Ksar of Goulmima

In Goulmima we found a nice campsite, and a guide who showed us the palm garden and the old ksar, where he was born.

With Omar, we first walked through the palm garden. Between the palm trees, wheat and alfalfa is growing. The farmers were busy preparing their fields, as they will be flooded in a couple of days with the water which comes from a spring a couple of kilometres away. Women were cutting alfalfa, which was later dried in the sun and used as animal food.

We reached the entrance to one of the ksour in Goulmima. A ksar is a fortified village, belonging to one clan. Goulmima had once 16 ksour, but today, most of them are in ruins and people live in modern houses. But at this ksar, people still live inside the adobe buildings. The houses have electricity but no water, as water can easily damage the adobe structures. Therefore, water still has to be fetched from the fountains outside the ksar.

The alleys are mostly covered, which makes them quite dark but also keeps them cool, as nearly no sun enters. The adobe buildings provide a perfect climate for its inhabitants: cool in summer and warm in winter.

We could visit the house of a Berber family inside the ksar. The ground floor is used for the animals and as storage. At the first floor the family has a lovely big living room which is also used to eat and to sleep. The rooftop terrace is used to dry dates, corn and of course the washing.

The little girl got dressed up in a traditional dress with beads and headscarf. We were served tea and could try bread with homemade date jam.

In the evening, we could watch all the cattle egrets from the area arrive at a tree at our camp ground to roost, every time a fantastic spectacle with hundreds of birds.

From Goulmima, we will now drive into the Atlas mountain – more soon!