Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
April 12, 2008

Moroccan government seeks to boost handicrafts sector.
By Sarah Touahri  07/04/2008

A new stimulus plan for the handicrafts sector announced by the Moroccan government last week will help small traders with financing, training and selling their products to new international markets.

In an effort to increase international exposure for Moroccan handicrafts, the government has set up a brand-new ministerial department orientated towards marketing the sector. The new marketing policy targets the United States, eastern countries including Russia, and the Gulf states. "I don’t want to compromise the handicrafts sector by focusing solely on five markets (Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy), some of [which] are already showing signs of saturation," Secretary of State for Handicrafts Anis Birou told a marketing strategy forum on Wednesday (April 2nd).

By 2015, the government hopes to increase exports of Moroccan handicrafts (currently worth 700m dirhams) tenfold and raise domestic sales turnover to 24 billion dirhams. These targets will be achieved by marketing handicrafts to tourists and wealthy Moroccans, Birou explained, adding that exhibitions are seen as the best way to promote the products.

"I want our marketing policy to give pride of place to our independent craftsmen, who aren’t able to make a profit from what they make every day. I want to give them the opportunity to go and see what is happening elsewhere and to attend international exhibitions, even if only as observers, so that they can find out about the competition," Birou announced.

By creating hundreds of small to medium-sized handicrafts businesses, the stimulus plan will get independent traders out of the informal sector. These small handicraft operations will also be supported through training, feasibility studies, management and financing.

Secretary Birou believes now is the time to step up efforts to ensure that the industry, which already employs 2 million people, develops and positions itself within the economy. Noting that the "sector is bursting with potential," he pointed out that 10 million Moroccans are supported in some way by the handicrafts industry. "The sector has an impact on the economy, our culture and our society. That’s ten million people who consume every day, dream every day and have ambitions… It’s a third of the population, which is a fundamental part of Moroccan life and society," he said.

The government has already launched its plan to structure the industry; a committee is currently preparing a platform project in partnership with the country’s 24 chambers of handicrafts. A provisional version will then be put forward to industry leaders in a bid to seek majority endorsement. According to Birou, the bill on the organisation of the sector will be submitted to parliament during the October session.

Handicraft professionals are hailing the government’s new strategy, but some stress that the task of bringing order to the sector is long overdue. Leatherworker Hammouda Bebrahim told Magharebia that craft workers have waited decades for a law organising the industry: "If the government can put a law in place by the end of the year, that’ll be the first step. Then craft workers will finally have a framework of regulations protecting them and setting out their rights and responsibilities." http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/04/07/feature-02
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King Mohamed VI Launches Thermo-Solar Energy Plant in Morocco. 
African Development Bank (Tunis) 5 April 2008

King Mohamed VI on Friday, 28 March, laid the foundation stone of the Ain Beni Mathar thermo-solar electricity plant at a ceremony attended by many people, including the AfDB's Resident Representative in Morocco, Nono Matondo-Fundani. The ceremony, held at the site of the project, 86 km to the south of Oujda in eastern Morocco, signified the official commencement of works on the two-phased combined and integrated power station with an installed capacity to generate 472 MW of electricity, including 20 MW from the solar component.

The cost of the project is estimated at € 400 million. The Bank will partially finance the project with two loans amounting to € 287.85 million, of which € 36.45 million was approved in March 2005 and € 151.40 million in December 2007. Other sources of funding include $ 43.20 million from the Global Environment Fund (GEF), a loan of € 43 million from the Spanish Development Agency (ICO) and the National Electricity Corporation (ONE) of Morocco.
© 2008 The African Development Bank Group, All Rights Reserved. Legal.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804060020.html
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AfDB-Morocco: Supplementary loan for Ain Beni Mathar Thermo-solar Station
Rabat, 9 April 2008

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Vice President for Finance, Thierry de Longuemar, Morocco’s Economy and Finance Minister, Salaheddine Mezouar and the Director General of the country’s National Electricity Corporation (ONE), Younes Maamar, have agreed to proceed with the signing of a supplementary loan and project guarantee agreement for the Ain Beni Mathar power station in Morocco. The € 151.40 million loan to ONE, guaranteed by the state, brings the AfDB’s contribution to the financing of the thermo-solar project to € 287.85 million, covering two thirds of the project financing needs.

This project, which benefited from € 136.45 million AfDB financial support in 2005, aims at supporting the government’s efforts to secure electricity access in the country, diversify energy sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The supplementary loan will increase the power station’s capacity to meet growing electricity demand in the country. Specifically, the project will help balance energy supply and demand from 2008 to 2011.

Cooperation between AfDB and Morocco in the energy sector dates back 38 years. The new loan, which is the Bank’s 12 th operation in the sector, brings the AfDB’s cumulative portfolio in the sector in Morocco to € 570 millions, representing 12% of total cumulative support to the country, which currently stands € 4.88 billion.
http://appablog.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/afdb-morocco-supplementary-loan-for-ain-beni-mathar-thermo-solar-station/
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Over 3Mn Moroccan expatriates around the world, HCP.
Rabat, Mar.25

The number of Moroccans living aboard (French acronym: MRE) reached some 3.18Mn people (56.6% of men and 45.5% of women), revealed a survey of the High Commissioner for Planning (HCP). The average age of MRE tends to rise. It rose to 23 years in the 80's from 20 years in the 60's, before climbing to 28 years in the 2000's, according to the HCP, which released the results of a survey on "Social and Economic Integration of the MRE in Host Countries."

