Rissani: A Quiet Gateway to Morocco's Desert Past

Most travelers pass through Rissani without stopping. The coaches roll down the N13, the palm groves flicker past the window, and everyone keeps their eyes on the dunes of Erg Chebbi another hour south. That is a pity, because Rissani is the reason the dunes have a road at all.

This small town in Errachidia Province, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, sits at roughly 760 m above sea level on the northern rim of the Sahara. It has perhaps twenty thousand people, a market that fills three mornings a week, and, a short drive away in the stony fields, the ruins of Sijilmasa — a city that once handled the gold coming north across the desert.

For travelers over 60, Rissani has a practical charm too: it is flat. There are no hill climbs, no staircases, no cobbled ramps. The effort here is heat and dust, not gradient, and both are easy to manage if you come in the right months.

A little history

The story begins with Sijilmasa, founded in the eighth century on the Ziz, at the point where the oasis ends and the desert begins. For centuries it was one of the great termini of trans-Saharan trade: caravans came up from the south with gold and salt, and the gold refined here eventually found its way into European coinage.

Sijilmasa fell apart through internal feuding in the fourteenth century. It was revived for a time under the Alaouites, but was finally destroyed in the early nineteenth century. What remains today is a scatter of eroded walls and mounds in the fields north of Rissani — modest to look at, enormous in significance. Rissani itself inherited the caravan trade and became the main town of the Tafilalt.

The second thread is dynastic. The Alaouite family, sharifs who trace their descent from the Prophet, settled in the Tafilalt and built their authority here before going on to unify Morocco in the seventeenth century. Their ancestor Moulay Ali Cherif lies buried on the southern edge of Rissani. In other words, the family that rules Morocco today comes from this dusty market town, and Moroccans know it well even if foreign visitors do not.

There is a third, quieter layer. The Tafilalt had a long-established Jewish community, and Rissani is associated with the Abuhatzeira rabbinical family. A renovated cemetery remains on the edge of town.

The Centre for Studies and Research of the Alaouite Dynasty in Rissani.

What to see

Rissani's sights are spread out rather than stacked up, which suits an unhurried day.

The Mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif

Just south of the centre, this is the spiritual heart of the Tafilalt and a place of real reverence for Moroccans. Non-Muslim visitors are not admitted to the burial chamber itself, but are generally welcome in the garden courtyard, which is shaded, calm and beautifully kept. Dress modestly and step aside for worshippers; there is often a bench in the shade and no reason to rush.

Ksar Oulad Abdelhalim

A short drive from town stands the most impressive of the local ksour — a fortified mud-brick palace with very tall ramparts and a grand gateway, built in the late nineteenth century for a royal governor. Much of it is unrestored and crumbling, which is precisely the appeal. Look from the outside and step into the courtyard; do not attempt upper floors or broken staircases.

The ksour circuit

A signposted loop of roughly 20 km leaves the road just west of town and threads through the palm groves past a dozen ksour — some ruined, some still lived in. It is a lovely, slow drive with a local driver, about two hours with stops. This is the best way to understand the Tafilalt: not one monument, but a whole irrigated landscape of walled villages.

The ruins of Sijilmasa

Be honest with yourself about expectations. These are low, weathered walls in open ground, not a Roman forum. But standing where the gold caravans once unloaded, with the palmery on one side and the gravel plain on the other, is worth twenty minutes of anyone's time.

The mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif at Rissani, the founding ancestor of the Alaouite dynasty.

Market days

Rissani's souk is not staged for visitors, and that is its whole charm. It is traditionally held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, though it is always worth confirming locally before you plan around it, as arrangements do shift.

The market gets going in the morning and thins out through the afternoon. Under the roofed alleys you will find spices, mountains of dates, olives, dried roses, bread, blankets, secondhand tools, and the leather and goatskin work the town is known for. Outside, farmers tie up their donkeys in what is genuinely a donkey car park, and a livestock section trades sheep, goats and mules — earlier in the day is livelier.

A practical note: the ground is uneven in places, the lanes are narrow, and on busy mornings barrows and mopeds share the space with you. Go early, take an arm if you want one, and step into the date section when you need to stand still for a moment.

Daily life in the centre of Rissani.

A day trip nearby

The obvious and entirely justified excursion is south to Merzouga and the dunes of Erg Chebbi, roughly 40 km away, about 45 minutes to an hour by road. These are the tall, apricot-coloured dunes that appear in every photograph of the Moroccan Sahara, and they genuinely live up to it.

