Draa River

The Wadi Draa (also Darha or Dara; Arab وادي درعة, DMG Wādī Dar ʿ a) is a regular desiccating river, a wadi in North Africa with a (theoretical ) length of about 1100 kilometers. As a river it is only visible to Zagora; behind it dries the most time of the year round, although his bed to Mhamid remains perceptible even by isolated oases. The Draa is in the southwest of the country about 390 km long, the - still controversial - border with Algeria and is - for rare but sometimes heavy rainfall - the longest river in the country.

Geography

The Oued Draa springs from the two tributaries of Dades and Imini in the west of the Atlas Mountains, which unite near Ouarzazate in the dam El Mansour Eddahbi. It winds between the High Atlas, the Anti-Atlas and the Djebel Sarhro mountain range to the south, then west along the Algerian border continue to flow around in the city Tagounite until after the East-West crossing of Morocco an average of 100 bis 150 km north of the border with Western Sahara as stone river empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Referred to in the Periplus of the Carthaginian admiral Hanno flow Lixos is in all probability identical with the Wadi Draa.

Prehistory

From all the important periods of history itself finds of rock paintings and petroglyphs, the Wadi Draa was obviously visited for many thousands of years found. The famous but among prehistorians highly controversial Venus of Tan -Tan was also found in this Wadi - it is estimated by some at an age 300000-500000 years. Foum Chenna ( Tinzouline ), Aït Ouaazik ( Asguine Tarna, Tazzarine ) Tiouririne and Tisguinine ( Zagora ) are the most famous sites of the Draa region.

Various petroglyphs with depictions of animals (elephants, rhinos, ostriches, etc. ) were also discovered in the Draa Valley. Your age is expected to be 4000-6000 years and a time come when these animals nor humans ( hunters and gatherers ) were hunted. Later nomadism, which gradually passed into a settled dominated.

The oases of the Draa Valley and other oasis valleys of Morocco challenged the sedentarization of the passing people here really, because oases offer everything necessary for a permanent and sustainable survival. Only grazing animals (sheep, goats) had to be largely banished from the oases, but at least lock up, which led to frequent conflicts and armed clashes with nomadic pastoralists. When this - is certainly the remarkably - has begun the process of settling down in the Draa Valley, is controversial - some researchers suspect around 3000 BC, others postulate earlier, others later in favor of dating.

From considerably later period ( 500 BC to 500 AD), the engravings come on some stelae and rock slabs covered with not yet readable geometric characters in the so-called " Libyan- Berber writing ."

Rhino

Ostrich

Libyan - Berber writing

Tighremts and Ksour

Remained unchanged Maybe for well over a thousand years is the traditional house architecture ( Tighremt ) the Draa valley with walls made of rammed earth, ceiling and stairs made ​​of palm trunks and twigs with covers made from woven palm fronds or reeds - all materials that occur on site and even without money are inexpensive to obtain. Towers and gates were provided with ornaments which had probably originally an apotropaic ( apotropaic ) importance. Several villages ( Ksour ) of the Draa Valley were - surrounded by a Stampflehmmauer - to better protect the residents.

Since the 1960s and 1970s is also in the villages of the Draa Valley, reflecting in the Berber areas of Morocco in general has become usual stone architecture with hollow blocks for walls and concrete ceilings and stairs through. After completion of the shell, the outer walls are plastered and then painted in bright red colors.