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FOM Monthly Electronic Rolling Newsletter
May 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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   5/31 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
   5/24 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
   5/17 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
   5/10 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
    5/03 Week in Review:  News clips from Morocco
    4/26 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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    In Moroccan Slum, Zealotry Took Root: Bombers Linked to Al Qaeda Worked Under Radar of Authorities

By Peter Finn Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, June 3, 2003; Page A01

CASABLANCA, Morocco -- By 4:30 p.m. on May 16, five hours before they were scheduled to die in synchronized bombings, the 14 men had assembled in a cinderblock shack with a corrugated tin roof held down by rocks. Most of the volunteers, between the ages of 21 and 32, already knew each other, having grown up together in the surrounding garbage-strewn slum of lean-tos linked by dirt alleyways.  ....

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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

May. 24, 2003. 01:00 AM  Connected to the Internet via a local dial-up in Rabat, Morocco, I'm writing this column following a morning of meandering through this Imperial city' colourful medina. Dating back to the 12th century, the medina is a vibrant maze of narrow, cobbled alleyways where a traditional way of life appears in sharp contrast to the rest of this cosmopolitan, contemporary and clean capital..........

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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 .....

    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.

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    Take no shortcuts to authentic Moroccan favorite, couscous Repeated steaming, fluffing are key

Foods travel the globe, yet frequently, modified versions arrive on distant shores. To tempt a different culture, ingredients of a particular dish may be changed or exotic flavors toned down. Sometimes the preparation is altered to make it easier or more accessible. So it is with couscous................

    Dried fruits keep the chilly season sunny A bounty of regal recipes uses apricots, dates, and raisins

In some regions of the world, agriculture rules the table. During the months of the year when the sun isn't strong enough to ripen fruits and vegetables -- and none are trucked in from warmer climates -- the population depends on what is put away after the harvest.

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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     In the kasbah: Moroccan food is exotic in a familiar sort of way

 03/19/2003  By Dorothy Randoll / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

 Morocco - so exotic, so romantic, so strange. Although your only acquaintance with Morocco might be Bogey and Casablanca, it might be more familiar than you think. Many of the staple ingredients of Moroccan cuisine sound like Tex-Mex favorites: cumin, cilantro, chiles, onions, tomatoes, beef............

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    Recipe: Shish Kebabs Marrakech Style

 03/19/2003   

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     Recipe: Tagine of Chicken With Dried Plums and Toasted Almonds in Honey Sauce

 03/19/2003  

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    Arab countries: The chances for democracy could decrease

There is no shortage of ironies in US relations with the Arab world. Arab governments in key states such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have been quietly cooperating with the United States in its preparations for war with Iraq  even as non-Arab countries in Europe and elsewhere have opposed America's plans. At the same time, public resentment of the United States among Arabs may have reached an all-time high. Consider the results of a survey I conducted with Zogby International in six Arab countries  Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan,Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon  in late February and early March. Only 4 percent of Saudis, 6 percent of Jordanians and Moroccans, and 13 percent of Egyptians said they had a favorable view of the United States. Majorities in most countries said their attitudes were shaped by American policies, rather than Arab values.............

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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. ......

More than a dozen heavy metal musicians and fans have been jailed in Casablanca for moral and religious crimes, local media reported. The 14 men, all between the ages of 22 and 35, were convicted of "acts capable of undermining the faith of a Muslim" and "possessing objects which infringe morals". Their sentences of between one month and one year followed newspaper pieces which dubbed them "Satanists" involved in international devil-worship.......

     A recent State Department security warning urged all Americans abroad to make sure their cars have a full tank of gas. The message itself was odd: Is there really a Foggy Bottom office responsible for the level of petrol in every expatriate's gas tank? But the emphasis on prevention was wise. The Bush Administration's foreign aid request shows that not all our overseas allies merit the same interest as our overseas automobiles.

     Imagine a populous Arab country that lies astride a strategic waterway through which much of the world's shipping — including U.S. Navy aircraft carriers — regularly passes.

     This country has a progressive leadership that recently supervised an election universally recognized as free and fair. It also just won an encouraging evaluation from the International Monetary Fund for its economic management.

     This country, an unabashed ally in the war on terror, even sends its intelligence officers to help ours in Guantanamo Bay. It does this despite having to face a growing and assertive Islamist movement, whose most radical elements frequently pop up as al-Qaeda operatives and whose moderate wing just tripled its parliamentary representation.

     In short, this country is the quintessential "Arab moderate" state, with all the contradictions the term implies — Beverly Hills-style homes wired with high-speed internet connections around the block from corrugated roof slums that lack running water; women clad in chic Parisian fashions arm-in-arm with cousins covered in black, puritanical, drape-like robes; mass rallies that echo with the chilling sounds of "Death to the Jews" not far from the only Jewish muse/um in the Arab world.

     One would expect that this country, one of America's oldest friends, would be the target of an all-out effort to put the Islamist genie back in its bottle, and that it would encourage democratization and reward quiet anti-terror cooperation. The fact that it also meets the economic test of "aid effectiveness" — assistance funds don't normally go down the drain or line ministers' pockets — is an added bonus.

     This country is Morocco. But the reality of U.S. policy is very different. By the universal yardstick — money — Morocco does not even register.

