Tafilalet
Coordinates: 31 ° 18 ′ N , 4 ° 16 ′ W
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The Tafilalet or Tafilalt ( Arabic تافيلالت, DMG Tāfīlālat , Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⴼⵉⵍⴰⵍⵜ ) is the southernmost of a group of several oases in the Moroccan Sahara crossed by Wadi Ziz . With 1380 km², 300 villages and up to 150,000 inhabitants, this group of oases is the most extensive in the world. The name Tafilalet means "land of the Hilali" in the Berber language . Hilali is the name given to the inhabitants of Tafilalet, who are descended from the Banu Hilal , among them is the religious scholar and Koran translator Muhammad al-Hilali .
location
The oasis group is located in the east of the Drâa-Tafilalet region in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains . The location was previously given as ten camel caravan days south of Fez , which today can mean crossing the entire Atlas in one day if a motor vehicle is used and under favorable conditions. Biggest cities in Tafilalet are Erfoud and Rissani . The Tafilalet is divided into seven districts and has tributaries from side wadis, such as the Wadi Rheris . The southernmost part is called Sebcha Daya ed-Daura. The former governor's seat of 150 villages was in what is now Rissani.
economy
The traditional economy in the Tafilalet was the oasis economy with the date palm as the main plant. In addition, the trade in tanned skins, ostrich feathers, slaves, salt and gold dust already played a major role in ancient times. In addition, small crafts and retail trade emerged. In the last third of the 20th century, tourism was added as an important economic factor - since then goods such as saffiano , silk and carpets have also been produced or traded . The trade in fossils - mostly smoothly ground and polished - also plays a role in the economic life of the region.
history
In the center of the Tafilalet oasis is the former commercial and university town of Sidschilmasa . It was on the Niger - Fez - Tangier caravan route and today consists of a five-mile long ruined city along the Zīz. In the 14th century, the Berber explorer Ibn Battuta visited the trading town of Sidschilmasa on his journey from Fez to the land of the blacks . Since 1648 the Alawid sultans sent citizens from northern Morocco as colonists to the Tafilalet. They occupied and fortified the villages of Ksour , other Ksour were commissioned by the rulers themselves to deport widows and other members who were unwelcome at court. In 1828, the French African explorer René Caillié was the first European to visit Tafilalet. The German Africa explorer Gerhard Rohlfs toured the area in 1864. In 1895 the author Walter Burton Harris published his work Tafilet , in which the Harka - travel royalty of the Sultan Mulai al-Hassan I is described.
tourism
Erfoud has developed into an important hotel city and hub for tourists coming from the north (royal cities of central Morocco) or from the west ( Agadir , Marrakech , street of the kasbahs). Many visit the Tafilalet primarily because of the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga . But also Rissani with its market ( suq ) and the tomb mosque ( marabout ) of Moulay Ali Cherif , the founder of the Alawid dynasty, is worth a visit; the ksour in the vicinity of Rissani are part of the cultural heritage of Morocco. The palm groves ( palmeraies ), which are visible almost everywhere - but suffer from a fungal disease in large numbers - are mostly not part of the tourist crowd and are therefore reserved for individual tourists.
literature
- Gerhard Rohlfs: Journey through Morocco. North, 1884.
- Walter Burton Harris: Tafilet, journey of exploration. London 1895
- Arnold Betten: Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont-Verlag, Ostfildern 2009, p. 307ff ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. arab. Wikipedia article .
- ^ Comprehensive Summary New Tafilet: Narrative of a Journey of Exploration in the Atlas Mountains and the Oases of the Sahara ( Memento of January 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
