Marrakesh or Marrakech is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.
The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around 2,500 km (1,600 mi) through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The range's highest peak is Toubkal, which is in central Morocco, with an elevation of 4,167 metres (13,671 ft). The Atlas mountains are primarily inhabited by Berber populations.
Medieval Muslim Algeria was a period of Muslim dominance in Algeria during the Middle Ages, spanning the millennium from the 7th century to the 17th century. The new faith, in its various forms, would penetrate nearly all segments of society, bringing with it armies, learned men, and fervent mystics; in large part, it would replace tribal practices and loyalties with new social norms and political idioms.
Ouarzazate, nicknamed the door of the desert, is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Drâa-Tafilalet, south-central Morocco.
Taroudant is a city in the Sous Valley in south western Morocco. It is situated east of Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and the Sahara desert and south of Marrakesh. The town is known as the "Grandmother of Marrakech" because it looks like a smaller Marrakech with its surrounding ramparts. In the 16th century, the Saadi dynasty briefly used Taroudant as a capital before it moved its royal seat onwards to Marrakesh. Today, the city has the feel of a small fortified market town on a caravan route.
Abu Abd Allah Amghar Ibn Tumart was a Muslim Berber religious scholar, teacher and political leader, from the Sous in southern present-day Morocco. He founded and served as the spiritual and first military leader of the Almohad movement, a puritanical reform movement launched among the Masmuda Berbers of the Atlas Mountains. Ibn Tumart launched an open revolt against the ruling Almoravids during the 1120s. After his death his followers, the Almohads, went on to conquer much of North Africa and part of Spain. Although the Almohad movement itself was founded by Ibn Tumart, his disciple Abd al-Mu'min was the founder of the ruling dynasty and creator of the Almohad empire.
Settat is a city in Morocco between the national capital Rabat and Marrakesh. Settat is located 83.9 km (52.1 mi) by road south of the centre of Casablanca, roughly an hour's drive. It is the capital of Settat Province and is its largest city in both size and population. According to the 2014 Moroccan census, it had a population of 142,250 people, up from 116,570 people in the 2004 census. Settat is 370 m (1,210 ft) above sea level, built on a plateau surrounded by foothills in all directions. The antiquities of Settat include the very old Ismailiya Kasbah distinguished by the statue of a steed which lies at the center of the city.
The Museum of Marrakech is a historic palace and museum located in the old center of Marrakesh, Morocco. In addition to its notable architecture, the museum's collection showcases various historic art objects and contemporary art from Morocco.
Telouet Kasbah is a Kasbah along the former route of the caravans from the Sahara over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. The kasbah was the seat of the El Glaoui family's power, thus sometimes also called the Palace of Glaoui. Its construction started in 1860 and it was further expanded in later years. The palace can still be visited but it is steadily becoming more damaged and is slowly collapsing. In 2010, work was underway to restore the property.
Thami El Glaoui was the Pasha of Marrakesh from 1912 to 1956. His family name was el Mezouari, from a title given an ancestor by Ismail Ibn Sharif in 1700, while El Glaoui refers to his chieftainship of the Glaoua (Glawa) tribe of the Berbers of southern Morocco, based at the Kasbah of Telouet in the High Atlas and at Marrakesh. El Glaoui became head of the Glaoua upon the death of his elder brother, Si el-Madani, and as an ally of the French protectorate in Morocco, conspired with them in the overthrow of Sultan Mohammed V.
The Middle Atlas is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region with more than 100,000 km2, 15 percent of its landmass, rising above 2,000 metres. The Middle Atlas is the northernmost and second highest of three main Atlas Mountains chains of Morocco. To south, separated by the Moulouya and Um Er-Rbiâ rivers, lies the High Atlas. The Middle Atlas form the westernmost end of a large plateaued basin extending eastward into Algeria, also bounded by the Tell Atlas to the north and the Saharan Atlas to the south, both lying largely in Algeria. North of the Middle Atlas and separated by the Sebou River, lie the Rif mountains which are an extension of the Baetic System, which includes the Sierra Nevada in the south of Spain. The basin of the Sebou is not only the primary transportation route between Atlantic Morocco and Mediterranean Morocco but is an area, watered by the Middle Atlas range, that constitutes the principal agricultural region of the country.
Ourika River is a river in Morocco, at 31.4°N 7.783333°W. It rises in the High Atlas and flows through the Ourika Valley, 30 km from Marrakech.
Aghmat was an important commercial medieval Berber town in Morocco. It is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat".
Ourika Valley is a valley in the Moroccan High Atlas along the Ourika River. It is located around 30 km from Marrakech, and is essentially populated by Berber people speaking Shilha. Despite its proximity to Marrakech, it is still considered a relatively well-preserved valley, by its very nature a and traditional mountain way of life.
The ZaianWar was fought between France and the Zaian Confederation of Berber tribes in Morocco between 1914 and 1921 during the French conquest of Morocco. Morocco had become a French protectorate in 1912, and Resident-General Louis-Hubert Lyautey sought to extend French influence eastwards through the Middle Atlas mountains towards French Algeria. This was opposed by the Zaians, led by Mouha ou Hammou Zayani. The war began well for the French, who quickly took the key towns of Taza and Khénifra. Despite the loss of their base at Khénifra, the Zaians inflicted heavy losses on the French, who responded by establishing groupes mobiles, combined arms formations that mixed regular and irregular infantry, cavalry and artillery into a single force.
Tizi n'Tichka is a mountain pass in Morocco, linking the south-east of Marrakesh to the city of Ouarzazate through the High Atlas mountains. It lies above the great Marrakesh plains, and is a gateway to the Sahara.
Tinmel is a small mountain village in the High Atlas 100 km from Marrakesh, Morocco. Tinmel was the cradle of the Berber Almohad empire, from where the Almohads started their military campaigns against the Almoravids in the early 12th century.
The Sous River, Sus River or Souss River is a river in mid-southern Morocco located in the Sous region. It originates in the High Atlas and flows west passing Aoulouz, Taroudannt, Oulad Teima, Inezgane and Aït Melloul. It forms a basin which is protected from the desertic climate of the Sahara by the Anti-Atlas mountains and is one of Morocco's most fertile regions.
Ouirgane is a small town and rural commune in Al Haouz Province of the Marrakesh-Tensift-El Haouz region of Morocco. At the time of the 2004 census, the commune had a total population of 6916 people living in 1281 households. It is a Berber village.
The history of Marrakesh, a city in southern Morocco, stretches back nearly a thousand years. The country of Morocco itself is named after it.