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    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

    HOTEL LA MAMOUNIA, MARRAKESH

 By ERIK HEINRICH Special to The Globe and Mail

MARRAKESH -- This hotel is an oasis of luxury and Old World sophistication tucked inside the ancient medina of Marrakesh. Walk through its grand entrance of polished marble and brass and you feel as if you have stepped into an Agatha Christie mystery......

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    Moroccan magic

Feb. 5, 2003. 01:00 AM JULIA AITKEN MENUS

Moroccan cooks are experts at combining humble ingredients with spices to create flavourful dishes that are guaranteed to warm up a Canadian winter. Nudging Europe but anchored firmly to Africa, Morocco boasts a rich-tasting but surprisingly simple cuisine that reflects the flavours of both southern Spain and North Africa. Eating Moroccan-style is a sociable affair, with everyone helping themselves from a communal dish. Meals might start with soup containing lentils, chickpeas or beans, followed by cold salads featuring cooked or raw vegetables in sweet or spicy dressings. ...............

According to Variety, Hollywood studios have committed more than $1 billion to tentpoles scheduled to shoot in Morocco in the next two years. But the drums of war reverberating from Washington to Baghdad are giving Hollywood an epic headache.

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.

Morocco versus France Amateurs Johnny Meersman, who previously played prop for Belgium, is now a referee and went off to Casablanca to referee a match between Morocco and France amateurs. It turned out to be a great weekend, as he recalls. It includes an amusing encounter with a journalist.

RABAT, Feb 2 (Reuters) - With their factories half-submerged in muddy flood waters for a second year running, businessmen in a Moroccan town were cynical when the same government officials as last year came to inspect the damage. Flash floods ravaged Berrechid, the country's second largest industrial area, in late November, causing material damage to 18 factories worth about 150 million dirhams ($15 million)..............

RABAT, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Dressed demurely in the white robes lawmakers wear when the Moroccan king opens parliament, the women MPs gathered around him for a photo opportunity. For some of the ordinary Moroccans watching the scene from the palm-lined boulevard outside parliament, the decision to reserve 30 seats for women in the 325-seat lower house in last September's general election represented a quiet revolution. But it will not be plain sailing for the new women legislators. Much of the electorate may be on their side, but their hardest battles may be within their own parties...................

    A camel? This isn't Cancun: Morocco offers sea, sand, sun -- and lamb testicles

Amy Rosen, National Post Saturday, January 25, 2003

While working my way through the maze of stalls, a gent manning a large spice stand stopped me and started rubbing dried herbs between his hands then having me sniff. It was a silent challenge: "Mint," I said. He smiled. "Cinnamon. Lemon balm. And that would be oregano." More nodding. "Ah, eucalyptus." Duly impressed by my heightened sense of smell, Hassam invited me in for tea............

    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.....................

The Bush administration is trying to signal its support for tolerant Muslim countries through a free-trade agreement with Morocco, the United States' top trade official said yesterday........

The director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) says her agency plans to support the negotiations between the United States and Morocco on a Free Trade Agreement announced in Washington January 21..........

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.

    Trade Negotiator Sees Progress in Talks with Morocco (USTR's Novelli says agriculture will be sensitive area) (580)

Washington -- The lead U.S. negotiator in talks for a free trade agreement with Morocco says the first round of talks in Washington, completed January 24, was "extremely productive" and leaves the two sides on target to complete an agreement by year's end.

    U.S. Backs Morocco's Efforts to Reduce Child Labor

U.S. and Moroccan officials have signed a letter of agreement between their two governments to collaborate in reducing child labor and to expand educational opportunities for underprivileged children in Morocco.........

January 11, 2003 -- Looking to experience some Middle Eastern culture beyond what you see on the evening news? Well, if ever the mood for Moroccan strikes - New York has a few places that are as close to the real deal as you can get......

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

Paul Mansfield steels himself for the toughest but most rewarding drive in southern Morocco  The Tizi-n-Test is simultaneously the most demanding and most spectacular drive in Morocco. An irresistible challenge - and a bit of a nightmare..................

Not content with an ordinary marathon, Tarquin Cooper took part in a punishing 150-mile ultra-race in the sweltering heat of the desert Running a marathon is supposed to be the challenge of a lifetime. It requires months of training, and to succeed you have to push yourself to the limit and overcome great obstacles - usually agonizing seizures at about mile 20.

Our regular look at countries which rarely feature prominently in the international news. This week: The appointment of Morocco's new government was overshadowed by a fatal prison fire and P Diddy's big birthday bash

Away from Marrakech's hustle and bustle, Carla Grossetti finds tea, tagine and tranquility in the sleepy Moroccan fishing village of Taghazoute Tuesday November 12, 2002

Tourists may be scarce, but north Africa is still the wild, kaleidoscopic, beautiful maelstrom it always was. Andrew Gilchrist gets happily lost Holidays in the Muslim world

A drive across the Sahara desert in a convoy of Land Rovers gave Anthony Browne access to a Morocco normally off the tourist trail. But this is no trip for the faint hearted

Shades of history fall theatrically across Essaouira's pink walls, from Othello the Moor to Sixties hippies, as Euan Ferguson discovered

Cool and stylish, these Moroccan palaces of peace are the perfect antidote to the noise, crowds and clamour of the city's streets. Jill Crawshaw visits eight of the best

One day Morocco was top of the tourism charts. The next it wasn't. Liz Bird went last week to find out if fears of travelling in a Muslim country are well founded

Its mix of the exotic and the downright bizarre make Marrakech the perfect weekend escape. Katharine Viner tries its top hotel

Tangier has always attracted an eclectic artistic community, from William S.Burroughs to Joe Orton. Novelist Jake Arnott gets a taste for its languid friendliness

It's close, but about as different from Europe as you can get. Lisa Sykes walks through the High Atlas with Berbers and soaks up the atmosphereMarrakech's souks

Rory Bremner settles in at an Aman resort, the holy grail of luxury hip hotels, where he's given a naked scrub down with olive soap in the steam room followed by a four-hand massage.But another hour's flying takes you to Morocco, and another world. While the Moors played away in Andalucia, home was Marrakesh, Fez or Tangier. Forget Casablanca: its romance faded with the departure of the last DC3. The airport no longer bears the name Casablanca.............

