Moorish-style square minaret seen through backlit archway (12:51). Kids stand around foreign tourists in parking lot for shared taxis, public buses (13:22). “Bab Boujloud” ornate city gate, entrance to Fez Old Medina (13:38). Storks make nest atop mosque’s minaret (13:51). Bustling, cramped cobble-stone alley of old Medina, horse-drawn carts transporting artisan goods (13:54). Meat hangs from butcher stall (14:24). Kids wash hands at public fountain (14:59). Entrance of Al-Karaouine Mosque, men pray on tile floor (15:40). Plaster engravings of Quranic verses in Arabic script wrap around walls of Madrasa Ben Youssef, Marrakesh (16:19). Man sweeps Bahia Palace with palm leaf (16:30). El Badi Palace (16:37). Back alleys of Marrakesh medina (17:14). Men carry strips of leather into perhaps Ennakhla Tannery (17:25). Farmer guides camel-drawn plow through field (18:07). Goats graze in argan trees along Agadir-Marrakesh highway (18:53). View from perhaps Tiout Taroudant Oasis, date palms, young boys ride around on donkeys others climb palm trees barefoot (20:03). Outdoor souk: goats, camels, sheep as well as vegetable vendors, men gather in traditional Djellaba robes and turbans (22:33). New construction, office or industrial buildings in perhaps Agadir (30:39). Arabic calligraphic script adorns concrete wall, Kufi Script (30:46). Sunbathers, straw umbrellas line Agadir Beach on Atlantic coast (31:18). Views from coastal route along road from Agadir to Essaouira, jagged rocky cliffs and blue sea (31:49). Traditional Berber/ Amazigh homes built into red sand in valley of Atlas Mountains (32:38). Perhaps Taourirt Kasbah, Ouarzazate or Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou (32:41). Koutoubia Mosque (33:01). Ave. Mohammed V, Gueliz neighborhood, Marrakesh – cyclists, automobiles, horse-drawn carriages go past (33:15). Hotel La Renaissance, Gueliz (33:37). Jemaa el-Fnaa Square: music circles, food carts (33:53). Crowd gathers for acrobatic dance performance (34:59). Snake charmer and cobras (35:11). Gnawa performance (36:07). Crowded open souk: sellers with different goods, straw matts, traditional Amazigh/Berber carpets (37:51). Close-up geometric pattern adorning traditional red Amazigh/Berber carpet (39:07). Vendor sells teeth, empty dentures (40:28). Pedestrian traffic in winding alleys of Marrakech Medina, tourists stop at silver market (41:47). Naturally dyed red, yellow, orange yarn hangs to dry across the alleys in the sun (42:10). Artisans wind rope in stall (44:27). Details of Bahia Palace: traditional Moorish architecture, archways, stained glass, zellij tile and plaster (45:11).
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
