FOM Monthly Electronic Rolling Newsletter
November 2003

    Almanac: Calendar information about cultural and community events in Morocco.   Events in Rabat, Casablanca, Fez, Tangier and throughout Morocco of possible interest to readers are included.  Updated weekly each Thursday.  Compiled as a community service by Mark Parkison of AMIDEAST.  Contact Mark to be included on the mailing list.

    Events Calendar for Friends of Morocco in the USA

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   11/29 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
   11/22 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
   11/15 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
   11/08 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
   11/01 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
   10/25 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco

Compiled weekly by Mhamed El Kadi in Morocco and posted each Saturday on this site

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 MOROCCO PUSHES WOMEN'S RIGHTS
By Delphine Soulas THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The thorough reform of Moroccan law bearing on the status of women announced last month by King Mohammed VI, which would recognize them as adults, is expected to put that country's women on a par with Tunisia's. This would leave only Algeria among North African former colonies of France where the traditional family code continues to significantly limit women's civil rights. "How can society achieve progress while women, who represent half the nation, see their rights violated and suffer as a result of injustice, violence and marginalization?" asked the king in his address to the opening session of Morocco's parliament last month. Since the promulgation of a series of family laws in 1957 and 1958, the status of Moroccan women in civil law has been governed by the Code of Personal Status, known as the Mudawwana and based on the Malikite school of Islamic law. Under the code, women are treated as legal minors, have no say in their marriage contracts, have very limited access to divorce and are required to obey their husbands in all matters. "The personal status code, part of Morocco's civil law, establishes a system of inequality based on sex and relegates women to a subordinate status in society," said Human Rights Watch in urging the Moroccan government to change its legal code. "Women face government-sponsored discrimination that renders them unequal before the law ... and restricts women's participation in public life," the group said. MORE

 Marrakech Berbers sing to survive
Berber tribes in the Moroccan city of Marrakech are using musical talents once developed as a means of identity to get together money to live.
The bands, which include boys as young as six, perform in Marrakech's most popular areas in the hope of attracting cash. In particular they are present in the Jamaa El Fna Square, which has a long-standing reputation as a carnival centre in an increasingly conservative country. "They do it for survival," Moroccan travel writer Yusuf Elalamy told BBC World Service's Masterpiece programme. "It's performance, it's open-air, it's spontaneous, but they expect you to give something in return....

 A Moroccan feast! Gulf Daily News
It was in Morocco that I had my first exposure to Arab hospitality. I was a 19-year old student wandering around Europe by train and had ventured across to North Africa. It was the month of August, it was scorching hot, and it was Ramadan. I have to admit that in those days I knew very little about Islam, and on my first day in Rabat, the capital, I was so fascinated to see people scurrying about as sunset approached, that I sat down on a step to watch the crowds rushing home. Suddenly, I was approached by a young Moroccan, who stopped in front of me, said something in Arabic which I didn't understand, and then grabbed my hand. ...

  Morocco: A camel's-eye view
05 November 2003 By Denis Horgan LA Times-Washington Post

When a camel's left front leg goes out, its right rear hip bounds sideways while its front left shoulder rises skyward and its rear end sags and its right rear knee bends the opposite way entirely, causing a general swaying, surging, lunging and tossing. This process is reversed when the camel uses another hoof, the camel being blessed or cursed with four legs, all moving languorously but no two bending in the same direction at the same time.

Seasick atop the ship of the desert, you will be tossed about like a rag doll or a marionette in a windstorm. You will ache everywhere. The camel, meanwhile, ambles along genially, its mind in the clouds, chewing away like an American teenager with gum and plotting new ways to make you uncomfortable – like scraping you against a wall or the only tree within 300 kilometres.

Yet anyone who skips a camel trip in Morocco is cheating themselves of an enormous treat. You might as well skip the labyrinthine souqs (markets) of ancient Fez or skip the astonishing greenery of the oases at Zis, startling explosions of colour amid the terrific bleakness of sand and rock. You might as well, skip, too, Fez's tanneries, which give a preview of hell, or the bizarre bazaars of Marrakech's Djemaa el Fna or the Valley of 1000 Kasbahs. ... more

   Homegrown change in Morocco
Frederick Vreeland IHT Thursday, October 30, 2003

A monarch's vision MARRAKECH, Morocco While the Defense Department is dreaming of how its Iraq policies will transform Arab states into democracies, one Arab country is quietly working a democratic revolution without any apparent outside influence. King Muhammad VI of Morocco opened this autumn's session of Parliament by laying before the legislators a sweeping reform that effectively grants women equality with men. Since the early 1990's, civil rights groups have clamored for reform of the 1957 decrees that institutionalize the second-rate status of Moroccan women, but no one had predicted that Morocco's centuries-old discrimination against women could be reversed in one fell swoop.

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   Try some exotic styles from Morocco
Posted on Sat, Nov. 01, 2003

Morocco, the northwest African country set between desert and sea and bordered by the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, is a true melting pot of civilizations, populated by diverse ethnic and religious groups with 11 official languages. The very word - Morocco - conjures exoticism. Being at the coastal crossroads of Europe and Africa, it represents many cultures, traditions and styles, and has long provided inspiration for artists and designers captivated by its multitude of flavors.

I've never been to Morocco, but that hasn't hampered my enthusiasm and appreciation for the artifacts, colors and designs from that country. In the U.S., Moroccan influences can be seen in many design styles - in looks both ancient and modern. What makes Moroccan style so exotic and distinctive is its singular use of color, pattern, and texture, and how these ingredients are blended to produce their incredible architecture and furnishings.

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   Low prices lure directors to Morocco
ANGELA DOLAND Associated Press MARRAKECH, Morocco

Take a warrior king or a crusading knight. Throw in lots of sandy desert, some grisly battle scenes and an army of extras. The sword-and-sandals flick is getting a Hollywood revival, thanks to "Gladiator." There's only one problem: Many upcoming movies are set in the Middle East, where "shooting a movie" could take on a whole different meaning right now.

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   In Morocco, medieval meets modern
By G.G. LaBelle The Associated Press FEZ, Morocco

It's impossible not to get jostled in the narrow alleys in the old city of Fez. Coming toward you, or trying to squeeze past, are formidable Moroccan ladies in black, grizzled men pulling hand carts and boys tugging donkeys.

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   The Languishing Language of Morocco's Northern Coast A Story of Stews, Siestas, Social Clubs, Spanish Exiles and a 1,300-Page Jaquetia Dictionary The Food Maven

By MATTHEW GOODMAN Like an archaeologist painstakingly mapping the contours of a ruined city, Alegria Bendelac spent 10 years of her life creating a dictionary for a language that is no longer spoken. Ms. Bendelac, a petite, energetic woman who looks much younger than her years, was born and raised in Tangier, Morocco. Her family was among the last few hundred Jews in a city in which some 10,000 once resided. As André Aciman wrote about his own family living in Egypt, they were "at the very tail end of those whom history shrugs aside when it changes its mind.".................

