Morocco day 10. Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, from Telouet to Ouazazarte

Submitted by maria on Mon, 16/09/2024 - 13:43

We start our day with a magnificent breakfast at Tizi Maison, eggs, bread, homemade jam, cheese, pancakes, honey, yoghurt, natural juice, coffee or tea.

Kasbah Glaoui of Telouet

Before leaving we visit the Glaoui Kasbah of Telouet located in a higher part of the village.

Breakfast

A Kasbah is a fortified space of Berber origin, designed to protect against both attacks by intruders and inclement weather, whether sandstorms or intense cold.

These palaces and fortresses are part of traditional Moroccan architecture. Protected by high walls of adobe bricks (dried in the sun) or pressed earth, straw and stones, they form a small town, with a manor house to receive visitors and labyrinthine streets linking different rooms such as kitchens and stables.

Kasbahs are often surrounded by Ksour, fortified villages with narrow streets and defensive towers, some of which are recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Before leaving, we visit the Glaoui Kasbah of Telouet, located in a higher part of the village.

Kasbah Glaoui of Telouet

The Kasbah of Telouet belonged to an important merchant family in Morocco, the Glaoui family. It was their residence until the country's near-independence in the mid-20th century.

The Glaoui family was one of the most important and influential dynasties in Morocco. They never reigned, but they controlled the trade routes in the south of the country and built numerous Kasbahs at strategic points. Such was their influence that Thami el Glaoui was even appointed Pasha of Marrakech, a position equivalent to governor of the city. But his influence transcended frontiers, and he had extraordinary relations with personalities such as Winston Churchill and other foreign leaders.

The Kasbah of Telouet was an obligatory stop for trade caravans travelling from Marrakesh to Ouazazarte for almost a hundred years. Its interior must be spectacular, they say, along the lines of the Alhambra in Granada. We say it must be because we were not lucky enough to get inside. The heavy rains of the last few days, last year's earthquake and the lack of investment in its conservation have prevented us from visiting it due to the risk of landslides.

Sometimes the guard makes an exception for a visit but we were not so lucky. They say that by 2025 restoration work will begin.

Nevertheless, Omar, one of the guides, shows us the outside of the Kasbah and tells us its history in exchange for a tip. We visit a family who have a traditional bread oven.

Tradicional bread oven

For the local people living in Telouet, the Kasbah is their only source of income. The new road from Marrakech to Ouazazarte no longer passes through here and the big tours do not pass through Telouet. Let us hope that it is true that the restoration work will be carried out for the benefit of this community. We pay him a 40dh tip for the 4 of us. They have a shop where you can buy handmade carpets and traditional Berber products.

We take the car and follow the P1506 road towards Ouzazarte through the Ounila valley. We stop at dozens of places to admire Kasbahs and lush green valleys in contrast to the aridity of the land and the spectacular gorge.

We recommend the following stops:

Tazakhte, caves and Kasbah

Taghoura

Tourste

Taifaste

Kasbah Glaoui of Tamdakhte

Kasbah Glaoui of Tamdakhte

Of all of them we highlight Kasbah Glaoui de Tamdakhte. Despite being in ruins, it retains all its essence. As soon as you park your car a man will come up to you to show you around (we gave him 50dh for the four of us), as you can see this is the way they make a living. He tells you the history and shows you various rooms and you can even visit the mosque.

Kasbah Glaoui of Tamdakhte

You also have to pay the guard of the car, we gave him 10dh.

We continue to the Ksour of Ait Ben Haddou, one of the most important UNESCO heritage sites in the country. Founded in the 8th century by Ben Haddou, this fully restored fortified village contains several Kasbahs from the 17th century, when the town became a key strategic point on the caravan route to Marrakech. We visited one of them for which we paid 10dh/pax for its conservation, it has a small museum with farming tools. The visit to the Ksour is free.

Ait Ben Haddou

The city has three gates. To get inside you can cross a bridge over the river or try to cross on the sacks that the kids put in the river to earn a little money.

It's worth walking up the labyrinthine streets, lined with souvenir shops, to the top to admire the views.

The views from the other side of the Ounila River are breathtaking.

Ait Ben Haddou

The Ksour of Ait Ben Haddou is known worldwide, as hundreds of films and international series such as Game of Thrones, Gladiator or Lorens of Arabia have been filmed there.

Ait Ben Haddou

It is worth a visit at sunset when the sunlight floods the Ksour.

After the visit we eat in the restaurant Azaddou Tamlalt four chicken tajines and water of 190 dh for 4.

Ait Ben Haddou

We take the car to continue our journey to Ouazazarte, where we will sleep.

Ouazazarte is known as the gateway to the Moroccan desert. In recent years it has become increasingly important for the film industry as the surrounding area is ideal for filming movies and series. There are several film studios, the best known being Atlas Studios, which you are welcome to visit.

In Ouazazarte you can visit the Kasbah Glaoui de Taourirt, the Ksour and the Mellah or Jewish quarter. As almost everything in Morocco closes its doors at 5 pm so we decided to visit the Kasbah on our return from the desert.

Kasbah Glaoui of Taourirt

What we did visit was the Mellah and the Ksour in the old Medina. Both are located next to the Kasbah and are very interesting. You don't need a guide.

In the Mellah we visited the Synagogue which has a museum that shows that it is possible for Jews and Muslims to live together. The Synagogue is more than 400 years old and is in perfect condition thanks to the work of the family that looks after it.

You can visit the prayer and study rooms and various rooms where life was lived in the old days. It preserves Amazigh, Hebrew and Muslim treasures, centuries-old books and even a Koran written in Braille. Highly recommended.

Sinagogue

We stroll through the medina as the sun sets over the old medina.

We stayed at the Rayyan I'Escale hotel, a fairly new hotel next to the Kasbah and overlooking the Ouazazarte palm grove. The rooms are very nice, with bathroom and terrace, and are very clean. It has a restaurant and although it is closed they allow us to take food and have dinner there.