Located in a meander of Wadi Oum er-Rbia, this kasbah stands on a promontory in the heart of a forested area covering 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres). It was apparently built by the Almohads, who made it an imperial stopping place on the road running along the coast and inland to Fès. At the beginning of the 16th century, it was the scene of a battle that halted the advance of the Portuguese towards the interior. Moulay Ismaïl revitalized the village by choosing to build a kasbah here in 1710 – in an attempt to pacify and control the region.
The stone-built fortress is encircled by a crenellated wall set with bastions and pierced by an angled gate with three pointed arches. Above the gate is an inscription with the name of Moulay Ismaïl and the date of the kasbah’s foundation.
This gate, which accommodated sentries, is the only point of entry into the fortress. It leads through to the sultan’s palace, which is built around a central courtyard with mosaic decoration. Beside the palace, a square tower about 10 m (33 ft) high, and now disfigured by cracks, afforded a vantage point over the surrounding territory. Disused vaulted armouries were used for storing food supplies. The mosque, with five aisles, is in a very bad state of preservation. Next to it is the tomb of a saint named Sidi Mancar, whom the region’s inhabitants still revere today, since he is believed to have the power to cure paralysis and sterility.
Ceaselessly battered by the elements, the kasbah has suffered deterioration over the centuries. It was declared a historic monument in 1922. A restoration programme has been under way since 1995, but progress has been hampered by a lack of funds.
The region is also famous for its tradition of falconry, a sport still practised today by falconers from several important local families.
Connoisseurs consider that the wine known as Gris de Boulaouane, a rosé with an orange tint, is one of the best Moroccan wines. Although the Romans successfully exploited the soil and climate of Mauretania Tingitana to grow vines, the establishment of Islam in the Maghreb did not further the upkeep of the vineyards. Under the French Protectorate, the vineyards were revived, and in 1956 wine production passed into state control. The state-owned company that marketed Gris de Boulaouane collapsed, however, and the quality of the wine deteriorated. The French company Castel retook control of Moroccan wine production in the 1990s: the old vines were dug up and new stock planted, this time Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Cinsault, Syrah and Grenache gris. Today, Moroccan vineyards cover 350 hectares (865 acres) in the district of Boulaouane, the Doukkala region, the foothills of the Atlas and along the Atlantic coast. The vines are planted in sand, the heat of which prevents the development of phylloxera. The grapes are hand-harvested at the end of August and the wine, bottled in France, is exported mostly to Europe.