Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
November 9, 2013

Sexual harassment in Morocco: perpetrators could get up to 4 years in jail.
Sunday 3 November 2013 Assya B. Moussaid (Courtesy of PCV Arie Kroeger)

This is especially great news for the women in Morocco, and even for men who are infuriated by the harassment their sisters, wives or even mothers have to endure. 

This new law, drafted by the Ministry of Solidarity and Social Development and the Ministry of Justice and Liberties, aims to reduce the violence against women, and considers as sexual harassment any action or advances against a third party through acts, words or gestures of a sexual nature, or any attempts to reach a sexual act.

The offender will be faced with a jail sentence ranging from one month to two years, and/or a 1000dh to 3000dh fine.  The sentence could be doubled, reaching up to 4 years in prison if the offense is committed by a colleague at the workplace or by a public sector employee responsible for ensuring the order and safety of citizens. 

Another section of this law underlines the punishment of any author of sexual videos- a disturbing phenomenon that has been thriving on technology and social media in particular.

The law aims to reduce the chaos such preposterous incidents are causing in the Moroccan society. Any person found guilty of publicly sharing recordings or photographs of nude women could face a prison sentence of two to five years and a 5000dh to 10.000dh fine. This sentence is also doubled if the crime is committed by a spouse, family member or any person having authority over the victim.

The Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement’s published law also addresses various other forms of violence against women including physical, moral and financial abuse, such as theft between spouses.

Assya B. Moussaid Miss Assya B. Moussaid obtained her BA in Human Relations, from Concordia university with a minor in Human resources management. She has a Diploma in advertising & marketing from the International Academy of design. http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/11/111056/sexual-harassment-in-morocco-perpetrators-could-get-up-to-4-years-in-jail/
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Morocco has unveiled details of an "exceptional operation" to give official papers to some of its 25,000-40,000 illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, many of whom hope to reach Europe. The scheme, unveiled on Monday, is part of a new migration policy which the north African kingdom promised back in September in the face of growing international criticism. "The exceptional operation to regularise the situation of foreigners residing illegally in Morocco" will be rolled out throughout next year, Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad and Migration Minister Anis Birou told a press conference in Sale, near Rabat.

Under the new scheme some 850 immigrants recognised as bona fide asylum-seekers by the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) will automatically be given legal residency rights, according to Moroccan officials.

A list of criteria will be drawn up for others hoping to be considered for the same treatment. The key tests for legalised residency, taking into account the number of years spent in Morocco, the legal status of a spouse or parents, employment record and medical history.

The "avant garde" programme is in response to the recent waves of illegal immigrants, said Hassad. He added that between 25,000 and 40,000 clandestine immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa were currently in Morocco.

Human rights groups say the migrants are brought to Morocco from other African countries by traffickers and camp in the wild waiting for a chance to cross into the Spanish territories of Melilla and Ceuta, on the north African coast.

These are the European Union's only land borders with Africa.

Others try to reach Spanish soil -- or Italy or Malta -- by sailing across the Mediterranean in makeshift vessels.

Melilla, which has 80,000 inhabitants, is a key crossroads for migrants who try to slip through to Europe from neighbouring Morocco.

In a bid to ward off regular charges by hundreds of migrants, Spain announced last week it had begun installing barbed wire and "anti-climbing" mesh at points along the 11-kilometre (seven-mile) border.

Morocco's planned measures "arise from a strong wish expressed by the king," Hassad said.

The new plan was first announced in September after Morocco's National Human Rights Council (CNDH) issued a report calling for "a radically new asylum and immigration policy," to which King Mohamed VI responded by admitting "legitimate concerns". Those concerns had been rising amid reports of racist violence.

Morocco is the closest African country to mainland Europe, separated by the Strait of Gibraltar and just 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Spain at its narrowest point, making it one of the key smuggling routes for illegal migrants crossing into Europe.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/131111/morocco-unveils-scheme-recognise-illegal-immigrants
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A grant of 4 million dollars relating to the project to support the implementation of the new governance framework.
11/03/2013

This agreement, signed by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Mohamed BOUSSAID and the World Bank director for the Maghreb department, Mr. Simon Gray, focuses on the financing of a project which aims to contribute to the reinforcement of the mechanisms of transparency and citizenengagement.

