Morocco Storybook Tour – Day 9

Morocco Storybook Tour – Day 8 can be found here.

Good morning, Skoura!

And a good morning it was… starting with a delicious breakfast of fried eggs and flatbread:

Our walking tour didn’t start until 10 am that morning, which gave us plenty of time to read and relax in front of the pool, overlooking the beautiful palm grove and oasis –va UNESCO world heritage site with more than 70,000 palm trees.

The original itinerary for today had called for a two hour walk from Dar Faracha to Kasbah Amridil, but it had been a busy few days so we decided to scale back the hike. Ali very kindly arranged it so that the van would be waiting for us at the one-hour mark.

But I’m very glad we kept the walk in, however, because it was beautiful, with a fascinating mix of agriculture and ancient kasbahs:

This is what I’d hoped to find when we went to the Draa valley – which was still lovely, but not nearly as lush as it is in Skoura.

An hour later – almost to the minute – we reached the van, and continued along our way.

After a brief Moroccan traffic jam (we encountered another vehicle on the single-lane stretch amidst the kasbahs) and about five minutes of actual driving, we reached Kasbah Amridil:

Dating back to the 17^th century, the kasbah initially consisted of a fortified village – or ksar – at a strategic location at the edge of the now-dry river, at the entrance of Skoura’s palmerie. It was expanded to include the kasbah during the 19^th century. The kasbah was both an elaborate private dwelling and a secure fortification that helped to protect the entire village.

The kasbah is in remarkably good condition, and indeed the Nasiri family – which still owns it – lived there until the late 20^th century.

The site also contains a wide range of historical artifacts including an olive press, ovens, a well, and a press for building the adobe walls. It was designed to be fully self-contained so that it could withstand a lengthy siege, if necessary.

The lower level was where they kept the animals:

The mid level was used for cooking, and to store food:

While the third level was the main living space and used for entertaining and hosting guests:

A recurrent theme within the kasbah is the co-mingling of the menorah and Berber symbols, which represents the close relationship between the Jewish and Muslim residents of the area:

The symbol of the menorah (centre) next to the Berber symbol (left and right corners)

Five doors on one side for the five tenets of Islam, and 7 doors on the other side for the 7 candles on the menorah

The kasbah also has some spectacular views:

After our tour of the Kasbah, we went off for lunch at the L’Ma Lodge – a beautiful guesthouse set within the Skoura palm grove.

Their grounds are beautiful, and very extensive – including a pool, several sitting areas, a children’s tent, badminton court, playground, climbing tree, and much, much more.

It was a lovely spot to lounge with a drink and enjoy a delicious lunch:

We then went back to Dar Faracha, and relaxed by the pool for much of the afternoon.

I was glad to have the extra time, as we’d gotten an e-mail from Air France informing us that our flight had been shifted an hour due to the time change. During Ramadan, Morocco goes to Greenwich Mean Time so that the sun sets an hour earlier.

This would mean an extra hour of sleep for everyone tonight, but it also meant that we’d have to adjust our travel plans. Thankfully Carla was able to take that in stride and arrange an earlier airport transfer for us.

Around 4:45 pm, Ali arrived to take us to a “surprise” activity, which the kids had only just learned about – horseback riding:

The wind had really picked up at this point, so we’d wondered if we’d be able to go – but we did, and it was a lovely trip. The horses were very well cared for, and they did a tremendous job of staying calm as we walked through the blowing dust of the dry riverbed and through the farms and houses of the palmerie. (Video coming soon!)

We then returned to Dar Faracha to watch the sun set.