Taounate

:''This article refers to the city of Taounate; for the province see Taounate Province.''

ar, تاونات
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Taounate ( Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵡⵏⴰⵜ; ar, تاونات; es, Taunat) is a town in northern Morocco, and is the capital of Tawnat Province. It is located at around . The town had 37,616 inhabitants as of the 2014 Moroccan census.

Geography

Taounate is located in the southern Rif Mountains, and the river Oued Sra and gorges are nearby. The town is situated on a plateau that overlooks the valley of the Oued Sra, as well as the Gargara gorges.

Infrastructure

In 2016, it was announced that a highway development plan, estimated to be completed by 2035, will benefit the Taounate area, the highway being called the "Fès-Taounate Axis".

West of Taounate is the Al Wahda Dam on the Ouergha River, which is the largest dam in Morocco and the second largest in Africa.

Economy

Taounate's economy is led by the agriculture sector, specifically fig farming. In addition to figs, cherries, pears, apples, and olives are also grown. Cattle, cereal production, and timber are important industries. Cannabis is also cultivated in the area.

Culture

The area surrounding Taounate is generally mountainous, and cereals (mostly wheat) and cattle are intensively raised at lower elevations. Fruits (including figs, olives, cherries, apples, and pears) are grown in the well-watered mountain valleys. Higher elevations are covered with commercially exploited cedars and cork oaks. The area is inhabited mostly by Imazighen (Berbers); the more isolated groups speak only Riff, an Amazigh dialect, and the less isolated groups are generally bilingual, speaking both Riff and Arabic..

Taounate is home to an annual Festival of Figs, organized by the Regional Directorate of Agriculture of Fez-Meknes. The festival includes many varieties of figs. Friday is market day in Taounate.

Union Sportive de Taounate represents Taounate in association football.

Notable people

*Mustapha Bakkoury (born 1964), businessman, engineer and politician
*Bouchta El Hayani, painter
*Rachid Azzouzi, Former Moroccan footballer and sporting manager
*Nasser Bourita, (born 27 1969), Moroccan diplomat serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates 2017

Gallery

File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 2 - 004 - Un marché avec des cruches faites de pneus de voiture avec leur fabricant. Des ânes - Taounate, Maroc - mai 1997.tiff, A market with men and women. Waterjars made from old tyres and their maker. Donkeys, 1997
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 2 - 005 - Un marché avec des cruches faites des pneus de voiture avec leur fabricant. Des ânes - Taounate, Maroc - mai 1997.tif, A market with waterjars, 1997
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 2 - 001 - Une maison fermière blanche vue du haut avec à coté une meule blanchi - Taounate, Maroc - mai 1997.tiff, A white farm seen from above with a typical white washed triangular haystack, 1997.
File:12670691 476519005869504 4305504fghhhhtc jnznsx n.jpg, The "16 November" football stadium, pictured in 2016

References

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Cities in Morocco
Populated places in Taounate Province
Provincial capitals in Morocco