MOROCCO

From the Saharan dunes and the peaks of the High
Atlas,totheancientImperialcitiesandthecoastlines,
Morocco is the gateway to Africa and a country of
immense diversity that offers simple, breathtaking
beautyandwarmhospitality.Onlowerground,there
areruggedcoastlines,waterfallsandcavesinforested
hills, and the mighty desert. Morocco's cities, many
under UNESCO World Heritage list, are some of the
most exciting on the continent. In the rocky deserts
medinas are protected by Kasbahs, on the coast by
thickseawalls.
PLACESVISITED
MARRAKESH
Marrakesh, which gave its name to the Moroccan
empire,isanexampleofamajorIslamiccapitalofthe
westernMediterranean.Foundedin1070-1072bythe
Almoravids (1056-1147), capital of the Almohads
(1147-1269), Marrakesh was, a major political,
economic and cultural center of the western Muslim
world, reigning in North Africa and Andalusia. Vast
monuments dating back to that period: Koutoubia
Mosque, with the matchless minaret of 77m, an
essentialmonumentofMuslimarchitecture,isoneof
theimportantlandmarksoftheurbanlandscapeand
thesymboloftheCity,theKasbah,monumentalgates
andgardens.Later,thetownwelcomedothermarvels,
suchastheBadiâPalace,theBenYoussefmedersa,les
Saâdians tombs, Bahia Palace and large residences.
Jamaâ El Fna Square is a true open-air theatre that
alwaysamazesvisitors.
Known for its leather goods, Marrakech is home to a
few tanneries where local families have been
employed for generations. In fact, the tanneries have
existed since the medina was founded over a
thousandyearsago.
ESSAOUIRA
Essaouirahaslongbeenconsideredasoneofthebest
anchorages of the Moroccan coast. The Carthaginian
navigatorvisitedinthe5 th centuryBCandestablished
thetradingpostofArambys.
Around the end of the 1 st century BCE or early 1 st
century CE, the Berber king Juba II established a
Tyrian purple factory, processing the murex and
purpura shells found in the intertidal rocks at
Essaouira and the Iles Purpuraires. This dye colored
thepurplestripeinthetogaswornbytheSenatorsof
Imperial Rome. The bay at Essaouira is partially
sheltered by the island of Mogador, making it a
peaceful harbor protected against strong marine
winds.
FEZ
The Medina of Fez is considered as one of the most
extensive and best conserved historic towns of the
Arab-Muslim world. It not only represents an
outstanding architectural, archaeological and urban
heritage, but also transmits a life style, skills and a
culture that persist and are renewed despite the
diverse effects of the evolving modern societies.
Founded in the 9 th century and home to the oldest
university in the world, Fez reached its height in the
13 th century under the Marinids, when it replaced
Marrakeshasthecapitalofthekingdom.Aroundthat
time time, those of Jewish decent were given
protection under the new sultan Abu Yacoub. Being
able to sell their wares and goods to those travelers
passing by, they thrived under the sultan’s protection
andmanyfamiliescontinuedtomoveintothemellah,
or Jewish quarter. And, while Marrakesh still thrived
as one of the south’s greatest cities, Fez remained
equallyimportantinthenorth.Theurbanfabricand
the principal monuments in the medina – madrasas,
fondouks,palaces,residences,mosquesandfountains
-datefromthisperiod.Althoughthepoliticalcapital
ofMoroccowastransferredtoRabatin1912,Fezhas
retained its status as the country's cultural and
spiritualcenter.
The Medina of Fez preserves, in an ancient part
comprising numerous monumental buildings, the
memoryofthecapitalfoundedbytheIdrisiddynasty
between789and808A.D.UndertheMerinids(13 th to
15 th c.),anewtown(FezJedid)wasfounded(in1276)
tothewestoftheancientone(FezEl-Bali).Itcontains
theroyalpalace,thearmyheadquarters,fortifications
andresidentialareas.Atthattime,thetwoentitiesof
theMedinaofFezevolveinsymbiosisformingoneof
the largest Islamic metropolis representing a great
variety of architectural forms and urban landscapes.
Theyincludeaconsiderablenumberofreligious,civil
andmilitarymonumentsthatbroughtaboutamulticultural
society. This architecture is characterized by
construction techniques and decoration developed
over a period of more than ten centuries, and where
local knowledge and skills are interwoven with
diverseoutsideinspiration,Andalusian,Orientaland
African.
OUARZAZATEANDTHESAHARADESERT
Morocco's own special home of film, Ouarzazate lies
inavalleyatthefootoftheAtlasMountains.Mostof
its visitors are tourists who are making their way to
the Sahara Desert. They stop here to stock up on
provisions before making their way out to one of the
greatestdessertsintheworld.
KSAROFAIT-BEN-HADDOU
Theksar,agroupofearthenbuildingssurroundedby
high walls, is a traditional pre-Saharan habitat - an
ighrem-fortifiedvillageinEnglish-alongtheformer
caravanroutebetweentheSaharaandMarrakech.Itis
a striking example of the architecture of southern
Morocco.
Located in the foothills on the southern slopes of the
High Atlas in the Province of Ouarzazate, it is the
most famous ksar in the Ounila valley. Inside the
defensive walls which are reinforced by angle towers
andpiercedwithabafflegate,housescrowdtogether,
buttherearealsobuildingsandcommunityareas.The
site was also one of the many trading posts on the
commercialroutelinkingancientSudantoMarrakesh
by the Dra Valley and the Tizi-n'Telouet Pass.
Architecturally, the living quarters form a compact
grouping, closed and suspended. The community
areas of the ksar include a mosque, a public square,
grain threshing areas outside the ramparts, a
fortification and a loft at the top of the village, an
caravanserai,twocemeteries(MuslimandJewish)and
theSanctuaryoftheSaintSidiAliorAmer.
CHEFCHAOUEN
Chefchaouen Morocco’s blue city, is a beautiful town
with blue walls and majestic mountains overlooking
the town that is as rich in history as it is in beauty.

Establishedin1471whenMoorishandJewishpeople
fled here to escape the Reconquista of Spain, it is
locatedinNorthernMoroccoandthecity’ssignature
colorisavarietyofcalmingshadesofblue.
Inthe1930s,asizeablepopulationofJewishrefugees
arrivedinChefchaouen,fleeingNazipersecutionand
the growing threat of war. The blue is meant to
represent peace, safety and the power of heaven. In
this version of the story, blue walls rapidly spread
outward from the city’s Jewish quarter, until the
entire city was aglow. They’ll say the tradition of
painting walls blue is Jewish, certainly, but goes back
to the time of the city’s founding, in the 15 th c., when
it was built around a fortress used to defend
inhabitantsagainstPortugueseinvaders.Atthistime,
local Moroccans lived alongside Jews and Moriscos
(former Muslims who had converted to Christianity)
foracenturyormore.
The narrow streets of Chefchaouen (or Chaouen, as
thelocalscallit)makenoattempttosoftentheimpact
of the hillside the city is built on. The mountains
abovethecitygivetheappearanceoftwohorns–and
it’sbelievedthatthisiswherethenameChefchaouen
comesfrom(literallymeaning“watchthehorns”ina
localdialect).
MEKNES
Meknesisrenownedforitsvasthistoricalsignificance
andisoneoftheImperialcitiesinMorocco.Itisbest
knownforitscloselinkstoSultanMoulayIsmail,son
of the founder of the Alaouite dynasty who turned
Meknes into an impressive city in Spanish-Moorish
style, surrounded by high walls with great doors,
where the harmonious blending of the Islamic and
European styles of the 17 th c. One of the grandest
features of Meknes is the gate of El-Mansour,
beautifully decorated with Almohad patterns and
zellijmosaics.
TANGIER
TangierislocatedontheMaghrebcoastatthewestern
entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the
Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, off
Cape Spartel. The town is the capital of the Tangier-
Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-
AssilahprefectureofMorocco.Manycivilizationsand
cultures have influenced the history of Tangier,
starting from before the 10 th century BCE. Between
the period of being a strategic Berber town and then
a Phoenician trading center to the independence era
around the 1950s, Tangier was a nexus for many
cultures. In 1923, it was considered as having
internationalstatusbyforeigncolonialpowers.
ASILAH
Believed to have initially been constructed by the
Phoenicians as a trade post around 1500 B.C., and
serving as home to a procession of conquerors
thereafter,evenbeingahaventopiratesatonetimein
its history, the seaside resort of Assilah boasts well
preserved gates and ramparts as a reminder of its
colorfulpast.Alldevelopmentatthispopulartourist
destination has been carried out in such a way as to
blend-inwith,andcomplement,itsancientstructures
and visitors are assured of a warm welcome by the
friendlylocals.
VOLUBILIS
Volubilis is a partly excavated Berber city situated
nearthecityofMeknesandcommonlyconsideredas
the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Mauretania.
Built in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from
the 3 rd century BC onward as a Berber, then proto-
Carthaginian, settlement before being the capital of
the kingdom of Mauretania. It grew rapidly under
Roman rule from the 1 st century AD onward and
expanded to cover about 42 hectares with a 2.6km
circuit of walls. The city gained a number of major
public buildings in the 2nd century, including a
basilica, temple and triumphal arch. Its prosperity,
which was derived principally from olive growing,
promptedtheconstructionofmanyfinetown-houses
with large mosaic floors. The city fell to local tribes
around 285 and was never retaken by Rome because
of its remoteness and indefensibility on the southwesternborderoftheRomanEmpire.Itcontinuedto
be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a
Latinized Christian community, then as an early
Islamic settlement. By the 11 th century Volubilis had
beenabandonedaftertheseatofpowerwasrelocated
toFes.
The ruins remained substantially intact until they
were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18 th
century and subsequently looted by Moroccan rulers
seeking stone for building Meknes. Today it is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being "an
exceptionally well preserved example of a large
RomancolonialtownonthefringesoftheEmpire"
CASABLANCA
Casablanca almost universally referred to as 'Casa', is
the cosmopolitan, industrial and economic heart of
Moroccoanditslargestcity,aswellasperhapsoneof
thelessobviouslyendearingcitiesinthecountry,with
asmall,unassumingmedinaandabusyvillenouvelle.
Casablanca was established as a town in 1906 with a
population of 20,000. Later, in 1907 when the French
landed here, Fez was its commercial center, whilst
Tangier was set up as the city’s main harbor. The
French were soon ousted, however, and had to seek a
newportaltogetherandTangierremainedMoroccan.
Things have changed much since then. With a
population of over 3 million, Casablanca resembles a
SouthernEuropeancity.
RABAT–THECAPITAL
Located on the Atlantic coast in the north-west of
Morocco, the site is the product of a fertile exchange
between the Arab-Muslim past and Western
modernism. The inscribed city encompasses the new
town conceived and built under the French
Protectorate from 1912 to the 1930s, including royal
and administrative areas, residential and commercial
developments and the Jardins d’Essais botanical and
pleasure gardens. It also encompasses older parts of
the city dating back to the 12 th century. The new town
is one of the largest and most ambitious modern
urbanprojectsbuiltinAfricainthe20thcenturyand
probably the most complete. The older parts include
Hassan Mosque (begun in 1184) and the Almohad
ramparts and gates, the only surviving parts of the
project for a great capital city of the Almohad
caliphate as well as remains from the Moorish, or
Andalusian,principalityofthe17 th century.

MOROCCO
February,2018