Rissani, A MUST STOP!
The first time I visited Rissani, I immediately knew that this was the REAL Morocco that I had been wanting to see (see that post here.) It’s dusty streets, low key vibe, and traditional manner was exactly the Morocco that I had conjured up in my mind. Driving in we saw sand dunes off in the distance, and camels lounging lazily by the road. You could just feel the stress from the rest of society melt away, the further we drove east.
This was at the end of January 2020. On that visit, we only spent 2 days in Rissani, but after living in Tinghir during the virus lockdown, we decided to return for a longer visit. Our host Hassan, whom we had met on our previous visit, owns the Panorama Hotel that is located about 5 km before Rissani, right off the highway, and he said that we were welcome to come back and visit him anytime. We took him up on his offer, and spent a full 5 weeks with him getting to know Rissani and the surrounding area.
We journeyed back to Rissani on June 19th, 2020. We knew that it was summer and a very hot time of year, but hey, we had survived Ramadan in lockdown, and we were convinced that we could survive anything at this point.
Hassan had sent his buddy and his younger brother to fetch us in Tinghir. It was nice to be driven in a vehicle, instead of having to ride the bus, especially with the uncertain times and the roads only having just opened back up again. We broke up the 3 hour journey with a nice lunch under a shady tree.
After having spent 3 months in Tinghir, mostly under lockdown, we were so happy to be seeing some new scenery and getting a new experience.
Hassan greeted us with a warm smile and a big hug like we were long lost friends. We had only really met him briefly on that first occassion, but we had kept in touch with him through whatsapp through the lockdown, and somehow we had gotten to know each other much better through it all.
He insisted that we were welcome to come and visit him anytime, and as we really didn’t feel like we had had enough of Rissani, since our last visit was so short, we were eager to return.
Of course, when we arrived, we were keen to get started working and painting for him right away. This was our usual exchange and we wanted to make sure that we upheld our end of the bargain. But Hassan wanted us to ‘just relax’, and after a few days of this, we realized that nothing happens fast in the desert, and especially in the 40C+ (104F+) temperatures that are the norm this time of year (bearing in mind that there is no A/C in the desert unless you go into a bank!)
After about a week of us adjusting to the heat, sleeping alot and ‘just relaxing’, Hassan finally had a plan of what he wanted us to paint, so, we told him what we needed for the job, and in another 3 or 4 days we had the supplies and were ready to get started.
We were to paint the far wall in his central gathering space a blue colour. He felt that it would make the room feel cooler and give it a bit of a flair. After thinking about it for a few days, we came up with a concept. We wanted to paint something on that wall, not just leave it blue! We paint murals after all!
We decided to paint what would look like a window looking outside, complete with a kasbah and palm trees. Over time, our design morphed to include a camel lazing in the foreground, some Berber Nomad tents set up in the distance, and numerous other small details that were added as we went along.
We also decided to add a flair to the pillars that dropped down from the archways. Chris put his exceptional shading skills into practice and painted 4 similar vases, with a traditional african pattern on them, to look like they are popping right off the wall.
Through our time there, we also made some suggestions about what he could do with the room to make it a bit more hospitable. The hot desert sun pours in there from about 12-5pm, so it was suggested that he cover half the space with a bamboo ceiling to provide shade. We also suggested that he bring some potted trees in there to make the air fresh and to make it feel a bit cooler that way.
We look forward to a future return visit when we can see this room all put back together, and a time when tourists are easing in and out of the hotel, restaurant and gift shop that is on offer here. Hassan is an amazing host, and we highly recommend him and his services for all of your Morocco needs! Check out his website to learn all about his services. He will give you an experience of a lifetime, I can guarantee that!
We paint murals in restaurants, hotels and hostels for FREE in exchange for accomodation and/or food. To see more about our mural projects, and to see more photos of this one click here!
If you know anyone who needs a mural painted in their establishment, please pass along our information!
Rissani
Rissani is a small city with a population of around 20 000 people. However, it has the largest souk (market) in the area which means that it services numerous outlying commmunities.
Upon driving in to Rissani through the numerous date palms that are ridiculously abundant, it’s hard to imagine that there are numerous small communities tucked into the surrounding areas. Yet, when we rode our bikes down the winding and snaking roads, we found the cutest and quanitest little villages that one could ever hope to find.
This whole area is steeped in tradition, and if you are looking to witness Morocco in it’s true traditional form, then this area should not be missed!
Unfortunately, as Hassan explained to us, Merzouga has taken over as the number one desert destination from where you can book your trips out into the desert. And of course, they built the road to Merzouga to skirt around this amazing city, so many drive right by without even knowing it’s there.
This really saddens me because Rissani is so steeped in tradition and history, and there is so much to see in the area, that you could spend a week there and still not see all there is to offer.
This area, at one time, was the largest trading area in the World! YES, the whole world! All manner of spices were traded, but Morocco is also very rich in gemstones and GOLD! However the number one item, the most sought after and the most expensive, was plain old salt!
Rich sultans lived here and although many of their palaces have gone to ruin, there are still 600ish kasbahs that grace the surrounding landscape. Some are maintained and have been restored, and some have been left to ruin, but most still have people living in them. Some are descendants of these powerul families who have long ago moved on to the bigger cities of Morocco, in one case we saw an old lady, her husband recently deceased, living with her grandchildren in a what some would call a massive mansion!
