Skoura
| Skoura Arabic سكورة, Central Atlas Tamazight ⵙⴽⵓⵔⴰ Skura |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Drâa-Tafilalet | ||||
| Province : | Ouarzazate | ||||
| Coordinates | 31 ° 2 ′ N , 6 ° 35 ′ W | ||||
| Height : | 1150 m | ||||
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Skoura ( Arabic سكورة, Zentralatlas-Tamazight ⵙⴽⵓⵔⴰ Skura ) is a mainly Berber- inhabited small town with about 15,000 inhabitants in the province of Ouarzazate (region Drâa-Tafilalet ) in southern Morocco .
location
The town, located about 40 km northeast of Ouarzazate at an altitude of about 1150 m , consists of an older part in the southwest ( vieux Skoura ) and a newer part in the northeast about 3 km away. Only the older part of the village is worth seeing with its palm oases ( palmeraies ) and kasbahs - some of which have been converted into beautiful hotels . In spring and after the extremely rare summer rains , the otherwise dry gravel bed of the Oued El Hajaj or the Oued Skoura fills with water, which is used to irrigate the palm oases and the fields.
history
Not much is known about the early history of Skoura. However, one can assume that the relative abundance of water in the palm oases - comparable to the Draâ valley - promoted the settling down of later hunter and gatherer cultures or nomadic tribes early on. Ibn Chaldūn reports towards the end of the 14th century about a tribe of the Haskoura who immigrated from the Near East and who could have given the area its name. The place only entered the historical awareness of modern times towards the end of the 19th century, when various clan and territorial rivalries of the Berber tribes led to conditions that were sometimes similar to civil wars, which could only be resolved during the period of the French protectorate and after Morocco's independence (1956) .
Oases
The formerly an area of about 25 km² occupying palm gardens ( palmeraies ) of Skoura are located approx. 15-20 km south of the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas in spring , which - with the help of irrigation channels - make the land fertile and centuries ago for a flourishing Have provided oasis economy , in the center of which is the tall date palm . On a level below there are pomegranate and fig trees , olive and almond trees are rarer. All trees also have an important role in providing shade. Mainly cereals (barley, wheat) and vegetables (beans, potatoes, cabbage, carrots etc.) are grown in the fields, which provide the residents , who largely still live according to the principles of self- sufficiency, with sufficient food. In addition - as is usual in oases - sheep, goats and chickens are kept to a small extent, but they do not have free space.
The lack of rain or snowfall in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in increasing drought, in which even the palm trees perished en masse. The result was an emigration of large parts of the population. In the meantime the situation has relaxed again and you can - especially in early spring (February, March) - stroll around on narrow, slightly elevated paths in the fields and enjoy the lush greenery of the small plots.
Kasbahs
Of the formerly certainly abundant residential castles ( tighremts ) of the Berbers who lived here, only ruins have survived. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, however, a lot of building activity began - promoted by the particular interests of the various Berber clans (Glaoua, Nassiri, etc.). Large building complexes made of clay with a strategic-territorial, partly also military function ( kasbahs ) were built, which, however, were also uninhabitable towards the end of the 20th century, but then in many cases were bought, restored and partially converted into hotels by wealthy private individuals.
Kasbah Amerhidil
The main attraction of the oasis landscape is the multi-towered Kasbah Amerhidil (also Imridil ), which was built in the 18th century, but was fundamentally renovated towards the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Parts of the building complex built around inner courtyards have been converted into a hotel, in other parts a museum that is well worth seeing has been set up. The towers of the Kasbah with their typical geometrical ornamentation, which originally had a disaster-warding ( apotropaic ) meaning, were depicted on the old 50 dirham note.
The interior of the kasbah, which was built entirely from local materials (clay, palm trunks, reed and palm mats), was inhabited until the 1960s, and so some domestic items made of ceramics and wickerwork have been preserved to give an impression of the life of the residents, which was quite feudal for the times.
Surroundings
Other kasbahs and villages ( douars ) in the vicinity of Skoura can be explored on foot (see web link).
See also
Other important cities on the so-called 'road of the kasbahs' between Ouarzazate and Erfoud are:
literature
- Arnold Betten: Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont, Ostfildern 2012, p. 299f, ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4 .
