Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pers to cross the river (it seems that everyone has forgotten the flash floods of 1995),
while at the end of the valley sits the summer resort and well-worn trekking base of Setti
Fatma.
For High Atlas scenery with fewer tourist coaches and moped-mounted salesmen, you
may prefer the Mizane or Zat Valleys.
Getting There & Away
Grands taxis to Setti Fatma leave frequently from Bab er-Rob in Marrakesh (Dh35) and
you may also find less-frequent minibuses to Ourika Valley destinations (Dh15 to Dh25).
Most grands taxis will drop you anywhere along the Route d'Ourika, but return taxis and
minibuses are easiest to find in Setti Fatma, Tnine and Aghbalou. Transport returns when
full.
AGHMAT
Drivers speeding past Aghmat (aka Rhmat, Ghmat or Jemaa Rhmat) 31km from Mar-
rakesh are missing a key turning point in Moroccan history. This town was an Idrissid
dynastic capital from AD 828 to 1058, and an important stop on the camel caravans from
sub-Saharan Africa through Sijilmassa (the ruins of which now lie near Rissani).
When the Almoravids conquered the city in 1058, one of Aghmat's leading citizens was
killed in the fray, leaving his brilliant, wealthy widow Zeinab en-Nafzawiyyat free to
marry Almoravid leader Abu Bakr. When Abu Bakr was recalled to the Sahara to settle
disputes, he divorced Zeinab so that she could remarry his cousin, Youssef ben Tachfine.
With Zeinab's financing and counsel, Youssef ben Tachfine proved unstoppable, founding
a new capital at Marrakesh and expanding the Almoravid empire to the doorstep of Bar-
celona.
Once Almoravids moved to Marrakesh, Aghmat became a place of exile for political
dissidents, including Andalucian poet-king Al-Mutamid ibn Abbad. Arts continue to pre-
ival of street artists.
Sights & Activities
Visitors can glimpse Aghmat's former glories just behind the town's main marketplace,
where Aghmat's
Friday souq
is held.
