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84-472: The modern town of Ifrane was established by the French administration in 1928 during the protectorate era for their administration due to its Alpine climate . Ifrane was conceived as a " hill station " or colonial type of settlement. It is a resort town set high up in the mountains so that Europeans could find relief from the summer heat of the interior plains of Morocco. Ifrane, the house of Lake Dayet Iffer

168-423: A Spanish protectorate . Although being under protectorate , Morocco retained - de jure - its personality as a state in international law, according to an International Court of Justice statement, and thus remained a sovereign state, without discontinuity between pre-colonial and modern entities. In fact, the French enjoyed much larger powers. Under the protectorate, French civil servants allied themselves with

252-669: A republic in the Rif. Though this rebellion began in the Spanish-controlled area in the north, it reached the French-controlled area. A coalition of France and Spain finally defeated the rebels in 1925. To ensure their own safety, the French moved the court from Fez to Rabat , which has served as the capital ever since. Amid the backlash against the Berber Decree of 16 May 1930, crowds gathered in protest and

336-511: A rural exodus as many headed to find work in the city . The Compagnie franco-espagnole du chemin de fer de Tanger à Fez built a standard gauge railroad connecting Fes and Tangier, while Compagnie des chemins de fer du Maroc (CFM) built standard gauge railways connecting Casablanca, Kenitra, and Sidi Kacem, and Casablanca and Marrakech, completed in 1928. Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Maroc Oriental created narrow-gauge railroads east of Fes. La Compagnie de Transports au Maroc ( CTM )

420-763: A European is to be seen, and to the native who arrives at the Capital ;[ sic ] there is little or no visible change from what he and his ancestors saw in the past. Lyautey served his post until 1925, in the middle of the failed revolt of the Republic of the Rif against the Franco-Spanish administration and the Sultan. Learning from experiences in Algeria , where imprudent land appropriation, as Professor Susan Gilson Miller puts it, "reduced much of

504-546: A college town. The first permanent settlement of the area dates to the 16th century, when a sharîf by the name of Sîdî ‘Abd al-Salâm established his community in the Tizguit Valley , seven km downstream from the present town. In the Local Amazigh language, Ifran means "caves". Sîdî ‘Abd al-Salâm’s village, called Zaouiat Sidi Abdeslam (or simply the zâwiyah), consisted at first of cave dwellings hollowed out of

588-409: A desirable destination for domestic tourism. Consequently, Ifrane continues to develop as both a summer and winter resort. Old chalets in the center of town are being demolished and replaced with condominium complexes, while vacation centers and gated housing estates are springing up on the outskirts. The Middle Atlas Mountains consist mostly of a series of limestone plateaux. Not far from Ifrane in

672-424: A direct rail line. In 1921, 39,000 tons of phosphate were extracted, while almost 2 million tons were extracted in 1930. The Moroccan laborers working in the mines did not benefit from any social protections, were forbidden from unionizing, and earned a tiny fraction of what Europeans earned. Industry during the early period of the protectorate focused on food processing for local consumption: there were canneries,

756-427: A liberal fantasy, Morocco's conservative French rulers attempted to use urban planning and colonial education to prevent cultural mixing and to uphold the traditional society upon which the French depended for collaboration. Second, Morocco had a thousand-year tradition of independence and had never been subjected to Ottoman rule , though it had been strongly influenced by the civilization of Muslim Iberia . Morocco

840-412: A national network was established to resist the legislation. Dr. Susan Gilson Miller cites this as the "seedbed out of which the embryonic nationalist movement emerged." In December 1934, a small group of nationalists, members of the newly formed Moroccan Action Committee ( كتلة العمل الوطني , Comité d’Action Marocaine – CAM), proposed a Plan of Reforms ( برنامج الإصلاحات المغربية ) that called for

