Lalla Takerkoust
| Lalla Takerkoust للا تاكركوست ⵍⴰⵍⵍⴰ ⵜⴰⴽⵔⴽⵓⵙⵜ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Marrakech-Safi | ||||
| Province : | Al Haouz | ||||
| Coordinates | 31 ° 21 ′ N , 8 ° 8 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 4,080 (2014) | ||||
| Height : | 548 m | ||||
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Lalla Takerkoust ( Arabic للا تاكركوست, Taschelhit ⵍⴰⵍⵍⴰ ⵜⴰⴽⵔⴽⵓⵙⵜ Lalla Takrkust ) is the capital of a rural community (commune rurale) inhabited by Berbers on the northern edge of the High Atlas in the province of Al Haouz in the Marrakech-Safi region . The nearby reservoir of the same name is mainly used to supply Marrakech with water .
location
Lalla Takerkoust is located on the Oued Nfiss in the plain south of the Tensift basin of Marrakech at an altitude of approx. 540 m . It is approx. 38 km (driving distance) in a north-westerly direction to Marrakech; the place Amizmiz at the foot of the Atlas Mountains is about 30 km southwest. In the center of the village the road crosses the Oued Nfiss on a bridge , in the valley of which the pass road runs over the Tizi n'Test in the High Atlas. To the west of Marrakech the Oued Nfiss flows into the Oued Tensift.
The old town center with a predominantly Berber population stretches up a slope from the bridge to the north. The geographical center of the place is the road bridge with some grocery stores, restaurants and the weekly market in the vicinity. To the south, towards the dam, there is a newer settlement where the families of the workers on the dam live. The dam is located on the western outskirts. Its outflow in a north-easterly direction runs between the two halves of the village.
population
| year | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 |
| Residents | k. A. | 3,348 | 4,080 |
The inhabitants of the place are almost without exception of Berber descent; The regional dialect Taschelhit and Moroccan Arabic are spoken .
economy
For centuries the oasis economy formed the basis of life for the residents of the village ; Olives are mainly planted behind rammed earth walls, with pomegranates , figs and some date palms in between . Animal husbandry (donkeys, sheep, goats, chickens) plays a subordinate role. Income from pilgrimage tourism was added and the construction and maintenance of the dam also created some jobs.
Holy Lalla Takerkoust
The name of the place goes back to the Sufi saint Lalla Takerkoust, who is venerated in the local folk belief and whose tomb ( qubba ) is covered by a dome in the old town center. The building complex, which is surrounded by a high wall, includes the actual grave room, a large inner courtyard, several ancillary rooms and a minaret . A healing spring emerges from the lower outer wall, which feeds a water basin in which traditionally wish-fulfilling turtles swim. According to a description from 1954, the petitions of the Muslim and Jewish pilgrims were accepted when the animals nibbled on the toes that had been dipped in the water and previously coated with bread dough. The turtles are considered to be helpful spirits ( jinn ) who are friends with the saint and can transmit their blessing power ( baraka ) . Edward Westermarck described in 1926 how people afflicted by malevolent spirits first offered an (animal) sacrifice at the spring before they put their hand or foot into the water. The turtles should be put in a favorable mood so that they may wish to cure the disease. Furthermore, the graves of seven holy men were formerly worshiped by the Berber tribe of the Ait Wauzgit nearby (a better known example of the cult of the seven are the seven saints of Marrakech ).
Reservoir
During the French colonial era , a 350 m long and 60 m high gravity dam was built in 1935 , which dammed the Oued Nfiss into a 7 km long lake; in 1980 the dam was increased. The reservoir today supplies a large part of the drinking water for the Marrakech urban region and is also used to irrigate the Tensift basin. The annual rainfall in Lalla Takerkoust is low at 261.3 mm. Most of the water is consumed in the dry and hot summer months, while rainfall falls in winter.
It is the largest dam in the region. The original capacity of 72.5 million m³ was reduced by silting to 56.1 million m³ in 2002. The cause of the silting is the erosion of the steep slopes of the surrounding bare hills, which could only be limited by extensive afforestation. To counteract the water shortage in Marrakech, the Wirgane Dam has been built 20 kilometers above since 2005. It is intended to increase the amount of drinking water available for the city by 17 million m³ annually.
The dam also produces a small amount of electricity. The lake is used for fishing and is a destination for foreign tourists. About 5 km from the town on the northern shore of the lake, some smaller hotel complexes have been built where the leisure activities common for bathing holidaymakers are offered.
Individual evidence
- ^ Lalla Takerkoust - population development
- ^ Edward Westermarck : Ritual and Belief in Morocco. Volume 1, Macmillan and Co., London 1926, pp. 86, 229
- ↑ After Emile Dermenghem, 1954. In: Hubert Lang : The cult of saints in Morocco. Forms and functions of pilgrimages. (Passau Mediterranean Studies, special series 3) Passavia Universitätsverlag, Passau 1992, p. 73, ISBN 3-860360-06X
- ↑ Anne Chaponniere, Vladimir Smakhtin: A Review of Climate Change Scenarios and Preliminary Rainfall Trend Analysis in the Oum Er Rbia Basin, Morocco. (PDF; 389 kB) IWMI, Working Paper 110, 2006, p. 9
- ↑ Alison Maassen: Watered Down: The Intersection and Integration of Tourism Development and Water Resource Management in Marrakech, Morocco. School for International Training, December 8, 2007
- ↑ OPEC bulletin, Volume 36, No. 2, February 2005 (PDF; 3.1 MB)