Finding "Where It’s At": Floods, Figs, and Lost-in-Translation Greetings in Morocco

Have you ever hung out "where it’s at"? Because it turns out, "where it’s at" is an actual, physical place. It’s called Ouarzazate, a city nestled in Morocco that literally translates from the Amazigh language to “without noise”, though based on our trip, a more accurate translation might be "without indoor plumbing discipline."

Ouarzazate wears a few famous titles: the "Gateway to the Sahara Desert" and the "Hollywood of Africa," thanks to its massive desert landscapes and movie studios. But beneath the cinematic glamor lies the true heart of the region. As you travel south, standard Arabic and French give way to the indigenous Amazigh (Berber) culture. Amazigh fittingly translates to "free people," and Ouarzazate is a vibrant cultural hub for the Shilhah people, who speak Tashelhit.

Our journey started when my friend and I hired a rental car in Marrakech, survived a drive through the Atlas Mountains, stopped for some horseback riding, and eventually rolled into Ouarzazate to bring in the New Year. Because really, where better to ring in January 1st than a place that literally claims to be where it's at?

Naturally, the evening festivities began with an unintended indoor water park feature. My friend turned on the hotel bath, promptly forgot about its existence, and accidentally flooded the entire room. So, the glamorous early hours of our New Year’s Eve were spent frantically mopping up an indoor lagoon.

Once the room was successfully drained, the actual New Year’s celebrations went off without a hitch. The next day, fully recovered from our stint as emergency hotel janitors, we took a walking tour through the local Berber villages. We picked fresh, sweet figs right off the trees and were taught how to say "hello" in the local dialect. We spent the afternoon confidently greeting every local we passed, feeling like absolute cultured linguists as everyone smiled and echoed the word back to us.

It was a magical, heart-warming moment, until I got home, looked the phrase up on the internet, and discovered it bore absolutely zero resemblance to any official Amazigh greeting. At best, we were taught a super-niche local slang equivalent of "wassup." At worst, we spent an entire afternoon strolling through traditional mountain villages, beaming brightly at locals, and shouting the Berber equivalent of "cheeseburger."

Conclusion

If you ever find yourself looking for "where it's at," pack a pair of water-resistant shoes, leave the bath plugs alone, and don't trust language lessons from strangers unless you want to spend your holiday accidentally yelling local slang at bewildered villagers. 10 out of 10, would flood the hotel again.

Photo credit - Ouarzazate: The Hollywood of Africa. Source: www.slate.com