The ramparts

Marrakech's 19 kms of ramparts are almost 1,000 years old with 22 gates along their length. See them from a horse-drawn carriage for a fun and offbeat history lesson.

The roughly snail-shaped course of the ramparts and the gates dating back to different eras have a rich history that is both surprising and unseen. Following periods of heavy rain, a section of wall regularly disintegrates. It is repaired straight away by packing earth between two planks of wood, as was done in days gone by. The intense heat of the summer combined with desert winds makes the restored sections age faster. It is therefore impossible to distinguish the rebuilt sections from the original ones. In 1980, 10 metres broke up at Bab el-Jedid a few days before the historic visit of the Queen of England. Hundreds of craftsmen worked day and night so that, on the day, the section of city wall had not only been rebuilt but had also aged!