Morocco Travel Guide

MOSQUE

HISTORIC    SITE

GUESTHOUSE

HOTEL

HOTEL

the lush palmeraie, where there is a natural spring, used as a laundry by local women.

Grande Mosquée

Offline map Google map The minaret of the Grande Mosquée (closed to non-Muslims) is studded
with jutting wooden sticks. Local legend suggests this is where the souls of the dead
congregate. More likely, these were left in place by the masons who built the minaret to help
them climb up and replaster. A similar arrangement is used on minarets across the Sahara in
Mali and Niger.

Source Bleue

Offline map Google map Near the Grande Mosquée, the original town spring is now a shallow,
stagnant pool, green rather than blue. Legend has it that a woman of ill repute, Lalla Zninia,
stopped to rest here at what was then plain desert. She spent the next three days repenting
her wicked ways, and God was so impressed that he showed forgiveness by having a spring
gush beneath her feet. Her name was thus given to the village that preceded Sultan Moulay al-
Hassan’s 19th-century fortress town.

Sleeping

Midrange hotels are gathered around the large roundabout to the southeast of Bab Oulad
Jarrar. There are budget hotels on Place al-Méchouar, although lone women may find the area
off-putting late at night.

Bab el Maader €

Offline map Google  map (    0528   86  42  52; www.bab-el-maader.com;  132 Rue El  Haj Ali;    r

Dh265-315) Hotel Idou Tiznit is the most expensive in town, with a pool and vast marble lobby,
but this is Tiznit’s best address, a five-room guesthouse with a courtyard, plenty of great
decorative touches and good use of Moroccan fabrics and materials. The owners will arrange
trips in the region and meals are available on request (Dh100).

Hôtel des Touristes €

Offline map Google  map (    0528   86  20  18; http://hoteltouristetiznit.voila.net;   Place   al-Méchouar;

s/d Dh50/100; ) Along with the nearby jewellery souq, this spotless, welcoming hotel is one
of the best reasons for budget travellers to pause in Tiznit. The attractive rooms are entered
from a quiet, cheerful communal area with a book exchange; those overlooking the Place have
small balconies.

Hôtel de Paris €

Offline map Google map ( 0528 86 28 65; www.hoteldeparis.ma; Ave Hassan II; s/d Dh138/164;
) On a busy roundabout a short walk from the old walls, this 19-room hotel does a good line
in questionable colour schemes and faded tourist posters. It would be fine if you hit town feeling
as tired as the en-suite rooms’ decor and just wanted to crash between buses. There’s a cafe-
restaurant downstairs.