deposits of reflective mica. Agdz crafts traditions include carving, pottery and basket-weaving,
and you might spot a few prime examples outside shops downtown or at the Thursday souq
(October and November).
THE IDEAL DATE
Had enough disappointing dates for one lifetime? The Drâa Valley is out to change all that. In the October–November date
season, you’ll spot even elderly gentlemen shimmying up tall palms with a strap, bag, and knife to collect local-speciality
boufeggou dates. This is a date to remember: nicely caramelised outside by the desert sun, and tender and savoury-sweet
inside. The skin shouldn’t be too hard or leathery, so that the fruit slides right off the pit.
For prime date selection, head to Tinzouline , about 36km north of Zagora. You’re getting close when you spot vendors with
dates overflowing from palm-frond baskets along the Zagora road. You may run into traffic for the Monday souq, where you’ll be
elbow to elbow with local grandmothers vying for the hottest dates around. Naturally the grandmothers win every time, but you
can always ask them to help you pick a good one.
If you’re not visiting the valley in autumn, you still have a standing dessert date in Timidarte , where local dates become
Slow Food sensations at Timarine Tijara ( 0664 93 22 42; Timidarte; by appointment) – 1km east of Rte de Zagora,
15km south of Agdz. Head past historic mudbrick kasbahs, through the garden of a traditional family home, and into a spotless
white-tiled kitchen with a single industrial cauldron bubbling merrily away. Along one counter are a few dozen jars of Timarine
Tijara’s signature date jam and tahalout (date syrup) – all that’s left after a recent run on the products at Slow Food’s Terra
Madre conference in Turin, Italy.
‘Of course they’re both good on beghrir [Moroccan pancakes], but people especially like the syrup with savoury foods,’ says
owner and date gourmet innovator Abderrahim Ouagarane. ‘Try drizzling some on warm goat cheese or seared foie gras – it
brings out the nutty, fruity flavours in our dates.’ Though it’s not how you imagined your ideal date might turn out, this could
definitely be The One.That said, none of Agdz’ key attractions are apparent from the main road. The historic centre
of Agdz is east of the N9 about 1.5km along a dusty piste , so the old town has been largely
bypassed by mass-tourism development schemes. For that very reason, an unusual number of
authentic mudbrick kasbahs have been preserved, instead of being demolished to build faux-
kasbah hotels.
Life goes on in Agdz – in fact, it’s flourishing as never before in the Hart Chaou community
garden. Overnight visitors might take a morning stroll through the vast Agdz palm oasis , and
spend the rest of the day oasis-hopping from Hart Chaou to Zagora.
HART CHAOU COMMUNITY GARDEN
Desert tourism has boomed in the past decade, but until recently, you wouldn’t know it from the agricultural village of Hart
Chaou, 1km immediately south of Agdz. Droughts left several families with no arable land or water, and teachers noticed
children falling asleep in class for want of food – so the village rallied, and turned a vacant lot near a functioning well into a
community garden. Villagers took turns using the water and communal compost pile, and two years later, this organic
community garden ( 0662 84 04 55; [email protected]; Hart Chaou; by sliding-scale donation Dh200-800; by
appointment 3.30-6pm Mon-Fri) was providing three harvests a year and as much as 80% of the nutritional needs of the
village’s 114 families.