El Kelaa des Sraghna

El Kelaa des Sraghna
El Kelaa des Sraghna Location in Morocco
Coordinates: 32°2′53″N 7°24′30″W / 32.04806°N 7.40833°W / 32.04806; -7.40833
Country	Morocco
Region	Marrakesh-Safi
Elevation	1,300 ft (400 m)
Population (2004)
• Total	68,694
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	WEST (UTC+1)

El Kelaa des Sraghna (Moroccan Arabic: قلعة السراغنة‎, translit. qəlʿət s-sraġna‎, sometimes spelled El Kelaa des Srarhna) is a town in central Morocco. The economy of the town is mostly based on agriculture, the growing of olive trees being predominant.

History

According to some historical references, the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail established the city, Kelaat Sraghnas in the 17th century. The Sultan had aimed to found citadels and Quasbas to control the movements of mountainous tribes. Other references state that the existence of the city refers to the period of the Almoravids. According to other sources, the city was known as the Berbers designations such as "Gaynou" Lagrare, and it was founded by the Almoravids like a project to monitor the road between Fes and Marrakesh, to populate the area and fight against Berghouata’s heresy. Nevertheless, some manuscripts cite evidence that Saadian Dynasty founded the city in the late of sixteenth century and it was known as designation "Kelaat Lagrare".

Climate

References