DNA tests have confirmed that a Moroccan mule did give birth to a foal. Veterinary experts say the foal's father was a donkey and its mother a true mule...............Monday, 4 November, 2002,

I had spent two days at another Peace Corps volunteer's site in the High Atlas, Morocco. He lived in a one-room house without electricity or running water. We collected water from a nearby natural spring. Isn't it strange that I should have to categorize the stream as "natural?" Perhaps that is a reflection of just how "urbanized" I was: down in the provincial capital, where I was living, I could access the internet and listen to the BBC before going to bed every night. The people in this village were farmers, growing wheat, corn, apples, and walnuts............................

King Mohammed of Morocco has announced the line-up of the new coalition government, but there are no posts for the Islamic party that trebled its vote in September elections.................

Looking for an exotic sofa? You've come to the right place. Bring cunning, though--and cash. The lowest dregs of today's popular "North African look"--crude iron lamps and sconces, jewelry with plastic stones, ham-handedly hewn tables--can be had cheaply and easily enough.....................

    Adventures in the sands In Morocco: Mending a broken heart at the world's tallest dunes

MERZOUGA, Morocco -- There are things that awe us to rapture--grand canyons, wild cascades, the immense rolling ocean. And there are other things--cool-rooted flowers, sunrise .............

    MELTING POT One student experiences the sights, sounds and smells of a traditional Moroccan dinner

After tea in the cafe overlooking the Atlantic, I felt keyed up. It probably had something to do with all the sugar in the tea; or maybe my own nervousness in a conversation that kept switching from French to Arabic and back again that caused me to drink more tea than I needed.........................

Human rights groups in Morocco have condemned conditions in the country's overcrowded prisons after a fire killed at least 50 inmates and injured dozens more at a jail in El Jadida.......

    Morocco: democracy denied: THE GAP BETWEEN IMAGE AND REALITY.

Democratic reforms in Morocco were among the few positive findings in a recent United Nations report on development in the Arab world. But the country's most popular Islamist party, Justice and Charity, was banned from September's elections.

UNLIKE other North African nations, Morocco has been consistently occupied by one group of people for as long as recorded history can recall. The Berbers settled the area thousands of years ago and at one time controlled all of the land between Morocco and Egypt. Today Berbers still make up 80 percent of the population....

After over 24 hours of travel, I finally arrived in Casablanca, tired but anxious with anticipation to see two of my closest friends, Janet and Tiina. We were all converging upon Morocco, invited by our friend, Antoine, who was working on the film set of Black Hawk Down, a new film directed by Ridley Scott......

We awoke that morning to find ourselves in the middle of the Sahara Desert. How we had come to arrive there is still a bit of a mystery. I remember something about myself, my girlfriend Johanna and our friend Regan being accosted at a bus terminal, taken to a hostel and being convinced to climb on to the Meanest, most Uncomfortable, Gas infested, Stank-ass animal in the world. I believe they call this animal.....

Let me begin this story with a little bit of advice - no matter what anyone tells you, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, do the Toubkal trek in the Moroccan High Atlas mountains!!! My guidebook says all you need are some good hiking shoes. Let me tell you, that is a load......

In November 2000, the Dublin Simon Community  organized a "Hike For The Homeless" of100km across the Sahara Desert. Nearly a hundred people signed up for this incredible experience and most of them, or rather most of us met for the first time in Dublin airport on the day of ....

The day started well, what with the Alien Registration (Yes, that is the actual name of the department) people's timely stamping of my passport, validating my right to live/work in Eire "til the following May (thus avoiding Immigration hassle en route), followed by another prac test with X Advertising, thereby landing me a new job (despite instilling mammoth fear in having to return to work to resign just hours before I leave)...............

Travel through Morocco for any length of time and you'll uncover a land fiercely traditional and full of daily change, a land of harsh desolation shadowed by lush oasis, and a land where earnest well wishers stand toe to toe with the desperate, impoverished, and outright swindlers. In short, Morocco is a world of contrasts both..............

In Morocco, up in the Atlas Mountains we were heading from Marrakech to Ceuta, and it was very hot and dusty! Down below was a gorgeous blue lake about an hour's drive away. We couldn't wait to hit that water......................

It was on a brief four-day stopover in Istanbul in the late eighties that I first experienced the pleasure of the ancient Islamic 'hammam'. Hammam is derived from the Arabic for "spreader of warmth" and is the ritual Turkish hot-steam room that is combination cleansing spot; social gathering and gossip place; and a relaxing brief getaway from the modern world. Hammams go back to the 7th century and ...............

DEWHIRST workers have lost their jobs to foreign workers paid just 50p an hour, it was revealed last night. The news is the final insult to more than 500 staff at the company's last remaining factories in Wales who will lose their jobs next month.......

