Route from Dades Valley to Skoura
Skoura was the third part (third day) of our drive from Merzouga to Marrakesh. The drive started from Dades Valley to Skoura and it was about 1 hour 50 minutes. We stayed in the town of Skoura and visited its famous attarctions.
We had picked Skoura as a stop because we had read that it was a captivating oasis and had one of the most beautiful Kasbahs in Morrocco and a Unesco protected Palmeraie.
Mid way we stop by a cafe/restaurant for a short rest and break. Bought mint tea for two for 20MAD. There was not much of a view but a dusty road with some shrubs and green field across the road.
Kasbah Amridil of Skoura
This Kasbah was built by the Nassiri family in the 17th Century and they lived there till the 1950s. To the present day the kasbah was still taken care by members of the family offering a living museum where visitors could visit and experience the way the residents of this kasbah lived some 300 years ago.
This Kasbah looked like a castle fortress from the outside. Its beauty and uniqueness had attracted film production. It was used in iconic film like Lawrence of Arabia, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
At the gate of the Kasbah we were told that the kasbah was partition into two parts (left and right sides). Each part was taken charge by a different member of family. It seemed like there were some rivalry going on between the members.
One part (left side) was left very much untouch as for the other part (right side) there were some changes done on it to make it attractive to visitors. We chose the part that was left untouch as we thought it would be more authentic.The entrance fee was 40MAD per person. At the entrance there were many guides offering their services so we engaged a guide for a fee of 40MAD to “walk” us though the kasbah.
The compound and rooms of the Kasbah was very bare, there were no furnitures, no curtains, no carpets. Dust and dust every where. Our guide walked us through the “cooking place”, the work room, the sleeping rooms, the prayer rooms, the boys rooms, the girls room, the roof area, the wall openings etc etc.
Without furnitures, it was very difficult to imagine how the inhabitants lived in this place 300 years ago. The dust everywhere only made us thought that the inhabitants were covered in layers of dirts and living a “difficult” time.
We wondered if we should have visited the “other part” of the kasbah. The one that had more work done, which would make the place livable and more realistic of that era.
Skoura Palmeraie
After the Kasbah, our guide offered us a quick detour to the Palmeraie which we agreed. One of the reasons we stopped at Skoura was that we read that it had a beautiful palmeraie. It was Unesco-protected and was dubbed Oasis of 1000 Palms. It was made up of a 24 km of patchwork plots of palm trees. with underground irrigation syemof canals, levers and locks. 100 birds species flourished here.
We drove a few kilometers away and parked our car near a bare ground. There the guide brought us up some mud path between trees, crossed some ditches and trenches and 10 minutes later we reached some high place where he told us we could have the best high view of Skoura Palmeraie.
After that we went back to our car and drove back to Kashah Amridil where we ended the guided trip. On the point to payment instead of 40MAD as originally agreed he requested for 150MAD. The additional was for the trip to the Palmeraie. We felt that it was a ripped off because when he offered the detour to the Palmeraie, he made it sounded like a very simple detour and was offering it like a friend and did not mention any additional cost. Now our fee was 110MAD more. We gave him an additional 70MAD as that was all we had. Lesson learnt!
Stay for the night
Our stay for the night was Kasbah Dar Bahnini which was located just by the main road. From the outside the kasbah looked like a mini Kasbah Amridil.
This was a one-man “hotel”. Our host, his wife and his son lived in this kasbah so basically he was offering the spare rooms in his home on booking.com. He was still “doing” up the place so there were still much “unfinished” work going on.
He brought us “round” his place and explained how the wall finishing was done the Moroccan way. It was an ancient plaster technique called Tadelakt, where lime plaster and natural pigments were applied in multiple layers, each layer was hand polished to achieve a smooth finish. He explained how the walls were created from mud and straws. He also mentioned about making his place a “museum”.
Our room was big and clean, not luxuriously but good for a night. The ensuite toilet was clean and tidy and bright.
Our room had a balcony that faced a land half barren. There was not much of a view as the land was dry and dusty. Basically that was rural Morroco.
We requested for dinner at our hotel and was served appetiser, meat on shewers and dessert. Nice and inexpensive.
Our stay came with breakfast for two in the morning. The cost of our stay at Kasbah Dar Bahnini was Eur44.
Other Accommodation in Vicinity