Midelt
Encyclopedia
Midelt is a town
in central Morocco
, in the high plains between the Middle Atlas
and High Atlas
mountain ranges. With an estimated population of 44,780, Midelt serves as the commercial center of a large agricultural hinterland. It is also one of Morocco's principal cities for the mining of several minerals. Coordinates: 32°40′48"N 4°43′48"W.
and Meknes
to the north and Errachidia to the south. Geographically, it is situated in the high plains surrounding the Moulouya River
, between the Middle
and High Atlas
mountain ranges.
The city's elevation is 1508 metres (4,947.5 ft), making it one of the highest large towns in Morocco.
Temperature averages, from the years 1961 to 1990, yield daily maximum/minimum temperatures for January as 12.3 / 0.6 degrees Celsius and for July as 32.6 / 16.3 degrees Celsius.
Snow is common in winter, and precipitation continues throughout the year at moderate levels. However, the principal water source of the region is a spring
at the foot of Jbel Ayachi
, 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Midelt.
A dam moderating the flow from the spring was destroyed by a flood in early 2006 following heavy snows the previous winter, damaging the nearby village of Tattiwin.
Midelt grew in the first half of the 20th century around a French administrative post by the same name. Previously, villages and ksour had dotted the fertile surroundings. The French established their post to facilitate the mining of lead
, gypsum
, other minerals, and fossils in the nearby Ahouli and Mibladen mines and elsewhere. The development of these mines led to the construction of a railroad from Midelt to the Mediterranean
coast and the electrification of Midelt in 1930. In Morocco, only Casablanca
received electricity earlier.
After Moroccan independence in 1956, control reverted to the Moroccan government, which occupied the European-style buildings of the former French quarter. Midelt no longer has a regional administrative function; it has his own province but its Wilayah is seated in Meknes
.
(Amazigh) city with a sizable minority who identify themselves as Arabs. Berber residents speak the Middle Atlas language Tamazight as well as the Moroccan Arabic
dialect
, known as Darija
. A typical resident will speak Tamazight at home but Darija in public. Educated residents also speak Modern Standard Arabic and French
, which are used throughout Morocco in mass media, education, and government.
Because Midelt is a new city, almost all Mideltis can trace their roots either to one of the nearby villages or to elsewhere in Morocco. The city also lacks the sharply defined neighborhood divisions and traditional souqs of older Moroccan cities.
Very few non-natives live in Midelt. Of these, the longest established are a community of Franciscan
nuns and Cistercian monks living at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Atlas in a nearby village. The nuns work with local women and girls to develop handcrafts and teach hygiene
, French language
, and other skills.
Midelt functions as the market for an agricultural area extending from the Moulouya River to Jbel Ayachi, bounded on the east and west by dry plains. This region is best known for apples; other produce includes walnuts, apricots, plums, pomegranates, wheat, corn, and a wide variety of garden vegetables.
Nomads and sedentary farmers from the surrounding area also raise sheep and goats for slaughter and for wool. Both of these are sold in Midelt, but largely for local consumption. Locally gathered evidence indicates that the local price of meat is inversely related to rainfall: in wet years, nomads can keep their herds alive through the summer and do not bring them to market; in dry years, animals are better sold than lost to draught.
Midelt's industrial sector is largely related to the nearby mines, of which only Mibladen continues to operate at high capacity. Lead
, gypsum
, and a host of lesser-known minerals are extracted for sale to industry and for household decorations.
Tourism continues to grow as an important source of revenue for Midelt. The climate attracts many visitors, mostly Moroccans from lower climes and émigrés to Europe. These support several small hotels as well as two larger establishments catering to Europeans. In addition to visitors, local handcrafts - especially carpets and blankets in the roughhewn nomadic style - are sold through cooperatives and merchants both locally and in Morocco's larger cities.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in central Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, in the high plains between the Middle Atlas
Middle Atlas
The Middle Atlas is part of the Atlas mountain range lying in Morocco, a mountainous country with more than 100,000 km² or 15% of its landmass rising above 2,000 metres. The Middle Atlas is the northernmost of three Atlas Mountains chains that define a large plateaued basin extending eastward...
and High Atlas
High Atlas
High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas Mountains is a mountain range in central Morocco in Northern Africa.The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. At the Atlantic and to the southwest the range drops abruptly...
mountain ranges. With an estimated population of 44,780, Midelt serves as the commercial center of a large agricultural hinterland. It is also one of Morocco's principal cities for the mining of several minerals. Coordinates: 32°40′48"N 4°43′48"W.
