Kasbah Amridil

Kasbah Amridil stands within the palm oasis of Skoura, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region of southern Morocco, around forty kilometres east of Ouarzazate. It is one of the most photographed kasbahs in Morocco, having appeared on the front of the 50-dirham banknote issued in 1987.

The original ksar on the site dates to the seventeenth century. The current tighremt — a four-story fortified residence with four corner towers and a square plan — was built in the late nineteenth century. According to local accounts, it was commissioned by Madani El Glaoui as compensation to M'hamed Ben Brahim Nasiri, a religious teacher and faqih whose family was charged with educating the Glaoui sons. Glaoui craftsmen carried out the construction. Ownership has remained with the Nasiri family ever since, descendants of M'hamed Ben Brahim trace their lineage to the influential Zawiya Nasiriyya at Tamegroute on the lower Drâa.

The structure is unusual in several respects. Its four-story height is at the upper end of the regional vernacular; most kasbahs are two or three stories. The square plan with four corner towers is more regular than many examples in the surrounding oases, where towers are often added asymmetrically. A fifth tower was added on the south side after the original construction.

The kasbah is partially restored and operates as a small museum of regional Berber domestic life. Members of the Nasiri family continue to occupy parts of the structure.