Tan-Tan

▪ Morocco

      town, southwestern Morocco. The town, about 16 miles (25 km) by road east of the Atlantic Ocean in the extreme northwestern reaches of the Sahara, is a military post and a market centre for the Regeibat and Tekna nomads who live in the area. The annual mūsim, a commercial and religious fair, attracts traders and nomads from as far away as Senegal and Marrakech; camels and sheep are exchanged for grains, tea, sugar, and other necessities.

      Tan-Tan and the surrounding area became a part of the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco (the area defined as an integral part of Morocco by a Franco-Spanish convention in 1912) known variously as the Tekla zone, Tarfaya zone, or Spanish Southern Morocco. This region was returned to Morocco in 1958. It has been the site of warfare between Moroccan troops and the Western Saharan Polisario (Polisario Front) Front guerrillas; guerrillas raided the town twice in 1979.

      The area surrounding the town is a relatively flat, stony plain with occasional intermittent streambeds, low-lying mountains, ridges, and saline depressions; sand dune beaches and high cliffs are found on the Atlantic coast. Ocean fog preserves limited scrub growth near the coast. Nomads are increasingly raising sheep rather than camels and are practicing transhumance. Pop. (2004) 60,698.

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