Midelt

Midelt sits at about 1,500 metres on the high plain between the Middle and High Atlas, under the wall of Jebel Ayachi, and it is a working town rather than a destination - apple and cherry orchards on the irrigated ground, a Sunday souk, and a long-standing trade in minerals and fossils from the surrounding mountains, with dealers along the main road selling vanadinite, azurite, cerussite and a good deal of material that has been enhanced or is not what it is said to be. The Kasbah Myriem, a carpet workshop run by Franciscan sisters since the 1920s, employs local women weaving in the Middle Atlas tradition and sells directly. What brings travellers is position: Midelt is the natural stop between Fes and the desert, the base for Ayachi and the Cirque de Jaffar, and the point where the landscape changes from Middle Atlas cedar to the bare high country before the Ziz.

History

Before the 20th century Midelt was a cluster of ksour called Aoutat n-Ayt Izdeg, and its name is a French form of timidelt, "dish-cover", the name of a local hill. The town grew around a French administrative post set up for the lead, gypsum and other mines of Ahouli and Mibladen, was given electricity in 1930, earlier than anywhere in Morocco but Casablanca, and in 1926 the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary founded the Kasbah Myriem here (Wikipedia, Midelt).

What you'll find

• Apple country at 1,500 metres - orchards on the irrigated plain under Ayachi.
• A mineral trade - dealers along the road, with quality and honesty varying widely.
• Kasbah Myriem - a carpet workshop run since the 1920s, selling directly.
• A landscape hinge - cedar country behind, bare high plain ahead towards the Ziz.

When to go

Spring and autumn; Sunday for the souk. A day.

Things to know

A large share of minerals and fossils sold here is treated, repaired or misidentified - buy for looks, not investment. The town is plain and its interest is as a base. Winter is very cold at this altitude. Accommodation is functional.

Nearby

The Cirque de Jaffar and Jebel Ayachi are south-west; the Ziz gorges are south.

Key facts