Errachidia (Province)

Errachidia province in the former Meknes-Tafilalet region

The approximately 30,000 km² large province of Errachidia ( Arabic إقليم الرشيدية, DMG Iqlīm ar-Rašīdīya , Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⵙⴳⴰ ⵏ ⵉⵎⵜⵖⵔⵏ Tasga n Imtɣrn ) has about 450,000 inhabitants and belongs to the Moroccan region of Drâa-Tafilalet . The capital of the province is the city of Errachidia .

geography

Erg Chebbi dunes near Merzouga

location

The province Errachida bordered to the south and southeast by Algeria , the southwest by the Moroccan province of Zagora , in the northwest of the province of Tinghir , on the north by the province of Midelt and on the northeast by the province Figuig .

landscape

The sparsely populated province of Errachidia is relatively flat and desert-like; only the valley of the Oued Ziz forms a clear cut into the landscape. Large parts of the province lie at altitudes of 800 to 1000 m; some mountains in the northwest even reach heights of over 2000 m. The sand dunes of Erg Chebbi reach heights of over 100 m.

climate

As in all desert regions of Morocco, there are clear differences between day and night temperatures: While 40 ° C and more are reached during the day in summer, it cools down to 5 to 15 ° C at night - depending on the cloudiness. In winter, daytime temperatures still rise to 20 to 30 ° C. In the mountain regions, values ​​of just under 0 ° C can also be reached at night in winter, the maximum daytime temperatures in summer are also around 20 ° C.

History, population and language

The province was created shortly after Morocco gained independence in 1956 under the old name of its capital Ksar es Souk and, like this, renamed 'Errachidia' in 1976. With the separation of the newly created provinces of Tinghir and Midelt, the province of Errachidia lost a not inconsiderable part of its area and population in 2009. In 2004 - before the separation of sparsely populated areas to the province of Tinghir - the province of Errachidia had about 556,000 inhabitants. While most place names are of Berber origin, the dynasty of the Alaouites, who originally resided here, traced their origins back to Arabic roots. Both languages ​​- Central Atlas Tamazight and Arabic - are largely spoken in parallel today.

economy

Palm oases in the valley of the Oued Ziz

Ruins of Sidschilmasa

Palm oases

The palm oases in the valley of the Oued Ziz and in the area of ​​the Tafilalet are characteristic of the region . While the Ziz Valley is still intensively cultivated, this is rarely the case in the Tafilalet, because the increasing drought caused by the lack of rainfall, the soils become too salty and many palm trees die.

Trade and transportation

In earlier centuries the caravan town of Sidschilmasa (near Rissani ) , which was almost completely sunk in the desert sand of the Tafilalet, was one of the most important cities in all of Morocco. Up until the 18th century, black African gold and not infrequently slaves were traded in the north or exchanged for the equivalent value of food (dates, nuts, almonds, etc.) or other commercial goods (carpets, blankets, fabrics, but also weapons, etc.) . There were lots of camels available for transport, of which only a few are left.

tourism

Since the 1970s, tourism has played an increasingly important role in the province's economic life. The various ksour around Rissani are culturally interesting . The city of Erfoud (hotels) and the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga should also be mentioned - however, both places are endangered by mass tourism, which has a corresponding impact on the hotels and the sand dunes of Merzouga (e.g. quads , farmer fishing ) entails. In addition, the motorized caravan of the Dakar Rally moved through the Tafilalet until 2007 and set a bad example for both locals and tourists in dealing with nature. The valley of the Oued Ziz, on the other hand, has so far hardly been developed for tourism. Here there are still some clay castles ( Tighremts ) of the Berbers, most of which, however, were abandoned years ago and are about to finally decay.

Web links

• Tourism website of the province of Errachidia (status before 2009) (French)
• Geonames: Errachidia Province