Melika is the second-largest of the M'zab ksour, perched on a ridge above the valley with a dramatically photogenic skyline of white houses and a stark minaret. From below, the town looks like a crown on its hill. The interior is a maze of vaulted streets and painted plaster walls in blue, white, and yellow — slightly more colourful than Ghardaia's monochrome earthen tones.
The weekly women's market in Melika is distinctive: Mozabite women dress in a single sheet of white wool that leaves only one eye visible, and the market is entirely segregated from the male commercial spaces. Visitors are permitted but photography requires explicit permission from each person photographed.