924-590: A post office and a Roman Catholic church. The church, consecrated in 1939, was designed by Paul Tournon (1881–1964), a recipient of the prestigious Prix de Rome who had also designed the Sacré Cœur Church in Casablanca. The resort function of the new town was consolidated with the building of a number of hotels. Ifrane's first flagship hotel was the Balima, which was demolished in the 1980s. The other main hotel

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1008-517: A post office and a church. Moreover, a penitentiary was built which served as a POW camp during World War II. As elsewhere in Morocco, a shanty town called Timdiqîn soon grew up next to the colonial establishment. It housed the Moroccan population (maids, gardeners, etc.) that serviced the French vacationers. Timdiqîn was separated from the colonial garden city by a deep ravine. After independence,

1092-482: A protectorate over Morocco with the Treaty of Fes , ending what remained of the country's de facto independence. From a legal point of view, the treaty gave the legislative power to France, alongside the control of military defense, foreign policy and jurisdiction. The Moorish government exercised authority solely in Moroccan or Islamic affairs. Sultan Abdelhafid abdicated in favour of his brother Yusef after signing

1176-475: A return to indirect rule as envisaged by the Treaty of Fes , admission of Moroccans to government positions, and establishment of representative councils. The moderate tactics used by the CAM to obtain consideration of reform included petitions, newspaper editorials, and personal appeals to French. During World War II, the badly divided nationalist movement became more cohesive, and informed Moroccans dared to consider

1260-476: A shantytown thus grew up next to the colonial town. This is the origin of Timdiqin (officially called Hay Atlas). Located in the Atlas Mountains , and affected by the cold Canary current , Ifrane has a continental-influenced hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa ) with short, somewhat dry, warm summers and long, cool, damp winters. The nights can be severely cold in winter. Because of its elevation,

1344-619: A speech in what was then the Tangier International Zone to appeal for his country's independence from colonialism and for its territorial unity. In the days leading up to the sultan's speech, French colonial forces in Casablanca , specifically Senegalese Tirailleurs serving the French colonial empire , carried out a massacre of working class Moroccans. The massacre lasted for about 24 hours from 7–8 April 1947, as

1428-641: A strong, three-pronged attack into the Middle Atlas that pacified the area. Some tribesmen, led by Moha ou Said , fled to the High Atlas and continued a guerrilla war against the French well into the 1930s. Sultan Yusef 's reign, which lasted from 1912 to 1927, was turbulent and marked with frequent uprisings against Spain and France. The most serious of these was a Berber uprising in the Rif Mountains, led by Abd el-Krim , who managed to establish

1512-525: A sugar refinery (Compagnie Sucriere Marocaine, COSUMA), a brewing company (Société des Brasseries du Maroc, SBM), and flour mills. Manufacturing and heavy industry, however, were not embraced for fears of competing with Metropolitan France . The Zaian confederation of Berber tribes in Morocco fought a war of opposition against the French between 1914 and 1921. Resident-General Louis-Hubert Lyautey sought to extend French influence eastwards through

1596-469: A summer camp for the Ministry of Justice. The penitentiary served as a Prisoner of War camp during World War II. The popular story of the origin of Ifrane's lion sculpture involves an Italian inmate of this prison sculpting the lion out of an outcrop of limestone; however, this is not true as the lion dates from at least 1936 thus predating World War II. The garden city hill station high in the Middle Atlas

1680-533: A way as to remind their foreign inhabitants of their distant homelands. The architectural style adopted is imported from the mother country in order that the place look like "Little England" or "douce France". This is the case in Ifrane where various mountain styles such as "maison basque" "Jura" and " Savoy " were used. Moreover, trees and flowering plants were also imported from the European home country. This too

1764-486: Is a ruling class, born to rule, without which nothing can be done...[we] enlist the ruling class in our service...and the country will be pacified, and at far less cost and with greater certainty than by all the military expeditions we could send there... Lyautey's vision was ideological: A powerful, pro-French, Westernized monarchy that would work with France and look to France for culture and aid. Unlike in Algeria, where