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   Marrakech Expressions THE HOUR

By LEONARD FEIN

Yes, I know there are important things, perhaps even cataclysmic things, happening in the world. But here in Marrakech their urgency somehow recedes. A well-informed guide delights in a receptive client; ours is a fountain from which everything pours out: political history and art history, sociology and archeology, economics and agriculture, irrigation systems and theology. I drown in data on the dynasties, the wars, the conquests, the defeats, in seemingly endless and mindless succession, am wearied by it all, when suddenly it occurs to me that 500 and a 1,000 years from now, our times will seem no less mad, no less bloody, no less given to folly than the times of the Berbers, the Almoravids, the Almohads, the Wattasids and the rest. One weeps for the endlessness of it all, wonders whether peace is inherently veiled, slaughter our more common condition.............

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   Reimagining a World of Bittersweet Splendor Poignant Morocco Exhibit Portrays a Lost Realm of Intermingled Cultures
By MARC MICHAEL EPSTEIN

Rabat, Fez, Mogador, Tangier - the very names of these cities evoke the play of light and shadow on white stucco in narrow alleyways, ancient wooden doors opening on exquisitely tiled courtyards. Merely allude to Morocco and the imagination conjures up a host of associations - romantic and orientalist, literary and musical, sensory and culinary. If one could only bottle the rich essence of the setting and its cultures! Many have, in fact, tried and failed, but The Jewish Museum's exhibition "Morocco: Jews and Art in a Muslim Land," on view through February 11, 2001, succeeds brilliantly, allowing more than 180 spectacular objects their own space to breathe. Each artifact, be it sumptuous or humble, stands on its own as an art object, an ethnographic document or a relic of a culture, yet all come together to form a coherent picture of a larger society.

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   Go with the grain: Vegetarian discovers beauty of couscous in exotic Morocco
By Lee Zucker October 23, 2003 Vegetarian Kitchen The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon

I have eaten couscous in North African homes and restaurants on four continents during the past 30 years - usually to the point of gluttony. I've loved it in almost all its infinite variety: No two cooks season the crowning stew with the same hand - there's always a little more of this, a little less of that. A succulent adventure. The rare occasions when couscous has been underwhelming or even truly awful have been on our continent, where it's common to play fast and loose with tradition to save time and effort, even on great classics.

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   A King's Appeal By Jim Hoagland Washington Post Thursday, October 16, 2003; Page A25

Western democracies won the Cold War by shaking open closed societies and exposing their failures and crimes to citizens who then refused to go on living that way. The great political challenge of today is to induce similar change in Arab nations and other Islamic countries that do not respect the rights and dignity of their own citizens.

Think of it as collateral repair: The coming wave of epochal change must also be driven by internal forces, with restrained but committed support from abroad. The ultimate goal is reform within Islam conceived and carried out by Muslim leaders, scholars and civic groups, substantively welcomed by the West.

And that reform must begin with the role and rights of women in the Islamic world. A question posed last week in as important a speech as I have read recently makes that unblinkingly clear: "How can society achieve progress while women, who represent half the nation, see their rights violated and suffer as a result of injustice, violence and marginalization, notwithstanding the dignity and justice granted them by our glorious religion?"

The irrefutable logic about the high cost of institutionalized gender discrimination was voiced by Morocco's King Mohammed VI last Friday at the opening of Parliament in Rabat. He then outlined far-reaching changes in family and divorce laws for the kingdom that would effectively lessen the intrusive reach of religious authorities into gender issues. ..... MORE

jimhoagland@washpost.com © 2003 The Washington Post Company

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   Morocco torn between security and democracy
By Issandr AlAmrani Middle East Times

Four months after the May 16 Casablanca bombings that took more than 40 lives – the first Islamist terror attacks in the country - Moroccans find themselves at a critical juncture on the road to democratization. On the one hand, many are eager to continue the democratization process started toward the end of the reign of King Hassan II, which was given a boost by King Muhammad VI when he ascended the throne. Opposition newspapers and new political parties flourished. But the transition period was short-lived. Soon after the September 11 attacks on America, security forces started to regain their influence as the kingdom's traditional elite – the makhzen - began to worry that Al Qaeda's ideas might spread to Morocco. By the time the May 16 attacks took place, democratization was put on hold.

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    Movies in Morocco, The 3rd Marrakech International Film Festival by Howard Feinstein

"I'm a real bitch when it comes to my rights," says brash singer/belly dancer/hooker Sahar in the Egyptian film "Lace." Sahar is played by the great icon of Arab cinema, Yousra. This five-year-old film, which belongs to the catfight genre, was part of a homage to the legendary thesp at the third edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival (October 3-8)

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    Hidden Agendas in the Sand
Ian Williams and Stephen Zunes, September 24, 2003 Guerrilla News Network

After much wrangling from the French, the UN Security Council unanimously passed resolution 1495 right on the July 31st deadline for the rollover of the MINURSO peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara. In the best diplomatic tradition, the resolution affirmed the commitment to provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, even while it seriously compromised on it by supporting a peace plan that would allow the Moroccan settlers in the territory to vote on independence in five years. As with Israeli settlers on the West Bank, these Moroccan colonists are there in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits countries from transfering their civilian population onto territories seized by military force. The Security Council had fought off a similar plan last year, but this time former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special representative, adjusted the plan to provide for a genuine Sahrawi autonomy in the five years before the proposed referendum. This was an ominous sign for the increasingly autocratic rule of King Mohammed in Morocco itself, not to mention leading to uncertainty about the result of the referendum: one fixed principle of Rabat's policy has been never to allow a vote that its principals cannot control.

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    A Couscous of Cultures, Simmered for Centuries in Morocco
September 22, 2003 By ANNE MIDGETTE New York Times

It is a sign of Western cultural bias that the term "classical music" is commonly understood to apply to only the music of North America and Europe, although "world music" (an equally catchall term) includes many traditions that are even older. The Orchestra of Fès, which played at Zankel Hall on Saturday night, was founded in Morocco in 1946, but the Arab-Andalusian music it plays goes back to the ninth century. For Western audiences the word orchestra conjures up visions of vast ensembles, but here it was six male instrumentalists joined by a singer, Françoise Atlan. Since the Middle Ages the instrumentation of ensembles devoted to this repertory - notable for its blend of Spanish, Muslim and Jewish influences - has changed considerably. The original diminutive lute morphed into the six-stringed oud of Egypt; the traditional tar, a small tambourine that sets and accents the tempo, was joined by a goblet-shaped drum called a darbuka; and in the 19th-century Western violins and violas were added, here held upright on the players' knees and bowed like violas da gamba. But there was nothing the least bit antiquated about the performance: this group could teach classical music a lot about keeping traditions alive. The Andalusian repertory was codified in the 18th century into 11 lengthy cycles called nubat; because the shortest of these extends over five CD's when performed in its entirety, the usual practice is to play individual movements from a cycle, and a more recent trend is, as this orchestra did, to combine parts of several nubat in new sets, allowing the ensemble to put its stamp on the music. Texts range from Spanish-Jewish folk songs to songs about the prophet Muhammad. The components of each set are separated by vocal or instrumental solos: musings on the oud, or cascades of minor-key runs descending on the violin over a sustained drone from the viola; or the silvery singing of Ms. Atlan, delicate as filigree, drawing the strings behind her in echo. At other times the instruments joined in rousing ensembles, and Ms. Atlan's slender voice was swallowed up by the rougher sandpaper burr of the voices of the men in chorus, dominated by a cracking countertenor. The virtuosity was as undeniable as the appeal. At the end of this nearly two-hour concert the ensemble was joined for its encore by the rhythmic clapping of the audience in raucous accompaniment.

