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 - up to nine 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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.