Laayoune
Laayoune
العيون ( UTC+1:00 (Central European Time) |
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Laayoune
In 2023, Laayoune is the capital of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco, it's still under the supervision of MINURSO, an UN mission.
The town is divided in two by the dry river of Saguia el-Hamra. On the south side is the old lower town, constructed by Spanish colonists.[10] The St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral was constructed during the Spanish period and is still active with a few Catholic missionaries.
History
Laayoune or El Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of one of the possible Romanized Maghrebi Arabic names for the city: Layoun, which could mean "the springs", in reference to the oases that furnish the town's water supply.[11]
The city was founded by the Spanish captain Antonio de Oro in 1938 as a small military outpost, but quickly became the Spanish Sahara's administrative and political centre.[10] The location was chosen for two reasons: the presence of water and the strategic military position the site offered. Its position on the banks of the Saguia el-Hamra river enabled good communication with the harbors of Tarfaya and Boujdour. The city underwent a period of rapid economic growth in the 1940s due to the discovery of vast deposits of phosphates at the Bou Craa site fuelling a phosphate industry.[10]
The town was the scene of the Zemla Intifada that occurred on June 17, 1970, that culminated in a massacre, resulting in the deaths ranging from 2 to 11 people and hundreds injured.[citation needed]
After the Spanish withdrew in 1975, Laayoune, along with much of the rest of the Western Sahara, was annexed by Morocco.[10] Since then, large numbers of Moroccans have moved to the city, and now outnumber the indigenous Sahrawis, who have gradually given up their traditional nomadic lifestyles.[10]
The city has continued to develop rapidly and benefits of a desalinization plant. The city's rate of urbanization continues to outpace that of Morocco, though on most indicators of human development, it lags behind southern Morocco.[10]
Climate
Laayoune has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), moderated by the Canary Current,[citation needed] with an average annual temperature just over 21 °C (70 °F).
Climate data for Laayoune (1981–2010 normals) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.2 (72.0) |
22.7 (72.9) |
24.5 (76.1) |
23.9 (75.0) |
25.6 (78.1) |
27.4 (81.3) |
29.5 (85.1) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.0 (86.0) |
28.6 (83.5) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
26.2 (79.2) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) |
17.6 (63.7) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.2 (66.6) |
20.7 (69.3) |
22.5 (72.5) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.2 (77.4) |
24.7 (76.5) |
23.3 (73.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
21.1 (70.0) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.6 (52.9) |
12.5 (54.5) |
13.9 (57.0) |
14.5 (58.1) |
15.8 (60.4) |
17.7 (63.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.0 (68.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
15.6 (60.1) |
12.8 (55.0) |
15.9 (60.6) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 11.1 (0.44) |
11.1 (0.44) |
5.4 (0.21) |
1.1 (0.04) |
0.5 (0.02) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.00) |
0.5 (0.02) |
1.5 (0.06) |
3.0 (0.12) |
9.8 (0.39) |
13.3 (0.52) |
57.4 (2.26) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 239.1 | 234.7 | 281.4 | 296.5 | 326.5 | 308.9 | 290.3 | 286.9 | 260.1 | 266.1 | 243.9 | 229.8 | 3,264.2 |
Source: NOAA[12] |
Climate change
A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Laayoune in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Alexandria. The annual temperature would increase by 1 °C (1.8 °F), and the temperature of the warmest month by 1.8 °C (3.2 °F), while the temperature of the coldest month would decrease by 0.1 °C (0.18 °F).[13][14] According to Climate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5.[15]
Demographics
Laayoune has a population of 271,344[1] and is the largest city in Western Sahara.
Year | Population |
---|---|
1982 (Census) | 93,875[16] |
1994 (Census) | 136,950[16] |
2004 (Census) | 183,691[16] |
2014 (Census) | 217,732[16] |
2023 | 271,344[7] |
Economy and status
The city is a hub for fishing and for phosphate mining in the region.[17] In 2010, the country was negotiating a new fishing agreement with Europe over offshore fishing.[citation needed]
Sport
The football club of the city is
Transport
Laayoune is served by the international Hassan I Airport.
Education
French school associated to the Alliance française was established in 2018, the city also includes a Spanish international school, Colegio Español La Paz, owned by the Spanish government.[18]
Diplomatic missions
On 18 December 2019, Comoros became the first nation to open a consulate in support of Moroccan claims to the region.[19] In January 2020, Gabon opened also a general consulate.[20] Later on, São Tomé and Príncipe,[21] the Central African Republic,[22] Ivory Coast,[23] Burundi,[24] Eswatini,[25] Zambia,[26] the United Arab Emirates,[27] and Bahrain,[28] also opened consulates in the city.
Gallery
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Mosque of Moulay Abd el Aziz
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Avenue Mekka
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One entrance of the city
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Road to El Marsa, the harbour of the city.
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Laâyoune bus station.
See also
References
- ^ High Commission for Planning, Morocco. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ "Laayoune". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
- ^ a b "Laayoune". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Laâyoune". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "el-Aaiún". Lexico UK English Dictionary UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press.[dead link]
- ^ "El Aaiún". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Population totale". siredd.environnement.gov.ma. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ Francisco López Barrios (2005-01-23). "El Lawrence de Arabia Español" (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
- ISSN 0016-7398.
- ^ ISBN 9781138650749.
- ISBN 978-0-89950-943-3.
- ^ "WMO_Normals_ASCII_60033". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- PMID 31291249.
- ^ "Cities of the future: visualizing climate change to inspire action". Current vs. future cities. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
- ^ "The CAT Thermometer". Retrieved 8 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Western Sahara: Provinces & Urban Communes - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Diplomacy over Western Sahara: 'Morocco v Algeria'". The Economist. 4 November 2010.
- ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
Lagadaf Lahsen, presidente del AMPA del centro educativo, asegura que es "la única forma de evitar" que sus hijos "se vayan a otras ciudades de Marruecos o a Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, además de que no se pierda el español en el Sáhara"." and "[...]una instalación de 17.000 metros cuadrados que es propiedad del Estado español[...]
- ^ "First foreign diplomatic post opens in Western Sahara". Arab News. 18 December 2019.
- ^ "Gabon Opens Consulate General in Laayoune". Sahara News. 17 January 2020.
- ^ "Sao Tome and Principe Inaugurates Consulate General in Laayoune". Morocco World News. 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Central African Republic Opens Consulate General in Laayoune". Morocco World News. 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Cote d'Ivoire Opens General Consulate in Morocco's Laayoune". Morocco World News. 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Burundi Opens General Consulate in Laayoune". Morocco World News. 28 February 2020.
- ^ "Eswatini Opens Consulate General in Laayoune, Southern Morocco". Morocco World News. 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Zambia Opens Consulate General in Morocco's Laayoune". Morocco World News. 27 October 2020.
- ^ "UAE Officially Opens Consulate General in Morocco's Laayoune". Morocco World News. 4 November 2020.
- ^ "Bahrain Opens Consulate General in Laayoune, Southern Morocco". Morocco World News. 14 December 2020.
- ^ /lɑːˈjuːn/ lah-YOON,[2][3] also UK: /laɪˈ-/ ly-,[4] French: [la.ajun]
- ^ /ˌɛl aɪˈ(j)uːn/ EL eye-(Y)OON,[3][5][6] Spanish: [el (a)aˈʝun]; Hassaniya Arabic: لعيون, romanized: Laʕyūn/Elʕyūn; Literary Arabic: العيون, romanized: al-ʿUyūn/el-ʿUyūn, lit. 'The Springs'