Skoura (
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
: ⵙⴽⵓⵔⴰ, ar, سكورة) is a town in
Ouarzazate Province
Ouarzazate Province ( ar, إقليم ورزازات, ʾiqlīm Warzāzāt; french: province de Ouarzazate) is a province in the administrative region of Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco. Its population in 2004 was 499,980.
The major cities and towns are:
...
,
Drâa-Tafilalet
Drâa-Tafilalet ( ar, درعة - تافيلالت, darʿa - tāfīlālt; ber, ⴷⵔⴰ ⵜⴰⴼⵉⵍⴰⵍⵜ, drɛa tafilalt) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 88,836 km2 and had a population of 1,635,008 as ...
,
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 ...
. It consists of a modern town as well as a historical oasis and palmeraie with traditional rammed-earth architecture.
Geography
![Skoura, Morocco (8141949160)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Skoura%2C_Morocco_%288141949160%29.jpg)
Skoura consists of a historic fertile
oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
lined with immense
palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
groves (a "palmeraie"), existing at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of several rivers and streams descending from the central
High Atlas
High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الكبير, Al-Aṭlas al-Kabīr; french: Haut Atlas; shi, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴷⵔⵏ ''Adrar n Dern''), is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of t ...
mountains. Within the oasis, a few of these rivers join together to form the river known as Oued el-Hajjaj, which in turn joins the
Oued Dadès (Dadès River) a short distance further south. The main modern town of Skoura today exists on the eastern edge of the oasis, along the main road from Ouarzazate.
Skoura is also the name of a Geological Basin.
Agriculture
![Skoura khettara or canal DSCF6913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Skoura_khettara_or_canal_DSCF6913.jpg)
Many of these rivers remain dry outside the spring period, which has required a careful and elaborate system of
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
and water preservation within the oasis. This system draws from both surface waters and subterranean waters. A series of ''
khettara
A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...
''s (a type of underground canal) draws subterranean waters from the
phreatic table in the higher-elevation regions of the mountain foothills and brings them to reservoirs in the oasis. At the same time, a series of dams along the main rivers allows for some of the surface waters to be diverted as well. From these reservoirs water is then distributed via a network of irrigation canals (''seguia''s) to the various agricultural plots. This water supply system was collectively shared and maintained by the entire population of the oasis, with landowners agreeing to take turns to receive water for their crops. Alongside the palms a variety of common crops were grown such as
dates
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
**Group dating
*Play date, an ...
, other
fruit tree
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, ...
s, vegetables, and
cereal
A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...
s.
Demographics
According to the
2014 national census, the total population of the Skoura area (the
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
called
Skoura Ahl El Oust
Skoura Ahl El Oust is a commune in the Ouarzazate Province of the Souss-Massa-Drâa administrative region of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It ...
) was 24,055. The main town centre of Skoura had a population of 4332.
Historically, the population of the oasis was composed of many layers of immigration and ethnic groups. Some of the oldest known groups were
Berbers
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
(Amazigh) such as the
Masmuda
The Masmuda ( ar, المصمودة, Berber: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a Berber tribal confederation of Morocco and one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and the Sanhaja. They were composed of several sub-tribes: Berghouatas, ...
, followed by
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribes like the
Banu Hilal
The Banu Hilal ( ar, بنو هلال, translit=Banū Hilāl) was a confederation of Arabian tribes from the Hejaz and Najd regions of the Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to North Africa in the 11th century. Masters of the vast plateaux of th ...
and
Banu Ma'qil
The Banu Ma'qil ( ar, بنو معقل) was an Arab nomadic tribe that originated in South Arabia. The tribe emigrated to the Maghreb region of North Africa with the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes in the 11th century. They mainly settled in and ...
. Later groups included
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
ns, many of them descended from slaves who were imported in various periods. One of these were the
Haratin
Haratin (), also referred to as Haratine, Harratin (singular: Hartani), are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western Sahar ...
, who had useful agricultural expertise. Another groups were known as the ''
'Abid'', members of the
Black Guard
The Black Guard or ''‘Abid al-Bukhari'' ( ar, عبيد البخاري, lit=Slaves of al-Būkhārī; also known as ''‘Abīd al-Dīwān'' "slaves of the diwan", ''Jaysh al-‘Abīd'' "the slave army", and ''‘Abid al-Sultan'' "the sultan’s ...
of the early
Alaouite
The Alawi dynasty ( ar, سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين, translit=sulālat al-ʿalawiyyīn al-fīlāliyyīn) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning d ...
sultans or other slaves often placed in charge of households, many of whom are part of religious brotherhoods characterized as the
Gnawa
The Gnawa (or Gnaoua, Ghanawa, Ghanawi, Gnawi'; Arabic: ڭناوة) are an ethnic group inhabiting Morocco.
The name Gnawa probably originated in the indigenous language of North Africa and the Sahara Desert. The phonology of this term accordi ...
. A long-standing
Jewish community
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 ...
also existed in the oasis, possibly since its foundation, and historically participated in many of the same activities and even the same festivals as the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
population. The Jewish community had has left physical traces such as tombs and cemeteries. There were also prominent religious Muslim families who were leaders of local
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
zawiyas (
shrines or religious centers) and held a special status among the rest of the population.
Architecture
The oasis and palmeraie is dotted with many traditional
kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
s (fortified family mansions) and ''
ksour'' (fortified villages) built in
rammed earth
Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method.
...
, dating from various periods in the last few centuries, some of which are crumbling today while others have been recently restored or converted to new uses. The typical form of a kasbah is a tall square-base structure with four corner towers, often with decorative motifs carved into their upper parts, although other annexes and structures may be attached and part of the same residential complex.
The decorative motifs in Skoura are among some of the most elaborate in this kind of architecture.
The most famous is the
Kasbah Amridil
Kasbah Amridil is a historic fortified residence or kasbah (''tighremt'' in Amazigh) in the oasis of Skoura, in Morocco. It is considered among the most impressive kasbahs of its kind in Morocco and was previously featured on the Moroccan 50 dir ...
: a ksar since the 17th century to which a towering kasbah was added at the end of the 19th century.
The Kasbah Aït Ben Moro, cited as one of the best-preserved,
originally dates from the 17th century, but was restored and converted to a hotel at the end of the 20th century.
Along with the Kasbah Ait Ben Moro, various other kasbahs are named after the notable families that lived in them, such as the Kasbah Aït Ben Moro, Kasbah Mohamed Ben Hamadi, Kasbah Ait Abou, Kasbah Si Abd El Kebir, etc.
References
Populated places in Ouarzazate Province
Oases of Morocco
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