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1848-459: Is also a popular altitude training destination. The first permanent settlement of the area dates to the 16th century, when the Sharif Sîdî 'Abd al-Salâm established his community in the Tizguit Valley , seven km downstream from the present town. Ifrane is a colonial "hill station", and a " garden city ". It is also an "imperial city", a mountain resort, a provincial administrative center, and

1932-550: Is also well known for its pisciculture (fish farming) stations. Ras el Ma forest has a trout-breeding station in which trout can be seen in their breeding basins. Moreover, Ifrane has a varied range of insects and amphibians. Ifrane's plant and tree species include the following: [REDACTED] Media related to Ifrane at Wikimedia Commons 33°32′N 5°07′W  /  33.533°N 5.117°W  / 33.533; -5.117 French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco , also known as French Morocco ,

2016-652: Is used for irrigation and is dammed by the Hassan II and Mohamed V Dams . Before French colonisation, the Moulouya River was considered as the border between Ottoman Algeria and the dynasties that controlled Morocco. A battle between the Ottomans and the Alawites took place in 1692 at the ford of this river. The Romans called this river Malva and Mulucha . In medieval British pseudo-history, it

2100-744: The Algeciras Conference was held to settle the dispute. Germany accepted an agreement in which France agreed to yield control of the Moroccan police, but otherwise retained effective control of Moroccan political and financial affairs. Although the Algeciras Conference temporarily solved the First Moroccan Crisis it only worsened international tensions between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente . The French military conquest of Morocco began in

2184-597: The Atlantic Charter . However, the nationalists were disappointed in their belief that the Allied victory in Morocco would pave the way for independence. In January 1944, the Istiqlal Party , which subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement, released a manifesto demanding full independence , national reunification, and a democratic constitution. Sultan Muhammad V approved

2268-656: The Battle of El Herri . Over the following four years, the French retained most of their territory despite the Central Powers ' intelligence and financial support to the Zaian Confederation and continual raids and skirmishes reducing scarce French manpower. After Armistice with Germany in November 1918, significant forces of tribesmen remained opposed to French rule. The French resumed their offensive in

2352-578: The First Battle of the Marne , September 1914, and participated in every major battle in the war, including in Artois , Champagne , and Verdun . Historians have called these Moroccan soldiers "heroes without glory" as they are not and have not been given the consideration they merited through valor and sacrifice in the war. Brahim El Kadiri Boutchich identified the participation of Moroccan soldiers in

2436-676: The High Atlas and the Rif . A small fort overlooking Oued Tizguit (now part of the palace precinct) had already been built during the period of military conquest in order to secure the Fez to Khenifra road across the mountains. The gently rolling landscape, with fresh springs and wildflowers , was judged to have potential as a summer resort for colon families from the Saïss Plain, Meknes and Fez. Fifty hectares of agricultural land upstream from

2520-573: The Himalayas which served as their "summer capital". The French built similar hill stations in Indochina , such as Da Lat , established in 1921. Ifrane was not the only hill station to be built in Morocco. The French also built one in neighboring Imouzzer Marmoucha , as well as at Oukaïmeden in the High Atlas. Hill stations share some common characteristics. As they are intended for expatriate European families, and they are often designed in such

2604-656: The Middle Atlas mountains towards French Algeria . This was opposed by the Zaians, led by Mouha ou Hammou Zayani . The war began well for the French, who quickly took the key towns of Taza and Khénifra . Despite the loss of their base at Khénifra, the Zaians inflicted heavy losses on the French. With the outbreak of the First World War, France withdrew troops for service in Europe, and they lost more than 600 in

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2688-515: The Oum Rabia originate in it. Historically, however, despite its centrality, the Middle Atlas has been an "empty quarter". Though the area was regularly crossed by traders, and though the alpine summer pasture was used by herders, the harsh climate and relatively poor soils long impeded permanent human settlement. Today the Middle Atlas is still one of the least densely populated parts of Morocco, even when compared to other mountainous regions such as

