the berber building in this fortified village have stood for centuries at the foot of the mountain range.

on either side of the high atlas, built of pési melt into the same background of arid earth dotted with low bushes. the time of razzias (radis)is long past, but the defensive architecture so characteristic of te berbers still remains.

At the first sign of trouble, people, animals and provisions were piled up together in this houses, which were like strongboxes against thieves and bandits. around Ouarzazate they have several floors, with one ground reserved for mules, goats, sheep, the first for fodder, the second for the family and the thrid for an open terrace. the towers on their corners have no windows, only hole or tow just big enough for gun barrel to poke through .life was and still is lived in courtyards below where there is plenty of light and fresh air.thes pési houses, constantly gouged by rain and eternally and reconstruction, radiate a sense of both strenght and fragility. the spirit of people here is still weddeed to the soil. time has left deep marks on their faces and they've stood up to so much harsh weather they can defy the world. only the mention of the djjins, the evil spirits of their legends, can make tem shudder-but not for long. A shrug prayer...and they go to their feild again.