You have seen everything there is in Agadir. You have been to the beach. You have been to the the ‘Vallee des Oiseaux’ a tiny zoo. You have been to the museum. You have been to the fishing port. You have seen all the souvenir shops, which all sell ceramics, jewellery, leather coats, camels in all sizes ....
Then it is time to venture further a field, to see the ‘real’ Morocco. Every Thursday it is ‘souk day’. The ambulating souks of this region come together in Tiznit, making up the largest market within miles. Such markets are exotic to visitors, but they are really just a necessary part of everyday life. They are not set up for tourists, they are REAL.
As most Moroccan cities Tiznit consists of two parts: the newer part, outside the city walls and the less newer part inside the city walls. Tiznit is not old, the boom came about 100 years ago. It is a huge group of salmon red houses blue iron doors. And then there is, in summer the burning sun. It is a comparatively young city, but constructed after old patterns. The old city (or the not-so-young part of the city) is modernistic in a way. There are few ornaments, the city walls are straight, and everything seems a little bit too neat. It is a very good place to start for the ‘not so seasoned beginner tourist’ in Morocco.
If I were you I would stay overnight as the main square and the winding streets near it are more vibrant when the sun has set and it becomes pleasantly cool. The half darkness, the movement of people the colours make it very exotic.
Sooner or later some friend-cum-guide’ will show you the ‘source bleu’. It could have been great, but the source has almost dried up. All you see is a murky pond filled with rain water. This source, also called spring of Lalla Tiznit, is named after the city's patroness. She was a prostitute, who later came to repent her sins, and become a holy woman, a marabouta. At the place where she settled, a spring appeared, providing for her and other people settling down here.
Your ‘guide-friend’ will now take you to the mosque. Its minaret is punctuated by a series of perches. These are said to be an aid for the dead in climbing up to paradise. This type of minaret is more common south of the sahara.
HOW TO GET TO TIZNIT
The easy way is to rent a car. The best place is: ‘Afric Cars’ on Boulevard Mohammed V.
Undoubtedly it is much more interesting to go by public transport, the ‘grands taxis’. It’s best to take a ‘petit taxi’ to the grands taxis station which is at the far end of Boulevard Mohammed V. For the energetic it’s about a 30- minute walk from Agadir’s central square (with the Uniprix supermarket).
by Marianne on February 9, 2002
Tiznit
30 kms south of Agadir Agadir, Morocco