Covered lanes
Earthen houses and towers.
Yamen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nassima Chahboun — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Farajiibrahim — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ali Elyounoussi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Houda Ait Ouhim — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yamen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Belbachirkamal — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sarah Addouh — CC BY-SA 4.0
An old earthen ksar and palm oasis in the Draa valley near the town of Agdz, once the capital of the Mezguita region and seat of its caïds; its name means meeting point in Amazigh. Jbel Kissane, with its coloured rocks, rises to the north, and palm groves spread along the river around it. You wander the ksar's narrow, partly covered lanes among earthen houses and towers, some still standing with their geometric decoration and some fallen into ruin, a scene that tells the history of the southern oases and the caravan routes that ran down the Draa valley towards the desert. Its finest building is the caïd's kasbah, with four towers, rooms, courtyards and wooden windows, and from its roof a view over a sea of palms and mountains. Every year in the first week of October the village hosts a cultural and religious festival joined by the neighbouring villages. Wandering the ksar is free, best with a local guide paid by agreement, and the caïd's kasbah may ask a small fee. It lies on the road from Ouarzazate to Zagora, making a good stop on a Draa valley trip.
Earthen houses and towers.
Views over the palms.
Oasis and coloured peaks.
Draa valley, near Agdz, about seventy-five kilometres south of Ouarzazate
Not strictly, but the ksar's lanes are a maze, and a local guide knows the way and tells the story of the caïds and the oasis.
