Guelmim-Es Semara, Former administrative region in southern Morocco.
Guelmim-Es Semara was a former administrative region in southern Morocco, covering a large area from the Atlantic coast to the borders of contested territories in the south. It was divided into five provinces, with Guelmim city as its administrative center.
The region was created in 1997 as part of a national reform that divided Morocco into sixteen administrative regions. It remained in place for about two decades before being dissolved and reorganized in 2015.
The area brought together Berber, Arab, and Sahrawi communities, each contributing their own way of life to the towns and desert routes of the south. In the markets of Guelmim, you can still find traces of this meeting point between the Moroccan south and the Sahara.
Since this region no longer exists as an administrative unit, travelers visit the five former provinces on their own terms. Guelmim city is a good base for exploring the southern part of the country and is well connected to the rest of Morocco.
The Draa, Morocco's longest river, ran through this territory and reached the Atlantic Ocean near Tan-Tan. Its course is often dry today, but for centuries it shaped the land and guided where people settled across the region.
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