On the way to a thousand Kasbahs : Tourist settlements of modernity, a heritage that needs to be preserved

An art auction organised in April 2021 is jeopardising Moroccan heritage. The works on sale are painted ceilings and interior elements by the artists Mohammed Chabâa and Mohamed Melehi created for the Hôtel Les Roses du Dadès in Kelaa M’Gouna (1971-1972). The hotel, designed by architects Abdeslem Faraoui and Patrice de Mazières, is the first of three they realised along a tourist itinerary that later would be known as ‘the route of the thousand kasbahs’, named for the presence of many ancient cities built in raw earth. Thereafter, the architects completed the Hôtel Les Gorges du Dadès in Boumalne Dadés (1972-74), and the Hôtel Ibn Toumart in Taliouine (1974), all three projects reinterpreting the ancient, fortified city. Les Roses du Dadès is an example of modern architecture in continuity with traditional Moroccan culture, thanks to the collaboration between architects and artists, which is the result of an integrated design carried through from interior to exterior, keeping strong relations between the building and the landscape, between the present and the past. The aim of this paper is to highlight the cultural value of these modern buildings and artworks. It also aims to underline two considerations about African modernity and its historical landscape. The first is the recognition that the hotels by Faraoui and de Mazières are not the only cases of Moroccan modern architecture at risk, as many buildings have been altered, abandoned, or demolished. The second aspect is to note that the buildings and the artworks mentioned deserve to be preserved holistically within their landscapes as part of a unitary system.