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Morocco Topics specific to Morocco, including Western Sahara west of the berm
Photo by Paul Stewart, in Tajikistan, hello on the Bartang

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Paul Stewart,
in Tajikistan, a hello on the Bartang



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  #16  
Old 20 Oct 2020
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When they cut across from Smara to Bir Moghrein did they have to cross SADR territory? Is there a point where you can cross (almost) straight from Morocco to Mauretania? What did the Polisario say about the rally?
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  #17  
Old 20 Oct 2020
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Majority of the crossings were due south of Smara, probably along what is now marked as the RN17b. Current maps show no or very little PFZ between Morocco and Mauritania here.

But as we know the extents of the Moroccan Sahara and PFZ have changed somewhat over the years. Polisario were never very keen on the rally, using it as an opportunity to raise the profile of their cause in the press.

(The RN17b is a miserable, heavily corrugated military piste, off limits to tourists. I certainly wouldnt recommend it, especially at 3am with an armed escort like when I was forced along it in 2017)
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  #18  
Old 20 Nov 2020
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I downloaded this PDF years ago can't remember where I got it. No detail info on the routes but nevertheless lots of info. I tried to upload it here but it exceeds the size limit. I shared it on my google drive for now.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YAb...ew?usp=sharing
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  #19  
Old 20 Nov 2020
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PDF limit doubled! So here it is.
Attached Files
File Type: pdf histo_1979_2007_us.pdf (8.90 MB, 415 views)
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  #20  
Old 20 Nov 2020
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cholo View Post
Better results if you include "Paris" otherwise it throws up the modern rally.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pari...w=1536&bih=774

Mezo,
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  #21  
Old 21 Nov 2020
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Quote:
Is there a point where you can cross (almost) straight from Morocco to Mauritania?
As I experimentaly found out a few years ago, there in fact is such a point. Berm at this point is in what officially is Mauritanian territory by good margin and is intentionally splitting the Polisario land to two parts. This is very obvious also from the Google Earth imagery.
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  #22  
Old 22 Nov 2020
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Aha thank you Vrecha, very interesting. This means that Morocco and Mauretania could agree between themselves to open a road to Bir Moghrein and a border post.
Bir Moghrein is about 60 kms east of Guelta Zemmur and there is a road marked on some maps, sort of.
But the berm touches the corner at 26N and 12W. I cannot see on maps or satellite that it actually cuts into Mauretania.
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  #23  
Old 23 Nov 2020
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Thank you for all the good feedback so far.
Although it seems no explizite GPX files are available, the file Patrik shared (THX Grant) is an outstanding basis to start local investigations.

Greetings,
Wauschi
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  #24  
Old 23 Nov 2020
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It's worth looking also at the Gandini guidebooks, there's tons of interesting and useful information gathered. The book VI that describes the area of the occupied Western Sahara details also the routes that were used by the Paris-Dakar rally. You have descriptions, points of interests, together with gps coordinates. I can imagine that the volumes that deal with other parts of Morocco have also something to say about the pistes used by the rally.


Regarding the stages in WS, I have driven most of those many times (with the exception of some parts of RPD3) and can confirm what somebody already wrote on this forum, that those pistes are for the most part corrugated, quite stony except for some short sections far south and thus not very interesting for tourists. The locals use it because they offer the possibility of quick transport in the direction of N<->S. The army doesn't make much use of those pistes, their tracks run mainly in W<->E directions, but are marked in a same way, so some confusion on the crossroads can happen sometimes.


On a historical note, the rally camped at least one time in the early 2000s just outside the Ausard. Local friends have shown me photos of the camp.
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