The kasbahs are amazing structures and are all built with mud, straw and sand. Their imensity is something to behold, and many of them held dozens of family members that were safe and fortified inside the giant outer walls, built to keep out bandits and other undesirables back in those wild days.
Hassan knows all about the history of Morocco, especially this part, and is a wealth of information. The faster I asked questions, the faster he answered them. We took great joy in learning all we could about the area in the 5 weeks that we were there.
Riding our bikes down the roads and visiting the neighbouring villages was a highlight for us and it gave us a real insight into the traditional lives of the Moroccan people, specifically those that live in the desert. While Rissani seems to be as traditional as it gets, the outerlying villages are even more so. We saw many children playing in the streets, and rarely did we see a cell phone in hand!
Little boys rode atop their donkeys and numerous men lounged on the sides of the roads, dressed in their traditional Gundoras, just taking in the slow and easy life. Goodness knows what they would find to talk about day in and day out, but I guess they found something. Maybe they were discussing this mysterious virus that everyone seemed to be talking about.
While riding through these villages, it occured to me that this virus, this crazy invisible thing that had upended the entire world, had little bearing on these peoples lives. They don’t rely on technology for their day to day business. They do what they need to do to survive, and quite simply, there is not much more to their lives than that. I marvelled at the simplicity of it all. Yes, their sphere is small, but they are happy. There is VERY little stress out in the desert, life simply continues on like it has for thousands of years before.
I was also struck with how these villages were only a couple kilometers from Rissani, yet they lived in entirely different circumstances. “Yes, they live much more traditionally than we do. ” Hassan confirmed to me upon our return from riding one evening.
Rissani Souk
But, alas, I have to say that our absolute FAVOURITE part of Rissani is the Souk!
According to Wikipedia ‘A bazaar or souk, is a permanently enclosed marketplace or street where goods and services are exchanged or sold.’
The Rissani Souk is absolutely breathtaking! I mean, not in a beautiful sense (although there are certainly beautiful parts to it!), but in an authentic, real and truly Moroccan sense. You will not find a more traditional scene, than what you will see there, and if there weren’t cell phones around, one could feel like they have been transported back hundreds of years in time.
Donkeys ply the small alleyways, people busily make their way from booth to booth, stall to stall buying supplies for the day. Buying in bulk is a foreign concept to Moroccans. Going to the market is a part of their day, and by purchasing in this way, they know that what they buy will be fresh.
We got to know our favourite meat man, Abiid, who would cut off a chunk of whatever meat we had requested, then would put it through the meat grinder for us if we wanted. He is the one that Hassan’s brother recommended to us, and Hassan says that he is the best meat vendor in the market. We would also frequent the man who sold the olives that we liked the best. Over time we learned that the dates we liked only came into town on certain days, so we would wait with anticipation for them to arrive so we could feast on their deliciousness.
To see an overhead view of the busiest intersection in Rissani, check out this video.
The produce guy got to know us pretty good, as did many of the fruit vendors that lined the inside of the main gate. We were, after all, the only foreigners in town, I’m sure.
At the back of the market is the blacksmiths who pound away on their metal creations next to a roaring hot fire. There is also the cute men whiddling away on their wood wares. Turning out mostly traditional wooden bowls and spoons, plus other essential home items. Most of them simply sit on the ground atop mounds of wood shavings, a nice soft seat I can imagine.
During the middle of the day, you will find many vendors happily napping on the floor of their shops. Their doors wide open, with nary a thought of possible robbery to cross their minds. Everyone looks out for each other in the Souk. They are one big family, and many of the stalls have been passed down through the families for generations.
We became regulars in there. We couldn’t get enough of the place. Each and every time we went, we would find a new corner that we hadn’t seen the last time, and of course, we would have to try and explore each and every nook and crannie.
(scroll ⇐ to see many photos of the Souk)
Herbalists Shop
BUT, I have to say that our absolute favourite part of the Rissani Souk was the natural pharmacy! There were a few of these available, but this particular one really drew us in and we loved going in there to see what we could find.
Over the course of our time in Rissani we had a couple health ailments, nothing serious, but enough of an excuse to head in here to get our natural remedies.
The herbalist would listen to our problems then would quicly move around the shop, dipping his hand into a bunch of jars to pull out the perfect mix of ingredients for whatever it was that we needed.
In all honesty, we felt better just being in there! Never mind whatever it was he gave us to heal our problems. We were always served hot tea upon arrival, and we were expected to just sit down and relax for a few minutes. Have I mentioned that nothing happens fast in the desert?
Needless to say, we were happy to oblige and we would sit quietly and just look at the heaps of natural ingredients that lined the shop from floor to ceiling. It was an absolute feast for the eyes and the senses and we just couldn’t get enough of it.
We really enjoyed our time spent in Rissani. It was super hot, but we were also not there at the best time of year. For optimal temperatures I would suggest heading there from November to March or April. The daytime temperatures are reasonable at around 25-30C but night will get chilly, so bring some extra layers! There is no air conditioning in the desert, and there is also no central heating!
I can’t say enough about Hassan and his side kick Omar. They treated us like gold and we are infinitely grateful for their wonderful hospitality, amazing food and wealth of knowledge that they provided us while we were there.
Please put Rissani on your must visit list, it really is worth the short side trip to see and experience this wonderful traditional city.
Are you looking for a unique and down to earth desert experience? Do you want to meet a local Berber family and see what life is like for these desert dwellers? Our contact in the desert will provide you with a top notch desert experience. Email me for details on how to book your trip!
Email Jill: info@artisticvoyages.com
