Rehamna (Province)

Rehamna province in the Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz region

The province of Rehamna or Rhamna ( Arabic : إقليم الرحامنة), which is around 5800 km² in size and has around 300,000 inhabitants , has been part of the Moroccan region of Marrakech-Safi since 2015 (previously Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz ). The province consists of two cities ( Ben Guerir and Sidi Bou Othmane ) and 23 rural communities ( communes rurales ). The provincial capital is the city of Ben Guerir.

geography

location

The province of Rehamna borders in the southwest with the province Youssoufia , in the northwest with the province Sidi Bennour , in the north with the province El Jadida , in the north-east with the river Oum er-Rbia or with the province Settat , in the east with the province El Kelaâ des Sraghna , to the south to the province of Al Haouz and to the south-west to the prefecture of Marrakech .

landscape

Apart from an approximately 600 m high ridge in the center, most of the province is rather flat and level with heights of around 250 m.

climate

The overall climate is rather hot and dry. The summer maximum daily temperatures reach 40 ° C and more; at night it cools down to values ​​around 10 to 15 ° C. In winter, the maximum daily temperatures - depending on the cloud cover - still reach 20 to 30 ° C; at night the thermometer drops to values ​​around 0 to 10 ° C.

population

Over 90% of the population are members of various Berber tribes . The men work as farm workers, taxi drivers or in construction; many also try their luck in Europe. The leading positions in business and administration as well as in health and education are mostly in the hands of the Arab minority. Moroccan Arabic is spoken .

economy

In the semi-desert climate of the province, plants thrive only with the use of irrigation, which is possible in the northeast through the Oum er-Rbia and in the south through the Oued Tensift . In the higher inland regions of the province, sheep and goat breeding still dominate.

history

There are no written documents about the medieval history of the region. However, one can assume that the Berber tribes living here lived as (semi) nomads. In the 16th century - according to tradition - the tribe of the Rhamna (together with other tribes) immigrated from Yemen in the early 16th century - they would therefore be of Arab origin. The tribe supported the Saadian Sultan Mohammed ech-Cheikh in his fight against the Portuguese fortress cities on the coast. The tribal association, which is said to number more than 20,000 people, settled in various small villages, some of which developed from small market towns to small towns during the French colonial era - a trend that temporarily stalled in the first years after Morocco's independence (1956), but it did has continued increasingly since the 1970s. Rehamna Province was established by royal decree in 2009.

Attractions

There are no scenic, historical or culturally significant sights in the Rehamna province.

Web links

• Rhamna Province - Map and Info (French)
• Demographic statistics Morocco 1994 and 2004