Taroudant (; ar, تارودانت, Latn, ar, tārūdānt, ) is a city in the Sous Valley in south western

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 A ...

. It is situated east of

Agadir Agadir ( ar, أݣادير, ʾagādīr; shi, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ) is a major city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean, and south ...

on the road to

Ouarzazate Ouarzazate (; ar, ورزازات, Warzāzāt, ; ary, وارزازات, Wārzāzāt; shi, label= Berber, ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ, Warzazat), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of D ...

and the

Sahara desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

and south of

Marrakesh 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 ...

. 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 The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...

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 A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

on a

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

route. Taroudant is known for its local crafts, including jewellery and carpets. Unlike Marrakesh, almost the entire city of Taroudant is located inside its walls. A new part of the city is being developed outside the city walls around the campus of a faculty of the

Ibn Zohr University Ibn Zohr University is a public university in Agadir, 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 A ...

of Agadir. On 8 July 2022, a maximum temperature of was registered.

History

The town was occupied by the

Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that s ...

in 1056. Later, the town became the capital of the early Saadian dynasty in the early 16th century. Today the town is a notable market town and has a

souk A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in the W ...

near each of its two main squares, Assarag and Talmoklate. There is also a weekly souk outside the city walls, near the future university district. The town walls are nearly 6 kilometres long and are set with bastions and punctuated by nine gates that are still in use. Outside the wall is a small

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

mainly in the business of travel equipment for camel riding, such as goat skin, camel hide sandals, leather bags and belts. The Berber market, called Jnane jama, sells spices and dried fruits but mostly clothes and household goods. The Berber souk, as well specializes in handicrafts such as

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...

, wrought iron, pottery, brass and copper, leather and carpets, rugs and jewellery.

Notable people

* Sana Akroud (born 1980), Moroccan actress, filmmaker, screenwriter, film producer * Ahmed Soultan, Moroccan singer * Amouri M'barek, Moroccan Singer

References

External links

Official web site of Taroudant Province
{{Authority control Municipalities of Morocco

Taroudant Taroudant (; ar, تارودانت, Latn, ar, tārūdānt, ) 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 "Gr ...

Taroudant