2772-600: The Spanish protectorate , which was established and dissolved in the same years; its borders consisted of the area of Morocco between the Corridor of Taza and the Draa River , including sparse tribal lands. The official capital was Rabat . Despite the weakness of its authority, the 'Alawi dynasty distinguished itself in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by maintaining Morocco’s independence while other states in

2856-496: The tirailleurs fired randomly into residential buildings in working-class neighborhoods, killing 180 Moroccan civilians. The conflict was instigated in an attempt to sabotage the Sultan's journey to Tangier, though after having returned to Casablanca to comfort the families of the victims, the Sultan then proceeded to Tangier to deliver the historic speech, in the garden of the Mendoubia palace, on 9 April. The assassination of

2940-499: The zâwiya . The town was to be a " hill station ", a cool place for colonial families to spend the hot summer months, and it was initially planned according to the "garden city" model of urban design then in vogue. The plan called for chalet-type summer homes in the Alpine style, laid out among gardens and curving tree-lined streets. A royal palace was also built for Sultan Muhammad b. Yûsuf. The town's first public buildings consisted of

3024-437: The "granary of Rome" by planting cereals primarily in the regions of Chaouia , Gharb , and Hawz —despite the fact that the region is prone to drought. After a period of minimal profits and a massive locust swarm in 1930, agricultural production shifted toward irrigated, higher-value crops such as citrus fruits and vegetables. The industrialization of agriculture required capital that many Moroccan farmers didn't have, leading to

3108-512: The Direction des Affairs Politiques. The 1928 plan – for the neighborhood known as Hay Riad today – had typical garden city features: curvy streets named for flora (Rue des lilas, Rue des tilleuls, etc.), and chalet-style houses. Houses could occupy only 40% of plots; the rest had to be planted as a garden. Moreover, large parts of the center of the town consisted of public gardens. Some of the original architecture can still be seen, especially in

3192-697: The Franco-Moroccan Joint Declaration. Morocco's independence movement, described in Moroccan historiography as the Revolution of the King and the People , restored the exiled Mohammed V but it did not end the French presence in Morocco. France preserved its influence in the country, including a right to station French troops and to have a say in Morocco's foreign policy. French settlers also maintained their rights and property. While

3276-524: The French colonists and with their supporters in France to prevent any moves in the direction of Moroccan autonomy. As pacification proceeded, the French government promoted economic development , particularly the exploitation of Morocco’s mineral wealth, the creation of a modern transportation system , and the development of a modern agriculture sector geared to the French market . Tens of thousands of colonists entered Morocco and bought up large amounts of

3360-541: The French properties in the original garden city were slowly bought up by Moroccans. The town was enlarged and endowed with a mosque, a municipal market and public housing estates. Furthermore, the shanty neighborhood of Timdiqîn was rebuilt with proper civic amenities. In 1979 Ifrane became the seat of the administrative province of the same name and some government services were established. In 1995 Al Akhawayn University , an English-language, American-curriculum public university opened and this has helped re-launch Ifrane as

3444-538: The Khénifra area in 1920, establishing a series of blockhouses to limit the Zaians' freedom of movement. They conducted negotiations with Hammou's sons, persuading three of them, along with many of their followers, to submit to the French rule. A split in the Zaian Confederation between those who supported submission and those still opposed led to infighting and the death of Hammou in Spring 1921. The French responded with

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3528-623: The Middle Atlas is Cèdre Gouraud Forest . These plateaux receive considerable precipitation—averaging about 1,100/1,200 ml/year in Ifrane—and are naturally wooded, with scrub oak forests alternating with cedar. The Middle Atlas lies in the center of Morocco and constitutes its natural water tower, as many of the country's most important river systems: the Moulouya , the Sebou , the Bou Regreg , and

