Laâyoune Province (Laayoune)
Laâyoune (إقليم العيون) is a delineated province in the north-west of Moroccan economic region of Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, which is situated within the northern part of the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Its population in 2004 was 210,023 (when it still included the population of the new Tarfaya Province, created in 2009). In today's limits of the province the population was 199,603. Its main town is Laayoune.
The province is divided administratively into the following:
Since 2009, the following communes have been separated into the Tarfaya Province: The municipality of Tarfaya, and the rural communes of El Hagounia, Akhfenir, Daoura, and Tah.
The province is divided administratively into the following:
Since 2009, the following communes have been separated into the Tarfaya Province: The municipality of Tarfaya, and the rural communes of El Hagounia, Akhfenir, Daoura, and Tah.
Map - Laâyoune Province (Laayoune)
Map
Country - Morocco
Flag of Morocco |
In a region inhabited since the Paleolithic era over 300,000 years ago, the first Moroccan state was established by Idris I in 788. It was subsequently ruled by a series of independent dynasties, reaching its zenith as a regional power in the 11th and 12th centuries, under the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties, when it controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Morocco faced external threats to its sovereignty, with Portugal seizing some territory and the Ottoman Empire encroaching from the east. The Marinid and Saadi dynasties otherwise resisted foreign domination, and Morocco was the only North African nation to escape Ottoman dominion. The 'Alawi dynasty, which rules the country to this day, seized power in 1631, and over the next two centuries expanded diplomatic and commercial relations with the Western world. Morocco's strategic location near the mouth of the Mediterranean drew renewed European interest; in 1912, France and Spain divided the country into respective protectorates, reserving an international zone in Tangier. Following intermittent riots and revolts against colonial rule, in 1956, Morocco regained its independence and reunified.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
MAD | Moroccan dirham | د م. | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
AR | Arabic language |
FR | French language |