MADRID, Oct. 6 (JTA) - Growing anti-Semitism and poor economic prospects are threatening to extinguish two Jewish communities on the North African coast......

Blending two worlds - Europe and Africa - and bathed by two seas, the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Morocco is a cultural melting pot which promises the holiday traveller a truly original vacation......

RABAT, Morocco (AP) - As afternoon heads into evening, a haunting call to prayer echoes from the mosque. Women covered with headscarves and veils shop for supper. Here, amid the spice shops and backstreets of the Moroccan capital, one thinks it would be easy to find Muslims furious at the prospect of a U.S. attack on Iraq.

    NEW HOPE, OLD FRUSTRATIONS Morocco: the point of change

"In Morocco, government is all about rain", Maréchal Lyautey is claimed to have said. The truth of his aphorism is dramatically clear this year as a persistent drought grips the land, worrying city-dwellers and obsessing the government. Morocco remains an agricultural country.......

Friday's balloting for Morocco's House of Representatives (the lower house of its parliament) may have seen less fraud and less money thrown about to buy votes than was the case in former.......

Wednesday, 2 October, By the BBC's Katty Kay

A mule has given birth to a male foal in a hamlet deep in rural Morocco. No big deal, you may think, but in fact the birth was a minor scientific miracle.A mule is the hybrid of a horse and a donkey and should be sterile -except in this instance.

Spain's Muslim converts reach out to Moroccan immigrant women and children. By Sara B. Miller | Special to The Christian Science Monitor

MADRID - As a teenager, Elena Rodriguez Arteaga visited the Alhambra, Granada's great Moorish citadel, and became intrigued with Spain's Muslim past. She studied its role in her overwhelmingly Catholic country, and the more she learned, the more she wanted to know.

Moroccan dishes with their spicy exotic flavours are perfect for autumn, says Jennifer Joyce - and they can be made in advance

(Filed: 24/04/2001) Edited by Elfreda Pownall

You can taste the calories in amlou - its three ingredients are Moroccan almonds, argan oil and honey - but that didn't stop Omnivore spooning it from the jar with gay abandon..........................

Moroccan or Corsican, apple or ginger? Edited by Elfreda Pownall. There are more than 100 varieties of mint, but only some are suitable for cooking. 'The best mints to grow are spearmint - chefs use it as a garnish for its neat, flat leaves - and Moroccan mint, which is good and strong for rubbing around a salad bowl to perfume it,.....

Rowley Leigh takes a cook's tour of Moroccan food I SHOULD have gone to Morocco in the Sixties, in my hippie days, but although Crosby Stills & Nash sang entrancingly about the Marrakech Express, they were never my favourite band, so I took the hippie trail to India instead.

In the first of a four-part series Diana Henry embarks on a cook's tour of the Mediterranean, the Middle East and north Africa Places, as well as tastes, are locked up in food. The clear perfumed stillness of a bottle of rosewater, the velvety skin of a fig, the sunburnt colour of cayenne... Our love of foods has as much to do with what they represent as with their taste. Nearly all the ingredients and dishes that, for me, have this other-worldly quality are from Spain, Portugal, the southern regions of France and Italy, the Middle East and north Africa........

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Morocco's second film festival took place last week, attracting Hollywood stars and its share of controversy. David Gritten reports ........

    Local female leaders aid effort to elect women in Morocco.

Kathy Kreiter will climb aboard a plane Tuesday to embark on a trip that will take about 24 hours to deliver her to her final destination -- Morocco. It's the culmination of nearly two years of work by a group of female political advisers from Washington who have traveled to the country in North Africa to advise and train female candidates on the ins and outs of running for elected office and joining government service.....................

Moroccan voters go to the polls on 27 September to vote in general elections. They are the first since King Mohammed VI came to the throne in 1999 amid local media coverage that spoke of hope for a new era of openness and democracy......

A dizzying array of 26 parties are standing, ranging from former Marxist revolutionaries to the one legal Islamist party...........

Morocco's reforms are paying off but the country needs step up the pace of economic growth to deal with poverty and unemployment, according to the International Monetary Fund......

Mohammed Khatiri looks every inch a Euro-Moroccan yuppie as he sits in a stylish Casablanca café. Five months ago he returned to the country he left as a child in 1970, to run a local building renovation business he had acquired with his brother........................

The second Marrakesh international film festival opens on Wednesday in Morocco's southern city. Leading Hollywood film directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola....

Morocco or Tunisia? Suddenly it has become a tough choice, but visitors who love one have always assumed that they would loathe the other. They're in for a surprise, says Sophie Roberts

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September 02, 2002  From David Sharrock in Madrid

THE latest wave of illegal African immigrants to arrive on the shores of Spanish territory is threatening to overwhelm the authorities and aid agencies in the Canary Islands......

Stimulating, mystical and steeped in ancient history and Islamic culture, the North African nation of Morocco tantalizes all who visit its wonders...................

By Michale Carr October 4, 2000

"Psss!" the men hissed conspiratorially, or, "Excuse me! Excuse me!" and "Come see. Only today!" I threaded my way through alleys clogged with hundreds of tiny markets. Canvas tents like those of Berber nomads shielded them from the sun.......

Joe Kuhl, a former Peace Corp volunteer in Morocco, teaches English and linguistics at the University of Georgia............... The old man across the aisle, a shamali from the north, he figured, by the brown-and-white-striped djelleba and the yellow rizah...............

