Draa River

Prehistory Human occupation in the Draa valley and adjacent mountains dates at least to the Lower Paleolithic, as attested by Oldowan and Acheulean tools found near Tamegroute. Middle Paleolithic sites are widespread. Neolithic-era rock art can be found throughout the Draa valley, depicting hunting scenes as well as domesticated cattle. The chronology of these sites is uncertain, but the earliest may date to the 3rd millennium BCE. Before 1054 The Draa River was also well known to the ancient Romans. It figures on the first world map in history made by Ptolemy (90–168 AD). (There is no "first world map" made by Ptolemy, nor are there any other known surviving manuscript maps by Ptolemy. Printed "Ptolemaic" maps, first appearing in the latter part of the 15th Century, were based on Ptolemy's geographical data, an example of which would be recorded latitude and longitude of various locations; such maps were not based on any surviving map by Ptolemy.) Wattasids During the reign of the Wattasid Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad, Askia Ishaq I of the Songhai Empire sent Tuareg raiders into the Draa valley to avenge a diplomatic insult where Morocco had demanded the cession of the valuable Taghaza salt mine. Saadi Alaouites Four of the sons of Ismail Ibn Sharif have been khalifa of the Draa: • Mulay Muhammad as-Sharif bin Ismail as-Samin (s/o full-brother of Muhammad al-Alam). Khalifa of the Draa 1703. • Mulay 'Abdu'l-Malik bin Ismail as-Samin. b. ca. 1677. Khalifa of the Draa. He was k. for plotting against his father, 1696. • Mulay Nasir bin Ismail as-Samin. Khalifa of Draa 1702–1703, and of Tafilalt. Rebelled in 1711–1712. He was k. 1714. • H.M. Sultan 'Abu Marwan Mulay 'Abdu'l Malik, Sultan of Morocco, etc. b. at Meknes, after 1696, son of H.M. Sultan 'Abul Nasir Mulay Ismail as-Samin bin Sharif, Sultan of Morocco, educ. privately. Khalifa of the Draa 1701–1703, and of Sus 1717–1718. Proclaimed Sultan on the deposition of his elder half-brother 13 March 1728. Deposed at Meknes 18 July 1728. Fled to Fez and arrested there 23 December 1728. He was k. (executed) at Meknes, 2 March 1729 (bur. there at the Mulay Ismail Mausoleum). s and dates. ==Language==

Two languages are spoken in the area: a local variety of Colloquial Arabic which is closely related to Hassaniya, and Shilha or Tashelhiyt, a Berber language. ==Oases==

The Upper Draa River valley, about long, consists of six stretches of oases/palm groves from north to south: • The Mezguita oasis, with the Agdz and Auriz and south of it the Tamsikht dam • The oasis of Tinzouline, with Ouled Lagraier, Tinzouline, Ouled Yaoub and a dam south of it • The Ternata oasis with Zagora • The Fezouata oasis with Tamegroute and south of it the Azagha dam • The Ktaoua oasis (English Ktawa) with Tagounite, Blida, Tiraf and the Bounou dam south of it • The oasis of Mhamid el Ghuzlan with Mhamid el Ghuzlan Ksour in the Mezguita in Tinzouline in Ternata in the Fezouata in the Ktaoua/Ktwawa This is the southern stretch of the valley between the Azagha and the Bounou dam near Tagounite. There are 55 villages, mostly consisting of ksour (plural of ksar): Source : Recensement général du Maroc, 1994 (Recensement général de la population et de l'habitat (RGPH, Haut-Commissariat au Plan du Royaume du Maroc (HCP), septembre 1994)). == Exploration ==

The Draa has attracted the attention of a number of notable explorers including Frenchman Charles de Foucauld who travelled throughout Morocco disguised as a Jewish merchant in the 1800s, and Jeffrey Tayler who wrote a book about his experiences. ==Notes==