Sidi Kaouki

The abandoned old fort captured our hearts and imaginations from the first.

Jutting out so far into the sea as to be almost one with it and the ancient rocks at its foot, the crumbling walls exude an almost tangible air of romance. The weather beaten stronghold still ‘holds strong’, though today it is only the chattering sea birds for whom it affords safe haven.

Why, we puzzled, had no-one taken up this ravished and ravishing building as their home? Surely, we answered ourselves, because it was waiting for us!

Having realised the answer with such certainty (!) we ceased enquiring. Each day we clambered over the rocks beneath our one-day-home, knowing that ‘Inch Allah’ (God willing) time would see us, like the birds, looking down from the high, narrow windows to the breathtaking sands below. We would, in time, wake each morning to the roar of the ocean and each night survey with wonder the blazing sun as it slid down behind our sea, just an arms reach away...

Well today our dream was dashed. And had it been for any other reason we might have been sad. But instead we were moved to visit our dream home, after my sleep today, to pay homage to the man who got there before us. More than 100 years before us, in fact.

Before it was a village on the edge of the sea, Sidi Kaouki was a man; an exceptional man, a renowned healer, so much so that a shrine to his sainthoodwas established and its site named after him in his honour. Once a year, pilgrims from all over Morocco visit this small dome-roofed shrine, at the heart of ‘our’ fortress, to bring their prayers to God through Sidi Kaouki.

This afternoon we did just the same. And God was there in the miracle of friendship. With open arms, the ‘guardians’ of the shrine welcomed us into their tiny room alongside, with honey to taste and tea to drink and smiles to share. In that dark little room, over mint tea and embraced by the spirit of Sidi Kaouki, we became friends... When faced with the glorious impulse of humanity, even the most formidable language barrier comes tumbling down!

And when we left, with promises to return, it was with smiles in our

hearts - and the certainty that Sidi Kaouki was still making miracles...