Marrakech

4. The Ramparts and Gates

A tour of the city's 16km of ramparts reveals the superb, well-preserved babs (gates) and pisé walls and also offers glimpses of the real, less familiar Marrakech. Some stretches of wall run through a cemetery, while others cut through a busy souk or a crowded public square. The colours of the mud walls change with the light of day, from light pink to ochre to red to deep purple.


The essence of Marrakech: The red pisé of the walls, the palm trees and
gardens, and always the beautiful backdrop of the High Atlas Mountains

In 1126, the Almoravid sultan Ali ben Youssef began the magnificent walls, which were 10km long and 9m high, with 200 defence towers and 20 entrance gates. Within a year his workmen had finished them. The walls were frequently restored and enlarged by the Almohads and Saadians, but they still basically follow the 12th-century plan.
The massive square towers of Bab Doukkala are no longer used to enter the medina since a modern gate was built beside them. These gates once guarded the road to Doukkala, the Berber region between el Jadida and Safi, but now the area is dominated by a busy bus station. Near by is the cemetery of el-Hara with the Koubba (tomb) of Sidi Bennour. Behind the gate rises the elegant minaret of the Bab Doukkala Mosque, built in the 16th century by Lalla Messouada, the mother of Ahmed el-Mansour.

Past the small gate of Bab Moussoufa is the palm grove of Sidi Bel Abbes. On the other side of the wall is the Zaouia of Sidi Bel Abbes, containing the tomb of the city's great 12th-century patron saint, who is particularly venerated by merchants, farmers and blind people.
There is a daily market at Bab el-Khemis that is especially lively on Thursday mornings when livestock is sold. Just before the gate is the Koubba of Sidi el-Babouchis, patron saint of slippers. Beneath the Almoravid towers of Bab Debbarh is the entrance to the Tanners' Quarters, but beware the smell can be overwhelming in the afternoon. Inside Bab Ailen is the shrine and Mosque of Qadi Ayad, another of the city's seven patron saints. Further along you'll find the vast cemetery of Bab Rhemat and Bab Ahmar with the Aguedal Gardens Jardin Agdal) to the south.
Go through Flab Ahmar to Bab lrhli, passing several grand mechouars processional squares where festivals were celebrated. Bab er Rob has a good food and pottery souk, behind which is Bab Agnaou, the gate to the imperial city. In the cemetery beyond Bah er Rob is the tomb of Sidi es Soheili, another of the Seven Saints.
The tour ends at Bab Jdid with the wall surrounding the hotel La Mamounia.

TAKING A BREAK

The most elegant gate in Marrakech is Bab Agnaou, which leads into the Imperial City