According to the survey, which was conducted in 2005 on a sample of 2,832 households, 63.7% of the MRE emigrated abroad at least 15 years ago. Regarding education and training, the survey found that 17.7% of the MRE have no education, 18.5% reached the primary level, 39.2% have a secondary education and 19.8% have university degrees. 42.4% of the MRE said their job does not correspond to their training, 27.8% described the adequacy as average while only 29.9% believe that their job matches their training and qualifications, according to the same source.

Unemployment rate, which stands at 8.2% for the surveyed MRE affects more women (12.9%) than men (6.5%). The HCP added that 56.4% of the respondents have invested money in Morocco or in the host countries. These investments concern mainly Real Estate (81.4%), trade (8.4%), industry, agriculture and tourism sectors (5.3%).
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/over_3mn_moroccan_ex/view
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Discovery of a town dating back to the Middle Ages north.
Rabat, Apr.10

A town dating back to the medieval period was recently discovered a few kilometers south-east of the northern city of Fez, during excavation works in a new archaeological site. According to a press release of the Ministry of Culture, excavations of the site, which appears to have been occupied at least since the Almohade period (XII-XIII century), are taking place to develop and construct Fez-Taza motorway.

Excavations started on March 3 by a team of archaeologists from the National Institute of Sciences of Archaeology and Heritage (INSAP) of the Ministry of Culture. They have updated a town with adobe buildings or uncut stone, that is equipped with a complex and sophisticated hydraulic network and punctuated by storage silos for agricultural products, said the same source.

The archaeological discovery is not only diverse, but also rich and contains very fine objects, ceramic vases and coins that enabled to locate these different structures, built between the 12th and 15th centuries. The excavations under way aim at defining the site, determining its nature, its role in the mesh of towns around Fez in the Middle Ages and providing information about archaeological layers.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_culture/discovery_of_a_town/view
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Government eyes schooling 70% of disabled children.
Tangier, Mar. 30

The Moroccan government eyes to reach the objective of schooling 70% among the disabled children by 2012, Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity, Nouzha Skalli said here on Saturday. Ms. Skalli told a press briefing held on the sidelines of the 6th national festival of children with special needs organized here on March 28-30, the government strategy aims to hoist this rate, in the first phase, to 45% in 2009 up from 40% now. She added that her ministry has inked an agreement with the ministry of education to provide 200 classrooms each year with the required pedagogical tools.

On the program of the social development ministry on reducing poverty, Skalli said 16 center for fighting begging will be set up by 2012, adding the program also plans the qualification of 2,000 associations, the training of 10,000 association members and the creation of 800 social support and solidarity centers. The 6th edition of the festival of children with special needs was marked by the signing of five partnership conventions with associations operating in the field of underprivileged disabled children.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/government_eyes_scho/view
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Morocco named as top-ten secondary residence destination.
07/04/2008

Global Edge, a Britain-based international real estate company, named Morocco as one of the world's top-ten destinations for people looking for secondary residence abroad, MAP reported on Saturday (April 5th). Global Edge said with the launch of the Azur plan to build six new sea resorts and the Vision 2010 plan, which aims to attract 10 million tourists by 2010, Morocco has undertaken major real estate and infrastructure projects to attract foreign tourists and residents. An open skies policy has also enticed low-cost airline operators such as EasyJet and Ryanair to fly to Morocco.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/04/07/newsbrief-03
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Unveiling the beauty of Marrakech, Morocco.
Posted by < http://blog.nola.com/millieball/about.htmlHYPERLINK "http://blog.nola.com/millieball/about.html"Millie Ball, Travel editor, Times-Picayune > April 06, 2008

MARRAKECH, MOROCCO -- The little boy, maybe 6 or 7, pedaled his bike as fast as he could to catch up with us. Eager-to-please with deep brown eyes, he handed me the notebook that had dropped out of my pocket. Mohammad Bouskri thanked him and gave him a coin. "That's a good boy, " said our guide appreciatively. The child's face beamed.

It was a cool, overcast mid-February morning as we walked through the dusty bricked alley streets of the souika, a small market within the larger one that's called a souk. Independent vendors sold neighborhood residents fresh chickens -- some live -- and meat, vegetables and fruit. A woman was baking flat bread. We dodged pedestrians who strode by as if on a mission and bicycle riders pinging their bike bells.

In the larger souk, the smell of spices tickled my nose and frying food made me queasy. Smoke from blacksmiths created a gray haze; the clang of metal banging on metal was deafening. Countless shops sold jewelry, shoes, furniture, purses, untanned cow hides, everything. One sold maroon and gold curtain tassels a French Quarter decorator would die for. Men wove yarn and dyed it; scarlet and royal blue yarn hung from overhead ropes to dry.

Sensory overload was severe. I was backing up to take yet another picture of who knows what when Bouskri grabbed my arm and yanked me forward. Whoa! A donkey cart barreled past. Donkey carts apparently have the right of way in Marrakech.

Marrakech is pink, different shades mind you, but pink. The 12th century mud walls -- almost 11 miles of them surrounding the old city, called the medina -- are a rosy adobe pink, and spotlighted at night. It was a romantic scene with palm trees and benches where couples sat.

