Ok, so the spelling is flexible: kasbah or qasba and probably some variations in between but they are fortified villages and we saw quite a lot of them in Morocco. They are to be found on the non-arable land up the hill from an oasis.

I have been able to find out very little about qasbas either from my guide book or from the internet so this page is mostly pictures, a lot of them mud-brick colour.

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According to Lonely Planet “Initially, the function of the strong and imposing Kasbah was strictly military: to house the army away from the city’s population. Later established as official palaces, they became a symbol of dynastic authority.”

Tineghir	Tineghir
Tineghir	Mud bricks drying in the sun

During our first week in Morocco someone suggested that we were “medina-ed out” and that we were being “Kasbah-ed out” in the second week. However, looking at my photos, ,I don’t think that we visited as many as it felt like. Admittedly I declined to visit one of them and I was glad that I did because I gather that it involved a fairly long walk and a long time standing in the sun.

Taourit(?)

Taourit(?)

But the ones which I did visit were most interesting and perhaps reflected, for me, the truly historical face of Morocco. They were made of mud bricks and were in various stages of dilapidation. There was a family still living in one of the ones we saw, acting as caretakers and to look after the couple of rooms and an old kitchen which were all furnished authentically. There was even a small barn yard which housed various domestic animals.

I fell in the river both coming and going Ait ben Haddu	Ait ben Haddu
Ait ben Haddu	Small barnyard Ait ben Haddu
Living room. Ait ben Haddu	Old kitchen Ait ben Haddu

As on one day we saw three Kasbahs I am not altogether sure which were which; I need to write down things as I go and not rely on my camera so much - but that is for next time. Maybe someone will come to my rescue and email me to tell me which they were …

Ubiquitous merchant There was one tourist bargaining grimly for a wooden bowl. She won that round

Not sure. Tiffeltout (?)

This was the day when I mostly fell into the water although it was very shallow and I only managed to get my socks wet once. One of my falls from grace caused a very gallant member of the group leapt in and grabbed me before I fell right in and I fear that he got his socks well and truly wet. However, the climate was such that everything dried very quickly. At the crossing to the Ait Ben Haddu Kasbah there were kids offering, for a fee, to help us cross the stepping stones and perhaps I should have accepted their help … but of course, the same old problem occurred: no small change.