Rissani souk
Dates, spices, livestock.
Mustapha.ou.5 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ben Bender — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metalldinger0th — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Johannes Schwanbeck from Dresden — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jan Pešula — Public domain · Chaymaelamharzi2025 — CC0 · Chaymaelamharzi2025 — CC0 · Hellomoh — CC BY-SA 3.0
A historic town in the Tafilalt oasis, about forty kilometres north of Merzouga, the ancient capital of Tafilalt and a crossroads of caravan routes between the north and the desert. Nearby lie the ruins of Sijilmasa, the great city that flourished from the eighth to the fourteenth century on the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade; after its fall, Rissani became the region's trading centre. The area is the cradle of Morocco's ruling Alaouite dynasty, and on the southern edge of town stands the mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif, ancestor of the dynasty's founder, with its garden, courtyards and zellij-decorated gates, visited by people from all over Morocco. Rissani is best known for its great souk, busiest on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, when people from the oases bring dates, spices, leather and grain, trade goats and sheep, and tie their donkeys in a special donkey park, a unique sight. Visitors enter the town through a huge decorated gate. Wandering the town and souk is free; dress modestly when visiting the mausoleum, where access to some parts may be restricted. It makes a half-day stop on the way to or from Merzouga.
Dates, spices, livestock.
Zellij and gardens.
The old caravan city.
Errachidia Province, about forty kilometres north of Merzouga
On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, when it fills with people from the oases and their livestock, busiest in the morning.