The French, who occupied the north African country from the early to mid-20th century, declared that all new buildings in the modern part of this city with about 1 million residents had to be pink too. The color remains, and most people still speak French.

The driver who met us at the airport parked outside the city wall, and said we had to walk with our luggage to Riad Kniza. Cars are not allowed.

The souika was thriving at 10 p.m. One of many bicycle riders was a middle-aged woman in long, loose black and white jilbab gown and a hijab, the modesty scarf worn by many Muslim women; she looked like an old-fashioned nun. A tailor working at his sewing machine in a closet-size shop was right out of "Fiddler on the Roof." A butcher held up a roast for a customer. Another man sold eggs. Children ran around, playing while their mothers shouted for them to come home.

We turned into a quiet alley, and the driver rang the bell to our riad, a house with a courtyard garden. In the past 15 or so years, about 600 riads have been turned into boutique hotels in Marrakech's medina. Most follow the Islamic practice of being simple on the outside -- Muslims do not like to make a show of wealth, Bouskri said -- and elegant and elaborate inside.

Champagne, a bowl of fresh fruit and red roses were set out on a low table under a chandelier and beside a fireplace in our two-room suite. We were hungry, and the night clerk brought bread, olives and foil-wrapped cubes of Laughing Cow cheese. Our rooms were decorated with carved wood, tilework. A heavenly oasis, this riad.

We slept. About 5:30 a.m., roosters crowed and a low sound, almost a guttural moan, escalated over loudspeakers to five-alarm high-pitched siren level. Good morning!

"We have five prayers a day that start at sunrise; the sirens wake you up to get you out of bed to pray, " said Mohammad Bouskri. We won the lottery in the game of Marrakech guides.

In 1972, Bouskri won a citation as the province's top guide; clients have included Presidents Nixon, Carter and Reagan, actors Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Will Smith, also Virgin's Richard Branson, and several months ago, Microsoft's Bill Gates. And now us. Bouskri, 57, and his family own the seven-room Riad Kniza, and every now and then, when he's not busy with other business, he'll give guests a tour of the medina.

Marrakech was built at a crossroads of the two major caravan routes, he said. Its nomadic founders discovered natural springs under the Atlas Mountains, and dug 20-mile tunnels to reach their water.

Nattily dressed in a black and white checked jacket, dark slacks and a white linen collarless shirt, Bouskri took us to Ben Youssef Medersa, a 12th century school where young men once studied the Koran and Islamic law. Inside, the cedar is carved, stucco has elaborate cut-out patterns and tiles are done in geometric, floral and calligraphic motifs.

True Islamic beliefs following the words of the Prophet Muhammad are not those of the extremists, Bouskri said. "You see all this nonsense today in the name of God, but Muhammad said the ink of a scholar is more important to God than the blood of a martyr."

In another building, two tile patterns were repeated. "These are the words for peace and health, peace and health, " he said. "When someone asked Muhammad if they could pray to Allah for only two things, what would they be? Muhammad said, 'Peace and health. They are the most important things.' "

Everyone who visits Marrakech ends up in the medina's souk, where it's OK to wander around lost for a while. Few merchants hassle tourists anymore; a few years ago, King Mohammed VII made it illegal.

It is still customary to bargain for what you buy, although more for big things than for cheaper ones. "The best thing to do is offer a price you think is right, " said Bouskri. "If you walk away, and he calls you back, his price was not low enough."

And the heart of the souk is the main square, Jemaa El Fna. Say it Jem-allf-nah. I think. At midday Jemaa El Fna is almost empty, but in late afternoon, there are fortunetellers, drummers, motorcycles, date and nut sellers and snake charmers. Pay them, and they'll put a snake around your neck; pay them, and they'll take it off. Pay them, and you can take a picture.

Storytellers were surrounded by circles of men. Give the storyteller too small a coin, and you'll be part of the story. Trust me. By nightfall, the center of the square was occupied by about 40 families who set up cooking facilities every evening. It was festive, like the outdoor food booths at Jazzfest. Young men stood by tables, beckoning potential customers. "Come here. My mama, she cooks." They handed out laminated menus. "Cheap. You try."

Bouskri had said we'd be fine if we ordered cooked food, no salads. So we sat at a table at stall No. 1, where a woman wearing a hijab busied herself over three huge pots, cooking chicken, beef and vegetables. We ordered chicken, beef kebobs and french fries and talked with a young woman from England.

"If a man hassles you inappropriately, " she said, "Just say 'Shooma!' That means 'Shame on you!' He'll stop." The waiters hugged familiar customers, kissing some on each cheek. We got a more formal handshake of thanks. We wandered back through the medina's alleys to our riad, stopping several times to ask directions, always receiving polite help.

We reveled in the scene that is Marrakech, laughing out loud at some memories, smiling to ourselves at others. I remembered the sweet scene of two little girls walking ahead of us one afternoon. They were around 7 and 9. Both wore angel-pink tunics over their jeans, cartoon backpacks and scarves to hide their hair. The older one draped an arm protectively over the younger one's shoulder.

And I thought that more Americans should see this, should visit Marrakech, should mingle with and talk to these people. We'd all be better off for it.