August 1992 by Robert D. Kaplan

For Jack McCreary, it was a moment of sweet satisfaction. A self-described "child of the sixties," who had spent nearly two decades of his life in the Arab world, McCreary was the U.S. embassy's press and culture officer...............

By Mary D. Scourtes of The Tampa Tribune Published: September 4, 2002

TREASURE ISLAND - Whether there's a radiant sunset or the pyrotechnics of a summer storm outside, Karim's Bistro, with its Gulf-side vista, offers a cozy environment................

    Spellbound by Morocco: Dan Neil immerses himself in the fantasia of Marrakech and Fès."

Khalid the herbalist stumps in a circle, pivoting on his withered leg, lecturing. "Cumin, good for stomachaike; sweet curry, for headaike..." We are in his herboristerie on the Derb Zaouia, a narrow stone alley in the medina, the old city of Fès (also spelled Fez), where the ancient buildings lean on one another like.............................

    The Restaurant Owner: He has no taste for hate, even when he's a target of it.

By Laura Coleman Noeth  noeth@gomemphis.com 

When you have the kind of outlook that Aimer Shtaya has, hatred's venom loses some of its sting. Even when it's directed at your religion and spray-painted on your restaurant wall, as it was Shtaya's Morocco Cafe shortly after terrorists attacked the United States a year ago today....

By Geoffrey Moorhouse August 25, 2002, 

Sunday BOOK REVIEW DESK  TRAVELS WITH A TANGERINE: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah.

By Tim Mackintosh-Smith.  Illustrated by Martin Yeoman.  351 pp. New York:  Welcome Rain Publishers. $30.

THERE'S little doubt that Ibn Battutah was, and remains, the greatest traveler of all time. He left his home in Tangier (whose inhabitants are, as the title of Tim Mackintosh-Smith's new book reminds us, called Tangerines) in 1325, at the age of 21, and over the next 29 years journeyed some.......

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- President Bush has proposed doubling the size of the Peace Corps -- to help, he says, "spread the good story" of American values and ideas to the Muslim world. From my perspective as a Peace Corps volunteer in a Muslim village in Africa, the plan seems whimsical at best.......

From the fiery brick-red of Marrakech to the lemon tints of Meknes, Morocco's older cities seem almost to be colour-coded.. The sleepy Atlantic port of Essaouira is a huddle of whitewashed cubes, trimmed in Mediterranean blue, an arresting yet restful combination and reward enough for the two-hour journey from bustling Marrakech.

According to local lore the name "Marrakesh" comes from two ancient Berber words meaning "Get out of here fast!" But in the thousand or so years that desert caravans, warriors, tourists and international diplomats and leaders have been coming here to find an excuse to linger in cool gardens and pleasant, earth-red edifices that sprawl inside and outside the ancient walls, they have found no need to worry about ambuscades of brigands that once made the oasis notorious in forgotten history.

Friday, August 02, 2002 - Jean Godden / Seattle Times staff columnist

CASABLANCA, Morocco - I flew into the Casablanca airport two weeks ago with Jessie Israel of the University........Jessie, fluent in French after her Peace Corps years in Ghana, explained about the T-shirts and mugs....

Moroccans are bewildered by the decision of their new king, Mohammed VI, to choose the night before his wedding to prove his manhood on the battlefield. A few hours before the long-delayed nuptial ceremony last Friday, Rabat dispatched its troops to plant Morocco's Star of Solomon flag on the barren island of Parsley........

    Speech of HE The Ambassador to the “FRIENDS OF MOROCCO” at residence in Celebration of 40+1 years of Peace Corps on June 21, 2002

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In Morocco's first public celebration of a royal wedding, thousands of well-wishers from all over the kingdom thronged the streets to congratulate King Mohammed VI on his marriage to 24-year-old

Marrakesh: What do Lawrence of Arabia, Othello, Star Wars, Tea in the Sahara, Hideous Kinky, Spy Game and Gladiator have in common? The answer is that they were all shot in Morocco.......

The festivities to mark the king's marriage began with the Royal Guard, mounted on horseback and in white robes and turbans. They led a procession from one of the old gates in the city walls, past the crowds lining the central streets, and into the grounds of the Royal Palace. .....

    The Evolution of Food Patterns of a Migratory Moroccan Population is the study of an Anthropology student who is seeking Moroccan informants

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John Mortimer, writer  Interview by Tim Wapshott Saturday June 29, 2002  The Guardian

Why? It is the most incredibly beautiful town. It has white walls, bright blue doors, a huge, sandy beach, and the little coloured fishing boats look just like a Van Gogh painting......

It sounded too good to be true.  When Saed, 25, heard on the grapevine that Gulf-based Al-Najat Marine Shipping wanted to hire 30,000 Moroccans to work on cruise ships, it was a chance not to be missed.............

 RABAT, Morocco - Morocco has dismantled a group that has been linked to al Qaeda and suspected of preparing suicide attacks on U.S. and allied warships in the Strait of Gibraltar, government and security service sources said yesterday........

RABAT: It took the lady in veil and djellaba exactly three minutes before she began swaying to the sound of the band's drums. She wasn't the only one. Her four trailing youngsters and husband shook their hips as they tried to imitate the frantic movements of the bare-bellied dancer on stage.....

