Marrakech lies in the center of a rich agricultural region known as the Haouz Plain. In the Haouz, water resources from the High Atlas mountains are plentiful both on the surface and as groundwater.

-Refer to the map of precipitation of Morocco. How much rainfall does the Haouz Plain receive, on the average, per year?

Marrakech, founded in the mid-1000s by the conquering armies of the Almoravid dynasty, is a city of nearly 750,000 people today. Still, the city is remarkably contained and the separation between city and country is particularly clear here. You are looking at Marrakech and its low walls in the distance from a field of barley directly outside the city walls. These particular walls have been in place since the 1600s.

-What does the absence of suburbs, or urban sprawl, in this picture say about the nature of Moroccan society?

-What does this image convey about the importance of farmland and its continuity over time?