Ifrane Province
The approximately 2500 km ² and around 150,000 inhabitants Moroccan province of Ifrane (Arabic إقليم إفران, DMG Iqlīm Ifrán ) is part of the Meknès- Tafilalet region. The provincial capital is the city of Ifrane.
Geography
Location
The Ifrane province is located on the northern slopes of the Middle Atlas of Morocco's plane ( meseta ) with the cities of Fez and Meknes. It is bordered on the south by the province Midelt, on the west by the province Khénifra, on the north by the province of El Hajeb, in the north- east by the province of Sefrou and to the southeast by the province Boulemane.
Landscape
The landscape profile is mountainous and woody; the average height is about 1500 m ( 1650 m Ifrane, Azrou 1250 m, 1800 m Timahdite, Mischliffen 1800 m). Some mountain peaks reach heights of approximately 2500 m.
Climate
The Ifrane province is next to the south in the province Midelt one of the highest provinces of Morocco, and this affects both in rainfall and in the temperatures. The summer daytime temperatures rarely reach 35 ° C; at night the temperature drops depending on the sky to about 10 to 15 ° C. During the winter months, more rain falls (sometimes called snow) than in the other regions of Morocco and the daytime temperatures drop to values between 10 and 15 ° C; in winter frosts are possible.
Population
The province is inhabited predominantly by Berbers of different tribal groups. The proportion of Arabs and foreigners is less than 10%; usually there are doctors, lawyers, engineers, and high administrative officials who have a summer home here. In addition to the various dialects of Berber Moroccan Arabic also spoken. Meanwhile, lives about half of the population in small and medium-sized cities; the other half lives on in the various rural communities ( communes rurales ).
Economy
In addition to traditional agriculture, which served for centuries of self-sufficiency of the population, the service sector as well as the summer and winter tourism (hiking, skiing) play a not unimportant role in the economy of the province today.
History
The only about 50 to 60 km south of Fes or Meknes, the area was - after centuries of seclusion - especially in the first half of the 20th century, discovered by the French, who wanted to escape the hot summer climate of zentralmarokkanischen level. Since the 1990s, the area has become more and more interesting for wealthier Moroccans.
Attractions
The architecture is reminiscent of many houses with their gable roofs in Morocco otherwise unknown to Europe and has been frequently referred to the entire region as " Moroccan Switzerland ". Otherwise, the province of Ifrane offers no cultural interest except a variety of landscape impressions for Europeans. Only the built in the 1990s, new mosque of Azrou is considered reduced copy of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca; However, it is inaccessible to non-Muslims.