When we were walking with Bouskri, he said, "They say traveling makes your life longer, not necessarily because it's longer in length, but because you see and experience so much."

Amen. In all languages.
Millie Ball can be reached at mball@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3462.
IF YOU GO TO MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
Getting there: You can fly from New York to Marrakech on Royal Air Moroc, but we saved money by flying to Madrid, Spain, then getting an EasyJet flight to Marrakech. Other European cities with connections on discount airlines include London and Paris; find intra-European discounters at www.flylc.com (Expedia, Kayak and the usual sites do not usually include them).
Where to stay: There are about 600 riads -- houses (now small hotels) built around courtyards/gardens -- in the old part of Marrakech; they range from ultra-deluxe to basic.

The city's most famous hotel, Mamounia, has been closed for renovation for almost two years; it is expected to reopen in August. Maybe. Go to tripadvisor.com to read reviews of riads and hotels in Marrakech.

The US dollar has dropped from 12.5 dirhams in each dollar to 7.6 per $1 in recent years.
Riad Kniza, in the medina near Bab Doukkala gate; www.riadkniza.com. Seven suites around a courtyard; more are to open this spring along with a pool and a spa and hammam. Rates start at $290 mid-September to mid-June, lower in summer. We bought our four-night package, with city and Atlas Mountain tour, daily breakfasts and one dinner at luxurylink.com, the online hotel auction site, for about $1,100.

When to go: Avoid summer with its horrendous heat. Mid-February was perfect weather-wise; high season (with crowds and higher prices) started in March. Temperatures also are pleasant in fall.

Do not miss: An evening in Jemaa el Fna, the old city's main square. Go around dusk to survey the scene (snake charmers?) and eat at one of the many food stands. Stick to cooked food, and you'll be OK. For an overview, climb the stairs in Cafe de Glacier; buy a drink and sit at a table on the roof.
-- An early evening carriage ride from Jemaa el Fna through the old neighborhoods to see how people live. Bargain; we paid double what the book said we should have.
-- Majorelle Gardens, in the new city, owned by designer Yves St. Laurent. Eat lunch in the garden cafe.
-- A day trip to a Berber market in the Atlas Mountains.
More information: www.visitmorocco.com or (212) 221-1583.
http://blog.nola.com/millieball/2008/04/unveiling_marrakech.html
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'Morocco outlined path of reforms for Arab countries,' U.S NGO .
April 7, 2008

Morocco has outlined the path of reforms for Arab countries, Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the "National Democratic Institute" (NDI), Leslie Campbell said here Friday, hailing Morocco's experience as regards reforms in favor of women's participation in politics and electoral transparency. Mr. Campbell, who was speaking following a seminar organized by Moroccan Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity, Nouzha Skalli, affirmed to the press that "Morocco has not only paved the way for reforms at the legislative level, but also with regards to voluntary commitment to dedicating seats in the Parliament for women and the adoption of the new family code."

Morocco's family code reforms have been copied by several countries, he went on, stressing that the North African country has become an example of modern legislation in the Arab world. U.S. NGO official, who participated in the international observation mission that followed the September 7 legislative elections in Morocco -held to renew the 325 members of the House of Representatives (Lower House)- lauded the "good organization" and "the transparency" of these polls.

Earlier, Mrs.Skalli, who was addressing several US think tanks, voiced hope that women will represent 20% of the elected candidates in the municipal elections of 2009 and 30% in those of 2015. During her visit to the United States, the Moroccan official had talks with several top US officials, notably Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Erica J. Barks-Ruggles and US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Kent Patton.
http://www.morocconewsline.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=416
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A ride through Morocco's majestic Sahara.
BY J'NELLE HOLLAND  Sunday, April 6th 2008

Bob never opened his mouth that he didn't complain. He roared, exposing ocher-stained teeth and stalactites of foaming, drooling saliva. The sound of his voice and his putrid breath assaulted me. He tossed his wild-eyed, enormous head in warning - and a troop of flies scattered, and alighted again at the first opportunity. When we met, I instantly decided to keep my distance, then ended up with his cantankerous mug a few feet from my back for the next three days.

Our guide, Hassan, smiled warmly, pronouncing the camel's name - "Bub, Bub Marley" - as I was hoisted onto the other laden animal, Jimmy, who soon became my friend. The camels rose like a bronco ride, and we were led straight away into the dunes. It was sunset, and we were headed south into the Erg Chebbi sand dunes of the Sahara Desert in Morocco.

A 10-hour journey on a winding road through the Atlas Mountains is the only access to the village of Merzouga from Marrakech, making it hardly worth the trip for one night. We booked three nights through a Web site, wired a minimal deposit and hired a driver with a 4x4 to deliver us.

I think now of the trust that we put in Hassan, for we were completely vulnerable and dependent upon him. Thankfully, he was in his element - at ease with the sand, the wind and the star-filled sky. Hassan is a Berber nomad, never having left this region of mountains and desert, never learning to read or even write his name. Yet his depth of character and understanding, his grace and hospitality, were princely.

Our first few hours were spent adjusting to the looping gait of our dromedaries, the technically correct name for these one-humped camels. The saddle is a tall oval, constructed of wool felt and cupped around the hump, over which were strapped our backpacks and potato sacks filled with water and other supplies.

