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Abandoned Village at Toughan, Morocco
Midway along the main road between Taznakht and Taroudant, in the region of Tallouine, an abandoned village suddenly comes into view to the west. The outlines of about 30 crumbling old homes dot the crest of a hill. A series of terraces once used for farming descend toward the green riverbank below, where olive trees and saffron grow. Whose abandoned homes are these and why is the village no more? The local legend is that the area, known as Toughan, once had a thriving Jewish community.
Description
One day—decades if not centuries ago—news suddenly reached the village that a group of Muslims was coming to attack. The Jews promptly fled for their lives en masse to the town of Ighli’n’Ogho, a center of Jewish life in the region located to the north.
Abandoned Village at Toughan
This account has not been definitively substantiated by historians. But locals Muslims today cite it to explain the mysterious abandoned homes atop the lonely hill in Tallouine.
![Toughan Village (Abandoned), Distant View [4] (Toughan, Morocco, 2010)](https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/X5jJmuhlQGiLfmsuUPST/convert?w=100&h=100&fit=crop)
![Toughan Village (Abandoned), Distant View [3] (Toughan, Morocco, 2010)](https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/VnrgejIOQR6soOVs5DA7/convert?w=100&h=100&fit=crop)
![Toughan Village (Abandoned), Distant View [2] (Toughan, Morocco, 2010)](https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/lri8wwBXQpih7lhMMJd0/convert?w=100&h=100&fit=crop)
![Toughan Village (Abandoned), Distant View [1] (Toughan, Morocco, 2010)](https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/71zACFP2THeozHrANC4Q/convert?w=100&h=100&fit=crop)
Sources
"Abandoned Village at Toughan." Youtube video, 1:09, posted by "DiarnaInfo," June 29, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc_Jo2MZQNA.