Architecture - Morocco - page 936

Ksour
The location of ksour (mudbrick castles; singular ksar ) are spectacularly formidable: atop
a rocky crag, against a rocky cliff, or rising above a palm oasis. Towers made of metres-
thick, straw-reinforced mudbrick are elegantly tapered at the top to distribute the weight,
and capped by zigzag merlon (crenellation). Like a desert mirage, a ksar will play tricks
with your sense of scale and distance with its odd combination of grandeur and earthy in-
timacy. From these watchtowers, Timbuktu seems much closer than 52 days away by camel
- and in fact, the elegant mudbrick architecture of Mali and Senegal is a near relative of
Morocco's ksour .
To get the full effect of this architecture in splendid oasis settings, visit the ksour -packed
Drâa and Dadès Valleys, especially the fascinating ancient Jewish ksar at Tamnougalt and
the pink/gold/white ksar of Aït Arbi, teetering on the edge of the Dadès Gorge. Between
the Drâa Valley and Dadès Valley, you can stay overnight in an ancient ksar in the castle-
filled oases of Skoura and N'Kob, or pause for lunch at Ksar el-Khorbat and snoop around
1000-year-old Ksar Asir in Tinejdad.
Caravan stops are packed with well-fortified ksour, where merchants brought fortunes in
gold, sugar and spices for safekeeping after 52-day trans-Saharan journeys. In Rissani, a
half-hour circuit will lead you past half a dozen splendid ancient ksour, some of which are
slated for restoration. Along caravan routes heading north through the High Atlas toward
Fez, you'll spot spectacular ksour rising between snowcapped mountain peaks, including a
fine hilltop tower that once housed the entire 300- person community of Zaouiat Ahansal.
The only fully active mosque non-Muslims are allowed to visit in Morocco is Casablanca's Has-
san II Mosque. It's the world's ifth-largest mosque, so you won't be cramping anyone's style.