Marrakech Ramparts

The walls were begun by the Almoravids in about 1126 and extended under later dynasties, and they run roughly nineteen kilometres round the medina and kasbah - six to eight metres high, two metres thick at the base, with something like twenty gates and two hundred towers. The material is pise: earth, lime and gravel rammed between shuttering in courses, which is why the surface shows horizontal lines and putlog holes, and why the colour is the red-ochre of the local soil rather than a paint. Pise needs constant maintenance - rain erodes it and sections are permanently under repair, which is normal rather than neglect. The stretch between Bab Agnaou and Bab er-Robb, and the western length near the Menara road, are the best preserved. A caleche circuit of the walls is the standard way visitors see them; walking short sections at either end of the day works as well.

History

Marrakesh was founded in 1070, and for its first decades its only major fortification was the Ksar al-Hajjar; in 1126 the Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf decided to surround the city with a full circuit of walls, finished in early 1127. The Almohads added the Kasbah to the south at the end of the 12th century, and a later extension took in the quarter around the Zawiya of Sidi Bel Abbes (Wikipedia, Walls of Marrakesh).

The main sights

• Nineteen kilometres of pise - rammed earth in visible horizontal courses.
• Twenty gates and two hundred towers - the twelfth-century circuit with later additions.
• Constant repair - sections always under maintenance, which the material requires.
• The colour - red ochre from the soil itself rather than applied.

When to go

October to April; sunset, when the earth goes deep red. Two to three hours.

Things to know

The walls cannot be walked along the top - they are seen from outside or from the road. Sections are hoarded for repair. The ring road is busy with traffic. Caleche drivers should be agreed with on price and route beforehand.

Nearby

Bab Agnaou is on the southern circuit; the Menara gardens are west.

Key facts