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    Washington Times has featured a special report on Morocco on its summer issue. The articles cover the economy, US-Morocco relations, culture, FTA with US, interviews, and may other issues of interest:

Politics
The United States and the Kingdom of Morocco Negotiate Free Trade Agreement as Old Friends with New Priorities
America’s FTA Initiative: Stealth Weapon in the War on Terror
Interview with Former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, Edward Gabriel
Historical Background on United States - Morocco Relations
Casablanca Terror Attacks a Moment of Truth for the Kingdom
His Majesty King Mohammed VI's Address to the Nation on the Casablanca Bombings
A Discussion with Andre Azoulay, Chief Advisor to HM King Mohammed VI
Morocco’s Minister of Habous and Islamic Affairs Comments on Kingdom’s Religious Legacy
Morocco Continues its Democratic Evolution
U.S. Ambassador highlights Kingdom’s progressive history
Business
ONAREP is the Repository of Morocco’s Dreams
Domaines Agricole Benzit a Model of U.S.-Moroccan Cooperation
BMCE Bank Group Committed to Morocco’s Economic Development
The American Chamber of Commerce in Morocco and its Member Companies are Confident in Potential of U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement
CRI takes an innovative approach to tackling development issues
Minister of Foreign Trade confident in potential of FTA
Hilton Rabat Makes Transition to a New General Manager and to the New Morocco
Crowne Plaza Casablanca Makes its Mark Through Customer Service
Culture/Tourism
United States - Morocco relations: 227 years of friendship
Be Warned: A First-Time Visit to Morocco will Likely Lead to Many More
Rural Tourism: “Life-seeing” Travel in Morocco
Latifa sets sights on Olympic Gold
So Many Cabs, So Many Colors
Donkeys Rule the Road in Fez
Play it again, Sam . . . Play it again in Casablanca

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    Under the Sheltering Sky Writer Paul Bowles helped establish Tangier as a world center of cool and mysticism. Nearly 50 years later, how much of that spirit remains?
Washington Post By Bill Donahue Sunday, September 21, 2003; Page W10

The coolest people in the world do not wear their baseball caps backwards or pierce their navels with diamond studs. They are old and their cool is subtle, carrying hints of wisdom and poise. Johnny Cash, Marlon Brando, Georgia O'Keeffe: We behold their weathered sangfroid and we are ineluctably intrigued. As I was, years ago, watching the 1990 film "The Sheltering Sky." Based on a 1949 novel of the same name by the American expat Paul Bowles (1910-1999), the movie follows three aimless Americans who land in Bowles's adopted home, Tangier, Morocco, and wander south, only to be destroyed by primal Third World realities: thieves, mystical religion and illness. Bowles makes a cameo appearance as narrator, and, in the end, we see him watch one of the stars drift into an ancient Tangier cafe. He just stands there, motionless, an old man with white hair and rheumy gray eyes. All he says to the woman before him is, "Are you lost?" And yet somehow he embodies existential grace, and a link to a bygone era.

Post Magazine: The Allure of Tangier Bill Donahue Special to The Washington Post Monday, September 22, 2003; 1:00 PM Author Paul Bowles helped to establish Tangier as a world center of cool and mysticism. Nearly 50 years later, how much of that spirit remains in the Moroccan city? Bill Donahue, who explored that question yesterday in his article "Under the Sheltering Sky" in The Washington Post Magazine's Fall Travel Issue, was online Monday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. ET to field questions and comments about the article, Tangier and Bowles. Donahue is a contributing editor for Outside magazine. The transcript follows.

   Road to Morocco Belltown's new couscouserie offers authentic culinary romance.
September 10 - 16, 2003 RESTAURANT REVIEW by Hasan Jafri on Seattle Weekly

WHEN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE finally fell apart in the 1920s, three European powers agreed to carve up the Maghreb (Muslim North Africa). Britain got Egypt, Italy took Libya, and Morocco went to France. The high-level landgrab left its cultural mark, as Arabs will be the first to tell you. Respectable Egyptians suffer from the stigma of being stuffy and unexciting, the big bores of the Middle East, while the lower-class Egyptian, like your average English yob, is a soccer hooligan. And Egyptian food, while we're on the subject, is nothing to write your mummy about. So there. Libyans, like Italians, became enamored with the cult of the charismatic and deranged dictator. Mussolini is long gone, but Libya is still stuck with Col. Muammar Qaddafi. But Morocco! Morocco got lucky and inherited the French flair for food . So while the rest of the Maghreb is busy coming to terms with its colonial past, Moroccans have conquered the world with a secret weapon: couscous. If you, gentle Seattleite, haven't been won over yet by this classic Berber banquet dish, it's likely because until recently there was no real Moroccan restaurant or couscouserie hereabouts. But Marrakesh has arrived in Belltown. So line up to be won over............................

    FACTBOX-What to watch for in Moroccan local elections
RABAT, Sept 12 (Reuters)

Morocco's 14.6 million voters are being asked to elect 23,689 local councillors on Friday. These are the first local elections since King Mohammed came to the throne in 1999, pledging to continue democratic reform in the North African country. Polling stations are open from 8 a.m. (0800 GMT) to 7 p.m. (1900 GMT) Following are key points:

THE ISLAMISTS The Justice and Development Party (PJD) emerged in parliamentary elections a year ago as the main opposition force. Emphasising conservative family values and ethics in public life, it was successful in lower-income suburbs of large cities. The PJD condemned the Casablanca suicide bombings in May, which were carried out by a fringe radical Islamist group. But after opponents accused the party of having sown the seeds of extremism, it toned down its rhetoric. It fields candidates for only 20 percent of seats and has made it clear it is not aiming for an electoral breakthrough.

GOVERNMENT PARTIES AND ALTERNATIVES The Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) and the centre-right Istiqlal (Independence) party head the coalition government. With 23 smaller parties also presenting candidates, the political landscape remains highly fragmented. VOTER APATHY,

FRAUD After decades of political repression until the early 1990s, with a tame parliament and local government still perceived as riven with corruption, Moroccans need convincing their vote counts. Only 52 percent of registered voters turned out for last year's parliamentary polls, despite heavy government publicity. The authorities say they want a fair vote, but irregularities have been reported, including promises of jobs or free pharmaceuticals in some cases.

WESTERN SAHARA High turnout in disputed Western Sahara would be seen by Rabat as boosting its territorial claim, at a time when it has been backed into a corner by its rejection of the latest version of a U.N. peace plan. Western Sahara has been largely controlled by Morocco since 1976 but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front wants independence. In last year's elections to the Rabat parliament, Morocco said turnout there was 70 percent of 140,000 registered voters. In Laayoune, the territory's main city, candidates from various parties said there had been fraud.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW? The minimum voting age was lowered to 18 from 20 this year. For the first time, voters will elect city councils for the country's largest cities: Casablanca, Fez, Marrakesh, Rabat, Sale and Tangiers. They will each have a mayor, elected by the new council.

