Tafraoute

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Tafraoute
تفراوت
ⵜⴰⴼⵔⴰⵡⵜ
Coat of arms of Tafraoute
Tafraoute (Morocco)
Tafraoute
Tafraoute
Basic data
State : MoroccoMorocco Morocco
Region : Souss-Massa
Province : Tiznit
Coordinates 29 ° 43 ′  N , 8 ° 58 ′  W Coordinates: 29 ° 43 ′  N , 8 ° 58 ′  W
Residents : 6,345 (2014)
Height : 1000  m
Tafraoute and cliffs of Agard-Oudad
Tafraoute and cliffs of Agard-Oudad

Tafraoute (from the mazirischen ⵜⴰⴼⵔⴰⵡⵜ Tafrawt , "basin / cistern", Arabic تفراوت) is a small town and a rural community ( commune rurale ) in the Anti-Atlas Mountains with around 7,000 inhabitants in the province of Tiznit in the Souss-Massa region in southern Morocco .

location

Tafraoute is located in the midst of an imposing granite landscape in the western Anti-Atlas on the Oued Massa at an altitude of approx. 1000  m . The distance from Agadir is about 160 km (R105 via Aït Baha ) and 195 km (N1 and R104 via Tiznit ). The climate is rather moderate because of the altitude; the sparse rain (approx. 235 mm / year) falls almost exclusively in the winter months.

population

year 1994 2004 2014
Residents 3,949 4,931 6,345

Tafraoute is the economic center of the western anti-Atlas; almost exclusively Berbers live here . They speak the regional Berber dialect as well as Moroccan Arabic and French.

economy

The mountain oasis landscape in the vicinity of Tafraoute produced sufficient food for the population who had lived according to the principles of self- sufficiency for centuries . After the rainfalls in the winter months, which have been decreasing since the 1980s or have been absent at all, the majority of men who are fit for work have migrated to the cities of the north, but - due to the high birth rate and income from tourism - there is sustained economic and population growth again to be recorded.

history

Nothing is known about the history of the former Berber village and its surroundings, given the Berber culture without writing . Today the place is an economic and tourist center in the mountains of the western Anti-Atlas with several daily bus connections to the cities of the north, where many - mostly young - Berbers work, whose transfer money makes a significant contribution to the survival of the region.

From the lack of agadirs (storage castles ) in the vicinity of Tafraoute and in the Ammeln valley, one can conclude that the population in the comparatively fertile mountain oases had been settled for centuries. Cattle breeding and the transhumance traditionally practiced in parts of Morocco only played a subordinate role - unlike in the comparatively arid regions east of Aït Baha and north of Aït Abdallah , only about 80 km away .

Attractions

Tafraoute - view over the city

Townscape

Nothing has been preserved from the traditional clay building method that was once in existence in Tafraoute itself; Instead, you can find the 'typical' new Berber houses plastered in various shades of red with large windows, outer walls made of hollow blocks , false ceilings made of concrete and satellite dishes , as can now be found everywhere in southern Morocco. All houses do not have a gable roof, but a roof terrace that is used for many purposes.

Landscape image

Surroundings of Tafraoute

The most striking feature of Tafraoute and its immediate surroundings are the large number of large granite rock formations that have been rounded by natural forces (rain and wind), which ultimately point to a volcanic origin of this part of the Anti-Atlas. In this context, the Chapeau de Napoléon ("Napoleon hat") in Agard-Oudad deserves special mention.

Surroundings

"Blue stones"

The cultural sights in the area include the towns of Tazka and Aday with their crumbling mud buildings ( tighremts ) - standing in the middle of huge granite blocks - and their Berber museums ( maison berbère or maison traditional ) as well as the valley of the Ammeln , whose name comes from a Berber tribe who has its center in Tafraoute. Most important place in the valley of the Ammeln is Oumesnat with a well-maintained maison traditional .

Blue stones

Also worth mentioning are the “Blue Stones” by the Belgian artist Jean Vérame , who in 1984 painted huge granite blocks, rounded by erosion, with bright colors not far from the road south of Agard-Oudad. The same artist left behind even more extensive and equally controversial art in Sinai in the “Blue Desert”, which is known there. Meanwhile, most of the stones at Tafraoute have been repainted.

literature

  • Arnold Betten: Morocco. Ancient Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4 , p. 240ff.
  • Ingeborg Lehmann, Rita Henss u. a .: Morocco. Baedeker-Verlag, Ostfildern 2010, ISBN 978-3-8297-1251-4 , p. 404ff.

Web links

Commons : Tafraoute  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tafraoute - population statistics
  2. Tafraoute - map with altitude information
  3. Tafraoute - climate tables