The monumental entrance gate of Rissani, with palm trees and Moroccan flags

Rissani, Morocco

Rissani is about 35 kilometres from Merzouga. It’s a small town with a lot of history: the Alaouite dynasty, which reigns in Morocco today, was born here, and this is where Sijilmasa stood, the great caravan city of the Sahara.

The Rissani souk

The souk is one of the largest in southern Morocco. On market days, traders come from all over the Tafilalet: spices, dates, fabrics, tools and, on a separate square, the livestock market, with donkeys, sheep and goats. It’s a real market, not one for tourists.

The mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif

Moulay Ali Cherif is the ancestor of the Alaouite dynasty, and his mausoleum, on the outskirts of Rissani, is a place of pilgrimage. Around it stand the ksour of the Tafilalet, fortified mud-brick villages such as the ksar of Oulad Abdelhalim, with its great gate.

Sijilmasa, the caravan city

Next to Rissani lie the ruins of Sijilmasa, founded in the 8th century. For centuries it was the port of the desert: the caravans that crossed the Sahara with gold, salt and other goods set out from here and arrived here. Little remains today, but it helps you understand why this oasis was so important.

Rissani on our tours

Rissani is on the road out of Merzouga towards Marrakech through the south and towards the Todra, so many of our tours pass through here after sunrise in the desert.

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