El Hajeb (Province)

El Hajeb province in the Meknes-Tafilalet region

City of El Hajeb

The approximately 1500 km² large and about 235,000 inhabitants counting province of El Hajeb ( Arabic إقليم الحاجب, DMG Iqlīm al-Ḥāǧib , Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⵙⴳⴰ ⵏ ⵍⵃⴰⵊⴱ Tasga n Lḥajb ) has been part of the Moroccan region of Fès-Meknes since 2015 . The capital of the province is the city of El Hajeb .

geography

location

The province of El Hajeb borders in the south with the province of Ifrane , in the southwest with the province Khénifra , in the west with the province Khémisset , in the north with the prefecture Meknes, in the north-east with the province Moulay Yacoub and in the east with the province Sefrou .

landscape

The landscape of the province between the northern foothills of the Middle Atlas and the Moroccan Meseta is hilly; the highest elevations are between 1000 and 1500 m.

climate

The maximum daytime temperatures in summer are 35 ° C, rarely above; in winter the daytime temperatures are around 20 ° C. At night in summer the thermometer falls to 20 to 25 ° C, depending on the cloudiness; Freezing temperatures can also be reached in winter - but usually it is 5 to 10 ° C.

population

The proportion of the population of Berber descent is 80%; mostly they are immigrants from the mountain regions who have left their home villages due to insufficient rainfall or for socio-cultural reasons ( rural exodus ). The men of Arab origin usually hold leading positions in administration or as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. About half of the population lives in four smaller towns (El Hajeb, Aïn Taoujdate, Sabaa Aiyoun and Agourai), the other half lives in the 12 rural communities ( communes rurales ), some of which, however, are already small towns. The main spoken language is Moroccan Arabic ; the Berber dialects, however, are becoming less important.

economy

Agriculture is the basis of all economic activity: mainly barley and wheat are grown, but also vegetables, olives and fruit; sometimes you can also see some vines. While in earlier centuries the farm was mainly used for self-sufficiency , nowadays production for the markets of the cities of Fez and Meknes plays the largest role.

history

The province was only established in 1991. Until 2015 it belonged to the Meknès-Tafilalet region .

Administrative division

The province of El Hajeb comprises four municipalities and 12 municipalities :

Municipalities

• Agouraï
• Ain Taoujdate
• El Hajeb
• Sabaa Aiyoun

Municipalities

• Ait Boubidmane
• Ait Bourzouine
• Ait Harz Allah
• Ait Naamane
• Ait Ouikhalfen
• Ait Yaazem
• Bitite
• Iqaddar
• Jahjouh
• Laqsir
• Ras Ijerri
• Tamchachate

Attractions

The city and province of El Hajeb have no historically or culturally significant sights. The city of El Hajeb was only a small market town in the 1950s and consists largely of new development areas.

Web links

Commons : El Hajeb  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Demographics Morocco 1994 + 2004