Azrou ( Berber: Aẓro, ⴰⵥⵔⵓ,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: أزرو) (meaning “rock” or “stone”) is a Moroccan town 89 kilometres south of

Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

Ifrane Province Ifrane ( ar, افران; ) is a province in the Morocco, Moroccan region of Fès-Meknès. Its population in 2013 was 156,038 The major cities and towns are* Ain Leuh * Azrou * Had Oued Ifrane * Ifrane * Sidi Addi * Timahdite Subdivisions The prov ...

of the

Fès-Meknès Fès-Meknès or Fez-Meknes ( ar, فاس-مكناس, fās maknās; ber, ⴼⴰⵙ-ⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, fas mknas) is among the twelve Regions of Morocco. It has a population of 4,236,892 (2014 census). Its capital is Fez. Its current president is M ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Geography

The market town of Azrou is located at a strategic crossroads of the N13 and N8 roads towards the northern end of the

Middle Atlas The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region ...

. The N13 road connects Azrou to Meknes in the north west and

Midelt Midelt (Berber language: ⵎⵉⴷⴻⵍⵜ, Arabic: ميدلت) is a town in Morocco, in the high plains between the Middle Atlas and High Atlas mountain ranges. With a population of 55,304 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census, Midelt serves as t ...

in the south east. The National Route N8 comes from

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

in the north east and continues to

Khenifra Khenifra (Berber: ''Xnifṛa'', ⵅⵏⵉⴼⵕⴰ, ar, خنيفرة) is a city in northern central Morocco, surrounded by the Atlas Mountains and located on the Oum Er-Rbia River. National Highway 8 also goes through the town. The population, a ...

and then

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

in the south west. Azrou is at an altitude of 1250 m and surrounded by mountains covered with evergreen holm oak and

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

. The

Cèdre Gouraud Forest Cèdre Gouraud Forest is a woodland area in the Middle Atlas Mountain Range in Morocco. It was named for the French general Henri Gouraud. This forest is located on National Route 8 between Azrou and Ifrane. The forest is notable as a habitat for ...

is located to the south east, where one of the sub-populations of the

Barbary macaque The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the ...

, ''Macaca sylvanus'' (called ''magots'') is found. In addition to its rich biodiversity symbolized by the famous cedar forest there are the butterflies which are unique in the world. The surroundings of Azrou are a centre of attraction for the residents, hikers, and picnickers of the large neighbouring towns. These surroundings are also home to the 'Cedre Gouraud' or 'Grand Cedar', a famous tourist attraction. This place is also famous due to the macaque apes that live in the area and are drawn by tourist activity. Moreover, the Azrou forest provides an excellent hiking and exercising environment and also holds several summer camps for children. Azrou urban construction is in the European style (red tile roofs). The region is also known for its

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

trees,

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

trees, fish farms, and the abandoned sanatorium in the surrounding metropolitan area of Ben Smim.

Climate

Generally, Azrou experiences a warmer climate than

Ifrane Ifrane ( Berber: ⵉⴼⵔⴰⵏ; ar, إفران) is a city in the Middle Atlas region of northern Morocco (population 14,659 as of November 2014). The capital of Ifrane Province in the region of Fès-Meknès, Ifrane is located at an elevation of ...

, because the city is at a lower altitude. Under the Köppen system, Azrou features a

hot-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(Csa), in spite of its cold winters, not cold enough to be classified as a

continental mediterranean climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Dsa). Thus, winters are moderately cold and snowy, but without substantial accumulation. Summers are hot and moderately dry, which are noticeably wetter than in Ifrane.

Toponymy

''Azrou'' is a

geomorphological Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

name taken from the landform of a large rock outcrop (Aẓro, ⴰⵥⵔⵓ, means "rock" or "stone" in the

Berber language The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...

Tamazight) in the centre of the city.Tourist article

History

The first record of Azrou village in history in a letter sent by Fernão Taveira to king

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, a ...

. Azrou is mostly known for hosting the first high school in the Berber region: the Berber high school of Azrou (now the

Tarik Ibn Ziad School Tariq ( ar, طارق) is an Arabic word and given name. Etymology The word is derived from the Arabic verb , ('), meaning "to strike", and into the agentive conjugated doer form , ('), meaning "striker". It became popular as a name after Tariq ...

). It was built by the French colonial authorities in order to train Moroccans for the colonial administration. It was one of the instruments for the implementation of a Berber Dhahir, which changed the justice system in areas where

Amazigh languages The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...

were predominantly spoken, excluding these areas from

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

and the authority of the

Makhzen Makhzen (Arabic: , Berber: ''Lmexzen'') is the governing institution in Morocco and in pre-1957 Tunisia, centered on the monarch and consisting of royal notables, top-ranking military personnel, landowners, security service bosses, civil servant ...

that applied to the rest of Morocco, and implementing a new legal system ostensibly in accordance with

Amazigh , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

laws and customs written in French. The college became an educational institution in the reference area, forming part of the political and military elites from 1956 to 1973, after independence, the college was renamed Azrou Tarik Ibn Ziad High School. The town was long neglected by the Moroccan authorities since independence in 1956 to the detriment of the nearby town of

. Although it is the true capital of the

and a town that has given Morocco many leaders and intellectuals, the town still does not officially rank as provincial capital, although it is in practice. The town has several hotels.

Picture Gallery

File:Cedre_Gouraud.jpg, The

File:Moroccan Atlantic cedar.jpg, Old cedar tree (''cedrus atlantica'') near Azrou File:Le rocher d'Azrou.JPG, The Rock of Azrou File:Azrou_Morocco.JPG, Azrou city File:Macaque berbère (Magot).JPG, A macaque in the forest of Azrou File:Azrou,placeMohammedV.jpg, The Place Muhammed V File:Azrou, Morocco (6342862579).jpg, Sheep Market File:Azrou 2.JPG, An Azrou street File:Azrou.JPG, The Azrou rock File:Azrou.jpg, Azrou town

Twinning

The city has signed a protocol of cooperation with

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

in July 2011Twinnings of the town of Blois
*

(France) since 2011. *

Melle Melle may refer to: People * Basil Melle (1891–1966), South African cricketer * Gil Mellé (1931–2004), American artist, jazz musician and film composer * John van Melle (1887–1953), Dutch-born South African author * Melle Mel (born 19 ...

(France) since 1996.

Sources

{{Fès-Meknès Populated places in Ifrane Province