Two memorial plaques and Ksar Amjouz

If you are on the N13 just north of Errachidia, there's an interesting diversion to a ruined ksar dating back to the 13th century, and a couple of momentos from the French Foreign Legion that are getting close to 100 years old.

From Algeria, the French already had good access to the run of Tafilalat oases (Erfoud, Rissani and then into Algeria), but wanted to link this holding across to Fez, so in the 1920s they constructed an unmetalled road which for much of its route followed the left (eastern) bank of the Ziz river.

This was built by the French Army's Engineering Arm (l'arme du génie) which even now encompasses such roles as coastguards and fire brigades. The 3rd Foreign Legion of combat engineers (aka Companie Sapeur Pompiers) used petrol-powered steam hammers to blast through the rocks to create 'The Legionnaires' tunnel (Tunnel Zaabal) that you pass through south of Er Rich.
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When the construction of the Al-Hassan Addakhil dam started in the 1960s it was necessary to reroute what is now the N13 (directions are if you are coming from the north) so the road now crosses from the left bank to the right (west) over a fairly modern looking bridge. Just before the bridge take the short track on the left that rejoins the asphalt of the original Foreign Legion route and continue south. See map below.

You will get views of the Ziz gorge that others don't get to see nowadays per photo below. Carry on for perhaps 5km and take the right fork in the road where you will see the ruined Ksar Amzouj. I found this fortified village well worth exploring with several interesting rooms. You can't get much further on that fork of the road as it disappears into a stream bed, but further down there's a Legion lookout tower that you can see from the N13 road.

As you head back towards the main road, look across to the road that had forked left and you will see a plaque carved in the cliff. This commemorates the work of the 3rd Legion constructing the road in March-April 1928. The emblem in the centre of the plaque is the 'grenade with seven flames' of the Legion.

And then as you reach the bend, park up and walk round to the other side of the pile of rocks and you will find another carving.

As you can see on the map I did try exploring the left hand fork further and it was going up and up into the mountains and I turned back. Maybe another day. And it would be interesting to try to find the other end of the right hand fork which presumably was headed for Er Rachidia.

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)