OLD TOWNHôtel Climat du Maroc, is the best seated option, with tajines and couscous. Café Amsterdam
(cnr Blvd Mohammed V & Blvd Hassan II) has pastries for breakfast.
A handful of buses leave daily to Oujda (Dh55, five hours), mostly in the morning. There are
also several buses to Figuig (Dh25, two hours). There are two buses to Er-Rachidia, in the
early morning and afternoon (Dh58, five hours). A grand taxi to Figuig costs around Dh300 to
hire outright.
SOLAR SAHARA
One thing the desert has in copious amounts (apart from sand) is sunshine, and in November 2009 Morocco revealed a US$9
billion investment plan to generate 20% of its energy from solar energy by the year 2020. Much of it will be produced in the
Moroccan Orient, the region running along the Algerian border from the Mediterranean to Figuig. The upgrading of
infrastructure on the highway south of Oujda (proclaimed from dozens of roadside billboards) point to the money pouring into
the region.
At the same time the Desertec Industrial Initiative, a German-led consortium, has proposed an enormous pan-Sahara solar-
and wind-generation project, stretching from Morocco to Egypt, with the aim of exporting electricity to Europe. Plans call for up
to €400 billion to be invested by 2050. The first pilot projects are to be developed in Morocco, which currently has Africa’s only
European power cable link (to Spain). While the project hopes to provide 15% of Europe’s electricity demands, some critics
called it over-ambitious – a major stumbling block is likely to be cross-border co-operation between Morocco and Algeria: one
reason Morocco’s Orient has stagnated economically has been the forced closure of the border for over 15 years.Figuig
POP 15,000
In the days of cross-border tourism, Figuig (fig-eeg) was popular with travellers. Few people
make it here now, which is a tragedy because it is one of Morocco’s best oasis towns: seven
traditional desert villages amid 200,000 date palms fed by artesian wells. Once a historic way
station for pilgrims travelling to Mecca, Figuig now sleeps, only waking for the autumn date
harvest.
Figuig has an upper and lower town. The main road, Blvd Hassan II, runs through the upper
(new) town, where there’s ATMs, post office and pleasant municipal gardens.
Where the road passes the Figuig Hotel, it drops downhill towards the ‘lower town’ – the
basin of palms and ksour (mudbrick castles) that make up the old part of Figuig. This ridge
provides a handy landmark as well as views over the palmeraie (oasis-like area) and into
Algeria: the best views are from Azrou, where the path leads towards Ksar Zenaga, or from
the terrace of the Figuig Hotel.
Sights
The Seven Ksour
The landscape of Figuig is dotted with seven ksour that make up the town, all the same ochre
colour as the earth. Each controls an area of palmeraie and its all-important supply of water. In
the past, feuding families would divert these water channels to wash around the foundations of
their enemy’s kasbah, hoping the walls would collapse.