Taroudant (Berber: Tarudant, ⵜⴰⵔⵓⴷⴰⵏⵜ; Arabic: تارودانت) is a city in the Sous Valley in southern Morocco. It is situated east of Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and the Sahara desert and south of Marrakesh. The town is known as the "Grandmother of Marrakesh" because it looks like a smaller Marrakesh with its surrounding ramparts. In the sixteenth century, the Saadi dynasty briefly used Taroudant as a capital before it moved its royal seat onwards to Marrakesh. Today, the city has the feel of a small fortified market town on a caravan route.
Taroudant is known for its local crafts, including jewellery and carpets.
Unlike Marrakesh, almost the entire city of Taroudant is located inside its walls. A new part of the city is being developed outside the city walls around the campus of a faculty of the Ibn Zohr University of Agadir.