JUST THEIR CUP OF TEA
Piled high atop the saddle were colorful wool blankets, making a comfortable seat. A small "T" of aluminum pipe acted as saddle horn - absolutely necessary for hanging onto when the animals rose or knelt.

The sun had long set and the seemingly endless dunes still stretched before us, yet Hassan continued to walk, leading us on in the dimming twilight. Stars appeared in an indigo sky over the dunes, and finally we came to a steep ridge that overlooked a small valley inhabited by one dark, low-slung tent, a tiny tent-like hut and a lone donkey. It was the home of our first Berber host family, Hammed and Fatima.

Like honored guests, we were seated in their tent, made of woven camel and cow hair. We sat on the blanket-covered sand floor and were served on a low, round, hand-painted table. Hassan poured steaming tea into tiny glasses from a tin teapot held high above, allowing it to cool on the way down. "Chin chin," we toasted. It was very hot and sweet, a combination of black tea, mint leaves and lots of sugar. "Whisky Berber," he called it, smiling with pride.

After an amazingly delicious dinner of chicken tagine, the national stew, I asked the inevitable question. "Excuse me, where's the bathroom?"

With a mischievous grin and arms spread wide, indicating the dunes, Hassan said, "Toilette nomad." The sand dunes eventually assimilate everything except plastic, the poison of our generation. Over the next few days along our path, bottles and bags appeared to have been regurgitated by the Earth. We made it a point to leave our campsites cleaner than we found them, carrying out what trash we could.

These three nights were moonless and utterly silent, and the air was fresh and sweet. I was reminded of Paul Bowles' novel "The Sheltering Sky," with his descriptions of night in the desert, the expanse, the sense of aloneness. Describing a character's last days, he wrote about the penetrating dust, the flies and the heat. Over the next few days we would share these conditions. However, we celebrated our joy of being alive and having come this far to find a timeless landscape of raw beauty. We felt blessed to be there.

After witnessing dawn from atop the highest point, we spent our first morning in the saddle, riding the waves of the dromedaries and the dunes until we reached a floodplain, where the terrain changed dramatically.

As far as our eyes could see there was nothing but flat, hard ground covered with rocks - fist-size and smaller. Far on the horizon were the tabletop mountains that mark the border with Algeria. Absolutely nothing else was in sight. We picnicked in the sun, on the edge of this daunting landscape, making use of the dwindling sand and bushes. Afterward, we spread a blanket on top of a bush and tucked our heads underneath. Hassan slept a good two hours. We were too excited to sleep.

The camels had their front legs tied together so that they could graze but not go far. They enjoyed eating the wild mustard and radish flowers, pulling them up by their roots.

My favorite herb was the lush chamomile, a profusion of bright yellow, tiny ball-shaped flowers. The aroma was strong and delicate at the same time. I gathered bunches and had fresh chamomile in my tea for the next few days. When the midday sun began to wither, we packed up, mounted our beasts and headed east, out on "the frontier."

Approximately 120 families live in the area in the aftermath of the flood of May 2006. Torrential rain brought a flash flood, washing away tents, homes, livestock and the few hotels north of the dunes. Six people died, and more than 1,200 were left homeless.

The nomads of this region cling to the fringe of society, making their living from mineral-bearing stones, their animals and tourism. They have winter homes of one- to two-room mud huts, and movable tents for the summer. The land does not support agriculture, so food must be brought in, along with fuel. Water is acquired from community wells at intervals of several miles. Hassan walked the entire three days, a natural acceptance on his part.

SUN, SAND AND STEW
We felt honored to observe our hosts in their daily chores of making and baking bread, washing clothes and tending to camels, donkeys, sheep and chickens. By day, we traveled four to five hours on the camels; by night, we enjoyed the simplest of Berber life.

On the last afternoon, we traveled northwest, to watch the sun set once more atop the sand dunes. Suddenly a windstorm arrived, scattering the animals and blankets and getting sand in our eyes, our cameras - everywhere. We put our backs to the wind and waited. In 10 minutes it was over, reminding us that we were at the mercy of nature in this potentially hostile environment. Yet at no time did we feel unsafe.

After dark on the last evening, we arrived at an abandoned hut. The metal door creaked open, and Hassan's candle revealed walls of mud bricks in an alternating pattern. He stepped to the window and piled big stones in it to keep out the wind.

Hassan set to work tying down and unloading the camels, laying blankets inside and preparing dinner. While tea was brewing, he graciously spread his woven tablecloth before us. He peeled the last of the onions, potatoes and carrots, roasted some bell peppers over the butane flame and scraped off their charred skin. Then he peeled the skin from the tomatoes, and into the pot they went. From tiny brown bags, he drew out a portion of cumin and paprika on the edge of his knife. These things we watched him do each time we camped, all the while smiling and sharing more of his culture and lifestyle.

How foreign and yet so simple is this existence: nomads with traditions that reach back into time even as they live vigilantly in the present. Their relationship with nature - the uncertainty of the shifting terrain, the unforgiving rock, the evasiveness of water and the harshness of the sun - keeps them grounded in grace.

We were privileged to witness their way of live. "Saha":" That's Berber for "thank you."
IF YOU GO ...
Book your Berber Nomad Experience with Omar, Prince of the Desert at www.cameltrekking.com. The price is very reasonable - 75 euros (about $117) per person for three nights of trekking. This includes food, lodging, camel and guide - allowing for generous tips for the guide and host families.

