Chtouka-Aït Baha

Chtouka-Aït Baha province within the former Souss-Massa-Draâ region

Chtouka-Aït Baha ( Arabic إقليم شتوكة آيت باها, DMG Iqlīm Šatūka Āyit Bāhā ; Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⵙⴳⴰ ⵏ ⵛⵜⵓⴽⴰ-ⴰⵢⵜ ⴱⴰⵀⴰ Tasga n Ctuka-Ayt Baha ) is the name of an approximately 3500 km² province with approximately 370,000 inhabitants (as of 2014) in the Souss-Massa region in southwest Morocco .

geography

location

The province of Chtouka-Aït Baha is located in the western Anti-Atlas ; it borders in the northwest on the prefecture Inezgane-Aït Melloul , in the northeast on the province Taroudannt , in the south on the province Tiznit and in the west on the Atlantic Ocean .

landscape

While the north-west of the province ( Souss plain and coastal strip) is relatively flat, the elevation profile increases more and more towards the south and east and reaches heights of around 1000 m; a few mountain peaks even reach heights of 1600 m to 2000 m.

climate

The climate - apart from the coast - is hot and dry in summer: daytime temperatures of 40 ° C and more are not uncommon; at night it cools down to 10 to 20 ° C, depending on the cloudiness. In the four winter months (November to February) it sometimes rains, but day temperatures of 15 to 25 ° C are still reached; at night the temperatures drop to values ​​of 5 to 10 ° C; Night frosts can occur in the higher areas when the sky is clear, but they are extremely rare.

population

Ksar Tizourgane . Many settlements in the mountain regions of the Anti-Atlas were built on hilltops - to better defend the place, but also to protect the fertile soil; the slopes were terraced. Many villages have now been abandoned by their residents.

Within the province of Chtouka-Aït Baha there are only 2 municipalities ( municipalités ); the rest are still officially rural communities ( communes rurales ), although some (e.g. Aït Amira or Massa) have largely lost their village character. While the population of cities has increased significantly in recent decades due to immigration, in rural communities there has been stagnation or even a decline in population since the 1970s due to greatly reduced or no rainfall at all. Places like Tioulit or Tizourgane have been completely abandoned by their inhabitants; Tizourgane was rediscovered by tourism after extensive restoration work at the beginning of the 3rd millennium.

local community	Residents
	1994	2004	2014
Biougra	13,885	25,928	37,933
Ait Baha	3,638	4,767	5,668

flora

Argan tree

Argan tree

The characteristic tree of the region is the argan tree ( Argania spinosa ). The argania is one of the oldest trees in the world and is endemic to southwest Morocco , i. i.e., it doesn't grow anywhere else. The tree thrives on stony and dry soils, where its crown can reach a circumference of about 15 meters. The mostly crooked branches of dead trees were used in earlier times for building purposes (wood for ceilings and stairs), but to this day they are also used as firewood for baking bread. The plum- or olive-like fruits cannot be consumed by humans. Goats climbing around in the trees eat only the small green leaves; they have to watch out for the thorny branches. Although the trees grow wild, each tree has its owner who is allowed to pick up the fruit in summer. The kernels contained in the pulp are about the size of an almond and very difficult to break. The seeds it contains in pairs are only slightly larger than sunflower seeds. A tasty oil is obtained from the roasted seeds of the fruit of the argan tree by grinding, adding a little hot water and kneading for hours - oil from unroasted seeds is used in the (French) cosmetics industry for the production of skin care products.

Others

Cacti and opuntia

Also typical of the region are wild cacti and opuntia , which can be found mainly in the western parts of the province (e.g. Imchiguegueln ). Opuntia bushes are mainly found in the vicinity of villages, where they fenced in smaller cattle enclosures or surrounded the agadirs with a green, but spiky, defensive ring. Further east it is too dry even for these frugal plants.

Date palms

Date palms also only grow where there is sufficient soil moisture - i.e. H. in the lower lying and comparatively rainy western areas of the province. In addition to their sugar-sweet fruits, trunks and palm fronds were also important - they were used to make construction timber or ladders or mats, baskets, ropes, etc.; In addition, they were - covered with some earth and small stones - important as roof cover.

