Boulaouane
| Boulaouane بولاوان ⴱⵓⵍⵄⵡⴰⵏ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Casablanca Settat | ||||
| Province : | El Jadida | ||||
| Coordinates | 32 ° 52 ′ N , 8 ° 4 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 15,000 | ||||
| Height : | 115 m | ||||
Boulaouane ( Arabic بولاوان, DMG Būlāwān , Zentralatlas-Tamazight ⴱⵓⵍⵄⵡⴰⵏ Bulɛwan ) is a place and a rural community ( commune rurale ) in the province of El Jadida in the Moroccan region of Casablanca-Settat .
Location and climate
Boulaouane is located about 1 km west of the river Oum er-Rbia and about 65 km (driving distance) southeast of El Jadida and 53 km southwest of Settat at an altitude of about 115 m . The fortress ( kasbah ) , built in the 18th century, is located on a hill about 10 km east of the village at an altitude of about 190 m and is best reached with a grand taxi . The weather is mostly warm and dry; the rather sparse rain (approx. 335 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.
population
The population of the municipality is distributed over the main town Boulaouane and a large number of smaller villages in the area and consists largely of Berbers ; People of Arab origin form a minority of around 15%. However, Arabic is mostly spoken among each other.
economy
Agriculture comes first in the municipality's economic life. Viticulture is practiced on a large part of the cultivation area (approx. 50,000 ha). The grapes are either markets ( souks sold) or processed at the local winery for wine throughout Morocco - and beyond - with an excellent reputation, even if the Koran a ban on alcohol is anchored.
history
Nothing is known about the history of the Berber village, but in 1514 Leo Africanus mentions a Moroccan place called Bu'l'Awan , which is equated with Boulaouane. In the early 18th century, the Alawid Sultan Mulai Ismail had a fortress built on a hill above a bend in the river Oum er-Rbia in order to better keep the always restless Berber tribes in the area under control.
Kasbah
The kasbah is located at the narrowest point of a hill about 150 m high and surrounded on three sides by a bend of the river Oued Oum er-Rbia ( 32 ° 51 ′ 27 ″ N , 8 ° 1 ′ 13 ″ W ) and was therefore strategically good protected against attacks. The crenellated outer walls of the fortress, which was built on an approximately trapezoidal floor plan, consist mainly of uncut stones. Exactly hewn stones and bricks were only used for the portal edging and the corner stones of the towers. Above the entrance portal, which is slightly sharpened at the top and reminiscent of the great portals of the Almohads in Rabat and Marrakech , there is an inscription with the year 1122 of the Islamic calendar (i.e. 1710/11 AD) and the name of the architect. The multi-tower wall encloses an inner courtyard with several already badly crumbled buildings: the mosque with its minaret and a mosque courtyard ( sahn ), another half-destroyed tower, which is interpreted as a watchtower, and an elongated room with a - mostly collapsed - barrel vault can still be seen which probably served as a bathhouse ( hammam ). Fragments of tiles were discovered in a ruined building - it is called a palace. Other remnants of the wall may have belonged to former accommodations, warehouses, stables or small shops. The water supply was ensured by means of a large cistern ; in times of great drought one had to go down to the river to fetch water from there.
See also
Web links
- Kasbah de Boulaouane - photos + quick facts
- Kasbah of Boulaouane - photos
- Kasbah of Boulaouane - photos