    Slaying of Jewish merchant shocks Muslim Morocco's small Jewish community
CASABLANCA, Morocco September 11, 2003

Two masked men killed a Jewish wood merchant Thursday at point blank range, the first time in memory that a Jewish citizen of this Muslim kingdom in North Africa has been gunned down, the official MAP news agency said. The motive for the killing of 55-year-old Albert Rebibo was not known. However, it came as a blow to Jewish leaders here. Morocco's small but ancient Jewish community - some 3,500 members - was targeted in five nearly simultaneous suicide bombings on May 16 that killed 33 bystanders and a dozen bombers. No Jews were killed in the attacks. However, a Jewish social club, a restaurant run by a Jew and a Jewish cemetery were among the targets. "The Moroccan Jewish community has been hit on this anniversary date of Sept. 11," said Serge Berdugo, head of the Council of Israelite Communities of Morocco. He was referring to Thursday's second anniversary of the terror attacks in the United States. "I hope our community will have the needed wherewithal to overcome this challenge," Berdugo said. Police were searching for the two masked men who fired with a pistol at Rebibo as he was closing his shop about midday. The men were then surrounded by a crowd, but dispersed the gathering with shots in the air, police said. The suspects were then reported to have stolen a car to flee via the highway. Morocco and Israel have begun a process of normalization, marked by the Sept. 2 visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. Copyright 2003 Associated Press Associated Press

   Douglas High grad who was in Morocco during bombings decides to go back

By Karl Horeis Article published August 25, 2003 on Nevada Appeal.

Douglas High School class of '93 graduate Natellie Yurtinus was far from home when several nearly simultaneous bomb attacks struck the Moroccan coastal city of Casablanca. But she wasn't far from the blasts. "A few of my friends and I were at a Spanish restaurant (in Casablanca)," she said. "A maitre d' at the restaurant told us what happened -- he said there were two bombs." Over the next 24 hours, they learned there were actually five bombs, which killed 31 bystanders and 12 suicide attackers and injured more than 100 people...... "I decided to do another year. I just figure my friends are there so I'll go back and finish my contract."..............

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   From the Fire of Morocco
By KORRY KEEKER JUNEAU EMPIRE © 2003

As a 12-year-old in Morocco, Mostapha Beya was called Picasso because everyone thought he was crazy and no one understood his art................

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   Morocco: Blasts fail to shake trade confidence
July 2003

In the months preceding the Casablanca bombings, Morocco had made considerable progress on trade agreements with both the EU and US. Although shaken by the terror attacks, the country is busy forging stronger economic links with the West. James Badcock reports.

The terrorist bombings in Casablanca in May were a terrible shock to Morocco, especially given the government's recent course towards greater political freedom within the country and the extension of trade links with Western nations.

At least 43 people were killed. Ominously the suicide bombers themselves and all those so far detained in connection with the attacks against foreign targets are Moroccans.

Prime Minister Driss Jettou's government has since stressed the extraordinary nature of the attack, pointing out that Morocco has always been tolerant towards foreign residents and the country's remaining Jewish population. However, the Prime Minister also criticised the PJD, the leading Islamist party, for the "systematic manner" in which they condemn security measures against suspected terrorist organisations.

In other words, Morocco is not another Algeria, and the authorities will not allow fundamentalism to threaten the process of opening the country up to increased partnership with Europe and Washington.

The general economic picture, however, continues to be one of a country hamstrung by debt and the need to generate growth in the economy to provide work for the many unemployed, particularly amongst the young. Officially last year's unemployment rate was estimated at 11.6%, against 12.5% the previous year, but it is commonly considered to be far higher, perhaps as high as 40%. News of a good 2002 for tourism with travel receipts of $2.3bn, up 18.8% on 2001, was welcome, as were the winter rains which mean the cereal harvest for 2002/2003 will be 59% greater than the previous season.

According to the annual IMF report, published in May, the country's economic conditions improved in 2002. Real GDP growth reached 4.5% thanks to a rise in agricultural output and somewhat higher growth than before in the non-agricultural sectors.

Despite the good news in the vital sectors of agriculture and tourism, the truth is that in international trade, Moroccan exports are slipping in comparison with imports. Figures released by Morocco's Exchange Office in May showed a 68.8% increase in the national trade deficit in the first quarter of 2003, following a 9.6% drop in exports and a 9.3% rise in imports. Excluding Morocco's staple export commodity, phosphates and derived products, exports fell by 10.6% compared to the same period last year.

Morocc - US trade accords on the way

Undaunted by the fragility of domestic industry, Prime Minister Jettou vowed in April to press on with the liberalisation of the economy to prepare the way for a future of free-flowing international trade and competition.

He made special reference to privatisation, one of the keystones of international trade agreements, announcing the onset of a fresh round of de-regulation. Public industrial and trade services, water distribution networks, electricity, waste collection and public transport will all be gradually "transferred to the private sector whenever this will draw profit in terms of investments, job opportunities and quality".

Negotiations with the US over a free trade accord have been moving apace with three rounds concluded before the halfway point of 2003 and talk of the agreement being finalised before the end of the year. Morocco would become only the fifth country to have reached such terms with the US, alongside Canada, Mexico, Israel and Jordan.

The first talks took place in Washington in January, while the second round was held in Geneva in March during a sensitive period in relations between the Arab world and the US as the build-up to war in Iraq got underway.

The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and co-operation told the upper house of parliament that the agreement aims to integrate the Moroccan economy in the regional and international environment, upgrade Moroccan enterprises by sharpening their competitive edge, attract more foreign investment and generate more jobs.

The head of the Moroccan delegation, Khalid Sayah, stressed the importance of freedom of movement for individuals between the two countries, seeking "an easier and greater accessibility to the US market for qualified personnel, technicians and professionals; be they craftsmen, doctors, lawyers, engineers, or accountants."

The eleven thematic groups involved in the negotiations deal with market access, textile, services, agriculture, customs, environment, copyright, investments, legal, social issues and public appropriations. Encouragingly, in March the US congress lowered import duties on Moroccan carpets.

Trade with the US, however, constitutes at present a very small part of Morocco's foreign exchanges. According to recent figures, France is the kingdom's dominant trade partner with 23.7% of exchanges, followed by Spain (12.7%), The United Kingdom (5.9%), Italy (5.5%) and Germany (4.2%) all ahead of the US. Relations with Morocco's closest neighbour, Spain, have recovered this year, after the breaking-off of all diplomatic contact in 2002 over a disputed island in the Strait of Gibraltar. Ambassadors for the two countries returned to their posts in early February and there have been several talks at governmental level since then.

Fisheries, agric will be sticking points

The rapprochement was sealed by the joint presentation of a document by France and Morocco to the 5x5 forum of Maghreb nations and their five nearest European neighbours. The paper broached the prickly topic of migration under three headings: the contribution of migration flows to the emergence of a feeling of belonging to a common Euro-Mediterranean space; gradual standardisation of legal migrants' statutes; free movement of people favouring the dynamism of North-South relations.

Despite past accusations that the Moroccan government was not doing enough to stem the flow of migrants northwards, the Spanish Foreign Minister, Ana Palacio commented that Spain "share[d] the three axes of reflection proposed by the document".

Portugal has also been courting the Moroccan government, perhaps motivated by the proximity of fishing waters at present off-limits to European fishermen with the exception of those from the oil-slick affected region of Spain invited to compensate for their lost business since December last year. In May, the two countries wound up, in Rabat, the 7th session of their high joint-commission with the adoption of a package of agreements meant to upgrade bilateral co-operation, including plans for a financial accord worth E100m to fund Portuguese projects in Morocco.