Geography
Midelt is situated on the main road between FesFes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
and Meknes
Meknes
Meknes is a city in northern Morocco, located from the capital Rabat and from Fes. It is served by the A2 expressway between those two cities and by the corresponding railway. Meknes was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail , before it was relocated to Marrakech. The...
to the north and Errachidia to the south. Geographically, it is situated in the high plains surrounding the Moulouya River
Moulouya River
The Moulouya River is a 520 km-long river in Morocco. Its sources are located in the Middle Atlas. It empties into the Mediterranean Sea near Saidia, in Northeast Morocco at about . Water level in the river often fluctuates. The river is used for irrigation...
, between the Middle
Middle Atlas
The Middle Atlas is part of the Atlas mountain range lying in Morocco, a mountainous country with more than 100,000 km² or 15% of its landmass rising above 2,000 metres. The Middle Atlas is the northernmost of three Atlas Mountains chains that define a large plateaued basin extending eastward...
and High Atlas
High Atlas
High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas Mountains is a mountain range in central Morocco in Northern Africa.The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. At the Atlantic and to the southwest the range drops abruptly...
mountain ranges.
The city's elevation is 1508 metres (4,947.5 ft), making it one of the highest large towns in Morocco.
Climate
The elevation of Midelt cools the daily temperatures to make Midelt one of the most temperate of the inland towns. However, many coastal towns have milder temperatures, warmer in winter and cooler in summer.Temperature averages, from the years 1961 to 1990, yield daily maximum/minimum temperatures for January as 12.3 / 0.6 degrees Celsius and for July as 32.6 / 16.3 degrees Celsius.
Snow is common in winter, and precipitation continues throughout the year at moderate levels. However, the principal water source of the region is a spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
at the foot of Jbel Ayachi
Jbel Ayachi
Jbel Ayachi is one of the highest mountains in North Africa, and anchors the Eastern High Atlas in central Morocco. Jbel Ayachi rises to 3747m above sea level....
, 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Midelt.
A dam moderating the flow from the spring was destroyed by a flood in early 2006 following heavy snows the previous winter, damaging the nearby village of Tattiwin.
History
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
, other minerals, and fossils in the nearby Ahouli and Mibladen mines and elsewhere. The development of these mines led to the construction of a railroad from Midelt to the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
coast and the electrification of Midelt in 1930. In Morocco, only Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
received electricity earlier.
After Moroccan independence in 1956, control reverted to the Moroccan government, which occupied the European-style buildings of the former French quarter. Midelt no longer has a regional administrative function; it has his own province but its Wilayah is seated in Meknes
Meknes
Meknes is a city in northern Morocco, located from the capital Rabat and from Fes. It is served by the A2 expressway between those two cities and by the corresponding railway. Meknes was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail , before it was relocated to Marrakech. The...
.
People
Midelt is a largely BerberBerber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
(Amazigh) city with a sizable minority who identify themselves as Arabs. Berber residents speak the Middle Atlas language Tamazight as well as the Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco. For official communications, the government and other public bodies use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries. A mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in business...
dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
, known as Darija
Darija
Darija is the group of Arabic dialects spoken by Maghrebi Arabic speakers. It is only used for oral communication, with Modern Standard Arabic used for written communication...
. A typical resident will speak Tamazight at home but Darija in public. Educated residents also speak Modern Standard Arabic and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, which are used throughout Morocco in mass media, education, and government.
Because Midelt is a new city, almost all Mideltis can trace their roots either to one of the nearby villages or to elsewhere in Morocco. The city also lacks the sharply defined neighborhood divisions and traditional souqs of older Moroccan cities.
Very few non-natives live in Midelt. Of these, the longest established are a community of Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
nuns and Cistercian monks living at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Atlas in a nearby village. The nuns work with local women and girls to develop handcrafts and teach hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
, French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and other skills.
Economy
Nomads and sedentary farmers from the surrounding area also raise sheep and goats for slaughter and for wool. Both of these are sold in Midelt, but largely for local consumption. Locally gathered evidence indicates that the local price of meat is inversely related to rainfall: in wet years, nomads can keep their herds alive through the summer and do not bring them to market; in dry years, animals are better sold than lost to draught.
Midelt's industrial sector is largely related to the nearby mines, of which only Mibladen continues to operate at high capacity. Lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
, and a host of lesser-known minerals are extracted for sale to industry and for household decorations.
Tourism continues to grow as an important source of revenue for Midelt. The climate attracts many visitors, mostly Moroccans from lower climes and émigrés to Europe. These support several small hotels as well as two larger establishments catering to Europeans. In addition to visitors, local handcrafts - especially carpets and blankets in the roughhewn nomadic style - are sold through cooperatives and merchants both locally and in Morocco's larger cities.