What I am about to tell might sound like a fairy tale, because it speaks of sultans, palaces and distant times. In reality, it is a true story, rooted in the past and still alive today, right here, just a few steps from Ranch de Diabat.
Many visitors pass by these ruins without knowing their story. Between sand, bushes and the ocean wind, the remains of an ancient palace can still be seen. They are the ruins of the residence built in the 18th century by Sultan Moulay Ben Abdallah.
The palace in Diabat
In the 18th century, Essaouira was becoming one of Morocco’s new strategic ports, and the village of Diabat, just a little further south, occupied an important position: close to the coast, near the mouth of the Oued Ksob river, and along the routes used by caravans arriving from inland regions.
It was here that Sultan Moulay Ben Abdallah decided to build a secondary residence. It was not a palace meant for court life, but rather a place of passage and territorial control. From this location it was possible to watch over the commercial routes between the ocean and the inland regions, and to welcome travelers or delegations heading toward the port.
Today only a few stone walls remain, partly hidden by the sand carried by the wind. Yet for the inhabitants of Diabat, the story of this palace is still very much alive.
The protectors of the palace
To guarantee the security of the palace and the commercial routes, the Sultan entrusted this responsibility to a few families from the village. There were only a handful of them, and even today they can almost be counted on one hand.
These families were designated as protectors of the palace and the surrounding land. In return, they received a rare privilege: full ownership of the land and the guarantee that it could never be taken from them. According to local tradition, this right was confirmed by a dahir, a royal decree issued by the Sultan.
Among those families were also the ancestors of Omar’s mother, the Ben Dargu family. Her maternal great‑grandfather worked as a forest ranger in the area. For his work he had a horse, an animal that in the family was seen first of all as a working companion and treated with great respect. As we know, this connection with the land and with animals has remained alive in the family story, passing from one generation to the next.
Where it all began
Many decades later, when Omar and Mohammed began to dream about creating their equestrian center, their mother decided to help by offering them that very piece of family land, as a sign of gratitude toward two sons who had always taken care of her with love.
And it is precisely there that Ranch de Diabat stands today, in a place where history continues to live even when we do not notice it. When the wind lifts the sand and reveals a stone from the old palace, it is easy to imagine how many stories have passed through here before us. Some remain in the memory of the village, others live on in the everyday gestures of the people who inhabit this land.
In a way, the Ranch is also part of this continuity. It did not appear out of nowhere, but grew from land that had been cared for for generations and from a family story deeply rooted in this place. That is why, when visiting the Ranch, it is truly worth taking a few more steps to see the ruins of that palace—because, in a sense, that is where everything began.