Overnight we were the only guests staying at Kasbah Ait Ben Damiette and consequently it seemed a little odd being on our own at breakfast time.
After a wholesome petit-déjeuner, we met up with our driver Chahine and he drove us to a meeting point in Skoura where we were introduced to Ayoub, our guide for the morning’s walking tour through the Skoura Oasis.
We commenced the walk by following along a disused khettara (underground water channel) where the open sections allowed us to look down and see the depth of the water course tunnel below.
Disused khettara (underground water channel), Skoura Oasis
This ancient irrigation system has been replaced by modern day artesian bores, pumps and concrete aqueducts. Some bores go down to a depth of 70 m.
Ayoub informed us that the major expenses for the drilling of the bores and instillation of the pumping infrastructure are covered by some local, wealthy kasbah owners who then charge a small fee for oasis people to access fresh water for their homes and farm plots.
The plots we observed were on average, about the size of a tennis court and were growing barley, wheat, alfalfa (lucerne), pomegranates and assorted vegetables. Surrounding the plots are many date palms, olive trees and tamarind trees.
Lucerne plots, Skoura Oasis
Date palms have separate male and female trees and their reproductive flowering parts are quite distinct.
Male flowering part of date palm
Female flowering part of date palm
Barley crop, Skoura Oasis
Tamarinds are medium sized leguminous trees that bear pods containing an edible fruit that is often blended with salt and chilli, resulting in a refreshing taste. Ayoub said the most valuable thing about tamarinds is their wood which is highly prized due to its density, durability and termite and fungal resistance. It is used extensively within this Skoura Oasis for making doors, furniture, carvings and kitchen utensils such as chopping blocks and mortars. The tamarind heartwood is reddish brown and sometimes with a purplish hue.
Tamarind tree, Skoura Oasis
We meandered along dusty paths past many 17th century kasbahs (fortress homes/castles). Most were unoccupied and dilapidated due both to the passage of time and some as a consequence of the September 8th 2023 catastrophic earthquake.
The word kasbah (sometimes qasba) is a little confusing as it could have several meanings. It is normally understood to represent a fortress of any shape or size and this could be a whole town or possibly a single home occupied only by one family and relatives.
Typically, Moroccan villages have a kasbah where a person of prominence such as a sheik, king or family chief would reside. Kasbahs have high outer walls and towers at each corner providing vantage points for observation and maintaining security.
The most common construction material for the 17th century kasbahs we visited today was compacted mud, sometimes with straw blended in with the clay soil.
The outer walls are drab and have few windows although there are inspection holes for firing guns at unwanted visitors.
The kasbahs in the Skoura Oasis were either home to Jewish or Arab families where the Jewish building style is recognised by the corner towers having prominent crenellations and points along the upper tower edges.
Arab kasbar, Skoura Oasis
Jewish kasbar with hole caused by earthquake on 8 Sep 2023, Skoura Oasis
An interesting interlude occurred when we were invited into a tiny stone enclosure next to a small family home to observe bread making. The baker was a local primary school teacher who was preparing and baking the daily bread in a wood burning, tandoor clay spherical oven. We chatted to her via our guide and when the bread was baked, we tried small pieces of this naan type local specialty; it was hot and delicious.
Lady baking bread, Skoura Oasis
Lady baking bread, Skoura Oasis
One of the few remaining kasbahs that is open to the general public is the four hundred year old and imposing Kasbah Amerhidil which was once owned by the Glaoui family and since its restoration now serves as a museum.
Kasbah Amerhidil, Skoura
This kasbah dominates the wadi (presently dry river bed passing through the oasis) and is rated amongst the most beautiful kasbahs in southern Morocco.
We spent an hour or more inspecting the artefacts on display throughout the four levels and were interested to see where recent earthquake damage had been repaired leaving minimal trace of the cracks formed in September 2023.
Artefacts (structure for making walls), Kasbah Amerhidil, Skoura
Artefacts (olive press), Kasbah Amerhidil, Skoura
Jak and Corinne at location used in filmset for Game of Thrones
Jak and Corinne at location used in filmset for Game of Thrones
View from roof, Kasbah Amerhidil, Skoura
At this point our tour of the Skoura Oasis we said farewell to Ayoub and met up with Chahine again who drove us about 40 km southwest to the city of Ouarzazate, famous as a centre for film/movie making.
On the outskirts of the town, we visited Atlas Film Studios and had a most interesting couple of hours and were particularly impressed with our studio guide’s knowledge and enthusiastic presentation style.
Part of fIlmset for Gladiator I, Gladiator II and several other films, Atlas Studios, Ouarzazate
Part of filmset for Kundun, Atlas Studios, Ouarzazate
Our guide Abdelaziz showing us clip from Cleopatra filmed in this set at Atlas Studios, Ouarzazate
Back of film set, Atlas Studios, Ouarzazate
The Atlas Film Studio site has a large number major sized film sets used to represent scenes of ancient times in Egypt, Rome, Greece and elsewhere. As expected the main films (partly) produced here have been historical ones such as David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, Oliver Stone’s ‘Alexander’, Scorsese’s ‘Kundun’, Mankiewicz’s ‘Cleopatra’ and Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’. The James Bond movie ‘The Living Daylights’ and numerous television series such as ‘Game of Thrones’ have had part of their production here.
The reason this location has become so popular for film making is the reliable dry weather, blue skies, the low cost of extras from the Ouarzazate town, few noise and visual problems due to planes, trains etc and the fact that the local town’s people have skin colours appropriate for Egyptian and Roman movies.
Our studio guide used iPhones to make several short videos using our group as extras. This was fun and most enlightening.
On our way back to Skoura we spent a brief period at an old building that was formally a caravanserai. In four large rooms it had a vast collection of silver, wooden and pottery items for sale, plus masses of old and interesting jewellery.
Inside Labyrinthe du Sud caravansarai, Ouarzazate
We were keen to return to our hotel for rest, so did not stay long despite the amazing collection of artefacts, apparently gathered mainly from North Africa.
We returned to Kasbah Ait Ben Damiette for showers, cold drinks, dinner, rest and time to label photos and record the day’s events in our diary.