Taza (in arabic: تازة) is a city in northern
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
, about 100 km east of Fez. It has a population of 139,686 (2004 census) and is the capital of Taza Province.
Taza city, (تازة) north-central Morocco. Located south of the
RifThe Rif is a mainly mountainous region of northern Morocco, stretching from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Moulouya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Ouargha in the south.It is part of the Cordillera Bética that also...
Mountains, the city is composed of two formerly separate towns built on separate terraces overlooking a mountain valley. The old town (
medinaA medina quarter is a distinct city section found in many North African cities. The medina is typically walled, contains many narrow and maze-like streets, and was built by Arabs as far back as the 9th century CE. The word "medina" itself simply means "city" or "town" in modern day...
) is at an elevation of 1,919 feet (585 m) above sea level and is surrounded by fortifications; the newer town, established by the French in 1920, is located in a fertile plain at an elevation of 1,460 feet (445 m).
Taza (in arabic: تازة) is a city in northern
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
, about 100 km east of Fez. It has a population of 139,686 (2004 census) and is the capital of Taza Province.
Geography
Taza city, (تازة) north-central Morocco. Located south of the
RifThe Rif is a mainly mountainous region of northern Morocco, stretching from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Moulouya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Ouargha in the south.It is part of the Cordillera Bética that also...
Mountains, the city is composed of two formerly separate towns built on separate terraces overlooking a mountain valley. The old town (
medinaA medina quarter is a distinct city section found in many North African cities. The medina is typically walled, contains many narrow and maze-like streets, and was built by Arabs as far back as the 9th century CE. The word "medina" itself simply means "city" or "town" in modern day...
) is at an elevation of 1,919 feet (585 m) above sea level and is surrounded by fortifications; the newer town, established by the French in 1920, is located in a fertile plain at an elevation of 1,460 feet (445 m).
FossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous rock formations and sedimentary layers is known as the fossil record...
remains indicate that caves in the area were inhabited as early as the Paleolithic Period.
The city is located in a mountain pass known as the "Taza Gap", through which successive waves of invaders moved westward onto the Atlantic coastal plains of northwestern Africa. Taza was founded by
MiknasaThe Miknasa were a Berber tribe in Morocco and western Algeria.The Miknasa Berbers originated in Tripolitania and southern Tunisia, but migrated westwards into central Morocco and western Algeria in pre-Islamic times. The modern Moroccan city of Meknes bears witness to their presence.After defeat...
BerbersBerbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke various Berber languages, which together form a branch of the...
(approximately at the time of the late 7th century Arab
MuslimIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
conquest), who gave allegiance to the Idrisids in 790 and later joined with the Fatimids of
KairouanKairouan Kairouan (Arabic القيروان) Kairouan (Arabic القيروان) (also known as Kirwan, Al Qayrawan, it is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. It was founded by the Arabs in around 670 in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya and the original name was derived from Arabic kairuwân, from...
. The Almoravids took over Taza in 1074 and were replaced by the Almohads in 1132. In 1248 the city was captured by the Marinids. Although Taza barred the route of Turks from
AlgiersAlgiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria, and the second largest city in the Maghreb . According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630...
seeking conquest in what is now
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
, it fell to the French in 1914. The medina houses barbican monuments, mosques, and a 14th-century
madrasahMadrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
(school). Population in 1982 stood at 77,216. Population now estimated about 160,000.
Climate
Located along the Atlas Mountains, Taza has a seasonal climate, shifting from cool in winter to hot days in the summer months. The nights are always cool (or colder in winter), with daytime temperatures generally rising about +9~14 C° (+15~26 F°) every day. The winter highs typically reach only 14.5°C (58°F) in December-January (
see weather-table below).
Sights
The old town's main thoroughfare is enlivened by the Grain Market and the
SoukA souq is a commercial quarter in an Arab or Berber city. The term is often used to designate the market in any Arabized or Muslim city...
s where wickerwork, tapestries, jewellery, and a great variety of Berber handiwork from the mountains are offered for sale. The road terminates at a square doubling as a parade ground which sports the Al-Andalous Mosque. The Mosque's minaret, constructed in the 14th century, is wider at the top than at its base.
Bab el-Qebbour Street crosses the Kissaria (covered marketplace), then leads on to the Market Mosque where it meets up with Bab Jamaa gate, the main point of entry of Taza. Somewhat further south, across from Bab el-Rih, the Wind Gate, a bastion dating from the 16th century closes the ring around the
kasbahA kasbah or Qassabah is a type of medina, Islamic city, or fortress.It was a place for the local leader to live and as a defense when the city was under attack. A kasbah has high walls which usually have no windows. Sometimes, they were built on the top of hill to make them easier to defend...
. Taza's city walls, raised in the 12th century and frequently enlarged on later occasions were equipped with a Borj or fortified tower 26 metres (85 ft) wide at the base by the
SaadiThe Saadi Dynasty , began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1554. From 1509 to 1554 they had ruled only in the south of Morocco. The Saadian rule ended in 1659 with the end of the reign of Sultan Ahmad el Abbas...
Ahmed el-MansourAhmad I al-Mansur was Sultan of the Saadi dynasty from 1578 to his death in 1603, the sixth and most famous of all rulers of the Saadis...
in the 16th century. The gate with iron grate and the
casemateA casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s with terraced roofs are clearly influenced by European military architecture of the time.
See also
- Great Mosque of Taza
The Great Mosque of Taza is the most prominent building in the medina of Taza, not far from the Bab er-Rih . It was built by the Almohad sultan Abd al-Mu'min in the period after 1142. According to the Kitab el Istibsar the walls were completed in 1172...
- Bou Hamara - early 20th century pretender to the throne of Morocco, based in Taza
External links