Taroudant
| Taroudant تارودانت ⵜⴰⵔⵓⴷⴰⵏⵜ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Souss-Massa | ||||
| Province : | Taroudant | ||||
| Coordinates | 30 ° 28 ′ N , 8 ° 52 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 80,149 (2014) | ||||
| Area : | 74.16 km² | ||||
| Population density : | 1,081 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| Height : | 240 m | ||||
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Taroudant ( Taroudannt , Taschelhit ⵜⴰⵔⵓⴷⴰⵏⵜ Tarudant , Arabic تارودانت Tārūdānt ) is an oasis town with about 90,000 inhabitantsin the east of the Souss plain in southern Morocco . It is the capital of the Taroudant province of the same nameand - after Marrakech and Ouarzazate - the most important city in southern Morocco.
Location and climate
Taroudant is about 83 km (driving distance) east of Agadir and about 2 km north of the river valley of the Oued Souss at an altitude of about 240 m ; the distance to Marrakech is approx. 250 km in a north-easterly direction. The climate in Taroudant is almost desert-like; the sparse rain (approx. 225 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.
population
| year | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 |
| Residents | 57,136 | 69,489 | 80.149 |
The inhabitants are mainly immigrant Berbers from the mountain regions of the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas . In addition to the Berber dialects , Arabic and sometimes French are also spoken.
economy
Taroudannt is the eastern center of the fertile Souss plain; Mainly bananas, pumpkins, tomatoes etc. are grown. The city itself offers the necessary facilities for trade, handicrafts and services of all kinds.
history
Taroudant is first mentioned in the 11th century. Before it was destroyed by the Merinids in 1306 , it was the residence of a Shiite Berber prince around 1030 . Then Taroudant rose to a center of the region and between 1520 and 1540 was the capital of the Saadian . The city experienced its heyday in the 17th century as a trade and caravan center . In 1687 the city was by the Alawite - Sultan Moulay Ismail partially destroyed.
The rebel Ahmed al-Hiba was proclaimed counter-sultan of the Alaouite dynasty in Tiznit in 1912 . He found the support of the population and started the fight against the French from Taroudant, but lost to the protectorate rulers the following year . Taroudant was occupied in 1917 and only evacuated in 1956.
Attractions
The city is often referred to as the “little sister” of Marrakech because it is the most important city on the Oued Souss; contributes to the impression of similarity - besides from rammed earth built city walls - the early 18th century, built of mud Medina in, the in the center of Place Assarag and the adjacent quarter of the souks is.
To the west of the old town are the urban tanneries, which are still tanned in the traditional way.
literature
- Arnold Betten: Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4 , pp. 235ff.
