El Hajeb
| El Hajeb | |||||
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Fès-Meknes | ||||
| Province : | El Hajeb | ||||
| Coordinates | 33 ° 42 ′ N , 5 ° 22 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 30,000 | ||||
| Height : | 1050 m | ||||
El Hajeb ( Arabic الحاجب; Central Atlas Tamazight ⵍⵃⴰⵊⴱ Lḥajb ) is a city in the Moroccan region of Fès-Meknes . It is the capital of the province of the same name .
location
El Hajeb is located in the northwestern foothills of the Middle Atlas at an altitude of approx. 1050 m . The next largest city is Meknes, about 35 km to the north-west . The cities of Azrou and Ifrane are each only about 37 km southeast.
population
More than half of the urban population of El Hajeb have been Berbers who have immigrated since the 1970s , mainly as day laborers, craftsmen, taxi drivers or small businesses. The Arab minority, on the other hand, occupies leading positions in business and administration as well as in health and education. Moroccan Arabic is usually spoken .
economy
Agriculture, which in earlier times was mainly used for self-sufficiency, has primarily produced for urban markets since the improvement of the traffic routes since the French colonial times . Grains, vegetables, olives and fruit (including grapes) are grown in the vicinity of the city. The city does not play a role in international tourism, but wealthy Moroccans who work in Fez or Meknes often have their family residence or even a holiday home in the area.
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history
Neither written records nor oral traditions exist for the medieval history of the place. In the 18th century the place received a fortress ( kasbah ) made of rammed earth . In the 1950s, El Hajeb was only a market town with a population of around 2,000, but afterwards the population grew almost explosively. The city was further enhanced by the creation of the province (1991), of which it became the capital.
Attractions
Several springs rise below the mountain slopes ( falaises ) in spring - one of them ( Ain Khadem ) has been developed into an attraction for Moroccan tourists. Near the source are the ruins of the rammed earth fortress. The townscape of El Hajeb is that of a new town with houses, the roofs of which are often tiled gable roofs - completely untypical for Morocco, but also found in the southeastern towns of Azrou and Ifrane. This construction goes back to the summer residences of the French colonial rulers in the first half of the 20th century.
