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KUWAIT (KUNA): Desert life is an integral part of the imagination of Abdullah Al-Mekhyal, a Kuwaiti movie maker who takes his camera and team from time to time to the desert in a bid to unravel some of its mysteries. Al-Mekhyal started his career as a gifted amateur director and scenarist of documentaries, driven by fascination with the desert and Bedouin life. His attraction to the desert life is clearly portrayed in “In Camel Heels, “ “Desert Call,” fruits of two years in Saudi Arabian desert, “Plain Shepherds,” filmed in Mongolia, and “Amazigh Desert,” shot in Morocco. “Morocco is distinguished with its unique texture of geography, culture and weather,” Al-Mekhyal said in an interview with KUNA. “It is a country of four seasons at one time. You may see winter in the north, spring in the west and autumn in the east while it is as hot as summer time in the south,” he says. “This led to biological diversity which flourished by the geographical diversity, with snow-covered hilltops, grassy plains and arid desert.

Diversity
“Again cultural diversity is one of the unique features of Morocco where Arab, African and Amazigh communities and cultures coexist harmoniously. “This mixture formed a colorful Bedouin life that continued to carry a lot of integrity and originality,” Al-Mekhyal went on to say. Desert, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the Arab region, is home to bedouine culture and values. It is a distinguished homeland for the bedouins, extending from the Arabian desert in the east to Morocca’s Amazigh Desert in the west. The Amazigh Desert portrays the Bedouin life in Eastern Plateau Region, East Morocco, and stretches to the Ouizazate Region in the south. “Most of southern Moroccan tribes are descendants of Arab origin and speak Arabic,” Al-Mekhyal pointed out. “Camels in south Morocco are characterized by their unique colors.

“The red and white spotted camels are not found anywhere other than Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. “Local people in south Morocco believe this species of camels is blessed and try to keep as many of them as possible,” he noted. “Atlas Mountains extending from Tunisia in the east to west Morocco have the highest hilltop in the Arab world namely Mt Topkal which is 4,167 meters high. “Amazigh tribes are the original inhabitants of Atlas Mountains and Morocco in general, many Moroccan towns still have their Amazigh names. “Most of Amazigh people work as shepherds and raise cattle and camels due to the abundance of grassy land,” Al-Mekhyal added. Al-Mekhyal received awards from several festivals of documentaries.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=10099&ccid=9