Tafilet

by Walter Harris

The ksor of Tafilet all follow much the same design of building, and though I entered several and saw many, they were so alike one to the other that a general description will be sufficient, and answer equally well for all.

These villages are usually square or oblong, surrounded by high tabia walls of great thickness, protected at intervals by towers, sometimes the same height as the walls, and often considerably taller. One gate alone gives entrance to the ksar, and this is always closed from sunset to dawn. These gates are often double, there being a turn half-way through, so that from without one is not able to obtain a view of what lies within. At times, surrounding the whole ksar, is a deep ditch, often formed by the digging out of the soil for material for the walls, but nevertheless of great use in time of war. A common practice in warfare, as already mentioned, is to bring, by means of a canal, water to the foundations of the walls of the ksar. The action of the stream upon the soft tabia is quick and sure, and in an hour or two a breach is formed. These ditches, therefore, prevent the immediate application of this plan, and are generally drained into the surrounding fields, so that before the dangerous element reaches the wall it is carried off elsewhere.

A guard is placed at the gate, and a stranger entering is questioned as to his business and scrutinised. I myself went through this process on entering Meharza at Sifa, when in disguise; but my men were quick in answering the questions, and we hurried on, so that I was not suspected for a moment. Few or no windows look out from the outside walls of the ksar, but loopholes are common in case of attack from without.

Within the walls a certain amount of regularity and good building is to be found. One generally, after passing through the gate, enters a large court, or square, from which the streets lead into the more thickly inhabited portion of the ksar. These squares are usually surrounded on three sides by houses, the fourth side consisting of the outer wall, in which the gate is situated. The houses are solid and very large, often several storeys in height. Windows open out into the streets, which is seldom found in the private houses of the large towns of Morocco. As a rule, the windows and doors are small, wood being a valuable commodity, as it has to be carried from a long distance, generally from the Atlas slopes of Beni Mgild and Aït Yussi to the north of the basin of the Wad Ziz. Palm-tree trunks are used as rafters and ceilings, though I was informed that in some of the houses of the wealthier Shereefs handsome ceilings in decorated plaster and painted wood are found, the artists and workmen having been brought from Fez for the purpose of decorating them. The use of lime is uncommon, and only the better-class houses are whitewashed within, and very few indeed on the outside, the ordinary population being content with a plastering of light mud, which, when well applied, has by no means a bad effect, much resembling our plaster walls in colour and surface. The streets of the ksor are usually narrow, and in many cases the houses are built above them, forming dark tunnels, in piercing which, if one does not wish to fall into some hole or bang one’s head against a low beam, one has to light a match or candle. Fondaks, or caravanserais, are common, usually consisting of large open squares, surrounded by a colonnade supported on rough tabia pillars.

The local markets are not held within the ksor, but in the open. There are several large weekly sôks in Tafilet, but that which is by far the most important is the Arbaa, or Wednesday market of Mulai Ali Shereef. It lies close to the tomb of that saint, and within a short distance of Abuaam and Rissani. Although, as a rule, the natives

A Corner of a Sôk—Early Morning.

bring their small tents—gaitons—in which to expose their goods, there are, as well, a number of small domed huts built of clay and mud bricks, much resembling beehives in appearance, the dome being rather more elongated. In this the native can sit protected from the fierce rays of the sun and vend his wares. Little rain falls at Tafilet, and these mud hovels are therefore of a permanent nature: so often are the goods displayed for sale perishable from heat, that they are of great benefit to both buyer and seller. Such articles as vegetables, fruit, sugar, candles, matches, &c., would be useless after an hour or so of exposure to the sun in Tafilet in summer.

Some mention must here be made of Sijilmassa, or, as it is now called, Medinat el Aamra, which for so many centuries formed the capital of Tafilet. Mulai el Hassen during his visit to Tafilet, and only the day before my arrival in that place, made an expedition to the ruins of the old city and camped for the night there, praying in the half-ruined mosque. Little can now be traced of the place: immense blocks of tabia lie scattered in every direction for some five miles along the east bank of the Wad Ziz, but rank vegetation covers a considerable portion, while in other places the land is cultivated in such spots as render cultivation practicable. Several ksor of more or less modern construction exist amongst the ruins. A great amount of reverence is still paid to the spot; and the yearly prayers on the Eid el Kebir and Eid Soreir are held in the msala adjoining the mosque, the minaret of which still remains.

I found the natives loath to talk of Sijilmassa, for after my arrival in the Sultan’s camp I made no pretence of being a Moslem. At the same time they were greatly surprised that I had ever heard of, or knew anything about, the place, and not a little proud that such was the case. Their reticence I put down to the fact that there is a tradition of untold gold buried in the city—a tradition that exists about every ancient site in Morocco. The inventive genius of newspaper correspondents caused to be circulated in the English newspapers a report that Mulai el Hassen, the late Sultan, had recovered this treasure and built an immense fortress to conceal it in; but I fear, as I was present during nearly the entire visit of the Sultan to Tafilet, and saw his Shereefian Majesty every day, that the story must be discredited. So far from obtaining treasure, I estimate the expense to his Majesty of his stay at Tafilet of twenty days at a sum of nearly a million of dollars.