Benimellal

Beni-Mellal (Berber : Bni Mellal, Arabic: ﺑﻨﻲ
ﻣﻼﻝ ) is a Moroccan city located at
(32°20′22″N 6°21′39″W / 32.33944°N
6.36083°W ). It is the capital city of the
Tadla-Azilal 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 .
As the city lies quite far inland and is
shielded by the Middle Atlas mountains
the area has a real continental climate
with very hot summers and quite cold
winters. Because of these factors the
overall climate can be considered in a
fluctuative state generally moderating
between two larger extremes in
temperature and climate. This climate
situation is similar to what exists in
Marquette, Michigan and many other
places that have climate fluctation as a
result of the continental climate shift.
The walls of the city go back to Mawlay
Ismail, in 1688, as well as the
Kasba[disambiguation needed ]Bel-Kush but
most of the city is quite modern and forms
an important economic centre for the
region particularly in the areas of
petrochemical production as well as textile
manufacturing which forms the backbone of
the wider community. Local agricultural
products as oranges, olives, figs etc. find
their way to the market via Beni Mellal .[1]
The city has good connections via the road
to Casablanca to the East and lies on the
ancient route - now a national road - from
Fez to Marrakech. The national rail-
operator ONCF is also extending the
railtrack from Casablanca to (nearby) Oued
Zem 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 Ben