Jewish Marrakech and the High Atlas: A Heritage Guide

Marrakech was founded by the Almoravids in the second half of the 11th century, and according to the Jewish Virtual Library a Jewish community formed soon afterwards, drawn largely from southern Morocco. Under the Almohads in the 12th century Jews were persecuted and for a time barred from living in the city. They resettled under the Merinids, and Sephardic refugees from the Iberian Peninsula joined them at the end of the 15th century.

In 1557 the Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib moved the city’s Jews into a walled quarter beside the royal palace district (some sources give 1558 or the 1560s). The historian Michel Abitbol notes that it took the name Mellah in 1639, after the one in Fes, and was completed and fortified in 1662; it is often described as Morocco’s second mellah after Fes.

Later centuries brought yeshivot (Torah academies), scholars from the Corcos and Pinto families and a major Jewish role in the city’s economy. In the early 20th century community leader Joshua Corcos worked closely with the Glaoui governors, and the Alliance Israélite Universelle opened schools in the city. The Jewish Virtual Library gives the city’s Jewish population as 15,700 in 1912, 25,646 in 1936 and 18,500 in 1951. From the 1950s families left for Casablanca, Israel, France and the Americas.

The mountains tell a parallel story. The Ourika valley had about 300 Jewish families and two synagogues in the 1950s, according to Diarna; Ait Ourir’s community left in 1963; and Demnate, east of the city, had around 1,800 Jews in the early 1950s and a community the Jewish Virtual Library traces to the early 12th century.

Today community leaders put the Jewish population of Marrakech at roughly 200 (2023), with only a handful still living in the mellah. A royal order restored the quarter’s official name, El Mellah, in early 2017, along with its Jewish street names, and more than US$20 million was announced for houses, streets and synagogues. The earthquake of 8 September 2023 damaged buildings in the quarter, including its synagogues; repairs followed and the mellah remains open.

The mellah. The quarter sits in the southern medina next to the Bahia and El Badi palaces. Its old heart is the Place des Ferblantiers, once ringed by jewellers, goldsmiths and weavers and now fully restored. A jewellery market still trades at the mellah’s entrance. Walk the lanes slowly and look out for the restored Jewish street names.

Lazama Synagogue (Slat al-Azama) faces the jewellers’ market on Derb Talmud Torah. Like most mellah synagogues it was built into a courtyard house, here with a fountain and citrus trees. Community tradition links its founding and its name to the megorashim, the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, but the year has not been verified and the mellah itself dates from 1557. The present building reflects later work: a women’s section was added after the 1950s and the wooden ark (heikhal) was replaced in marble. Rooms around the courtyard hold an exhibition of photographs, documents and Judaica. In June 2025 entry was 50 dirhams and the upper floor was closed; it still serves as a synagogue.

Slat Al Fassiyine, the mellah’s other surviving historic synagogue, was reported severely damaged in the 2023 earthquake, and its Torah scrolls were removed. No reopening has been reported, so treat it as a site to ask about. Do not confuse it with the restored synagogue of the same name in Fes.

Miâara Jewish Cemetery lies on the edge of the mellah and is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Morocco, with more than 20,000 graves. Its whitewashed tombs are laid out in sections for men, women and children. Visitors are told that one corner holds about 6,000 children who died in a 19th-century typhus epidemic and that the blue-painted graves near the entrance are those of Kohanim (priestly families); both are reported traditions rather than documented fact. The cemetery holds the mausolea of revered rabbis, among them Rabbi Hanania HaCohen and Rabbi Pinhas HaCohen, a Souss-born rabbi who died in Marrakech on 12 January 1952; tradition credits him with saving the life of the pasha Thami El Glaoui. The cemetery is maintained by the community and the Kanami family of caretakers, and a small exhibition on its history was on site in 2023.

Beth El Synagogue in Gueliz, next to the Chabad house, is the working synagogue of today’s community. It is used for services and community events rather than as a tourist site, and visits are arranged through the community or Chabad.

The House of Photography in the medina has a section of century-old photographs of Marrakech and Amazigh Jews.

Moroccan Jews venerate many tzaddikim (righteous holy men) and visit their graves to pray, light candles and ask for blessings. The anniversary of a tzaddik’s death is marked by a hilloula, a pilgrimage with prayer, communal meals and candle auctions. Several important shrines lie within a few hours of Marrakech, and many are also honoured by Muslim neighbours under their own names for the saint.

Ourika valley. The Shrine of Rabbi Shlomo Bel Hench stands just off the main Ourika road, about an hour from the city. Tradition holds that he was an emissary from the Land of Israel who arrived about 500 years ago; Muslims call him Moul Asguine. It was long guarded by Hananiya Alfassi, described as the last Amazigh Jew of the valley (he died in 2013 or 2016, depending on the source); a Muslim caretaker family now looks after it. The complex has guest rooms, a kosher kitchen and a restored synagogue.