3612-685: The Tizguit valley all the way to El Hajeb escarpment. Late in the 19th century agro-pastoral groups of the Amazigh Senhadja Beni M’guild and Zenata the Ait Seghrouchen, crossing the Middle Atlas from the upper Moulouya Plain, started grazing their herds of sheep and goats on the surrounding plateau. The livelihood of the zâwiyah was based on irrigated agriculture on the valley floor, livestock grazing and forest resources. The agricultural plots were held as private property (mulk) but

3696-588: The Tunisian labor unionist Farhat Hached by La Main Rouge —the clandestine militant wing of French intelligence —sparked protests in cities around the world and riots in Casablanca from 7–8 December 1952. Approximately 100 people were killed. In the aftermath of the riots, French authorities arrested Abbas Messaadi , who would eventually escape, found the Moroccan Liberation Army , and join

3780-594: The aftermath of Émile Mauchamp 's assassination in Marrakesh on 19 March 1907. In the French press, his death was characterized as an "unprovoked and indefensible attack from the barbarous natives of Morocco." Hubert Lyautey seized his death as a pretext to invade Oujda from the east. In the summer of 1907, tribes of the Chaouia led a revolt against the application of terms of the 1906 Treaty of Algeciras in Casablanca, killing nine European laborers working on

3864-552: The agreements with France had provided for interdependent foreign relations, Franco-Moroccan relations quickly worsened following Mohammed V's outspoken support for Algerian independence including at the United Nations. The number of French settlers declined constantly, especially after their agricultural holdings were nationalized. Relations with France were to improve once the last French troops finally left Morocco in November 1961. The French protectorate existed alongside

3948-454: The armed resistance in the Rif. In 1953, Thami El Glaoui attempted to orchestrate a coup against Sultan Muhammad V with the support of the French protectorate. The 1953 Oujda revolt broke out ten days after his "electoral" campaign passed through the city. The general sympathy of the sultan for the nationalists had become evident by the end of the war, although he still hoped to see complete independence achieved gradually. By contrast,

4032-666: The city. Moroccan forces besieged the French-occupied city. Approximately one month later, French forces brought the siege to an end. On 5 June 1911 the Spanish occupied Larache and Alcazaquibir ( Ksar-el-Kebir ). On 1 July 1911, the German gunboat Panther arrived at the port of Agadir . There was an immediate reaction from the French, supported by the British. other political entities France officially established

4116-421: The colonists and the nationalists increased from 19 August – 5 November 1955, and approximately 1,000 people died Facing a united Moroccan demand for the sultan’s return, a rising violence in Morocco, as well as the deteriorating situation in Algeria, Muhammad V returned from exile on 16 November 1955, and declared independence on 18 November 1955. In February 1956 he successfully negotiated with France to enforce

4200-470: The entire nobility and government had been displaced, the Moroccan nobility was included in Lyautey's plans. He worked with them, offering support and building elite private schools to which they could send their children; one notable attendee of these schools was Thami El Glaoui . Lyautey allowed the Sultan to retain his powers, both nominal and practical: He issued decrees in his own name and seal and

4284-424: The experience of the conquest of Algeria and of their protectorate over Tunisia ; they took the latter as the model for their Moroccan policy. There were, however, important differences. First, the protectorate was established only two years before the outbreak of World War I , which brought with it a new attitude toward colonial rule. Rejecting the typical French assimilationist approach to culture and education as

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4368-619: The garden city was developed in Britain as a model of social reform to solve the problems of 19th century industrial cities. By the 1920s however it had lost its social purpose to become an urban design type. Garden cities required low density housing consisting of fully detached or semi-detached single family homes surrounded by gardens. In order to break with industrial-era grid plans, garden cities were always laid out with curving tree-lined streets. In fact, most garden cities were affluent suburbs, not true cities in their own right. They catered to

