It is always pointed out that Taza's history and daily life was stamped by its geographical situation as the prominent passageway from east to west. Legend has it that the Meknassi tribe founded Taza at the end of the 7th century. But 25000-year-old prehistoric findings near the Medina (Kifan el-Khomari) show that people have settled here as early as the Palaeolithic.
In its history the town has been made capital several times, so under the Almohades, when Sultan Abd-el-Moumen conquered Taza in 1141 and had the Great Mosque built. Also the first Alaouite ruler, Moulay er-Rachid, the ancestor of the present king, started his conquest of Morocco from here.
After his death in 1672 Taza lost its status as a capital once and for all, with the exception of the interim "reign" of the rebell Moulay Muhammed, called Bou Hemara ("man on the donkey"). He had gained the support of local Berber tribes and had himself proclaimed sultan in 1902 in Taza, but was imprisoned by Sultan Moulay Hafid and executed a few years later. The house of Bou Hemara still can be seen at the Medina.
Apart from adding to the mosques and medersas, each of the dynasties expanded and enforced the fortifications. So when Taza was occupied by French troops in 1914, it was almost naturally made a garrison town. In the first period of the French Protectorate Taza served as a base and starting point for raids against the Berbers in the Rif and the Middle Atlas, who tried to found independent states.
In 1956 Taza regained some local administrative importance, when it was made the provincial capital of the region.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Taza
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Taza - updated May 2024
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Taza Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