Indeed, fisheries and agriculture are likely to be the two biggest sticking points in Morocco's discussions with the EU over the eventual implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Agreement for a free commercial zone.

Originally signed in February 1996, the agreement is set to come into force in 2012 after a process of gradual liberalisation of markets in the meantime. Morocco and the EU had a fisheries agreement, allowing European ships to operate in Moroccan waters between 1995 and 2000, but despite incessant wrangling since then, it has not been renewed. Morocco wishes to build up the industry, which employs over 400,000 people with an annual turnover of $1.6bn, before being forced to allow a return to competition for stocks.

Similarly in the case of agriculture, Morocco argued in negotiations in January that the total openness of competition demanded by the EU is inappropriate between the hi-tech European agri-food industry and Morocco's poorer farmers.

They insist that the level of development in rural areas, where over half of the kingdom's population lives, be taken into account in the final terms of the accord. Morocco has received over $1bn from the EU under the current agreement, about half in direct aid and half in the form of loans from the European Investment Bank.

Another reason for the stalling of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Agreement is the lack of cohesion between the Maghreb states concerned.

The Maghreb Union (UMA), which also includes Libya, Tunisia and Mauritania, has been frozen since 1995 as a result of tension between Algeria and Morocco due to the former's support for the Polisario in their fight for an independent Western Sahara. Despite some recent low-level contacts between the two largest nations in the Maghreb, there are still no plans for a meeting between the Heads of State. Likewise, a resolution of the disputed status of Western Sahara could still be a way off.

The Moroccan authorities' dream of becoming a Muslim nation with highly-developed commercial links with the West is still alive, albeit a little shaken by the violence in Casablanca. Clearly, increased prosperity and employment are almost certainly the best weapons against unrest and extremism, and it is essential to restore international confidence in Morocco as an economic partner of the future © African Business 2003 17-Jul-03 Article originally published by African Business 17-Jul-03

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    The United States and the Kingdom of Morocco negotiate free trade agreement as old friends with new priorities

The United States and the Kingdom of Morocco Negotiate Free Trade Agreement as Old Friends with New Priorities In an April 23, 2002, White House ceremony, President George W. Bush and His Majesty (HM) King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco jointly announced the intention of the two historically close nations to secure a Free Trade Agreement. A U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement will be the culmination of a long history of economic cooperation that includes the 1991 U.S.-Morocco Bilateral Investment Treaty and the 1995 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). ...

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Pickled lemons are sold in jars in Middle Eastern grocery stores. You could substitute the juice of half a lemon ........

Read this recipe carefully to draw up your plan of action, and count on having a stylish, robustly seasoned dish on the table, to serve four people, in under half an hour.  The seasoning used for both meat and couscous is influenced by the spicy flair of Moroccan cuisine. Olives, raisins and yogurt are other Mediterranean ingredients rounding out the taste spectrum, with the yogurt serving as a cool garnish.

The government's long term project to bring 10m tourists annually to the country by 2010 came under scrutiny recently, as recent cyclical and political events raised concerns. However, many tourism professionals remain confident of reaching the target, as OBG found out at a recent debate hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce. There, Tourism Minister Adil Douiri presented the strategies envisaged for Moroccan tourism after September 11. The 2010 plan envisages an increase from an estimated 4.5m tourists a year presently to 10m, with the ultimate aim being to make tourism the primary

The story "Al-Hamam" ("The Baths"), is one of the most beautiful stories in the Moroccan writer Al-Tahar Ben Jelloun's new collection, "Amours Sorcieres." "What most great writers do is to draw from the reality a background on which they draw everything incredible, from ecstasy of the world to the craziness of people. What writers see is difficult for others to see. Or they refuse to see ...............

CASABLANCA, Morocco -- When suicide bombers shattered the calm of the night here on May 16, they did more than take 43 lives - they also endangered Morocco's future as a democracy. Morocco had long been considered a haven of tolerance and peace, and any troubles we had we attributed to foreign agitators. We can't pretend that is the case any more. This time, all the attackers were Moroccans. All grew up in poverty; none had been outside the country. Instead, the ideology of radical Islam came here and found ready recruits..........

    Morocco: Fending off pesky 'mosquitoes' in Tangier requires lots of effort .

By Jackie Spinner The Washington Post Sunday, June 22, 2003 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

Richard had an explanation for everything. "I hear English voices," he said by way of introduction, when he found my friend and me wandering through a residential neighborhood in the Moroccan port city of Tangier.

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First, this paper describes the Amazigh people of North Africa and threats to their language and culture from schooling and the domination of Arabo-Islamic ideology...........

Chapter 10 of Revitalizing Indigenous Languages, edited by Jon Reyhner, Gina Cantoni, Robert N. St. Clair, and Evangeline Parsons Yazzie (pp. 117-128). Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University. Copyright 1999 by Northern Arizona University.

(Washington D.C., June 18, 2003) The affirmation Tuesday of a 3-year prison term for journalist Ali Mrabet is a grave blow to press freedom in Morocco, Human Rights Watch said today. A Rabat appeals court upheld a lower court verdict that also banned the independent weeklies that Mrabet directs, Demain and its Arabic sister Douman.

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    THE GNAWA AND THEIR LILA:

The term "Gnawa" refers firstly to a North African ethnic minority that traces its origins to West African slaves and soldiers. Gnawa communities in the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) trace their origins to the Sudan, not meaning the present-day nation of Sudan, but rather sub-Saharan African in general. (The word "Sudan," after all, is merely the Arabic word for "the Blacks.") Thus, like the term "African-American," Gnawa refers to a group of people whose ancestors came from diverse regions of Africa but took on a collective identity in exile. .........

"The most important single element of Morocco's folk culture is its music... the entire history and mythology of the people is clothed in song." [1]Paul Bowles Musically, Morocco is heterogeneous, and this heterogeneity reflects the variety of Moroccan culture. From secular urban professionals and religious singers to rural and nomadic singers. From historic and traditional to modern to Raï music. We find the classical Andalusian style, reflecting Morocco's historic relationship with Spain. We find Sephardic music and other folksongs from the historic Jewish communities in Essaouira and Fez. We also find Gnawa; the music originally derived from West Africa that demonstrates the influence of migrations and cultural interchanges across the Sahara.......

By Chris Mugan, Evening Standard
Morocco's number one beach destination may well suffer a fall in popularity following the Casablanca bombings, but Agadir will survive. After all, the town we see today was born out of disaster. When an earthquake flattened the Atlantic port in 1960, Agadir was rebuilt from scratch. Le Corbusier was selected to design low-rise, tremor-proof buildings. His functional constructions are rarely beautiful, but Agadir's skyline is dominated by the Atlas foothills rather than hotel blocks. Two hundred miles from Casablanca, the town shares a similar latitude to the Canary Islands. Year-round sun attracted 70,000 Brits last year, mainly couples or families. 

Due to fly out two days after the 16 May bombings, Sadie Turner and Matt Lewery, from Brighton, couldn't change their destination. 'Our travel agents said the Foreign Office only warned of 'higher risk' so we couldn't cancel, and at such short notice everything they offered as an alternative was too dear.' When the couple arrived, though, they found the locals welcoming and enjoyed a Berber feast in the desert. 

Matt Lowe and Rebecca Fox, from Highbury, said: 'We decided to risk lightning not striking twice: Casablanca was a commercial centre - this is a resort.'  Chantel Ostler, from Portsmouth, and boyfriend Chris Wilson, from Winchester, had no hesitation. 'We don't think twice about going to London, and that's just as dangerous.'  They had found an unmissable deal: one week half-board at a three-star hotel for £160 through Panorama on Teletext four weeks ago. 
Exchange rate is 14dm = £1.

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    Morocco: When the Spirit Moves By Satellite
By David Kithcart 
For CWNews 
June 6, 2003
The Muslim world may restrict the Gospel, yet the Christian message is still getting through to hungry people. Many testify of having dreams and visions about Jesus, while others hear His message in more conventional ways. Morocco is a country of exotic people and culture. It's an Islamic country that is home to one of the largest mosques in the world, Mohammed IV, where people come and go often. 

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Trying to please Europe by persuading farmers to grow avocados is not succeeding

Giles Tremlett in Chaouen, Morocco Tuesday May 27, 2003 The Guardian

Dealers off the colourful Outa el Hammam square in the medina were at their most solicitous. "Hello my friend. You want kif? I have very good stuff, 10 euros, come and smoke some." ...........

Between one and two million Moroccans came out on Sunday to give a lesson to the world. They walked-men and women, Muslims and Jews, atheists and Christians, Berbers and Arabs, children and the elderly -to show how national pride and coexistence are experienced in daily life. They carried flags and pictures of the king; they displayed slogans condemning terror; and they chanted Allah Akbar and la ilalha illa allah. It was, in my opinion, the most momentous act of courage Moroccans have displayed in modern history. Just like anti-colonial nationalists and Green March volunteers were willing to give their lives to liberate their country from foreign occupation, those who marched in Casablanca did so to reclaim their rich heritage from the reign of terror. They are our heroes, entitled to the same accolades and wisams. They are torch bearers in a region out of focus and a world without compass. 

Those marchers were also the best messengers for Islam that I have seen in my lifetime. They were patriotic without being chauvinistic, proud without being arrogant, peaceful without being weak, and Muslim without being prejudiced. One veiled woman carried the picture of the victims and showed her utter contempt for the so-called Muslim perpetrators of the act. Our Jewish brothers and sisters (who, as we all know, lived in Morocco way before Islam) came out in huge numbers to reaffirm their unshakable commitment to their homeland and join ranks with their Muslim compatriots. A 17-year-old Jewish woman marched to defend the land of her ancestors. When did anyone witness such a scene before? 

The march was, by far, the best concrete demonstration that Islam has nothing to do with terror. All the declarations and disclaimers by Muslim officials before this momentous day were not taken too seriously by many skeptics and Islamophobes. But this event is different. Now the nations of the world could see for themselves. Here was a shining example of "moral clarity," a perfect illustration of conviction without hatred, national solidarity without scapegoats. It's as if the marchers were marking a new day of independence, forging a new charter for the 21st century and the rest of the millennium. They were affirming that human oneness is more important than ideological purity; that human beings, regardless of faith, are more precious than theologies. God's creation, in whatever color or idiom it appears, is always sacred. To destroy the beautiful but fragile fabric of life in such a reckless manner is nothing short of satanic. 

No event has vindicated Islam more powerfully since 9/11 than this historic march. What misguided Muslims have destroyed the brave marchers in Casablanca have begun to mend. Raised in a melting pot at the crossroads of civilizations, Moroccans know how to live with difference. Only last week, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a resolution expressing solidarity with Morocco because, among other things, it "has chosen the path of diversity and tolerance." The march in Casablanca will not only confirm this tradition, but it may also become a textbook model in the struggle for peace and justice in the Islamic world. 

The long and painful road to global coexistence begins in Casablanca.

Reassuringly, in these post-conflict days, Moroccans are as welcoming as ever to British tourists. Lewis Jones reports

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    News about US/Morocco free trade on Marketplace Radio (heard on select public radio stations)

  Kick up a little gold dust

When the rich and famous visit Marrakesh, they head for an exclusive group of villas and hotels, writes Tessa Boase 'See that villa? It's outdated," scoffed Mohammed, our guide, as we zoomed along the sand track. "It is nine years old. Everything here must be new!"

  Tajeen Mediterranean Restaurant Tiny Tajeen Cafe Is Big On Flavor

By Mary D. Scourtes of The Tampa Tribune Published: April 30, 2003

ST. PETERSBURG - If you can't coerce your date to meet you at the Casbah, maybe Tajeen Mediterranean Restaurant will do. Abraham Hamdaoui, a native of Rabat, Morocco, opened this tiny cafe (it has about seven tables) four months ago. The name is an altered spelling of tagine, the earthy stews so popular in Morocco

  Spain to Morocco's child migrants: Go homeHuman rights groups urge compassion toward minors crossing illegally from Africa to Europe

CEUTA, SPAIN, May 02, 2003 (The Christian Science Monitor via COMTEX) -- The homes in northern Morocco's impoverished villages are roofed with metal sheets held down with rocks or broken appliances. Parents send their children to unpaid jobs, instead of school, hoping that at least they will learn a trade.

  Morocco - In the Fullness of Time

Morocco is a rich storehouse of architecture, decorative art, fabulous food, colorful markets, ever-present history and dramatic scenery.................

Moroccan rugs invite a particularly wide range of reactions from those seeing the material for the first time. But whether the reaction is positive or negative, coming from the perspective of the homeowner, designer, or artist, there is one quality that all seem to agree upon.

   Trade and Exchange of North African textiles according to Early Documentary Evidence.

In the classical period of Islamic civilisation (which roughly corresponds to the European Middle Ages) textiles were highly valued objects. Textiles had an economic value were durable and easily portable, which made them ideal items for trade.

SOME people do sponsored walks for charity, while others organize a fund-raising dance - but not supermarket manager Martin Hammond. The 31-year-old, from March, ran in the toughest footrace on earth to raise up to £4,000 to help children stricken with liver disease. Rachael Gordon caught up with him to find out about his 150-mile journey across the Sahara Desert.

   New generation of Arab filmmakers probes cross-cultural tensions

By Stacey Freed Special to The Washington Post  Wednesday, April 16, 2003; Page F01

A tradition of Moroccan Jews, Mimouna, held on the last night of Passover, is a celebration of liberty and friendship as well as a way to greet the spring........

Matthew Collin discovers much more than sand dunes in Valley of the Casbahs by Jeffrey Tayler and Sahara by Marq de Villiers and Sheila Hirtle 
Saturday April 12, 2003  The Guardian 

Valley of the Casbahs: A Journey Across the Moroccan Sahara by Jeffrey Tayler
352pp, Little, Brown, £16.99

Jeffrey Tayler succumbed to the mystique of the Sahara long before he ever visited it. As a young student of Arabic, he dreamed of shimmering dunes and inscrutable Bedouin, and of following the caravan route of the post-war British explorer and writer Wilfred Thesiger. But his first sight of the desert was less idyllic than he had imagined - he got lost and almost died of thirst. Nevertheless, he returned, beguiled by accounts of the Dra Valley, an ancient trading path stretching hundreds of miles across the Moroccan Sahara to the Atlantic

Hakim Belabbes used to go home every year or so to visit his family in Bejjaad, Morocco during the autumn feast of Moussem Sidi M'hamed Echerqui. He left home for graduate study in literature and film, first to France, and then to the U.S. Now he is an independent filmmaker in Chicago. In 1992, he traveled to Morocco to shoot one of his first films. He and his cameraman, Don Smith, stayed at his home in Bejjaad, filming Belabbes' family as they went about their daily activities, such as preparing meals and cleaning................