Among the many reflections on the events related to September 11, two of the most profound insights come from Christian thinkers who have focused their analyses essentially on the cultural aspect of the crisis.......

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    Rekindling the magic of marriage.

Sarah Sands gets into the rhythm of Marrakesh.  Marrakesh in May is about 77F (25C). It is also the month when the roses are in bloom, outside the mosque, in the gardens and floating in stone troughs in hotel courtyards. The riad concept suits the hidden glories of Morocco. ......

I am in Morocco to see, and perhaps cross, the Western Sahara. Throughout history, there have been but a handful of land routes connecting the Mediterranean coast to western Africa.  In the east, there is the Route du Hoggar,

    Bush Gets Moroccan View of the Middle East

Nora Boustany  Washington Post Wednesday April 24, 2002 A18

After postponing his wedding and planned public festivities this month as a gesture of sympathy for the recent loss of life in the West Bank, Morocco's King Mohammed VI arrived Sunday on a state visit to Washington without his intended bride.

He lunched at the White House yesterday with President Bush, who sounded out the 39-year-old monarch on an Israeli-proposed Middle East peace conference. Bush plans to hear the views of other U .S. allies when Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah visits Crawford, Tex., this week and when Jordan's King Abdullah arrives in early May, Moroccan sources disclosed.     MORE

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    President Calls for Free Trade Agreement with Morocco.

Office of the Press Secretary April 23, 2002

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Nick Trend returns to Marrakesh and is surprised to find courses that are not only beautiful but empty.

When Morocco's King Mohammed VI arrives in Washington this weekend, he will not be received as the dashing "king of hearts".....

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    Hardworking Upper Darby senior living his American dream with football honors.

Rachid Stoury, an immigrant from Morocco, said his family taught him how to succeed.

By Shannon Ryan, Inquirer Suburban Staff, The Philadelphia Inquirer

After running six marathons in costume to raise money for Save the Rhino - three in New York, three in London - this seemed like a natural progression..........

NEW YORK, Feb. 26 (JTA) -- "When most Americans think of Morocco, they envision Casablanca," says Dani Moyal, discussing the mix of Muslim and French cultures among Jews in her homeland.....

WHEN Moroccans opened their newspapers last Thursday, they could hardly believe their eyes. Across their front pages were large photographs of the striking young redhead who that afternoon would become the bride of their monarch, King Mohamed VI, at a low-key family ceremony behind closed doors in the Royal Palace in Rabat.....

Tourism chiefs in the Moroccan city of Fez are seeking to win back lost trade from holidaymakers who were put off travelling by the events of 11 September........

he Kingdom of Morocco is the most westerly of the North African countries known as the Maghreb........

Tyour Gnaoua is not a person -- it is a performance collective based in Morocco. Like all gnaoua (or gnawa) groups, it consists of musicians, dancers, fortunetellers, and their students -- all the descendants of former slaves from all over the sub-Saharan region........

    Memories of Morocco: For Sephardic Jews, Passover means luscious scents and flavors.

In spring, the breezes that blow through Morocco are warm and dry and laden with heavy perfume from the many Seville orange trees that are in bloom.........

Roasted Lamb Shoulder, Passover Fava Bean Soup, Danielle's Roasted Bell Peppers etc.....

MOROCCO'S King Mohammed VI is more celebrity than monarch. Young, good-looking and fashion conscious, he prefers sharp suits and wrap-around sunglasses to flowing robes and a fez.

TASTING the excitement of a Moroccan bazaar has been made easier with the opening of a new shop in Wellingborough..........

I have to admit even I was nervous about visiting Morocco earlier this month. I wondered whether it was safe to visit a Muslim country just now, not to mention getting on a plane heading hassle of visiting a place where everyone was going to hate me. I'm here to say I not only survived the trip, but was absolutely astonished by what I found......

A traveler finds beauty in the desert of Morocco, from the changing light on its sands to the kindness and curiosity of its people. ..

11 FEB 2002  AAP

Incentives for investors highlight the constraints placed upon the democratically elected government, writes James Drummond

MONTREAL, Jan. 28 /CNW/ - CDP Capital has partnered with the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion du Maroc (CDG) and other major Moroccan institutions to create a US$30 million fund for Morocco. This venture capital fund, known as Accès Capital Atlantique SA (ACASA), will invest in Moroccan manufacturing- sector SMEs involved mainly in telecommunications, information technologies, agri-business, fishing and tourism.

The Moroccan authorities have stepped in to block a conference being organised by a campaign group which alleges that the Spanish army used toxic gas to quell a Berber uprising in the 1920s.

    A strong, strange scent of history: The alleys of Fez - the most complete medieval city in the world - leave Paul Mansfield both enchanted and exhausted.

On my way to see the herbalist about a miracle cure, I popped into Khayar's for a shave. In his tiny shop, under magazine photographs of chubby Moroccan starlets, Khayar lathered my face and shaved it with a cut-throat razor .....

    Morocco welcomes Polisario's release of POWs

 RABAT, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Morocco welcomed on Friday the imminent release of 115 of its soldiers by an Algerian-backed movement seeking independence in the Western Sahara and asked for the freedom of about 1,400 others.  The 115 men were captured by the Polisario Front 25 years ago at the start of its guerrilla war.

