El Hajeb

El Hajeb (Arabic: الحاجب ) is a city in the Moroccan region of Meknès- Tafilalet. It is the capital of the homonymous province.

Location

El Hajeb is located in the northwestern foothills of the Middle Atlas at an altitude of about 1050 m above sea level. inst. The nearest major town is about 35 km northwest location Meknes. The cities of Azrou and Ifrane are only about 37 km to the southeast.

Population

More than half of the urban population of El Hajeb since the 1970s immigrant Berber, have predominantly found as day laborers, artisans, taxi drivers or small business work. In contrast, the Arab- origin population minority occupied the leading positions in industry and government as well as in health and education. One usually speaks Moroccan - Arabic.

Economy

The in former times mainly of self- serving to supply agricultural produce for the improvement of roads since the French colonial period, primarily for urban markets. In the surroundings of grain, vegetables, olives and fruit ( including grapes) grown. In international tourism, the city does not matter, but wealthy Moroccans who work in Fes or Meknes, have in the area often their family home or even a vacation home.

History

The medieval history of the village no written records exist or oral traditions. In the 18th century the place was a fort ( kasbah ) from rammed earth. Was El Hajeb still in the 1950s only an approximately 2000 inhabitants counting market towns, the population is then grown almost explosively. Further appreciation experienced the city through the creation of the province ( 1991), whose capital it was.

Attractions

Below the mountain slopes ( falaises ) rise in the spring, several sources - one of which (Ain Khadem ) has been expanded into an attraction for Moroccan tourists. Near the source there are the ruins of the fortress built of rammed earth. The site of El Hajeb is a new city with houses whose roofs often - are constructed as red-roofed gable roofs - totally uncharacteristic for Morocco, but also occurring in the southeastern cities Azrou and Ifrane. This construction goes back to the summer residences of the French colonialists in the first half of the 20th century.