You do not need to ride a camel or sleep in a tent to enjoy them. Many travelers over 60 are happiest being driven to the edge of the erg in the late afternoon, sitting with a glass of tea as the light turns, and returning to a comfortable bed. If you would like to go into the dunes, a 4x4 excursion is far gentler on the back and hips than a camel.

About 7 km beyond Merzouga lies Khamlia, a village known for its Gnawa music, whose community descends from people brought north across the desert. Musicians there welcome visitors for a short performance and a cup of tea, seated indoors and out of the sun — an easy, moving hour.

In the other direction, Erfoud is only about 20 km north, known for its workshops cutting and polishing local fossil-bearing marble.

What to eat

Rissani's signature dish is medfouna, often translated as "Berber pizza" — a round flatbread stuffed with minced meat, onion, almonds, herbs and spices, sealed and baked, then cut into wedges. It is associated above all with this corner of the Drâa-Tafilalet, and it is soft, generous and easy to eat. Order one to share between two; a whole loaf defeats most appetites.

Then there are the dates. The Tafilalt is one of Morocco's great date-growing oases, and the varieties on sale in the souk run far beyond the Medjools sold at home. A date festival is generally held around October, after the harvest. Buy a small bag from a stall where you can taste first.

Otherwise, expect the reliable staples: harira soup, lamb or vegetable tagine, skewers grilled over charcoal, round khobz bread and a great deal of sweet mint tea. Ask for your tea "with less sugar" if you prefer, which kitchens here are quite used to. Stick to bottled water.

Medfouna, or "Berber pizza", served with mint tea at a restaurant near Merzouga.

Honest advice for comfortable travel

• Heat is the main obstacle, not terrain. Summer highs in Rissani commonly reach the low 40s Celsius, and July can be brutal. From roughly October to April, daytime temperatures are pleasant and the desert is genuinely comfortable.
• Nights get cold. In winter, lows can drop to around 5°C. Bring a fleece and a warm layer even if the afternoon felt like summer.
• The town is flat. No hills, no long staircases. The ksour and the mausoleum involve walking on uneven, sandy or gravelly ground rather than climbing.
• Take a local driver for the ksour circuit and Sijilmasa. The sites are spread over several kilometres of unshaded road, and a half-day car with a driver turns a tiring walk into an easy outing.
• Where to stay. Many travelers base themselves in Erfoud (about 20 km north, with a wider choice of comfortable hotels) or at a hotel near the dunes at Merzouga, and visit Rissani on a market morning. Staying in Rissani itself is perfectly possible and puts you steps from the souk, but the range of accommodation is smaller.
• Expect friendly persistence. Around the bus stop and market you may be approached by guides and touts. A smile and a firm "la, shukran" (no, thank you) is all that is needed.
• Dust and sun. Sandy wind is common. Sunglasses, a brimmed hat, a light scarf and good sunscreen matter more here than anywhere else in Morocco.
• Sensible footwear. Closed shoes with grip, not sandals: the souk floor and the ruins are gritty and uneven.
• Pharmacies and a hospital exist locally, but for anything serious the larger facilities are in Errachidia, around 90–100 km north. Carry your regular medication with you, not in a checked bag.

Getting there

The city gate leading into Rissani from the main road from the west.

Our verdict

Rissani will not dazzle you the way Fez or Chefchaouen does. There is no blue medina, no photogenic skyline, no queue for a famous view. What it offers instead is depth: a market that has been trading since the caravans, a mausoleum that explains where modern Morocco came from, and a horizon of ruined mud fortresses standing in the palm groves.

It is also, quite simply, one of the easiest places in southern Morocco to move around if your knees are not what they were. Flat streets, short distances, a car to cover the gaps, and afternoons free for a shaded courtyard and a pot of tea.

If you are already heading to the dunes at Merzouga — and most visitors to this region are — then Rissani costs you half a day and repays you with the story behind everything else you will see. Come on a market morning, between autumn and spring. Do not treat it as a petrol stop.

“Where the palm groves end and the gold road begins, a market town keeps the desert's oldest accounts.”

Photo credits

• Panoramic view inside Rissani: Hmidanix, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Rissani-Sahara-Morocco-jleitao: Original uploader was Joaoleitao at Wikitravel Joaoleitao at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• MAUSOLÉE MOULAY ALI CHERIF -rissani -maroc: Houssain tork, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Rissani life 20100502: Jan Pešula, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
• Medfouna or Berber Pizza at a local restaurant near Merzouga, Errachidia, Morocco: Karima El Youbi, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Rissani City Gate 2011: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons