The new Aïn Asserdoune Museum, a window on the history of the central region of the Kingdom, Béni Mellal-Khénifra.
The Ain Asserdoune Museum has just opened its doors to the public. It is located in the middle of the botanical gardens of a tourist site. It is a modern architectural building that invites visitors to discover the hidden facets of the history and heritage of the central region of the Kingdom.
This Museum, which aims to be a new incarnation of the cultural heritage of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region, located in the center of the country, encompassing the Tadla plain, between the High Atlas and the Middle Atlas, is a futuristic heritage institution whose vocation is to reveal, through digital models, maps and other digital devices, the past and to explore the regional cultural heritage as well as the civilizational and architectural assets of the region.
This new institution includes several rooms displaying the key periods that marked the creation of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region, since the prehistoric period, documented by photographs and archaeological surveys that present the Libyan-Amazigh period.
An exploration through the villages scattered on the heights
The museum thus presents the different aspects of the natural, historical, urban, material and immaterial heritage of the region from different periods, from the appearance of Islam with the arrival of Sidi Issa Ben Idriss, representing the Idrisside era, a period marked by the creation of city-states such as Fazaz, Day and Tagleft until the emergence of commercial centers on the foothills of the mountains with the era of the Almoravids.
The exhibition recounts each era using projections to explain the key stages that characterized the creation of the city of Beni Mellal, from the Merinids through the Ouattassides, the Saadians to the advent of the Cherifian Alaouite Dynasty.
This center also presents details of the region’s heritage through photos and texts in Arabic translated into English and Amazigh languages which illustrate the diversity of the region which includes the central Grand Atlas, the Middle Atlas and the Tadla plain.
The Museum invites visitors to embark on a journey through the fascinating world of villages scattered across the heights, captivating by their appearance and their vocation as collective granaries of the region, explained by models and videos. An immersive dive is thus offered to the public to discover the archaeological monuments, the architectural and urban heritage and the centuries-old know-how of the region’s artisan weavers.