    Morocco: Medieval and modern juxtaposed

FEZ, Morocco (AP 02/26) --It's impossible not to get jostled in the narrow alleys in the old city of Fez. Coming toward you, or trying to squeeze past, are formidable Moroccan ladies in black, grizzled men pulling hand carts and boys tugging donkeys.  "Balak!" -- look out! -- the cart pullers call out as they press forward .....

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    Peace Corps Suspends Program in Morocco

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 3, 2003 -- Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez today announced the temporary suspension of the Peace Corps program in Morocco.

Peace Corps volunteers in Morocco were consolidated on March 20 to allow Peace Corps staff in country and at headquarters in Washington, D.C. to evaluate the political and public climate in Morocco as a result of the events in Iraq. Peace Corps also offered volunteers the option of Interrupted Service for those who preferred not to continue their service.

“After a thorough assessment of safety and security issues it was determined that it would be in the best interest of the Peace Corps volunteers to temporarily suspend the program in Morocco. Moreover, the uncertainty of a date or time for the volunteers to return to their job sites has proven to be a disruption to the continuity of their work,” stated Director Vasquez.

The Moroccan government has been extremely supportive of Peace Corps volunteers and programs in their country and very attentive to the needs of the volunteers during these difficult times. The Peace Corps values the relationship that has been established for more than 40 years and looks forward to returning volunteers to Morocco in the near future. Peace Corps staff will continue to operate the Peace Corps office in Morocco.

Family members may make inquiries about Peace Corps/Morocco by contacting the Peace Corps’ Office of Special Services, which maintains a 24-hour a day, 7 days a week duty system. The telephone number during normal business hours is 1-800-424-8580, extension 1470. The after hours number is 202-638-2574. Special Services can also be reached via e-mail at ossdutyofficer@peacecorps.gov.

Well, there goes the neighborhood. Last week, the moving van pulls up to the Petersens' old house and-yup, you guessed it-a bunch of Moroccans move in. I haven't even met the Aatabous yet, but already I can't stand them: All night long, they won't stop with their damn ululating...........

    Home-grown cannabis outstrips imports from Morocco

 Alan Travis, home affairs editor Monday March 17, 2003

 The Guardian

The majority of cannabis now consumed in England and Wales has not been smuggled in but is actually grown here, according to a study to be published next month.  The research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reveals that there has been a sharp rise in recent years in domestic ultivation, particularly in home-grown cannabis for personal us......

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    Taste of morocco is no belly flop

Liam Rudden  

MOROCCO, boasts the introduction to Walima’s menu,"has some of the most fragrant and sensual food in them world. They appeal directly to the senses of smell, sight, and taste in a way no other cuisine does"........

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    MOROCCO 

SUNDAY February 23, 2003

FEZ, Morocco -- It's impossible not to get jostled in the narrow alleys in the old city of Fez. Coming toward you, or trying to squeeze past, are formidable Moroccan women in black, grizzled men pulling hand carts and boys tugging donkeys. "Balak!" -- look out! -- the cart pullers call out as they press forward, forcing ....................

LONDON -- "It is one law for the Moroccans and another for the Gibraltarians," says Amin Benhamoun. After 26 years of work on the Rock and around 57,000 pounds in tax and national insurance payments, Amin does not receive child benefit for his school-age son, Elias. If he loses his job, he could be deported.

In March of 1999, the -then Moroccan State Secretary for Family Affairs- Saïd Saadi, introduced a bill known as the "National Action Plan for Integrating Women in Development" to change some classic notions of gender in Morocco. ......

    How to go on the lamb Sweet and spicy blend of meat, fruit and nuts makes a Moroccan stew

The exotic atmosphere alone is enough to make an evening spent under the tented ceiling at the Village Crown Moroccan worth a trip to the East Village. Ellen and Eli Vaknine make periodic soujourns to Morocco, where Eli was born, to find just the right mosaic tiled tables, ceramic vases, patterned rugs, sconces and mirrors to set the mood in their restaurant. But it's the food that keeps bringing people back................

    The secret of the Moroccan diet

The interest in the Mediterranean diet stems from the growing evidence that it is beneficial to health. The evidence is stronger for coronary heart disease, but it applies also to some forms of cancer. The populations around the Mediterranean basin have different cultures, religions, educational profiles and economic prosperity. Furthermore, in spite of sharing the Mediterranean seashore, several microclimates may exist depending on the country, and therefore can influence the diet. Therefore, the term "Mediterranean diet" can be misleading, since there is not one uniform "Mediterranean......

This take is mainly from a Moroccan-male point of view, but it does reflect to a great extent female Moroccans' situation as well, in the sense that they also have dealt & experienced ( & still do as their male counterparts) with the same problem which is the search for oueld lebled/bint lebled..............

The issue of Moroccans living abroad & being torn as a community is a serious one. A Serious issue demands real attention & study to delve into its whys, whats, hows & ifs to do it justice. A simple article/take like this one would never claim to be conclusive in terms of finding answers to all the above questions & to the intricacies surrounding this phenomenon that is eroding the Moroccans psyche. I'm sure the answers would have to do with many levels : psychological, sociological, historical, individual & finally with the most important one of these levels, which is the Identity level that could encompass all of the above in sub-levels.

Young girls from poor backgrounds are often entrusted to middle or upper middle class families to work as maids and servants. They work hard, sleep very little, eat leftovers, and practically have no days off. One would think that our radical intellectuals would be up in arms about this lamentable situation, yet-notwithstanding the growing attention to the problem-everyone seems to downplay this form of child labor...............

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - When cooking m'semen pancakes, Hajja Aicha's hands aren't out of the frying pan, but they do stay clear of the fire. Decorated by a deep-brown pattern of henna dye, Ms. Aicha's nimble fingers prod, adjust, and flip the flaky Moroccan pancakes that are cooking perfectly before her eyes in the kitchen at Argana, a popular Moroccan restaurant in Cambridge, Mass. To observers, it seems to be the culinary equivalent of walking on a bed of hot coals. But despite the ample availability of spatulas, it's the only way Argana's baker will make them

Max Hastings reviews An Army At Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 by Rick Atkinson The torch landings on the coasts of Algeria and Morocco in November 1942 brought American armies to grips with the Germans for the first time in the Second World War. Six months later, almost 300,000 Axis troops surrendered to the Allies in Tunisia. The British have always been inclined to regard the North-West African campaign as a sideshow, an afterthought to the Eighth Army's desert drive from El Alamein.

    Books: The lie of the sand Sahara: The life of the great desert

By Marq De Villiers and Sheila Hirtle (HarperCollins, £16.99) Reviewed by George Rosie

Shedding light on that great historical/ geographical mystery is what this new book by Marq De Villiers and Sheila Hirtle is all about. If nothing else, it's a reminder of the sheer size of the Sahara region. It stretches from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. It touches no fewer than 10 countries: Western Sahara, Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Mali, Niger, Tunisia, Libya, Chad, Egypt and Sudan. And far from being an ocean of undulating sand it contains some of the most spectacularly shaped mountains on earth, one of which reaches more than 9500ft (almost twice the height of Ben Nevis)....

