Meknes

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Meknes
مكناس
ⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ
Meknes coat of arms
Meknes (Morocco)
Meknes
Meknes
Basic data
State : MoroccoMorocco Morocco
Region : Fès-Meknes
Prefecture : Meknes
Coordinates 33 ° 54 ′  N , 5 ° 34 ′  W Coordinates: 33 ° 54 ′  N , 5 ° 34 ′  W
Residents : 520,428 (2014)
Area : 73.4 km²
Population density : 7,090 inhabitants per km²
Height : 520  m
Postal code : 50000 - 50052
Bab Mansour Gate in Meknes Medina
Bab Mansour Gate in Meknes Medina

Meknes ( Central Atlas Tamazight ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ Ameknas , Arabic مكناس, DMG Miknās ) is a city in northern Morocco with almost 600,000 inhabitants. It is located in the Fès-Meknes region at the foot of the Middle Atlas Mountains . Their name is derived from the Berber tribe of the Miknasa , who originally settled the place. The entire old town ( medina ) of Meknès and the Ville impériale Mulai Ismails were included in their list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1996 .

Location and climate

The city lies at an altitude of about 520  m in a fertile plain between the Zerhoun massif in the north and the Middle Atlas in the south. The city of Fès is about 65 km (driving distance) to the northeast, the Moroccan capital Rabat is a good 150 km to the west. The Wadi Bou Fekrane runs right through the city . The climate in Meknes is temperate by Moroccan standards; Rain (approx. 575 mm / year) falls almost exclusively in the winter half-year.

Population development

year 1982 1994 2004 2014
Residents 319.783 393.791 469.169 520.428

Originally the Berber tribe of the Meknassa ( ⵉⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙⵏ Imeknasen ) lived in the area , who immigrated from what is now Tunisia in the 9th or 10th century. But through the activities of Mulai Ismail and later the French , there were also many Arab residents. Since the 1970s, many Berber families from all parts of Morocco have settled here again. Moroccan Arabic is generally spoken today .

economy

The city's location in one of the most productive agricultural areas in Morocco makes the city an important hub for agricultural products (grain, fruit and vegetables) and a regional center for trade and handicrafts. The National Agricultural School of Morocco is based here. In the past few decades, medium-sized industrial companies (cement production, metal processing, etc.) have also emerged.

history

The Almoravids built a fortress in the 11th century, which for a long time resisted the Almohads' attempts to capture it , but was destroyed in the end (1145). A new fortress and several mosques were subsequently built until the Merinids took the city and equipped it with new buildings. Meknes then fell into disrepair until the Alawid sultan Mulai Ismail (ruled 1672–1727) raised it to the capital of his empire about 250 years later and transformed it on a large scale. After his death, however, the country's capital was moved back to Fez. Along with Fès , Marrakech and Rabat , Meknes is one of the four royal cities of Morocco .

Meknes is known through several popular Islamic brotherhoods ( tariqas ) , to which the Isawiya (ʿĪsawīya) belongs, which goes back to the patron saint of the city, the saint Sīdi Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā (1465-1523). Other Sufi sects with unusual rituals are the Hamadscha (Ḥamadša), in whose beliefs the spiritual being Aisha Qandisha plays a central role, the Jilala (Jilala, Ǧilāla), Milyāna and the Gnawa . The Tiǧānīya and the Darqāwīya of ad-Darqāwī belong to the supraregional Sufi orders .

Attractions

  • The city is divided into two halves, the medina in the west and the Ville nouvelle in the east, which was created under French rule . The Oued Bou Sekrane forms the natural border between the two parts of the city .
  • At the Place el Hedim , the wide square in front of the famous Bab Mansour city ​​gate , there is a covered market for food. The souks of Meknes are among the most beautiful and pristine in the country.
  • The other city gates from Mulai Ismail's time ( Bab Berdayyin , Bab Khemis and others) are also among the most impressive of their kind in Morocco.
  • The most important building of the medieval medina (old town) is the Medersa Bou Inania from the time of the Merinids (14th century).
  • The mausoleum of Mulai Ismail with an attached mosque, which was restored by Mohammed V , is also magnificent . Surprisingly, the white sarcophagus is flanked by two baroque grandfather clocks, which appear strange in the oriental decor. They were a gift from the French "Sun King" Louis XIV to Mulai Ismail.
  • Nearby are old underground chambers that are believed to have served as food stores and are often referred to as the former “Christian prison”.
  • The huge warehouses and stables of the Heri es-Souani are also worth seeing.
  • In February 2010, after days of rain, the minaret and parts of the roof of the Bab Berdieyenne Mosque, built under Sultan Mulai Ismail, collapsed . The minaret is now back.
  • The Musée Dar Jamaï has existed since 1920 .
  • To the west outside the old town at the entrance of a large cemetery is the venerated mausoleum ( Qubba ) of Sidi Mohammed ben Aïssâ (1467–1526), ​​the founder of the popular Islamic Aissaoua Brotherhood.
Surroundings

Excursions to the ruins of the Roman city of Volubilis, about 25 km to the north, and to the pilgrimage site of Moulay Idris , which lies directly next to it, are recommended.

sons and daughters of the town

literature

  • Michael Dumper: Meknes . In: Michael RT Dumper, Bruce E. Stanley: Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara 2007, ISBN 1-57607-919-8 .
  • Arnold Betten: Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4 ,
    pp. 159ff.

Web links

Commons : Meknes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Meknes - population development
  2. Postcode ZIP code Meknes, Morocco - GeoPostcodes. Retrieved August 2, 2018 .
  3. Entry on the website of the UNESCO World Heritage Center ( English and French ).
  4. Meknes - map with altitude information
  5. Meknès - climate tables
  6. Collapsing minaret buries dozens of people. In: Spiegel Online. February 20, 2010, accessed December 2, 2014 .