Ait Ourir. On the N9 towards Ouarzazate, under an hour from Marrakech, the Shrine of Rabbi Habib Mizrahi sits in the old Jewish cemetery, reached by a signed dirt road. Muslims know him as Moulay Tadot. A member of the Marrakech community built a large pilgrim complex around the tomb, and the hilloula falls on Lag BaOmer.

Ouirgane. At Anraz, on the Tizi n’Test road, a gated compound holds the Shrine of Rabbi Haim Ben Diwan, son of Rabbi Amram Ben Diwan of Ouezzane. It holds three graves, and which one is his is uncertain.

The Tichka road. On the way over the mountains to Ouarzazate, the hilltop Shrine of Moulay Ighi, about 10 km off the N9 near Zerkten, is identified with Rabbi David Laskar; a plaque gives his death as 22 August 1717. Telouet, the old Glaoui seat, lay on a chain of Atlas mellahs. Near Agouim, north of Ouarzazate, the Shrine of Rabbi David ou Moshe honours a Jerusalem-born emissary who, by legend, offered his life for the sick villagers. Muslims call him Dawid Ou Moussi.

Demnate. About 110 km east of Marrakech, Demnate keeps one of the best-preserved mellahs of the Atlas, still called the Mellah and now home to Muslim families. The Jewish cemetery was recently renovated, and a Jewish heritage centre is planned beside it. In the nearby village of Draa lies the Shrine of Rabbi David Halevi Dra’a, known as Moul Draa.

Hilloula dates. Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer count between Passover and Shavuot (18 Iyar; 25 May in 2027), is the main date: Ait Ourir, Anraz and Draa celebrate then, and Moulay Ighi usually does too, although one source gives 15 Elul. Rabbi David ou Moshe’s hilloula is on Rosh Hodesh Heshvan (1 Heshvan; 1 November in 2027). The hilloula dates for Rabbi Shlomo Bel Hench and for the rabbis buried at Miâara are not confirmed in published sources. The hilloula guide explains how pilgrimages work.

Community life centres on the new town. The Jewish Community of Marrakech-Safi, led by Jacky Kadoch, looks after the region’s synagogues, cemeteries and holy sites. Chabad of Marrakech, founded and run by Rabbi Shimon and Rachel Lahiany, offers a visitor centre and Friday-night and Shabbat meals, and asks visitors to schedule visits in advance. Chabad also lists a women’s mikveh (ritual bath), booked through them.

Kosher food is available but thin, and it changes. Chabad’s own kosher list is short: Falafel Sababa in Gueliz (parve, closed on Saturday, with reviews in October 2026) and Aperi’k, a grocery listed for meat and dairy. Several other Gueliz restaurants describe themselves as kosher and had reviews in 2026, including Chez Abehssera, Wasabi and Dar Ima, but a current certificate could not be confirmed for any of them, and Dar Ima’s certification has been publicly disputed. If you keep strict kashrut, ask to see a current certificate or eat through Chabad.

Kosher caterers in Marrakech advertise weekday and Shabbat meals delivered to hotels, riads and villas. We check the caterer’s current certificate before booking; it is the simplest way to eat kosher in a non-kosher riad.

At Pesach and Sukkot, large resorts run full kosher programmes. Le Méridien N’Fis (under the Beth Din of Casablanca) and Rose Garden Suites & Villas (Osher Holidays, under Top-K) have programmes advertised for Sukkot 2026 and Pesach 2027. Outside those dates the hotels are not kosher.

Shabbat. There is no eruv in Marrakech. Chabad lists hotels within walking distance of its house: Riad Dar Sido, Riad Mazal, Hotel Ayoub, Migdal Gueliz, Radisson Blu and Les 3 Palmiers. Shabbat services at Beth El can be arranged through Chabad or the community. The mellah is a long walk from Gueliz, so plan the old-city visit for a weekday. More in the guide to kosher travel and Shabbat in Morocco.

Dress modestly, and bring a kippah or hat for synagogues and shrines. At cemeteries keep to the paths and never step on graves. Do not photograph during prayer or on Shabbat. Caretakers are often local Muslim families, and a tip or a donation towards upkeep is expected. Rural shrines are usually locked outside the hilloula, so go with a guide or driver who knows the guardian.

Most North American travellers fly into Casablanca and reach Marrakech by train or road in about three hours. Plan two nights for the city if you want the mellah, the cemetery and a relaxed Friday evening with Chabad; three nights lets you add one Atlas shrine, such as Ourika or Ait Ourir, as a half-day trip. Agouim, Moulay Ighi and Telouet fit best on the way over the Tichka pass to Ouarzazate, and Demnate makes a long day trip of its own.

Marrakech pairs naturally with Essaouira, about three hours west, and with the Amazigh and desert Jewish heritage of the south. Our sample Jewish heritage tour of Morocco shows how they fit into one private trip.