    Rapping from the Heart Raymzter's Dutch-Moroccan rap is challenging racial stereotypes - and the music is pretty good, too

The big, bad reputation of Dutch-Moroccan rapper Raymzter is dented within minutes of meeting him. He shakes hands politely, is soft-spoken, and offers a cup of coffee. Reclining on a floral couch he displays none of the rebel attitude that makes his stage performances such a hit. Raymzter (pronounced rhymster) is the sort of rapper you could take home to meet the parents. In fact, it's the parents of Raymzter's.....................

A Moroccan widow and her 14-year-old mule have become unlikely celebrities after the animal gave birth to a foal. Local superstition around the village of Oulmes, 50 miles south of Fez, equates an animal that should be sterile giving birth with the end of the world.

Tuesday, 14 January, 2003, By Stephanie Irvine/ BBC Focus on Africa Magazine

There are a few jokes going around Morocco at the moment about the new female members of parliament. For example: when the women get together in committees, instead of discussing policy, they will be exchanging recipes and the names of their dressmakers...............

When I think of Morocco, I think of busy cranes--big cranes --busy building homes, apartment houses, and other living quarters. Wherever I went in that extraordinary country, I was rarely out of sight of some kind of construction. Thus, if Morocco is .....................

    We'll always have MOROCCO:  We're off on the road to the land of casbahs, desert and Imperial Cities

CASABLANCA, Morocco -- Mention Morocco and two words that spring to mind are "Casablanca" and "casbah." Both words invoke romantic fantasies and images of intrigue. Unfortunately, neither is a particularly accurate representation of this fascinating country.

An Amazigh customary legal system has been set up over thousands of years in North Africa covering all aspects of life. In fact, there were customary laws regulating the individual, collective, cultural and political life, and the system of ownership of lands, forests, water and minerals. The Amazigh tribes were organized in confederations according to lands owned jointly, to the geographic space or natural boundaries that allow mutual defense

Thursday, March 8, 2001 By WINDA BENEDETTI  SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

OUARZAZATE, Morocco -- Ung-chigga, ung-chigga, ung-chigga, ung-chigga, ung-chigga. The sound is so loud that, although we're nearly a mile from the source, I can feel the vibrations tickle the soft place where my spine meets my bum. Ung-chigga. It thumps all night long. Ung-chigga. All day long. Ung-chigga. It shanghais the body's rhythms and demands they step up to the tempo. Ung-chigga! Did I mention LOUD?

Wednesday, January 3, 2001 By JOAN BRUNSKILL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK - The 30-plus years since Claudia Roden wrote her landmark "A Book of Middle Eastern Cooking" have been full of further discovery and change, she said. What this book is all about," she said, "is that during the years I've gone on following up, finding out more and better ways people can do these dishes

James Buchan is enthralled by Tim Mackintosh-Smith's edition of The Travels of Ibn Battutah, a Moroccan view of the 14th-century world

Saturday December 21, 2002 The Guardian

The Travels of Ibn Battutah edited by Tim Mackintosh-Smith 325pp, Picador, £20

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With only 20 kilometers separating Casablanca from Spain, Morocco is the closest Arab country to the European Union. Nor is the proximity only geographical. More than 200,000 Moroccans work in Spain alone, with even greater numbers living elsewhere in Europe. The majority of Morocco's foreign trade is with the EU. Generally peaceful relations between Morocco and the EU as a whole, and Spain in particular, have characterized this closeness, but the last few

Tuesday, 10 December, 2002, 08:57 GMT By Stephanie Irvine BBC, Rabat

The trial in Morocco of three Saudis and seven Moroccans accused of being part of an al-Qaeda plot has shaken the image many Moroccans hold of their country as a peaceful, tolerant Muslim state.....

    More Alike Than Different: GW's Muslim and Jewish Students Share A Ceremonial Meal at Sundown

As the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Marvin Center Ballroom framed a magnificent dusk slowly blanketing Foggy Bottom, a warm feeling of brotherhood and understanding emerged inside. Muslim and Jewish students filled the room to capacity to share in an Iftar, the ceremonial meal at sundown, breaking the daily Ramadan fast.

They had traveled to Morocco last month to visit development projects, old haunts and long-lost friends and to revive ties to a land they can never forget. They are "Friends of Morocco."....................

Dry: we think we know dry. It's when your lawn needs watering, or when you're thirsty and resent spending £2.50 on a bottle of water. No, that's not dry. Dry is when every drop of water is a struggle in a land strewn with rocks and sand, where river beds haven't seen the flow of water for months.  Travel beyond the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, along the valley where the Dra runs (when it does run

Traveling in Morocco for two weeks, my partner and I decided that the Medina or the ancient, walled city in Fez was our best chance to shop for traditional Berber handicrafts.

The Daily Astorian  tbennett@dailyastorian.com  

Edina Butler was searching for a "drastic, dramatic change in my life" when she signed up for a two-year stint with the Peace Corps teaching health education in the west African nation of Mauritania......

Annapolis Fourth-Graders Travel Depth and Breadth of Islamic Culture in the Footsteps of a 14th-Century Moroccan Man

First came the exotic locales, the distant geographies: Tangier. Alexandria. Damascus. Baghdad. Then came mention of luxurious goods: Ripe tangerines. Green cardamom. Burnt-orange turmeric. Next, these fourth-graders at Annapolis's Key School were stepping into the dusty shoes of 21-year-old Ibn Battuta as the 14th-century Moroccan man made his hajj across North Africa, to Mecca, and then kept going. By the time he returned home, he was a 64-year-old man............

A Muslim country on the fringes of Europe gives the former gangster the scope to wander with uncharted past or future, and the peace to work on his new novel, finds JEAN WEST

IT'S a romantic notion: the tortured scribe poring over his novel beneath a starry African sky. Somewhere in Marrakesh, hidden in the maze of souks in the heart of the medina, the former Gorbals gangster turned sculptor, Jimmy Boyle, has been fashioning his future as a writer.

U.S. officials directing the latest drive to sell America's image to the Muslim world might learn something from students at a youth center in rural Morocco.  While I was a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English to teenagers and young adults in Morocco from 1998 to 2000, I decorated my makeshift classroom with the only pictures around: posters of life in the United States designed by the U.S. Information Service

Peggy Markel fell in love with North African cuisine on a visit to Morocco two years ago. Today her Marrakesh cookery courses explore the country's spices and ingredients. Lori Zimring de Mori joined her to sample everything from sweet mint tea to saffron-scented seafood tagine.

    Grand tours: Paul Bowles travels back in time in Morocco Out in the desert, armed to the teeth

Sex, drugs, fantasies and the machinery of derangement" - the preoccupations of the writer Paul Bowles are well known, as is his connection to Morocco and the Sahara. Indeed, Bowles is to north Africa what Byron was to Greece: he lived in Tangier for most of his life,

Numerous evidence suggests that Moroccans arrived to the Americas at least five centuries before Columbus:..........................

Steve Keenan takes on the mighty Atlas Mountains THE final, steep climb over snow-covered rocks to an icy ridge 1,800m (6,000ft) up the Atlas Mountains was no problem for Gruff. A Super Furry Animal presumably doesn't feel the cold