4452-464: The grazing land was under collective tribal jurisdiction (j’maa). The tribally organized populations of the Ifrane-Azrou area submitted to colonial rule after a period of resistance (1913–1917). Resistance continued higher in the mountains (Timahdit, Jebel Fazzaz) until 1922. The modern town of Ifrane was established by the French administration in 1929 on land expropriated from the inhabitants of

4536-541: The independence of Morocco, and in 1957 took the title of King. Moulouya The Moulouya River ( Berber : iɣẓer en Melwect , Arabic : وادي ملوية ) is a 520 km-long (320 mi) river in Morocco . Its sources are located in the Ayashi mountain in the Middle Atlas . It empties into the Mediterranean Sea near Saïdia , in northeast Morocco. Water level in the river often fluctuates. The river

4620-440: The limestone valley wall. Only in the last fifty years or so have its inhabitants built houses aboveground. The caves which now lie under these houses are still used as mangers for animals and for storage. By the mid-17th century Sîdî ‘Abd al-Salâm’s zâwiyah was well enough established to receive an extensive iqtâ’, or land grant, from the ‘Alâwî sultan Mûlây Rashîd b. Muhammad. The iqtâ’ extended from upstream of present Ifrane down

4704-505: The manifesto before its submission to the French resident general Gabriel Puaux , who answered that no basic change in the protectorate status was being considered. The innovative fact about Moroccan nationalists is that they globalized the Moroccan question through transnational activism. This way they created a vibrant and wide global coalition of supporters who advocated their cause. This way they also managed to make their concerns global ones. Among their active international supporters

4788-433: The native peasantry to a rootless proletariat," Lyautey solicited a select group of 692 "gentlemen-farmers"—instead of what he called the "riff-raff" of southern Europe—capable of serving as "examples" to les indigènes and imparting French influence in the rural colonization of Morocco from 1917 to 1925. The objective was to secure a steady supply of grain for Metropolitan France and to transform Morocco once again into

4872-529: The neighborhood around the town hall and the Perce Neige Hotel. The summer homes built by the colons were designed by many of the same architects who built the European parts of Casablanca and Rabat. Whereas the European architecture in these big cities was innovative and intentionally modern, Ifrane's houses were built in traditional European styles and resembled those in the suburbs of contemporaneous French cities. Ifrane's first public buildings were

4956-415: The other. Germany took immediate diplomatic action to block the new accord from going into effect, including the dramatic visit of Wilhelm II to Tangier on 31 March 1905. Kaiser Wilhelm tried to get Morocco's support if they went to war with France or Britain, and gave a speech expressing support for Moroccan independence, which amounted to a provocative challenge to French influence in Morocco. In 1906,

5040-473: The rail line between the port and a quarry in Roches Noires . The French responded with a naval bombardment of Casablanca from 5–7 August, and went on to occupy and "pacify" Casablanca and the Chaouia plain , marking the beginning of the French invasion from the west. Sultan Abdelaziz did virtually nothing in response to French aggressions and occupation of Oujda and Chaouia. As a result, there

5124-506: The real possibility of political change in the post-war era. The Moroccan Nationalist Movement ( الحركة الوطنية المغربية ) was emboldened by overtures made by Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States during the 1943 Anfa Conference during World War II , expressing support for Moroccan independence after the war. Nationalist political parties based their arguments for Moroccan independence on such World War II declarations as

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5208-410: The recognized leader of Morocco in 1909. In 1911, a rebellion broke out against Abd al-Hafid. By early April 1911, the Sultan was besieged in his palace in Fez and the French prepared to send troops to help suppress the rebellion under the pretext of protecting European lives and property. The French dispatched a flying column at the end of April 1911 and Germany gave approval for the occupation of

5292-529: The record for the lowest temperature ever observed in Africa and the Arab world: −23.9 °C (−11.0 °F) on February 11, 1935. Ifrane's biodiversity is unique. Its fauna and flora contain rare yet mostly endangered species. Animals to be found in the vicinity include the threatened Barbary macaque . Among the local tree species are the native Atlas cedar , scrub oak and the introduced London plane . Ifrane

