Ryan K. Hamilton

Pack light. Bring curiosity. Leave with stories.

🏜️ Step Back in Time at Aït Benhaddou! 🏰

Aït Benhaddou is an ancient pre-17th century ksar that feels like a real-life movie set (because it actually is! 🎬). They’ve filmed GOT, Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia there, and I think they’re currently filming Christopher Nolan’s new film there. We had VIP access through its mud-brick alleyways, and through this nice lady’s home (yeah, people still live there). History frozen in time. 🌅✨

I had a feeling this town was well protected. They deserve a Tarantino, slow motion walk

Nerd/ Soul Searching Alert. Astrophysicist Carl Sagan once said there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on this entire planet (beaches AND deserts).
While sitting on said sand, and looking at the stars in our observable universe , realizing that Earth is comparably, almost the size of One grain of all that sand, I started feeling a connection and gratitude, just for being on this tiny rock, one more time around our star. I was also thinking about the others who walked these same sands, millions of years ago, all with a long history of a short life with stories to tell. There was a profound feeling of my insignificance AND significance in this life. As I began to leave this Sahara with a new sense of connection and confidence about my existence…
I suddenly stepped in some camel s**t. And That my friends…was quit the metaphor. I’m not sure which metaphor, but I guess we have to all go through it to figure things out.

I wish I spoke her language. I’m sure she has some stories to tell.