Important Places in Morocco

Kasbah AÏT BEN HADDOU

A few kilometers from the national road from Marrakech to Ouarzazate is the most interesting and best-preserved village built entirely of rammed earth in Morocco, declared a World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, and several movies were filmed about Jesus or biblical themes.

It preserves at the top of the hill on which it is built a fortified granary (Igherm) as well as numerous restored kasbahs among its streets.

PALM GROVE OF SKOURA

This palm grove was planted in the XIIth century by the Almohad sultan Yakub al Mansur, in this valley are the most beautiful kasbahs of Morocco, usually always next to the rivers as a defense of the territory.

KALAAT MGOUNA (Valley of the roses)

In the 10th century, pilgrims brought rose bushes of the damascene rose variety from Mecca and settled in this valley. Its cultivation has developed an industry for the elaboration of rose water, perfumes, and cosmetic products. Numerous kasbahs are visible in the area.

DADES GORGES

Spectacular gorge crossed by the Dades River.

THE TODRA GORGES

With rock walls of 300m. and spectacular scenery with hundreds of palm trees following the course of the river Todra.

PALM GROVE OF TAFILALT

Also called the Moroccan Mesopotamia at the bottom of a canyon runs the Ziz River with the largest oasis in the country, 800,000 thousand palm trees. The view from the national road from Errachidia to Rissani is spectacular.

RISSANI

Capital of the region of the Tafilalt origin in the XVII century of the current dynasty, the Alaouite and incredibly far from tourism which has facilitated that it has maintained all its ancient flavor. It is the heir of the ancient city of Sigilmassa.

Three times a week an extraordinary market takes place in the souk of the city that gathers a large population coming from the surrounding area. A visit is highly recommended, not at all loaded with tourist stereotypes, everything in Rissani smells of authenticity!

The great heritage of the Tafilalt, apart from the spectacular landscapes, possibly the most impressive of the Moroccan south, is that it preserves a very rich heritage of architecture on the ground that can be visited throughout the region but completely forgotten on trips to the region.

SIJILMASSA

The historical capital of Tafilalt came to have 20,000 h. It was founded in the seventh century and was the capital of the first Muslim kingdom of Morocco, the caravan capital of the tour that from the other side of the Sahara reached the Mediterranean.

It was traded in slaves, gold, ivory, salt, and weapons. Fell in the fifteenth century among other causes by the discovery of gold in America.

HASSI LABIED

Its meaning is white well because until the 60s there were only the dunes of er Chebbi and a whitewashed well, over time they were settling old nomadic families and the palm grove was growing.

It is currently a large tourist center in expansion with a wide range of accommodations and activities, Quads, Buggies, adventure sports, spend a night amidst of the dunes. In its surroundings exists Lake Yasmina of the Erg Chebbi, the place in which the epic romantic war movie The English Patient was filmed.

ARCHITECTURE ON THE EARTH

Moroccan architecture is roughly divided into two constructive families, that of Andalusian origin that will follow the fashions of what is now Spain, such as the madrasas, tombs saâdies, palaces, etc. and the great architecture on land, possibly the greatest contribution of the country …. to the history of world architecture.

This type of construction that is currently from crossing the Atlas is linked to the Berber culture, its origins are not known but it points to a beginning between the second and seventh centuries, some even point to a Yemeni origin before the Arab conquest. They are divided into three main groups.

A KASBAH. The residence of the gentlemen, a building of three heights with rooms around the central courtyard and with a tower in each of its four corners.

IGHERM. Similar in appearance to the Kasbah but of lesser height and without windows, a communal granary in a local village.

KSAR. Rectangular villages were built within walls with towers at each corner. The streets are rectilinear and perfectly adapted to the rigors of the climate. Some of these villages had a Mellah (Jewish quarter) which was the only urban model of population until the beginning of the 19th century. Its urbanism can not be compared to any other known village, it is so radically different from anything seen that the visitor will never forget it, surprisingly it is not included in the tourist tours even though there are more than a hundred.

ATRUS PLACE

In this place, there is a well that serves as a watering place for herds driven by nomads. The Paris-Dakar rally used to pass through it. The landscape is made up of an extensive savannah with abundant acacia trees that are more reminiscent of black Africa than the image we have of Morocco. The same can be said of the landscapes that must be crossed to reach Atrus, each of them more spectacular and unknown by the tourist circuits.

DGEBEL M´DOUAR

Mountain 10 km. of Rissani with the shape of a crater that once had a natural fountain on top. Three walls were built in three sections from top to bottom to contain the water. The last one in the 19th century was built by slaves who were going to be sold in Portugal, possibly hence the name “the Portuguese prison” although there is no evidence that there were any. There has never been any prison, much less a Portuguese one, in the area. A path leads to the top where you can see possibly one of the most spectacular landscapes in all of Morocco.

TAMNOUGALT

Capital of the Oasis of the Berber Mezguida tribe, located at a caravan point on the route that linked Timbuktu with Marrakech. Interesting town where scenes of Mel Gibson’s The Passion and Bernardo Bertolucci’s Under the Protective Sky have been filmed.

Kasbah of the CAID: MFormer home of the ruler of Tamnougalt, it has been magnificently restored by one of his descendants Hassan who runs the hotel. A real privilege to feel how life used to be in the house of a Berber potentate.

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