Ait M'hamed
| Ait M'hamed | |||||
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Béni Mellal-Khénifra | ||||
| Province : | Azilal | ||||
| Coordinates | 31 ° 53 ′ N , 6 ° 29 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 22,000 | ||||
| Height : | 1500 m | ||||
Aït M'hamed (also written Aït Mhammed ; Arabic أيت محمد, Zentralatlas-Tamazight ⴰⵢⵜ ⵎⵃⴰⵎⴷ ) is a rural community ( commune rurale ) in the province of Azilal in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region , Morocco, comprising around 45 villages and around 300 km² .
geography
location
The place Aït M'hamed is located on the north side of the High Atlas at about 1700 m above sea level. d. M. and about 20 km southeast of Azilal on the road to the Aït Bougoumez valley and the Ahansal valley .
landscape
The area is mountainous with altitudes between 1400 and 1800 m; Parts of the slopes are forested, but the vast majority of the municipal area consists of bare slopes on which only some grazing is possible. The villages are mostly on the sheltered slopes and were never built on fertile soil.
climate
The winter months are cold, but during the day, with the right amount of sunlight, temperatures are usually above zero, which usually quickly thaws the fallen snow (approx. 20 to 40 cm per year). In summer, the average daytime temperatures are around 28 ° C, at night - depending on the cloudiness - it can cool down to 5 to 15 ° C.
population
The approximately 20,000 inhabitants of the large community are almost 100% Berber descent. With the exception of the approximately 2000 inhabitants of the market town of Aït M'hamed, they live in small villages. Berber dialects are mostly spoken.
economy
Most families in the region make a living from farming, which produces acceptable yields (barley) in valley and hillside locations; Vegetables are grown on a small scale because they need to be watered. Cattle breeding (sheep, goats, chickens) is also practiced. Since the completion of the road, the farmers can also produce for the markets in Azilal, which used to be almost inaccessible. Many men work all year round or part of the year as day laborers, craftsmen, traders or small businesses in the cities of the north. Tourism doesn't matter.
history
Although no written records exist in the Berber regions of the Maghreb , some basic things can be ascertained: For centuries, there was an ongoing conflict between settled and (partially) nomadic tribes in the Berber regions, which not infrequently resulted in feuds and violent clashes. This situation changed somewhat with the improved transport and living conditions during the colonial era. In addition, there was the presence of a comparatively strong central power with its control and regulatory mechanisms that had not previously existed in the Berber regions. After the independence of Morocco (1956), the progressive rural exodus in the 1970s due to the lack of rain and other socio-cultural changes , but above all - since King Mohammed VI came to power . (1999) increased - expansion of the infrastructure (road construction, electricity and water supply, national mobile network), the coexistence of the tribes has improved significantly.
Attractions
Many Berber towns in the region, which is quite varied in terms of landscape, still consist of the primeval-looking single-storey stone / clay buildings, which - unlike in the past - have several windows. In the larger towns, and only very gradually, the mostly two-story new buildings with concrete ceilings and hollow brick walls are gaining ground . Minarets cannot be seen in the traditional villages; they all emerged - if at all - in the second half of the 20th century. In some places of the High Atlas there are fortifications and storage structures ( agadirs ), which here are often tower-like (see Ibakliwin in the Aït Bougoumez valley ) and differ significantly in their compact appearance from the storage castles of the Anti-Atlas .