Souk El Arbaa
| Souk El Arbaa سوق الأربعاء ⵙⵓⵇ ⵍⴰⵔⴱⵄⴰ |
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| Basic data | |||||
| State : |
 Morocco
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| Region : | Rabat-Salé-Kénitra | ||||
| Province : | Kénitra | ||||
| Coordinates | 34 ° 41 ′ N , 6 ° 0 ′ W | ||||
| Residents : | 69,265 (2014) | ||||
| Area : | 12 km² | ||||
| Population density : | 5,772 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| Height : | 35 m | ||||
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Souk El Arbaa or Souk Larbaâ ( Arabic سوق الأربعاء, DMG Sūq al-Arbi'ā' = "Wednesday Market", Central Atlas Tamazight- ⵙⵓⵇ ⵍⴰⵔⴱⵄⴰ ) is a town of about 90,000 inhabitants in the province of Kenitra in the Region Rabat-Sale-Kénitra in northwest Morocco .
Location and climate
The town of Souk El Arbaa is located on the northern edge of the fertile Gharb plain at a height of approx. 35 m . The provincial capital Kenitra and the provincial capital Rabat are located about 87 and 132 km (driving distance) southwest. The climate influenced by the Atlantic is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 600 mm / year) falls almost exclusively in the winter half-year.
population
| year | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 |
| Residents | 37,216 | 43,392 | 69,265 |
A large part of today's population is of Berber descent and has immigrated from the mountain and desert regions of Morocco since the 1960s.
economy
Until the early 20th century, today's city was little more than a farming village or a market town ( suq ) . Urban development did not begin until the French colonial period and it was to intensify after Morocco gained independence (March 2, 1956). The city offers the economic and social infrastructure (trade, handicrafts, banks, insurance companies, schools, hospitals, etc.) for the city dwellers and the people in the surrounding villages.
history
During the protectorate, the place gradually developed into a small town and after the independence of French Morocco into a large city due to the continued immigration.
On July 29, 1956, supporters of the Istiqlal independence movement committed a massacre of members of a rival group. This (now almost forgotten) event was brought to light again in 2015 by the author Driss Ganbouri in the novel Zaman Al Khaouf ("Time of Fear").
