Midelt (province)

Midelt province in the former Meknes-Tafilalet region

City of Midelt with the Jbel Ayachi in the background

Canyon in the Jbel Ayachi area

Imilchil

Isli Lake near Imilchil

Lac Tislit at Imilchil

Trees at Tounfite

The province of Midelt, which is around 12,700 km² in size and has around 300,000 inhabitants ( Arabic إقليم ميدلت; Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⵙⴳⴰ ⵏ ⴰⵡⵟⴰⵟ Tasga n Awṭaṭ ) is part of the Moroccan region of Drâa-Tafilalet , until 2015 it belonged to the Meknès-Tafilalet region . The provincial capital is the city of Midelt .

geography

location

The province of Midelt borders in the south with the province Errachidia , in the southwest with the province Tinghir , in the west with the provinces Azilal and Beni Mellal , in the north-west with the province Khénifra , in the north with the province Ifrane , in the north-east with the province Boulemane and in East to the Figuig Province .

landscape

Large parts of the Midelt province are located in the eastern foothills of the mountain ranges of the High Atlas and the Middle Atlas , which still reach average heights between 1500 and 2000 m. Some mountain peaks (above all the 3750  m high Jbel Ayachi ) tower over the surrounding area with heights of over 3000 m. Many northern slopes are wooded; the most important and imposing tree is the atlas cedar, which has become rare in this region .

climate

Due to its high altitude, the Midelt province is one of the cooler regions of Morocco, although even here daytime temperatures of 35 ° C and more can be reached in summer; at night, the values ​​drop to 5 ° to 15 °, depending on the cloudiness. Snowfalls and night frosts are to be expected in winter; During the day, however, the temperatures normally rise again to around 15 ° C, so that the snow usually melts again quickly and only remains on the mountain peaks until May at the latest.

population

Over 80% of the population of the province, which has around 270,000 inhabitants, are Berbers of various tribes. The only two larger cities are the Midelt, which is around 1500 m above sea level (approx. 45,000 inhabitants) and the much smaller Er-Rich (approx. 21,000 inhabitants). While Moroccan Arabic is mostly spoken in the two cities , the traditional Berber languages predominate in the rural communities ( communes rurales ) . The best-known rural community in the province is Imilchil with about 10 surrounding villages and a total of about 8,500 inhabitants.

Largest places and communities

Only the first two places are classified as urban settlements (M = commune municipal ); the rest are considered rural communities ( communes rurales ) and consist of a large number of villages.

local community	Residents
	1994	2004	2014
Midelt (M)	38,986	44,781	55,304
Er-Rich (M)	13,952	20,155	25,992
Gourrama	11,216	13,426	14,927
Boumia	11,493	15.204	18,212
Tounfite	10,677	12.306	13,297
Itzer	10,213	10,719	10,613
Ait Ayach	8,871	11,260	11,946
Imilchil	7,253	8.222	8,870
Outerbat	5,898	6.137	6,819
Bou Azmou	7,838	8,903	9,583
Amouguer	4,787	5.119	4,840
Ait Yahya	4,219	4,455	4,560
Zaouiat Sidi Hamza	6,624	4,595	5,454
Zaida	7,507	9,920	13,181
Sidi Aayad	6,372	7,424	8,629
M'Zizel	6,309	6,443	7,388
Guir	4,716	3,499	4.022
Guers Tiaallaline	9,718	11,931	12,927
En-nzala	3,675	5,186	4,390
Mibladen	3,438	3,087	3,084
Amersid	5,713	6,183	5,857
Ait Izdeg	7.233	8,431	6,819
Ait Ben Yacoub	4,590	4,310	4.012
Tizi N'Ghachou	2,997	3,053	2,557
Tanourdi	2,940	2,777	2,872
Sidi Yahya Ou Youssef	2,462	2,538	4,637
Anemzi	3,918	4,313	4,885
Agoudim	4,591	4,431	4.113
Aghbalou	7,258	8,292	9,547
to hum	225,464	257.100	289,337

economy

As in other regions of Morocco, agriculture dominated for centuries, especially cattle breeding (sheep, goats) and ensured the self-sufficiency of the population. After reduced or no rainfall since the 1970s and / or for socio-cultural reasons, many families have since moved to the cities in the hope of work and a better life, which has led to an enormous building boom there. Lead ores and other minerals have been mined in the vicinity of the town of Midelt for a long time; two larger mines still exist. Tourism plays a subordinate role, although many tourist buses make a stopover in Midelt on their way from Fès or Meknès to Errachidia or Erfoud or vice versa.

history

The region was probably a thoroughfare for caravans from sub-Saharan Africa as early as Roman times; these brought gold and slaves to the North African provinces of the Roman Empire and, in exchange, transported luxury goods such as fabrics etc. to the south. In the Islamic Middle Ages, this route became even more important after the city of Sijilmassa was founded, but the region as a whole remained only a transit route - also haunted by robber gangs. In the colonial days, Midelt was the seat of a French governor. The province of Midelt was only created in 2009 when areas of the provinces of Errachidia and Khénifra were separated.

Attractions

The imposing mountain landscapes of the Midelt Province have so far been virtually unknown to tourists. The province has no cultural sights to offer, apart from the market events ( moussem ) that take place every year at the end of August / beginning of September in the Berber town of Imilchil, which is over 2100 m high .

Web links

Commons : Midelt Province  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Commons : Middle Atlas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Demographics Morocco 1994 + 2004