Getting there:
Choose your airline to Morocco, landing in Marrakech, Tangier or Casablanca. You can have Omar arrange a 4x4 with driver for the 10-hour trip from your hotel in Marrakech, over the Atlas Mountains - 250 euros (about $390) each way for one to six passengers (it's the same price from Tangier). If you're on a budget, have plenty of time and are feeling adventurous, check out the buses from Marrakech or Meknes to Merzouga. http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/travel/2008/04/06/2008-04-06_a_ride_through_moroccos_majestic_sahara.html?page=0
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Morocco marks 1200th anniversary in city of Fez .
By Mawassi Lahcen for Magharebia 2008-04-08

A city-wide party in Fez last Saturday drew thousands of Moroccans eager to celebrate twelve centuries of history. Hundreds of musical performers and a visual extravaganza showcased Morocco's cultural diversity. Moroccans converged on Fez last weekend to celebrate the 1200th anniversary of the city's foundation and the country's beginnings. The historic city, known as the "cultural and spiritual capital of the Islamic West," was established in its current location in 808 AD by King Idris II, the ancestor of Morocco's current King Mohammed VI.

Part of the ancient city wall parallel to Bab Boujloud square was turned into an enormous cinema screen for an audio-visual extravaganza on Saturday (April 5th). In a panoramic review of 12 centuries of Moroccan history entitled "Harmonious Square", images projected onto a 160-metre long screen showed how the convergence of Arab, Islamic, Amazigh, Hebrew, African and Sahrawi cultural currents shaped the country's identity.

Some of the scenes chosen to represent modern history showed demonstrations against human rights abuses in Morocco, protests in Casablanca calling for women's rights and rallies condemning terrorism.

Hundreds of performers entertaining the large audience ranged from rap artists to a Spanish Flamenco band. The crowd buzzed to duets from Moroccan Majida El Yahyaoui and Jewish-Algerian singer Françoise Atlan, who blended Hebrew and Arabic in Moroccan Malhoun songs. Revellers also enjoyed Gnaoua music from Moroccan bandleader Hamid El Kasri and Malian singer Oumo Sangari's mix of Moroccan and African slang.

There was even a musical with an anti-terrorism theme which called on the country's youth to pursue freedom, tolerance and love instead of bombings.

The big, open-air celebration drew thousands of Moroccans eager to celebrate their long history. Fez hotels were filled to capacity, with many visitors forced to stay in nearby Meknès, Moulay Yacoub and Sidi Harazem.

In a message to celebrants read by Prince Moulay Rachid, King Mohammed VI said the anniversary commemorated the foundation of Morocco as an independent state unified by moderate Sunni Islam, a diverse population and a mutual allegiance between the throne and the people. For 12 centuries, he said, Fez has been a unique model for the co-existence of civilizations and cultures.

Saad Kettani, the high commissioner of the association responsible for planning Fez's 1200th anniversary gala, told Magharebia that the celebration would continue throughout 2008. More than 20 national and international festivals will highlight the history of Morocco, its pluralistic identity and the wealth of its civilisation and culture, he said.

Kettani added, "Our primary goal is the youth. We want them to grasp their history and the elements of their identity; to be proud of their Moroccanness, and of their affiliation to this unique mix of cultures and civilisations that lives in accord, harmony and peace." http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/04/08/feature-02
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Moroccan magic and Judeo-Islamic exchange.
Photo by Alan Magayne-Roshak

In Morocco and Islamic Spain at the close of medieval times, Jews and Muslims not only coexisted, they actively exchanged cultural and religious ideas. What could instill harmony between what are today such contentious religions? It was magic, says Ellen Amster, a historian at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). And she means it literally.“Both Jews and Muslims sought a more direct path to communion with God,” says Amster, an assistant professor who specializes in Islamic culture in North Africa during this period.

To achieve this, each religion developed a mystical tradition – called Sufism in Islam and Kabbalah in Judaism – through which they each wrestled with the same theological questions, like the structure of the universe and individual intimacy with God.“Each religion went to the scriptures of the other to better understand the divine and the prophets common to both,” she says. And each developed a set of symbols to describe God.

But once God was codified, says Amster, the general public in Morocco manipulated such symbols independent of theology. Ordinary people developed “magic,” often using symbols from multiple faiths, which they applied to healing, solving marital problems and other worldly ends.

“What survives in Eastern folk tales as ‘magic’ are the residuals of a history of exchange between Kabbalah and Sufism in Morocco,” she says.
But not surprisingly, this unauthorized use of the symbols was unacceptable to either Judaism or Islam. Both Qur’an and Torah condemn the profane art of magic. Instead, it was widely favored by faith healers and common people.

Symbols in amulets
The evidence of Judeo-Islamic exchange, however, shows up in Islam’s alm al-jadwal – the magical “science” of medical talismans. To a Moroccan Muslim in the 16th-19th centuries, healing through Sufism could be achieved by acquiring an “amulet,” a piece of paper bearing a numerological pattern of symbols specific to the individual. These amulets, Amster says, drew upon both Qur’an and the “angel alphabet” of the Kabbalah, a form of Hebrew letters. Some also contained the six-pointed star, the Jewish Star of David, which Muslims refer to as “the Seal of Solomon.”

