Sijilmasa
سجلماسة
Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco · 31°16′60″N 4°16′60″W
The mud-brick remains of the medieval trade capital that funnelled Saharan gold to the Mediterranean, now a field of eroded walls outside Rissani that nobody guards.
Sijilmasa was founded in 757 and for six centuries was the northern terminus of the trans-Saharan caravan route, the city where West African gold was minted into dinars. It was abandoned after 1393 and the ruins were quarried for building material. What is left is a field of mud-brick walls, a mosque outline and arches over about 10 hectares, with the Tafilalet palm groves around it.
Rissani's Thursday and Sunday souk, one of the largest in southern Morocco, is the modern successor.
Why it stays quiet
Merzouga's dunes, 40 km away, are the reason people come to the Tafilalet, and they drive past Rissani. The site is unmarked and unfenced and mostly visited by goats.
Where it is
Before you go
Best in the morning before the wind. Nothing on site; Rissani has cafés. The mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif nearby is closed to non-Muslims.
Updated 2026-09-06 · Suggest a correction
