Ifrane Atlas-Saghir or Ifrane, Anti-Atlas ( ar, إفران الأطلس الصغير, meaning cave), is a village and commune in southern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

populated by some 12,000 inhabitants. The town, its arid valley, oasis and surrounding mountains attract some

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, from hikers and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

pilgrims. Ifrane Arlas-Saghir was also known by the former local Jewish community as Oufrane.

History

Ifrane Atlas-Saghir was an important trading post and market for the caravan trade moving across the Sahara to the sea-coast, until the trade faded away in the late 1800s. The area is now populated by the Chleuh (Amazighen Berbers) group, who today generally maintain their traditional way of life.

Jewish community

Ifrane Atlas-Saghir was an ancient home to a 2,000-year-old Jewish population, the oldest in Morocco, until 1958 when they left as a group to settle in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Today an important Jewish pilgrimage site is located there, being the site of a mass suicide of the 1700s, undertaken in the face of a brutal persecution by a local sorcerer. The remains of Jewish cemeteries are also known today... "in the gorges of the Oufrane, there are ancient cemeteries with headstones that have inscriptions in Hebrew."Sacheverell Sitwell, ''Mauretania: warrior, man, and woman'', 1940, p. 121. Due to the importance of Ifrane's Jewish heritage, a synagogue has been restored in the abandoned mellah there, by the Foundation for Jewish-Moroccan Cultural Heritage. The district's long-standing Jewish culture has left another lasting legacy, in the form of the continuing observance of some aspects of Jewish folklore among the local Berbers.

Notable people from Ifrane Atlas-Saghir

Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi ( ar, محمد المختار السوسي; 1900–1963) was a Moroccan Berber scholar, politician and writer who played an important role in the years before Morocco's independence in 1956.Charles Olivier Carbonell, "Un ...

Abdellah Baha Abdellah Baha ( ar, عبد الله باها‎; 1954 – 7 December 2014) was a Moroccan politician of the Justice and Development Party and member of the Executive Office of the Uniqueness and Reform Movement (MUR). From 3 January 2012 unti ...

* Mustapha Hadji *

Youssouf Hadji Youssouf Hadji ( ar, يوسف حجي; born 25 February 1980) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He notably had three spells for French side AS Nancy, also serving as the team captain, making 378 a ...

Abdellah Askarne Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Paki ...

References

Rural communes of Guelmim-Oued Noun Populated places in Guelmim Province Jews and Judaism in Morocco Jewish pilgrimage sites {{GuelmimOuedNoun-geo-stub

History

Jewish community

Notable people from Ifrane Atlas-Saghir

See also

References