Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Zawiyas
Don't be fooled by modest appearances or remote locations in Morocco: even a tiny village
teetering off the edge of a cliff may be a major draw across Morocco because of its
zawiya
(shrine to a
marabout
). Just being in the vicinity of a
marabout
(saint) is said to confer
baraka
(a state of grace). Zawiya Nassiriyya in Tamegroute is reputed to cure the ill and
eliminate stress, and the
zawiya
of Sidi Moussa in the Aït Bougomez Valley is said to in-
crease the fertility of female visitors.
To boost your
baraka
you can visit the Tamegroute and Aït Bougomez
zawiyas
as well
as the
zawiya
of Moulay Ali ash-Sharif in Rissani, which is now open to non-Muslims.
Most
zawiyas
are closed to non-Muslims - including the famous Zawiya Moulay Idriss II
in Fez, and all seven of Marrakesh's
zawiyas
- but you can often recognise a
zawiya
by its
ceramic green-tiled roof and air of calm even outside its walls. In rural areas, a
marabout'
s
shrine (often confusingly referred to as a
marabout
rather than
zawiya
) is typically a
simple mudbrick base topped with a whitewashed dome - though in the Ourika Valley vil-
lage of Tafza you can see a rare red-stone example.
