Rissani is a town in eastern Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, located near Erfoud

Erfoud

Erfoud is an oasis town in the Sahara Desert, in in the Meknès-Tafilalet of the Maghreb region in eastern Morocco. It is located at .Erfoud is divided into several districts: Hay Salam, Hay Jdid, Hay Ziz, Hay el Bathaa, Hay Annahda, Hay el Hamri....

. It is in the region of Er-Rachidia, and is the closest town of significant size to the Erg Chebbi

Erg Chebbi

Erg Chebbi is one of Morocco's two Saharan ergs – large dunes formed by wind-blown sand –. The other is Erg Chigaga near M'hamid....

, the largest sand desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

 in Morocco. Its population in 2004 was 20,469.

The mausoleum

Mausoleum

A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...

 of the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty

Alaouite Dynasty

The Alaouite Dynasty is the name of the current Moroccan royal family. The name Alaouite comes from the ‘Alī of its founder Moulay Ali Cherif who became Prince of Tafilalt in 1631. His son Mulay r-Rshid was able to unite and pacify the country...

 of Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, Moulay Ali Cherif

Moulay Ali Cherif

Moulay Ali Cherif was allegedly a descendant of l-Hesn d-Dakhl and is considered to have been the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty of Morocco...

, is located on the southern edge of town.

History

Rissani is the ancient capital of Tafilalet. Its location as a crossroads between north and south gave the city a certain importance in previous times.

A former major caravan center, Rissani remains a major commercial center in the region, with a large souk

Souk

A souq is a commercial quarter in an Arab, Berber, and increasingly European city. The term is often used to designate the market in any Arabized or Muslim city, but in modern times it appears in Western cities too...

, particularly lively on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. It is noted for its leather and goat skin trading.