The Polisario said on Wednesday it would hand over the soldiers in a goodwill gesture, but did not give a date. The handover has been arranged in collaboration with the Spanish Red Cross and the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry said it had been following with great interest European Union efforts to free all Moroccans "held on Algerian soil in Polisario's prison cells." But in a statement carried by the official MAP news agency it added: "Moroccan authorities deeply regret that only 115 prisoners of 1,477 still held in Algeria benefit from this recent announcement despite the positions clearly expressed on this issue by the international community." The ministry said 1,028 Moroccan soldiers had been held by the Polisario for more than 20 years, including some now in poor health.

"Morocco calls on the international community, mainly the U.N. Security Council and all concerned bodies, to exert all relevant prerogatives to ensure their release, without precondition and further delay," the  ministry said.  The Polisario said the latest handover would bring to 900 the number of Moroccan prisoners it has released since 1997.  A 10-year-old U.N.-brokered plan to give the population of the Western Sahara the choice between independence or integration with Morocco has reached deadlock.

A new solution aimed at regional autonomy for the territory under Moroccan sovereignty has been proposed instead, but has not been finalized Morocco claims and controls most of the Western Sahara, a sparsely populated area which has a 1,500-km (945-mile) Atlantic coastline with accompanying fishing rights, and a wealth of phosphates and other minerals.

We had been in Morocco for three days and I had made every mistake there is to make. I had fallen for the "I'm a starving student, let me be your guide" scam. I had been lured into a carpet shop and came away with a $250 woven memory (retail value: $50 on a good day). And I had persuaded my two companions to board a 10-hour train to Fes, ....

    Wives of Arab diplomats 'Mosaic' society in Washington for defending the Arab image.

The name " mosaic" is derived from a Middle Eastern Arab art in which huge number of fine stone are used to create one homogenous and elegant design. The official objective of this non- political society is to raise money and funds for serving women issues. However, it non- official objective is fighting passive monotonous concepts concerning Arab culture, the Islamic religious values and matters relating to the Arab women.

The Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice announced the publication of the Federal Protections Against National Origin Discrimination brochure in an additional ten languages including Arabic.

    The Future of the Medina: Rethinking the Lessons of the Past

By Tom O'brien  Friday, August 22, 2003

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Missour in the TEFL program from 1986 to 1989. In September 1995, after completing a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning, I returned to Morocco as a Fulbright Scholar. The aim of my six-month research was to build upon an architectural and urban design study begun in the spring of 1995 by the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  This study sought to develop a reconstruction plan for the Essaouira medina, in particular the mellah.  I was interested in determining how plans for its reconstruction might consider the importance of traditional urban form to the life of the city's inhabitants. I also wanted to obtain responses to initial reconstruction plans from City residents, addressing such issues as the appropriateness of designs for the region's climate and the needs of the resident work force.  MORE

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    Morocco acts on human rights.
Monday, 10 December, 2001, 
King Mohammad of Morocco has announced the creation of a human rights ombudsman.   The announcement was delivered in a message read by his brother,  Prince Moulay Rachid, to mark international human rights day.  The prince said the new post was part of efforts to offer support to  other bodies working to redress injustice and protect liberties.  On Saturday, the Moroccan Human Rights Association published the names of more than 40 senior officials and officers whom it accused of  responsibility for the disappearance of political activists during the1960's and 1970's. 

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    Sweet Spot: If there's a problem with the menu, it's that nearly everything on it looks great.
 BY GREG HUGUNIN 
 sfweekly.com | originally published: December 12, 2001
To dine at Aziza is to experience a rare brand of luxury that leaves no sense untouched.  Step inside and you'll encounter dusky cobalt walls, dramatic arches painted with blue and white stripes, and the soft, twangy lilt of  Moroccan music.

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    Morocco may change its telecoms rules.
By James Drummond in Cairo
Published: December 12 2001 
Planned legal changes to Morocco's telecommunications administration threaten to end the independence of the telecoms regulator and may hamper future investment in the sector, senior Moroccan political officials said on Wednesday. 

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    Going without at Ramadan.
-At the beginning of the Muslim fast, a traveler decides to do as the Marrakeshans do. 
 BY EMILY ZUZIK
I am not a pious woman. I didn't go into Ramadan with a long history of restraint. In fact, the most I  knew about fasting was from my Catholic childhood during Lent, where you went without some chosen item for 40 days. There were also meatless Fridays, but you still got a good fish sandwich from the church that night. 

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In the continuing examination of Ramadan traditions around the Islamic world, The Star spoke with Raja' Alawi, the wife of the Moroccan Ambassador in Amman, about the different traditions found her in native country.

MARRAKESH, Morocco, Nov 12, 2001 (Inter Press Service via COMTEX) -- After two weeks of hard bargaining, representatives from 167 countries hammered out an accord that paves the way for the ratification of a treaty aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but activists dismissed the deal as "meager".

    No Time to Be Shortchanging Foreign Aid  Judy Mann Washington Post  Nov 14, 2001

Susana de la Torre was a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco from 1987 to 1989. On the evening of Sept. 11, the first e-mail she received was from her Moroccan "family." They knew that her husband worked for the Department of the Army and that the family lived near the Pentagon.  "They had tried for several hours to call me by phone," de la Torre told me, "but had been unsuccessful and then resorted to e-mailing. I simply cried when I got their e-mail, and I was moved -- though not surprised -- at the depth of their caring for me and my family. They contacted us way before many family members ever did to inquire about our safety."  MORE

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Sunday November 4, 2001  The Observer

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  Morocco sets up Berber cultural heritage body
 
RABAT, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Morocco's King Mohammed set up a Berber cultural heritage body on Wednesday, meeting one of the long-standing demands for the preservation of the language and history of the North African nation's ethnic Berbers.

