Taroudant
Taroudant, defensive wall
Taroudant Location in Morocco
Coordinates: 30°28′N 8°52′W / 30.467°N 8.867°W / 30.467; -8.867
Country	Morocco
Region	Souss-Massa-Draâ
Population (2004)
- Total	63,000
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
- Summer (DST)	WEST (UTC+1)
Postal code	83000

Taroudant (Arabic: تارودانت‎) is a Moroccan city located in the Sous Valley in the southern part of the country. It is situated east from Agadir on the road to Ouarzazate and south from Marrakech. It can be easily visited as a day trip from Agadir en route to the Sahara Desert. It has the feel of a small fortified market town on some caravan route. It is also known for its local crafts like jewelry and carpets.

Bab Targhount city gate

It is called the "Grandmother of Marrakech" because it is a scaled down, slowed down town that resembles Marrakech with its surrounding ramparts. Unlike Marrakech, Taroudant contains almost the whole city within its walls.

Recently, however, a new area is being developed outside the city walls around the huge campus of a faculty of the Ibn Zohr university of Agadir.

[edit] History

The town was occupied by the Almoravids in 1056.^[1] Under the Saadi Dynasty Taroudant knew its golden age, especially under the reign of Mohammed ash-Sheikh, who constructed the city walls and built the great mosque and its beautiful minaret in 1528. The town became the capital of the Saadians who used it as a base to attack the Portuguese in Agadir. Although they later made Marrakech their capital they made the town prosper through the riches of the Sous plain, marketing goods such as sugar cane, cotton, rice and indigo.^[1]

A sad event in the history of Taroudant was the massacre of its population by Moulay Ismail in 1687. Under the Alaouites the town resisted royal control. Citizens formed an alliance with Ahmed ibn Mahrez, a dissident nephew of Moulay Ismail.

The swimming pool of the Palais Salam hotel

Today the town is a notable marketing town and has a souk 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.^[1] The ramparts of the town are nearly 6 kilometres long and are set with bastions and punctured with nine gates which still remain intact today.^[1] Outside the ramparts is a small tannery catering in travel equipment for camel riding such as goat skin, camel hide sandals, leather bags and belt etc. The Berber market, called Jnane al-Jaami, sells spices and dried fruits but mostly clothes and (mainly plastic) household goods.^[1] The Arab souk however specialises in handicrafts such as terracotta, wrought iron, pottery, brass and copper, leather and carpets and rugs and jewellery.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Official Web Site Of Taroudant City
• Entry in Lexicorient

Coordinates: 30°28′N 8°52′W / 30.467°N 8.867°W / 30.467; -8.867