Kasbah Taourirt is a historic fortified residence complex or
kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...
(''tighremt'' in
Tamazight
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related but mostly mutually unintelligible languages spoken by Berber communities, who ar ...
) in
Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate (; , ), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Drâa-Tafilalet, south-central Morocco.
Ouarzazate is a primary tourist destination in Morocco during the holidays, as well as ...
,
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
.
History
According to oral traditions, the kasbah was first built in the 17th century by the Imzwarn, a powerful local family. More certainly, however, the kasbah was taken over and expanded by the Glaoui family in the 19th century. At the height of its importance in the late 19th century, the kasbah controlled an important location at the confluence of several river valleys – including the
Draa
:''Dra is also the abbreviation for the constellation Draco.''
The Draa (, ; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara, ) is Morocco's longest river, at . It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini Ri ...
and the Dadès – which were part of the Saharan trade routes. One of the members of the Glaoui family,
Thami El Glaoui
Thami El Glaoui (; 1879–23 January 1956) was the Pasha of Marrakesh from 1912 to 1956. His family name was el Mezouari, from a title given an ancestor by Ismail Ibn Sharif in 1700, while El Glaoui refers to his chieftainship of the Glaoua (Gla ...
, was famously the
pasha
Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
of
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
during the entirety of
French colonial rule
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...
over Morocco in the 20th century.
After the end of French colonial rule and the end of Glaoui control over the region, the kasbah was progressively taken over by squatters and began to decay. In 1954, it was added to the Moroccan National Heritage List. In 1956, the property came under Moroccan state control, though ownership was returned to the Glaoui family in the early 1960s. In 1972, the Glaoui family sold the kasbah to the Ouarzazate municipality.
The site was abandoned until the late 1980s, when CERKAS (''Centre de Conservation et de Réhabilitation du Patrimoine Architectural Atlasiques et Subatlasiques'') was established and began to oversee the conservation of Morocco's southern kasbahs. A small part of the kasbah was restored in the 1990s with the help of
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
and is now open as a historical attraction. Some unrestored areas of the kasbah are still inhabited by families today. The kasbah has appeared in movies including ''
Gladiator
A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...
'' and ''
Prince of Persia
''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is centered around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia.
The first two ga ...
''.
The site was damaged by the September 2023 earthquake that struck southern Morocco. An early assessment of damage reported cracks and partial collapses in the building and the surrounding historic quarter, with risk of further collapses.
Architecture
The structure is made largely of
rammed earth
Rammed earth is a technique for construction, constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as soil, earth, chalk, Lime (material), lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently ...
and
mud-brick
Mudbrick or mud-brick, also known as unfired brick, is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of mud (containing loam, clay, sand and water) mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE.
From ...
and is among the most impressive and best-preserved examples of its kind. The bulk of the building has three floors and is marked by large square or rectangular towers at its corners, the exteriors of which are decorated with geometric motifs and niches, which is typical of the architecture found in the traditionally
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
-dominated
oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment The exterior of the building is also notable for several projecting balconies or overhanging projections or balconies with windows, some of which overlook the entrance courtyard, as well as more open windows on the upper floors which are guarded with iron bars. Inside, some of the rooms have notable decoration and ''tataoui'' ceilings made out of woven
reed
Reed or Reeds may refer to:
Science, technology, biology, and medicine
* Reed bird (disambiguation)
* Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times
* Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales
* Re ...
.
One of the unrestored structures, a former ''
qa'id
Qaid ( ', "commander"; pl. ', or '), also spelled kaid or caïd, is a word meaning "commander" or "leader." It was a title in the Norman kingdom of Sicily, applied to palatine officials and members of the ''curia'', usually to those who we ...
'''s residence dating in particular from the time of Qa'id Hammadi (in office 1882– 1939), has particularly rich decoration including carved stucco, wall paintings, and ornate arches which were influenced by the architecture of Morocco's imperial cities.
File:Ksar of Taourirt (1).jpg, Upper walls and balconies of the kasbah, seen from the entrance courtyard
File:Taourirt Kasbah Ouarzazate Morocco 095956 (49698838323).jpg, One of the decorated rooms inside the restored section of the kasbah
File:Kasbah ceiling, Ouarzazate (13593031334).jpg, Reed ceiling in one of the rooms
File:Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate 2011.jpg, Exterior of the restored section of the kasbah, seen from the main street today
See also
*
Telouet Kasbah
Telouet Kasbah (Berber: ⵉⵖⵔⵎ ⵏ ⵜⵍⵡⴰⵜ; ; ) is a Kasbah along the former route of the caravans from the Sahara over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. The kasbah was the seat of the El Glaoui family's power, thus sometimes also ca ...
*
Aït Benhaddou
Aït Benhaddou () is a historic ksar, ''ighrem'' or ''ksar'' (fortified village) along the former Caravan (travellers), caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh in Morocco. It is considered a great example of Moroccan architecture, Moroccan ...
*
Moroccan architecture
Moroccan architecture reflects Morocco's diverse geography and long history, marked by successive waves of settlers through both migration and military conquest. This architectural heritage includes ancient Roman sites, historic Islamic architec ...