Valley of the Ammeln
The valley of the Ammeln ( French Vallée d'Ammeln or Vallée des Ammeln ) is an approximately 15 km long valley with formerly 26 villages in the western Anti-Atlas in Morocco . The valley takes its name from the Ammeln , a Berber tribe belonging to the Schlöh .
geography
The nearby center of the region is Tafraoute . In the north, the approximately 1000 m high valley is bordered by a 1500–1700 m high rock face; behind it the mountains rise up to heights of 2360 m (see Jbel Lekst ). Due to the large number of small streams that only carry water in the winter months and spring and all of them flow into the Oued Massa or one of its tributaries, the valley was comparatively quite fertile.
population
The inhabitants of the villages are almost all of Berber descent; Taschelhit and Moroccan Arabic are commonly spoken .
economy
Until the middle of the 20th century (sometimes even to this day), the inhabitants of the remote and for a long time difficult to reach valley lived as self-sufficient farmers on the yields of their small fields where they grew barley , potatoes and vegetables, and on tree fruits such as olives , Almonds, pomegranates and argania , whose seeds are used to make oil . In addition, cattle was farmed on a small scale (sheep, goats, chickens). After the lack of rain in the 1970s and 1980s, many men in search of work migrated to the cities in northern Morocco or even to Europe and supported their families with cash transfers.
history
As is customary in the Berber regions of the Maghreb , no written records of history have been made. Important things were passed down orally; otherwise, people's lives ran in a constant rhythm.
Attractions
Most of the houses built of stone, clay, palm beams and reeds and decorated with stone or slate ornaments have disappeared and have been replaced by new buildings made of hollow blocks and concrete. In Oumesnat one of the older houses has been turned into a small museum ( maison traditional ) that is well worth seeing . As previously - not only in Morocco - widespread, there is a small oven made of clay in the courtyard area.
literature
- Mark Ellingham et al. a .: Morocco. Loose Verlag, Berlin 2001, p. 567ff, ISBN 3-922025-94-3 .
Web links
Coordinates: 29 ° 44 ′ 48 ″ N , 8 ° 55 ′ 5 ″ W.