Berbers, who also are known as Imazighen (free men) and whose language is Tamazight, represent the majority of Morocco's 30 million people, according to independent sources.

Berbers lived in North Africa before the Arab invasion of the seventh century but the Moroccan constitution recognises only Arabic as the official language.

"By establishing the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture, we want...to recognise the whole of our common history and our national cultural identity," the king told a ceremony attended by government officials in the northern village of Ajdir, in the Berber province of Khenifra, 300 km (190 miles) from Rabat.

The Amazigh culture "which is deeply rooted in the Moroccan peoples' history belongs to all Moroccans without exception and cannot be used for political purposes," the king added, according to the text of his speech carried by the MAP official news agency and broadcast live on state-run television.

The king's mother, Lalla Latifa, is a Berber and daughter of a well-known nationalist Berber tribesman in Khenifra province.

"This is a good decision," said Ilyas Omari, a leading Berber activist, "but what we want to see next is Tamazight recognised by the constitution as official language."
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Staying in the Marrakesh medina is no longer hideous or kinky, says Jeremy Seal. The renovated riads are oases of comfort and calm

Hidden in the High Atlas are some of Morocco's most tempting hotels, where guests seeking a retreat from the cities are entertained in style, says Barnaby Rogerson

THE SEA WAS a calm black sheet that summer night when Ghali Hacen and his two comrades stood on a Moroccan beach, stripped down to their underwear and began a three-hour swim toward their dream.

Deadly Journeys: One in a continuing series. Illegal migrants risk death to cross from Africa to Europe. Hidden under trucks and aboard ferries, clinging to rickety boats or detouring through a former penal colony in North Africa, thousands of border-crashers set off from Morocco in search of better lives in Spain and beyond.

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The bodies of 13 illegal immigrants who drowned while attempting a clandestine trip across the Straits of Gibraltar to Spain were washed up on a Moroccan beach yesterday, as the search began for 46 others believedto have died after their boat overturned.

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The king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, has responded vigorously to criticism by Spain that his country is not doing enough to control the hundreds of migrants entering Europe illegally from Morocco.

   The Ode to Morocco: A Globe-Trotting Couple's Color-Drenched Apartment Inspired by Exotic Locales.

By Annie Groer, Washington Post Staff Writer. Thursday, September 6, 2001; Page H01

They wanted color. They wanted drama. And they wanted their Dupont Circle co-op to evoke Casablanca. So it was that after a dozen years spent overseas in the exotic precincts of Tehran, Istanbul, Cairo and Moscow, foreign correspondents Geneive Abdo, 41, and Jonathan Lyons, 43, came to Washington and went wild with paint.

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   Local man to race across the Sahara: Runner trains in city's late-summer heat.

With the sun high over his head, Edward Dramberger is in training for a marathon unlike any other he's raced in before. This time, his object isn't to win. "It's to finish the race," the 37-year-old said. "I live for goals." With temperatures in the high 90s, Corpus Christi is the perfect place to get ready for a150-mile race across the Sahara Desert. Race organizers say runners may experience 110 to 125 degree temperatures.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has ordered his government to tackle worsening poverty in an attempt to curb the growing shanty towns around the country's main cities.

What everybody's doing here revolves around the throb and rattle of Gnaoua music. Gnaoua is an old sound, with a history that parallels that of Western Hemisphere blues, jazz and reggae, so the idea of reuniting the continents isn't that artificial. The ancestors of the modern Gnaoua brotherhood came to North Africa as sub-Saharan slaves in the 1500s, around the same time that African tribespeople were first kidnapped and shipped to NewWorld auction blocks.

Fez is the most daunting city in Morocco, its French-induced schizophrenia marked to an extreme degree. The old and new cities are two separate and contradictory worlds, each a riposte to the other. The new, French-built town is notable for its enormous tree-lined avenues, grand colonial statements that could only have been built with parades in mind. As an individual, you feel inadequate; you'd have to be part of an army to really feel at ease there.

Some henna tattoos could cause a lifelong allergy to a common chemical found in dyes, warn scientists.

They call themselves Amazigh, the proud raiders. But most people know them as Berbers.  For millennia, the Berbers of North Africa fought against Roman, Arab and French invaders. And, despite a history of colonisation, they have managed to preserve their language and culture, and have defended their land.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has promised to set up a body to preserve the language and culture of the country's Berbers, who make up a majority of the population.

   King launches charm offensive: Desire for change could turn into overt political opposition.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has launched an apparent charm offensive to win over critics to mark the second anniversary this month of his accession to the throne.

By David Bamford in Rabat  Wednesday, 25 July, 2001 on the BBC

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Mohamed Azzaoui wants to get more citizens involved in Morocco. The founder of a non-governmental organization that supports local development efforts in Morocco came to the heartland on Thursday to see how volunteers and the government work in harmony.

Published Friday, August 3, 2001 By Mike Bockoven. mbockoven@theindependent.com

On the taxi ride from Marrakesh airport to La Palmeraie, Morocco is as I remembered it. Drunk with fatigue, prickling uncomfortably in the humid night air, we drift through an eerie, biblical landscape that reeks of rotting garbage, bonfires and abject poverty.

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