Beni-Mellal is a Moroccan

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...

 city located at (32°20′22"N 6°21′39"W). It is the capital city of the Tadla-Azilal

Tadla-Azilal

Tadla-Azilal ) is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in central Morocco. It covers an area of 17,125 km² and has a population of 1,450,519 . The capital is Beni Mellal.The region is made into of the following provinces :...

 Region, with a population of 163,286 (2004 census). It sits at the foot of Mount Tassemit (2247m), and next to the plains of Beni Amir

Beni Amir

Fkih Ben Saleh is a city in Morocco situated 200 kilometres from Casablanca. Its principal activity is agriculture. The Beni Amir region has historical and strategic significance, a fact noted by early French settlers, as the city is located on an important route. The city is home to the regional...

.

As the city lies quite far inland and is shielded by 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...

 mountains the area has a real continental climate

Continental climate

Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...

 with very hot summers and quite cold winters.

The walls of the city go back to Mawlay Ismail

Ismail Ibn Sharif

Moulay Ismaïl Ibn Sharif was the second ruler of the Moroccan Alaouite dynasty. Like others of the dynasty, Ismaïl claimed to be a descendant of Muhammad through his roots to Hassan ibn Ali...

, in 1688, as well as the Kasba

Kasba

Kasba is a suburb of the city of Kolkata, India. It is situated in the southern part of the city encircled by the Sealdah South section of the Eastern Railways to the west, Dhakuria and Haltu to the south, the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass to the east and the locality of Tiljala to the...

 Bel-Kush but most of the city is quite modern and forms an important economic centre for the region. Local agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 products as oranges

Orange (fruit)

An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....

, olive

Olive

The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

s, fig

Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...

s etc. find their way to the market via Beni Mellal.,

The city has good connections via the road to 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...

 to the East and lies on the ancient route - now a national road - from Fez

Fes

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....

 to Marrakech

Marrakech

Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...

. The national rail-operator ONCF

ONCF

ONCF or ONCFM is Morocco's national railway operator. The Office employs around 9,767 employees and has a network of 1,907 km, all standard gauge...

 is also extending the railtrack from Casablanca to (nearby) Oued Zem

Oued Zem

Oued Zem is a city in Khouribga Province, Chaouia-Ouardigha, Morocco. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 89,970.-References:...

to the city.

History

The city was first called Ismali back in 1688, since Moulay Ismail, the second ruler of the Moroccan Alaouite Dynasty, built the fortresses of Tadla (remains still visible today). The ruler also constructed the well known Kasba Ras el Ain of this area, which overlooks the whole city along with the agricultural surroundings. It is made from stone and is close to the spring of Ain Asserdoun. The Kasbah was believed to have been built in order to protect this spring and to protect the surrounding area. The spring of Ain Asserdoun means the source of the mule or the eye of the mule. In the area of Soumaa a zaouia exists dated back to the 16th century, which is still used for religious purposes. It was the meeting of these two cities, Tadla and Soumaa, which formed the name Beni Mellal which translated means Day.

External links

• Lexicorient