5376-432: The region succumbed to French or British domination. However, in the second part of the nineteenth century, Morocco’s weakness and instability invited European intervention to protect threatened investments and to demand economic concessions. Following the Hispano-Moroccan War of 1859–1860, Spain obtained the recognition by Morocco of its perpetual sovereignty over Ceuta , Melilla and the Chafarinas Islands as well as of

5460-442: The residency, supported by French economic interests and vigorously backed by most of the colonists, adamantly refused to consider even reforms short of independence. Official intransigence contributed to increased animosity between the nationalists and the colonists and gradually widened the split between the sultan and the resident general. Muhammad V and his family were transferred to Madagascar in January 1954. His replacement by

5544-446: The rich agricultural land. Interest groups that formed among these elements continually pressured France to increase its control over Morocco. France recruited infantry from Morocco to join its troupes coloniales , as it did in its other colonies in Africa and around the world. Throughout World War I , a total of 37,300–45,000 Moroccans fought for France, forming a " Moroccan Brigade ." Moroccan colonial troops first served France in

5628-641: The service of France in WWI as "one of the most important moments in the shared history of Morocco and France ." Hubert Lyautey , the first Resident-General of the Protectorate, was an idealistic yet pragmatic leader with royalist leanings, who made it his mission to develop Morocco in every sector under French influence. Unlike his compatriots, Lyautey didn't believe that France should directly annex Morocco like French Algeria , but rather remodel and re-educate Moroccan society. He promised that, in this process, he would: ...offend no tradition, change no custom , and remind ourselves that in all human society there

5712-477: The support of the powers in question in this endeavor. That same year, France sponsored the creation of the Moroccan Debt Administration in Tangier . France and Spain secretly partitioned the territory of the sultanate, with Spain receiving concessions in the far north and south of the country. The First Moroccan Crisis took place owing to the imperial rivalries of the great powers, in this case, between Germany on one side and France, with British support, on

5796-412: The tastes of the upper middle classes who could afford to own a private automobile and property in the suburbs. They gave the illusion of county life, with village-type architecture, curvy streets and many trees, to people who in reality worked in big cities. Ifrane's initial garden city plan was designed in 1928 in Rabat by the Services Techniques of the Bureau de Contrôle des Municipalités, a division of

5880-520: The territory of Ifni . The first years of the twentieth century witnessed a rush of diplomatic maneuvering through which the European powers, France in particular, furthered their interests in North Africa . French activity in Morocco began at the end of the nineteenth century. In 1904, the French government was trying to establish a protectorate over Morocco and had managed to sign two bilateral secret agreements with Britain (8 April 1904, see Entente cordiale ) and Spain (7 October 1904), which guaranteed

5964-580: The town experiences snow during the winter months and a cooler climate during the summer (not as hot as in the nearby regions which lie at a lower altitude). Owing to the city's elevation and proximity to the north Atlantic Ocean , rainfall is very heavy whenever frontal systems affect the region. Precipitation patterns follow the classic Mediterranean range, from October to April. The city also receives high snowfall starting as early as October and lasting well into spring season. The annual average temperature does not exceed 11 °C (52 °F). Ifrane holds

6048-453: The treaty. On 17 April 1912, Moroccan infantrymen mutinied in the French garrison in Fez, in the 1912 Fes riots The Moroccans were unable to take control of the city and were defeated by a French relief force. In late May 1912, Moroccan forces again unsuccessfully attacked the enhanced French garrison at Fez. In establishing their protectorate over much of Morocco, the French had put behind them

6132-430: The unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa , whose reign was perceived as illegitimate, sparked active opposition to the French protectorate both from nationalists and those who saw the sultan as a religious leader. By 1955, Ben Aarafa was pressured to abdicate. Consequently, Ben Aarafa fled to Tangier where he formally abdicated. The French executed 6 Moroccan nationalists in Casablanca on 4 January 1955. The aggressions between

