Tizourgane
Coordinates: 29 ° 53 ′ N , 9 ° 0 ′ W
Tizourgane is surrounded by a wall mountain village ( Ksar ) in the western Anti-Atlas in the province of Chtouka-Aït Baha in the region Souss-Massa in Morocco . Tizourgane and the nearby Berber village of Tioulit are often confused with each other - despite their completely different appearance.
location
The village, which only consists of about 50 houses, is located about 100 km southeast of the city of Agadir on a hilltop of the Anti-Atlas at an altitude of almost 1150 meters, about halfway between Aït Baha and Tafraoute . The location of the place on a hilltop is explained both for reasons of defense and for reasons of protecting the fertile soil in the valley or on the - formerly terraced and agriculturally used - mountain slopes.
history
As with almost all Berber- inhabited places, there are no written records of the history of Tizourgane. The inhabitants of the place were mostly sedentary, so they lived mainly from the always meager yields of their (terrace) fields and their pets according to the principle of self-sufficiency and were forced to protect their property against attacks by wandering nomads or hostile neighboring villages or tribes to protect. After the lack of rain in the 1970s and 1980s, the place was almost completely abandoned by its residents - similar to Tioulit , which is only a few kilometers away . After the turn of the millennium, Tizourgane has been largely restored with public and private funds; however, a few houses are still in ruin.
architecture
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defense
In addition to its elevated position, the Ksar of Tizourgane is secured against attacks in three ways: The outer 'line of defense' is formed by a cactus undergrowth directly in front of the wall ring, which, with only one - angled - access, represents the middle line of defense. The third closed defensive ring is formed by the - originally windowless - outer walls of the almost seamlessly joined houses.
mosque
The fact that the ksar is not surmounted by any minaret is striking . In the Berber villages of southern Morocco there were simple prayer rooms for the communal (Friday) prayer of men, but always without a tower, which could have been built without technical problems (cf. the defense towers of the Agadire or the Tighremts ). Outside the few old cities (Marrakech, Taroudannt, Tiznit), minarets were not built in southern Morocco until the middle of the 20th century. The ablutions ( Wuḍūʾ ) prescribed by the Koran (Sura 4,43 and Sura 5,6) were done either at home or symbolically with the help of a smoothly polished stone lying ready, which is sometimes still shown in the prayer rooms of the Berber regions (e.g. in Imchiguegueln ) .
Houses
Both the wall ring and the two or three-storey houses are made of larger and smaller stones, as can be found everywhere in the area, and without the use of mortar - just with a little clay between the stones. Simple geometric ornaments ( herringbone patterns , diamonds, etc.) were also designed with small, flat stone slabs , which were mostly placed over the entrance doors and originally had a disaster-warding ( apotropaic ) function. The old house doors - originally made without the use of iron - were decorated in a similar way, but in the 20th century they were bought by antique dealers - for a small fee - and sometimes also taken to the newly created museums; only a few old doors are still in place.
On the first floor of the houses there were mostly stables for the cattle (goats, sheep, chickens); above that lay the soot-blackened kitchen and living room / bedroom. The roof terrace, which was always present, served the women as a place for domestic work: preparing food, making argan oil or braiding and weaving, etc. The rooms were mainly lighted and ventilated through the doors; the small - originally unglazed - window openings were mostly only installed in the 20th century.
The houses of the wealthier families had a third floor with a living room and a few pieces of seating furniture. Usually, however, one sat, ate and slept on the floor, which was covered with mats and / or blankets, depending on the season. There was no furniture (cupboards, chests of drawers, chests, tables and chairs) - the little wood available was hardly suitable for carpentry because of the crooked branches, and it was also needed for cooking and baking bread.
Storage chambers
Several storage chambers for storing grain, agricultural implements, weapons, tools etc are embedded in the walls of the village; But to call the whole place Agadir (warehouse castle) for this reason - as it sometimes happens - would be a mistake. The Arabic term kasbah is also rather inappropriate, both linguistically and because of the lack of politico-military significance of the place.
Threshing floor
At the foot of the village is a circular threshing area laid out with stone slabs, where in earlier times the grain ( barley ) harvested at the end of April was threshed with the help of donkeys running over it. Because of the arid climate, vegetables could hardly be grown; it had to be exchanged or bought on the market ( suq ).
meaning
Hardly any old town in southern Morocco - with the exception of Aït-Ben-Haddou with its clay castles ( Tighremts ) - is as spectacularly located and largely preserved as a whole as Tizourgane. In addition, the place and its surroundings provide insights into the way of life and thinking of the Berber population and into the - not written down - history of an entire region.
Today the Ksar is a private hotel. Non-hotel guests can visit the ksar for a fee.
Surroundings
The largely deserted mountain village of Tioulit can be reached from Tizourgane on a short hike (approx. 2 km). You can drive to the beautiful Agadiren of Imchiguegueln , Imi m'Korn , Guimst and Imhilene .
literature
- Herbert Popp, Mohamed Ait Hamza, Brahim El Fasskaoui: Les agadirs de l'Anti-Atlas occidental. Atlas illustré d'un patrimoine culturel du Sud marocain. Natural Science Society, Bayreuth 2011, ISBN 978-3-939146-07-0 .
