Kasbah Taourirt is a historic fortified residential complex or kasbah located in Ouarzazate, Morocco.
According to oral tradition, the kasbah was first built in the 17th century by the Imzouren family, a powerful local Berber family. However, it is certain that the Glaoui family took control of the kasbah and expanded it in the 19th century. At its peak in the late 19th century, the kasbah dominated a strategic location at the confluence of several river valleys, including Draa and Dades, which were part of important desert trade routes. One of the Glaoui family members, Thami El Glaoui, was the famous Pasha of Marrakech throughout the French colonial period in Morocco in the 20th century.
After the end of French colonial rule and the Glaoui’s loss of power in the region, squatters gradually occupied the kasbah, leading to its deterioration. In 1954, it was added to the Moroccan national heritage list. In 1956, ownership passed to the Moroccan state, although it was returned to the Glaoui family in the early 1960s. In 1972, the Glaoui family sold the kasbah to the municipality of Ouarzazate.
An unrestored section of the kasbah, photographed in 1983
The site remained abandoned until the late 1980s, when the Center for the Conservation of Atlas and Pre-Atlas Architectural Heritage (CERKAS) was established and began overseeing the preservation of southern Moroccan kasbahs. A small part of the kasbah was restored in the 1990s with the support of UNESCO and is now open to the public as a historical monument. Some unrestored areas of the kasbah are still inhabited by families today. The kasbah has appeared in films including Gladiator and Prince of Persia .
The site was damaged by the September 2023 earthquake that struck southern Morocco. A preliminary damage assessment reported cracks and partial collapses in the building and surrounding historic district, with a risk of further collapses.
