Demnate
| Demnate | |||||
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Béni Mellal-Khénifra | ||||
| Province : | Azilal | ||||
| Coordinates | 31 ° 44 ′ N , 7 ° 0 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 25,000 | ||||
| Height : | 970 m | ||||
Demnate ( Arabic دمنات, Central Atlas Tamazight ⴷⵎⵏⴰⵜ Demnat ) is the second largest city in the Azilal province in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region in central Morocco . The Berber word Demnate can possibly be translated as “fertile soils”; it is the plural form of the words Ddminte or Tadminte .
location
Demnate is a good 100 km (driving distance) east of Marrakech and approx. 74 km southwest of the provincial capital Azilal at an altitude of approx. 970 m above sea level. d. M.
population
Berbers from various tribes in the area make up over 90% of the population, but Moroccan Arabic is widely spoken. The majority of the population immigrated from the surrounding mountain regions after the 1970s.
economy
In the past, most of the city's residents made a living from agriculture. It was not until the time of French colonization and after Morocco's independence (1956) that many men took on jobs in handicrafts, trade and transport. Others also work in the cities of the north or in Europe - so the place is also dependent on money transfer services.
history
Allegedly the establishment of the place goes back to the time before the year 1000 AD; this would mean that Demnate would be about 50 years older than Marrakech. After that, however, no more information is available for the market town of Demnate. At the end of the 19th century Charles de Foucauld toured the Maghreb - Demnate mentions a large Jewish quarter ( mellah ) and he only found words of praise for the small town of around 3,000 inhabitants. In 1907, the army of the French-friendly Sultan Abd al-Aziz (r. 1887 / 1901-1908) was defeated near Demnate by that of his brother Mulai Abd al-Hafiz , who took power in Morocco a year later.
Attractions
The city has no sights worth mentioning. About 2 km east of Imi-n-Ifri is a gorge lined with waterfalls in spring, which is spanned by a natural rock arch ( pont naturel ).
Dinosaur tracks
Imi-n-Ifri rock gate
