Shilli-Fully Travels

We had originally booked our third and final hotel in The Atlas Mountains. Sadly the area was badly hit by the earthquake and the hotel is under repair for 6-12 months. As an alternative, we booked a hotel outside Marrakesh within an hour or two drive to the Atlas Mountains. From here, we arranged two day trips to trek in two valleys – Imlil Valley and Ourika Valley. In the former we saw extensive earthquaque damage with roads, houses and hotels under repair; although the Ourika area was also damaged, it was less extensive. Both areas derive a significant part of their income from tourism – some tourists have returned but numbers are much lower.

Skoura is on the eastern edge of the High Atlas and our hotel organised guides to explore the nearby mountains, valleys and deserts. We would have struggled without a guide as there are no marked paths and we didn’t see other hikers, although we passed through a number of villages where the adults were welcoming and the children curious. We did two treks from Skoura, through very different dramatic landscapes.

Skoura is in the middle of the “Route of 1,000 Kasbahs”. Kasbahs are fortified citadels built for defense and protection, typically with no external windows, but slot holes to fire on approahing enemies. They are generally built from compacted mud and straw with walls upto one metre thick. The earliest kasbah we saw was built in the 11th century.

A typical design addition is a three step feature on the top of the tower which is often seen on more modern Moroccan buildings as well. It was originally used as a symbol to denote that the owner is wealthy and generous enough to offer travelling strangers upto three nights board and lodgings at no cost – after then, like stale fish, its time to leave.

Kasbahs are not well suited to practical modern living, so many have fallen into disrepair. A modern house, with a kasbar style might be found adjacent to a ruin, both owned by the same family. The government offers protected status provided that the owner can afford the rennovation and maintenance costs; this has been done by some wealthy Moroccan families and a few hotels. The hotel we stayed in was a 19th century kasbah bought and converted by a French designer 20 years ago. The rooms comprised a maze with several internal staircases – very easy to get lost – with walls that were good for keeping the heat out during the days and the warmth in at night, but not conducive to wifi signals !

Skoura is 40km from Ouarzazate and a four and a half hour drive south east from Marrakesh through the stunning scenery of the Atlas mountains. Due to the vast rocky desert landscape, Ouarzazate has become the centre of the Moroccan film industry with filming including Laurence of Arabia, The Living Daylights, The Mummy, Gladiator and more recently Game of Thrones. It is also a major producer of solar energy enabling Morocco to become a leader in renewable energy (the solar plant is of such strategic and technological importance that the security looks like a maximum risk prison, including apparently anti-misile defences).

Skoura became inhabited because it is the location of a major oasis lined with indigenous palm trees, subsequently introduced olive trees and other trees and plants grown for their crops. The Palmeraie is UNESCO protected and maintained by irrigation canals called khettara. Water is allocated and diverted to each plot for agreed time periods. This system, together with passing plots down through the generations, has operated for many years.

Marrakesh was founded in 1062 and with a population just under one million is the fourth largest city in Morocco. At various times it has been the capital. Its old medina, made up of narrow alleys between riads and souks, has been a major tourist attraction since the 1960s. Many of the riads have been restored as restaurants and hotels approached via a complex maze and entered through a low door. Our riad lent us a local phone, should we become lost – thankfully not needed. The earthquaque on 8th September 2023 damaged some buildings but the effect on Marrakesh was far less extensive than around the epicentre in the Atlas mountains.

The medina is a UNESCO world herritage site with palaces, mosques, markets and the major square Jemma el Fnaa. The city has been a draw for many years for the famous and fashionable from Winston Churchill to Yves Saint Laurent.

The indigineous people of the area were the Berbers however, with the strategic position on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, it has been under the control of others for most of the last 2,000 years. Initially a trading outpost of the Phoenicians it then became part of the Roman empire in 44 AD under Emperor Claudius. After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was a period of local rule before coming under Byzantine control in 530 AD. In the seventh century the area was conquered by Arabs who bought Islam with them. The Berbers converted but retained their own customs and language. In the 15th century Morocco accepted Jewish refugees who fled Spain with the Inquisition. They were allowed to live freely and all major cities had a Jewish district known as the Mellah – the Arabic word for salt, for which the Jewish community were given responsibilities.

The current King Mohammed VI of the Alawi dynasty is the grandson of Mohammed V who led independence from the French in 1956, following a period since 1912 of being a French Protectorate.

The country has been relatively stable since independence, however there have been issues over corruption, the control of Western Sahara and political refugees.

The country is now a constitutional monachy with a billionaire President and a billionaire King. It is a relatively liberal Islamic state. It has no oil or gas but is developing wind and solar energy sources, using Chinese technology. Phosphate mining, agricultue and a growing tourism sector are the main drivers of the economy.