Olives, almonds

While olives are rather rare and only thrive in the somewhat rainier west of the province, almond trees can also tolerate extreme drought. However, they are usually only two to three meters high.

barley

The most important crop was and is barley , which is particularly suitable for extreme climates (cf. Tibet ) and still produces yields even on poor soils. Only the western parts of the province are suitable for growing vegetables. The inhabitants of the mountain villages who have not yet emigrated have to buy fruit, vegetables and potatoes at the markets, which is often difficult because of the lack of money.

fauna

Souss-Massa Natural Park

The Souss Massa National Park is located at the mouth of the Oued Massa, approx. 10 km south of Agadir as far as the Tiznit province ; Morocco's largest bird sanctuary can be found in it. Rare bird species such as sand and desert birds and little terns live here . Under the aegis of the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), extinct animal species such as the Mendes antelope and the Mhorr gazelle from Hanover Zoo have been reintroduced.

Close up of a forest rasp

Thanks to an international reintroduction program, the bald ibis ( Geronticus eremita ) has also returned to Morocco. It is already mentioned in the time of the pharaohs in Egypt. Over time, the genus became extinct almost everywhere. A few hundred specimens only lived in Morocco and in the border area between Turkey and Syria. At the beginning of the 19th century there were still about one hundred breeding colonies of the bird registered in Morocco; in the end there were only two. Now it is back in its natural environment, in the created Souss-Massa nature park; but also storks, cormorants and various species of herons find enough food here - a paradise for ornithologists.

Atlas squirrel

Tortoises

The western Anti-Atlas is one of the last refuges for the Moorish tortoise , which has long since died out elsewhere due to overgrazing or intensive agriculture. The animals are still caught and sold in Moroccan markets - as it is said, they are not intended for consumption, but serve as 'toys' for children.

Ground squirrel

The Atlas squirrels ( anzid or sibsib ), which feed mainly on seeds, almonds, nuts and argania fruits , are characteristic of large parts of southern Morocco, but are becoming increasingly rare because of hunting . fruits (apples, bananas) are not spurned either. Probably brought to the Canary Islands by humans a long time ago , they thrive there.

history

The province of Chtouka-Aït Baha was only created in 1994 by splitting off from the former province of Agadir. Biougra was made the capital of the new province . None of the few towns in the province has a tradition that goes far back into the past; This is certainly different in the Berber mountain villages , but apart from some family documents (marriage contracts, title deeds) there are no written records.

Attractions

Agadire

Agadir Imhilene, Anti Atlas, Morocco

The Berber storage castles ( Agadire ) are located both lonely on cliffs in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountains and on the edge or in the middle of villages ( Inoumar , Ighil , Imi'm Korn , Imchiguegueln , Imhilene etc.). They were originally granaries, which the residents of the surrounding settlements - especially at the time of the annual hikes with the cattle in higher mountain regions in the summer months - to store their harvest (barley, almonds, possibly dates and / or nuts) or other valuables (Farm equipment, kitchen utensils, clothing, blankets and family or property deeds written on wooden sticks) served. In addition, they offered protection against attacks by wandering nomads or by neighboring villages, because in case of danger, people fled to the castle-like agadirs.

The Ksar Tizourgane is a fortified village with a few storage chambers. It is located spectacularly on a hilltop and is unique of its kind in Morocco.

Tighremts

Building with the local materials ( clay , palm trunks, reeds, plant remains, etc.) has a centuries-old tradition in Morocco. The basis of the Moroccan ksar (Arabic: kasbah) is the large family castle with a courtyard area, with the stables and storage rooms below and the living and utility rooms on the upper floors. The corners of the residential castles ( Tighremts ) emerge for reasons of defense and later become true castle towers. Around such a building, further living rooms and stables were built in later years. With the increasing population and in areas particularly exposed to attacks by the nomads , for example the valleys of the Draa and Ziz , fortified settlements emerged based on the principle of the large family house: eight, twelve or several dozen such houses were built next to each other according to a carefully planned checkerboard pattern, that they formed a defensive front to the outside world. Most of these residential castles are abandoned and dilapidated - as a result of the rural exodus or simply because they have lost their original function.

Today, the natural proportions that oriental lovers admire in the old clay buildings have been lost in Morocco too. Due to the industrial production of the building materials (cement / concrete and hollow blocks), a high degree of uniformity has returned to new buildings.

Web links

Commons : Chtouka-Aït Baha Province  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the Chtouka-Ait Baha Province

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistics Chtouka Aït Baha
2. ↑ Aït Baha climate diagrams