Asni
| Asni اسني ⴰⵙⵏⵉ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Marrakech-Safi | ||||
| Province : | Al Haouz | ||||
| Coordinates | 31 ° 15 ′ N , 7 ° 59 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 21,244 (2014) | ||||
| Height : | 1150 m | ||||
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Asni ( Arabic اسني, Zentralatlas-Tamazight ⴰⵙⵏⵉ ) is a village with about 3,000 inhabitants and the capital of a rural community (commune rurale) with about 25,000 inhabitants in the High Atlas in the province of Al Haouz in the Marrakech-Safi region , Morocco . The mountain village of Imlil and other mountain villages also belong to the rural community of Asni .
Location and climate
Asni is located about 40 km south of Marrakech on the Oued Rheraya at an altitude of about 1150 m . Buses and grand taxis run from Marrakech to Asni . The much-visited pilgrimage site of Moulay Brahim is only about 7 km north. The climate is temperate to warm; the sparse rain (approx. 435 mm / year) falls almost exclusively in the winter half-year.
Population development
| year | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 |
| Residents | 16,253 | 18,674 | 21,244 |
The inhabitants of the municipality are almost without exception Berbers ; many have immigrated from the surrounding communities.
economy
The traditional economy is concentrated in the fields on the riverside; barley is mainly grown here. It is usually too cold to grow vegetables (there can still be night frosts in summer) and so they have to be bought or exchanged at the markets. Mainly cattle breeding and grazing (sheep and goats) are practiced. Fruit cultivation, especially apples, is also widespread. For most tourists, Asni is just a transit point on their way to Imlil or Tinmal .
history
As in most of Morocco's Berber regions, there are no written records of the site's history. However, one can assume that the place was discovered by semi-nomads from the lower regions of the country on their summer migrations with the herds of cattle into the mountain regions and that at some point later it was permanently settled.
Attractions
Since the 1960s, the place has completely changed its appearance - the old single-storey houses, built of stone and clay and covered with flat reed or thatched roofs, have given way to two-storey new buildings made of concrete (foundation and ceilings) and hollow blocks (walls), all of which have given way are plastered and painted in reddish tones. Saturday is market day ( suq ) in Asni and - in addition to vegetables - household goods as well as sheep, goats and chickens are sold. In terms of landscape, Asni and the villages in the area offer delightful views of the north side of the High Atlas, which is snow-covered well into spring.
geology
The area around Asni is of volcanic origin and is well known among amateur geologists for the appearance of intensely red colored agates, amethyst, quartz-goethite geodes, gypsum crystals and calcite geodes. Rocks are basalts , melaphyres and tuffs .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Moroccan population statistics ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Asni - climate tables