6216-464: The zâwiyah, in an area originally designated as Tourthit, or "garden", was expropriated for the project. Ifrane was conceived as a "hill station" or colonial type of settlement. It is a resort town set high up in the mountains so that Europeans can find relief from the summer heat of tropical colonies. The British were the first to develop this type of resort in India, the best known of which is Simla in

6300-473: Was Robert E. Rodes who fought actively in the US Congress for gaining support for the Moroccan cause. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, with political and nonviolent efforts proving futile, the Moroccan struggle for independence became increasingly violent, with massacres, bombings, and riots, particularly in the urban and industrial center, Casablanca . In 1947, Sultan Muhammad V planned to deliver

6384-458: Was allowed to remain the religious leader of Morocco; he was further allowed an all-Arab court. Lyautey once said this: In Morocco, there is only one government, the sharifian government, protected by the French. Walter Burton Harris , a British journalist who wrote extensively on Morocco, commented upon French preservation of traditional Moroccan society: At the Moorish court, scarcely

6468-589: Was also unique among North African countries in possessing a coast on the Atlantic , in the rights that various nations derived from the Conference of Algeciras, and in the privileges that their diplomatic missions had acquired in Tangier (including a French legation ). Thus the northern tenth of the country, with both Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, were excluded from the French-controlled area and treated as

6552-403: Was always going to be an illusion of suburban middle-class France. Provisions were made for the housing and infrastructure of colonial home-owners, but not for the Moroccan maids, gardeners or guards who worked for them. Finding no housing in the official allotments, these people had to build their own houses some distance away, across a ravine north of the town. As elsewhere in Morocco at the time,

6636-459: Was founded in 30 November 1919 with the goal of accessing "all of Morocco." Its services ran along a new colonial road system planned with the aim of linking all major towns and cities. It continues to offer intercity bus services nationwide. The Office Chérifien des Phosphates ( OCP ) was created in 1920 to mine phosphates out of Khouribga , which was connected to the Port of Casablanca by

6720-481: Was growing pressure for a jihad in defense of Morocco, particularly from Muhammad al-Kattani and the people of Fes. After the southern aristocrats pledged support to the sultan's brother, Abd al-Hafid , the people of Fes also pledged their support, though qualified by an unprecedented Conditional Bay'ah . France supported Abdelaziz and promoted him in their propaganda newspaper Es-Saada ( السعادة ). After defeating Abdelaziz in battle in 1908, Abd al-Hafid became

6804-463: Was intended to heighten the appearance and feeling of home. In Ifrane, lilac trees, plane-trees (platanes), chestnut and horse-chestnut trees (marronniers and châtaigniers) and lime trees (tilleuls) were all imported for this purpose. Ifrane was planned according to the " garden city " model of urban design , fashionable in Western Europe between the two world wars . The concept of

6888-568: Was mentioned as a location along the route supposedly travelled by the ancestors of the Scotti , and by Brutus of Troy . The Moulouya River formed the eastern border of the kingdom of Mauretania since King Bocchus I , and more recently of the Rif Republic in the 1920s, a small part of Morocco containing important cities like Saïdia and Oujda lying to the east, between the Moulouya and

6972-548: Was the Grand Hôtel, which has recently been refurbished. A royal palace was also built for Sultan Muhammad b.Yûsuf. Ifrane is thus an "imperial" city in that it houses a palace and benefits from royal patronage. One final institution of Ifrane's early years worthy of mention is the penitentiary which no longer exists, and the site, across from the Police Academy and the new police Commissariat, has been redeveloped as

7056-488: Was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the Treaty of Fez , though the French military occupation of Morocco had begun with the invasion of Oujda and the bombardment of Casablanca in 1907. The French protectorate lasted until the dissolution of the Treaty of Fez on 2 March 1956, with

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