Why did Moroccan amulets include symbols from both Kabbalah and Sufism?

Islam and Judaism overlap in many areas, Amster points out. Both Muslims and Jews are descended from Abraham. Both the Qur’an and the Old Testament acknowledge many of the same prophets and both religions are legalistic. But crossover occurred in their mystical factions as well. Both saw mathematics as a metaphor for divinity because, with numbers, the whole can be divided into multitudes and the infinite can comprise a whole. It could explain how God can be One and Infinite simultaneously.

Muslims adopted Aristotelian Greek physics to explain how God acts upon the world. The Jewish scholar Maimonides preferred this neat cosmology to the Jewish dependence on the actions of angels and incorporated this aspect of Sufism into Kabbalah. Kabbalists, for their part, were the first to quantify the divine, literally “enumerating” the aspects of God (the Sephirot). They developed equivalencies between numbers and letters, in a search for hidden meanings in scripture.

Following the Kabbalists, Muslims created their own equivalencies for numbers and letters, but also drew from the ancient Greeks. Arabic letters, for example, have humoral qualities (hot, cold, wet and dry), and each is correlated to a star, a human body part, a jinn (genie) and a geographic direction.

All saints
Close interaction between Jews and Muslims happened naturally in Morocco because it was home to important centers of Kabbalah and Sufism. But Moroccans of both faiths also visited “saints,” whose life stories linked them to either Mecca or Jerusalem. Both mystical traditions recognized the concept of a righteous person who can be a “portal” between the material world and God – the “wali” in Islam and the “tzaddik” in Judaism.

Practiced by both Jews and Muslims, veneration of saints influenced many social aspects of Moroccan life.

“People would visit graves of saints, eat the dirt from the grave, or sleep there and dream that the saint came to you and healed you,” says Amster. Members of both religions also designated such graves with a special building.

Sometimes Jews and Muslims would even visit the same graves, especially in Berber areas of the High Atlas Mountains. In this way, says Amster, mystical religious sharing became the root of a “social, historical and intellectual dialogue.” Through saint visitation, Moroccans used the lives of holy people to develop narratives locating themselves in history – stories that made their way into literature. “To ordinary people, it was irresistible,” she says. “They realized the unity of monotheism, even though the two mystic traditions did not go on to evolve in the same way after this period.”

Contemporary Islamic and Jewish legal scholars reject the idea of Judeo-Islamic exchange, but Amster claims the amulets and saint narratives are like artifacts from an archaeological dig – they reveal truths from history. “Connections between Jews and Muslims are missing today,” she says. “I’m interested in Moroccan magic because it’s evidence of a past conversation between them. She believes there are even more connections. “When you start following the path that different religious beliefs lead you on,” she says, “you end up traveling through their cultural history.”
http://www4.uwm.edu/news/features/details.cfm?customel_datapageid_11602=333450
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Revving up in Morocco.
April 11, 2008

More used to metal roads in Sussex, John Naish takes an off-road biking tour of the Atlas Mountains and Sahara.
As I slumped on to the handlebars after our first morning, having thrashed and crashed across 40 miles of Moroccan rockery, Jens Griffiths the tour-owner asked me: “Do you realise that you do everything wrong on the bike that it’s possible to do wrong?” Well, no one said it would be easy. But that’s the attraction of adventure motorcycling – the rough, tough, adrenaline-squirting world made suddenly popular by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in Long Way Round.

Growing numbers of bikers are coming to decide that orbiting their local bypass every weekend doesn’t quite cut it any more – and if a pair of old luvvies can manage to venture off-road, then they ought to try it too. If you want to swap crowded Britain for the real wild deal of mountains, deserts, plains, gorges and dunes, then Morocco is your nearest stop. It’s here that I joined nine other riders for a seven-day tour of the heartlands, starting at Oarzazarte, riding into the Atlas mountain range and down into the Sahara. Top of Form 1

With a laid-back Tuareg driver and nail-biting translator, what could possibly go wrong? I soon learnt that my fellow bikers had varying levels of advantage over me. The boys (yes, all boys) spanned the social spectrum from Southern financial advisors to Northern garage-owners, but shared one thing in common: they had all gone on specialist off-road training courses. Most had done this tour before and loved it so much that they’d returned.

This didn’t help poor Norman (back for the third time) who looped over the handlebars on day one and broke his collarbone in three places, or Tony (back for the second time), who’d somersaulted face-first into the desert on the penultimate day and busted his cheekbone, finger and wrist. The hard fact of riding life is that you are going to fall at least once on the tour. I averaged one splat a day, and can thank the tour-supplied body armour (plus Lady Luck) for the fact that I got only bruises.

You certainly can’t blame the bikes for your mistakes – the orange-liveried, 450cc KTM dirtbikes are hard-ass Austrian-built rock-hoppers with a great combination of grunt and agility. They are maintained by Hussain, the mechanic on the tour’s support vehicle, which carries a spare bike and workshop abilities.

More importantly, the 4X4 all-terrain Unimog carries a comprehensive medical kit, including a back-board for spinal fractures. Griffiths, who drives the Unimog and has run off-road tours for 12 years, is paramedic-trained and learnt his “safety first, last and always” approach as a diver on oil rigs. That back-up is vital if you get badly injured somewhere desolate, and it was alarming to cross tracks with two other guided desert motorbike tours whose support vehicles couldn’t even go off-road.

