GUELMIM

also spelled Goulimine, or Guelmin, town, southwestern Morocco. Situated in the southern Anti-Atlas mountains near the northwestern edge of the Sahara, Guelmim is a walled town with houses built out of sun-dried red clay and is encircled by date palm groves. Historically it was a caravan centre linked (especially in the 19th century) to Timbuktu (now in Mali), and it remains a commercial gateway to Mauritania. The town is the site of an important annual camel-trading fair attended by the colourfully blue-clothed Regeibat nomads and by the Shluh, a Berber nomadic tribe. Jewelry is created by artisans in the town. The area in which Guelmim is situated consists of arid sandy plains and the Bani Mountains to the southeast, where palm groves are found in the khangas (canyons) emerging from more elevated areas. Nomadic herding of camels is commonplace throughout the region. Pop. (1982) 38,140.