Guelmim
| Guelmim كلميم ⴰⴳⵯⵍⵎⵉⵎ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Guelmim-Oued Noun | ||||
| Province : | Guelmim | ||||
| Coordinates | 28 ° 59 ′ N , 10 ° 3 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 118,318 (2014) | ||||
| Area : | 10.9 km² | ||||
| Population density : | 10,855 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| Height : | 300 m | ||||
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Guelmim (from the mazirischen ⴰⴳⵯⵍⵎⵉⵎ Agʷelmim ; arabic كلميم), also Goulimine or Guelmin , is a provincial capital in southern Morocco with around 125,000 inhabitants . It belongs to the province of Guelmim in the region Guelmim-Oued Noun .
Location and climate
Guelmim is located at an altitude of about 280 to 300 m in the western foothills of the Anti-Atlas about 200 km south of Agadir . The main road runs parallel to the Atlantic coast from Tangier through the Western Sahara to Mauritania . The climate is almost desert-like; Rain (approx. 120 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter months.
Population development
| year | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 |
| Residents | 72,563 | 95,749 | 118,318 |
The sustained population growth is mainly due to the immigration of Berber families from the Anti-Atlas Mountains.
history
Since the 11th century the place has been a trading center and destination of large caravans from Mauritania and Senegal through the Sahara to this point. We traded in slaves , gold , salt, animals and fabrics. The market for the camel trade was of particular importance. With 20,000 to 40,000 camels brought here by nomads , the camel market was the largest in Africa. In the 1960s, 500 dromedaries were being traded every week . In the course of the loss of connections to the south due to the Western Sahara conflict and the increasing sedentariness of the nomads, the market lost this function and is now a normal weekly market. Even today, however, dromedaries, goats and sheep are still traded, but only on a regional basis .
City structure
In terms of urban planning, the city is divided into three sub-areas. The kasbah district of Oued Oum el Achar with its right-angled narrow streets is located in the southwestern part . The north-eastern part of Guelmim is the modern new town. It is characterized by uniform residential buildings and barracks and has a modern infrastructure. The third part of the city is the lower town, which was built during the Spanish colonial era and is dominated by older buildings with a reddish color.
people
The patron saint of the city Sidi Al Ghazi , who lived here at the end of the 18th century, is buried in Guelmim .
Events
- The souk with a camel market takes place every Saturday . Typical of the market were the men of the nomadic tribe of the Reguibat , the so-called blue men, dressed in a white or blue Derra'a . However, today's blue men of the market are mostly locals disguised for tourists.
- The local dance Guedra is often performed at events.
- Camel races are held in late June / early July. Religious festivals in honor of Sidi Al Gahzi and Sidi M`Hamed Ben Amar take place in May and July.
Surroundings
- About 10 km southeast of the city is the Asrir oasis , which is a popular destination for tourists.
- About 13 km northeast of the city is the village of Abaynou, which has an oasis and warm water springs that tourists like to visit.
sons and daughters of the town
- Abdelaziz Merzougui (* 1991), Spanish obstacle runner of Moroccan origin
- Hamza Driouch (* 1994), Qatari middle-distance runner of Moroccan origin
literature
- Ingeborg Lehmann: Morocco . Baedeker, Ostfildern 2001, ISBN 3-87504-412-6 , p. 219 ff