I also received welcome support in the shape of an afternoon’s crash-course in dirtbike skills from Jens, the tour’s lead-rider, who convinced me to forget most of the on-road biking instincts I’d developed over 28 years, and taught me instead the Zen of offroad racing. His training paid off handsomely, especially when I faced the tour’s biggest challenge – and its literal high-spot – trying to surmount a 350ft “cathedral” sand dune in one blazing glory-rush

The trick to riding big dunes is to keep the throttle hard open, which keeps the front wheel skimming the surface. That approach works great until you crest the dune: if you fly over it at top speed, well, 350ft is a long way down without a parachute. I made it safely first time. Thanks Jens.

It’s not all rough’n’tumble, though: each of the hotels we collapsed into at night was of good standard. The best, the four-star Kasbah Xaluca in Erfoud, resembles a traditional Moroccan Fort, but has a luxurious hammam that gives great massages and 48 air-conditioned bedrooms with en suite facilities made of fossilised local marble. It didn’t quite beat the night we spent sleeping under the stars outside a cluster of Berber tents in the Sahara, though.

One might assume that the Ewan McGregor-inspired upsurge in off-roading abroad is a boon for adventure-travel operators. But it ain’t necessarily so, says Dave Grist, who runs the Hampshire-based motorcycling specialist, H-C Travel, and who organised my trip. “Increased interest has brought a proliferation of new tours, but the competition can drive standards down. Top of Form 1

In Spain, a lot of new guys have set up and are cutting their prices by cutting corners on safety, back-up and tour-guide quality. It’s difficult to tell the quality of a tour just by looking at the website. We’ve pulled out of the Spanish market, because we fear that off-road tours are just getting a bad name there.”

The increased interest does bring other new types of choice, though. I frankly found the Morocco Desert Tour a bit too hard-core for my leisure biking tastes, so was interested to hear that H-C Travel and MotoAventures are now developing rather softer, coastally based tours: riders can go playing off-road in the mornings, while their spouses and children stay at resort hotels. Half-day biking, half-day beach? Mmm, that sounds more like me.

NEED TO KNOW
H-C Travel operates a seven-day desert tour - £1,845. A nine-day desert tour costs £2,095. MotoAventures is the ground handler in Morocco. Prices are all-inclusive, bar specialist travel insurance, £30.48, and flights.

The deesrt tours operate from February to the end of May, and again from September to November.
Prices of the softer beach-resort tours are yet to be decided, but will be dependent on level of accommodation chosen. They will operate in the gaps between desert tours.
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Destination Morocco!Many traditional Moroccan houses are being luxuriously developed as the rich and famous make Morocco their new playground Marrakech(Morocco):

Marrakech is fast becoming a real estate hot-spot thanks to its warm winters and priceless landscapes. The boom is transforming the Bohemian Arab capital into Africa's answer to Palm Springs. The colour, diversity, and vibrancy of Marrakech is attracting more and more fashionable and sophisticated travellers. Thanks to the boom, large up-market housing developments have been springing up throughout Marrakech's city limits.

Many of the city's new residents are snapping up properties in the old quarters of the city, better known as the Medina. It is in these winding streets where the authentic heart of the city is. Within the Medina reside many of the city's traditional shops and artisans workshops.

Traditional houses in the Medina are known as riads, meaning garden in Arabic. Built around a courtyard, the life of a riad is turned away from the outside world. With thick walls and few windows, most of the natural light comes from the courtyard. Today, more than 650 riads have been bought by Europeans and renovated as chic modern Moroccan vacation homes.

Abdellatif Ben Abdellah is an owner of a traditional riad. He says traditional riads in Marrakech must be restored and cared for if the city wants to remain a top tourist destination. The inward structure of the houses reflects traditional Moroccan life which emphasises the importance of the family.

Marrakech has seen prices quadruple in the last 10 years, and prices are continuing to rise about 20 percent a year.

One of the city's more glamorous riads is Riad El Fenn. Opened as a luxury nine room guest house at the end of 2004, the El Fenn has become the Medina's must-sleep in. Frederic Scholl, the manager, says Morocco, unlike Dubai, has plenty of history to offer the visitor.
Intrepid property-seekers are now looking farther afield, setting their sights some 10 miles (16.9 kilometres) from Marrakech in the Palm Grove, an oasis of 150 000 palm trees and with views of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains.

In the Palm Grove construction is in full swing for the new to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Spread over 7 hectares, the hotel will offer 161 guest rooms over 80sq metres in size (861 square feet). Jaouad Kadari is the manager of Mandarin Hotel. He says part of the project will include planting over 100,000 trees. The hotel will be surrounded by 45 villas spread over 50 hectares, with the starting price of one villa at 4 million euros (5 million US dollars). With this hefty price tag, only the very rich will be able to afford a villa at the Mandarin Hotel. However, Kadari says residents will be able live in a palace for the same price of an apartment in London or New York.

Marrakech has long been host to international personalities and jet-setters, from Winston Churchill to Yves St Laurent. In the 1990s Europeans started to flock to Marrakech moving in to create their own 1001 Nights-style dream-homes or guest-houses.    Source: Associated Press
http://lifestyle.in.msn.com/travel/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1339688
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