It's late afternoon, we are on the winding roads of Morocco that are long enough for us to lose track of time. The North African sun is nearing the end of its shift. We are entering a town of two-story buildings with brown and yellow tones. It is as if suddenly the hustle and bustle that dominates Morocco disappear as calmness descends upon us.The city of Merzouga has a gate that looks like a filter. We have nothing to do in the city - we are heading to the Sahara, the largest desert in the world. We continue on from the city center and after a short journey, we reach the area in the desert where we will camp. We leave our stuff in the tents and head out. We are late for the most important appointment of the day, we realize that we have overstayed our last break. With quick steps that become 2-3 times more tiring than usual, we climb a sand dune and watch an exquisite sunset. We are surrounded by the perfection of nothingness.The weather suddenly turns cold and we retreat to the tents, tired. After a mediocre dinner of touristy tricks, the team of desert explorers is ready for duty with only one missing member - Sinan asks to be excused from duty due to fatigue. With&nbsp;Cihan and Burak, we walk to a sand dune near our camp. Darkness over us is gigantesque and that darkness reveals an uncountable number of stars. We sit somewhere between the stars and the sand, mesmerized.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/3/1658933879709.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.80" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">The perfection of nothingness<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Desert chatter</h2>We are deeply moved when we look at the stars today, even with the advanced power of observation and space science, what must have the ancient peoples felt? Did they realize that our existence is as significant as a grain of sand from the desert they were standing on? We talk about the strong relationship that ancient societies formed with the desert. At some point, we realize that we are entering a bottomless subject like infinite space.Limitless spaces lead to endless topics. "Is finding the meaning of life as difficult as searching for one grain of sand in the desert? Or is life about enjoying all the grains of sand?" We leave philosophical questions behind, we are too old to spend the night in the desert with questions we can't answer. The subject turns to a middle-aged woman we met at dinner who told us that she had been staying alone for weeks in this makeshift camp in the desert. We have fun fabricating stories about how she might be a secret service agent. We take photographs of the stars. We walk up to the sand dunes that are surrounding us and watch desert laborers nibbling on grass, the camels. At some point, one gets used to seeing in the dark - just as one gets used to the desert cold at night.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/3/1658933897927.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.80" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">After dark<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">I am reminded of Saint Exupéry's Little Prince:<blockquote fr-original-style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px;" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; border-left-style: solid; box-sizing: border-box;">&nbsp;"I wonder,” he said, “whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again..."</blockquote>I look at the stars but they seem so far away. Therefore, I contemplate, "We can all take a dune each and squat here." Plus, the view changes every day.The endless dilemma of travel appears once more.&nbsp;The clash between the need for sleep that comes with the tiredness of the whole day, and the feeling that I can't miss anything in my limited time here. After enjoying the night in the desert a little more, we return to our tents.A few hours later, I wake up to the bitter sound of the alarm. The ice-cold doesn't seem appealing from under the blanket. But I use my same old mantra to get myself up: "When else are you going to watch the sunrise in the desert?"I wear the warmest clothes I have. I climb a dune that's close to the camp. The team quietly gathers. An employee of the camp that's walking a camel comes up to us. We are waiting for the coquettish sun to finally come up from behind the hill. The people who froze all night to snap photos of the stars and chit-chat are desperately waiting for the sun and its heat. The morning frost is so chilling that I consider hugging the ruminating camel sitting next to us to warm up. While I am waiting, I ask the young Berber questions to pass the time:<blockquote fr-original-style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px;" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; border-left-style: solid; box-sizing: border-box;">- What is the name of the camel?- Camel</blockquote><img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/3/1658933927354.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.80" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">A journey in the desert<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">The conversation doesn't hold in the face of such certainty. The sun finally rises. Our bones warm up.&nbsp;I understand the relationship that people who live in the desert have with the sun. Bedouin employee takes the camel to graze on grass. We go for breakfast. In a little while, the weather is hot enough to walk around in shorts.As we leave Merzouga behind, I jot down in my notebook:<blockquote fr-original-style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px;" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; border-left-style: solid; box-sizing: border-box;">The desert leaves behind an unerasable feeling. You remember your nothingness. The peace of non-humanity, together with the broad horizon of the desert makes you realize you are no different than the sand you step on.</blockquote>

sand dune ile ilgili hikayeler