The strengthening of transparency and citizen engagement mechanisms requires improving access to budgetary information and the setting up of a financial management based on performance, as well as the development and the implementation of a public consultation policy, in addition to strengthening the financial decentralization.

During this meeting, both officials reviewed the various aspects of the ongoing cooperation between Morocco and the World Bank and welcomed the volume and quality of this partnership which make of the World Bank a strategic partner of Morocco.

Mr.Boussaid recalled, in this context, the success of theStrategicPartnership Framework (S.C 2010-2013) which focused on a total budget of approximately 2.76 billion dollars, to finance programs and projects within the framework of the strategic priorities of the government's development policy.

He also raised the issue of the next 2014-2017 Strategic Partnership Frameworkand expressed the wish to see the Bank continuing its support, within the framework of this new Special Conditions,to the reform strategy as well as the economic and social development of Morocco.

Simultaneously, both officials expressed their commitment to work together to strengthen the cooperative links between Morocco and the World Bank.
http://www.4-traders.com/news/Ministry-of-Economy-and-Finance-of-Morocco--A-grant-of-4-million-dollars-relating-to-the-project-to--17425060/
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Morocco’s shaggy chic rugs are timeless treasures
The Tribune-Review By Elizabeth Mayhew Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013

There is a craze underfoot. Crack open any shelter magazine or visit nearly any decorating blog and you will be overwhelmed with images of stylish rooms that are anchored by a singular shared object: the Moroccan rug.

Take, for example, the resuscitated Domino magazine. In it, just about every featured room proudly boasts one of these shaggy geometric patterned rugs — it's as if they are a prerequisite for publication. I guess such pervasiveness is not surprising, because everyone from Pottery Barn and West Elm to 1stdibs has a version for sale. You can even buy one directly from Domino. But what is it that makes these floor coverings suddenly seem as ubiquitous as sisal?

To be clear, the Moroccan rug designs of which I speak are from the Beni Ourain people, who comprise 17 Berber tribes from the Atlas Mountains. These rugs have distinctive designs, which range from ordered geometric shapes to more free-form, expressive patterns. They almost always are in a neutral palette (usually they have an ivory background with brown or black geometric lines), and they have a shaggy pile. Never intended to be decorative objects, the rugs were originally woven for practical purposes: It is cold in the mountains, so they were used for blankets, shawls and bedcovers.

Traditionally the rugs are no wider than seven feet. You will never find a vintage piece that is wider. This is because the Beni Ourain are nomadic, so no loom could be too large to carry from place to place. And lastly, women who had no formal training traditionally made these rugs, just like the American quilt. James Ffrench, a director of Beauvais Carpets in New York, points out that traditional Beni Ourain tribal designs were woven from memory, not patterns, so they have an appealing “quirkiness.”

This quirkiness is exactly what makes these rugs appealing to interior designers. “They give a room, particularly a cold, modern room, warmth and patina as well as a dose of ethnicity,” says Timothy Whealon of Timothy Whealon Interiors in New York. The converse is also true: The idiosyncratic patterns of Beni Ourain designs give more traditional rooms a much-needed shot of modernity. It is because of this versatility that Whealon, like other decorators, has used them for years. And despite their recent omnipresence, he says he will continue to use them. “I don't see them as trendy; I see them as timeless.”

He couldn't be more right. Whealon, like many of us, is following a long line of designers and tastemakers who have had a love fest with these rugs. “In Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, designers used Moroccan rugs for their inherent sense of modernity and ethnographic qualities,” Ffrench says. A couple decades later, mid-century modernists, such as Le Corbusier and Charles and Ray Eames, were known to use the same fluffy piled rugs as a counterpoint to their sleekly designed furniture. In 1972, Billy Baldwin chose a room with a diamond-patterned Beni Ourain rug for the cover of his book “Billy Baldwin Decorates,” which illustrates his masterful ability to bridge style and comfort.

Although it has been a staple in the haute decorating world for almost a century, the Moroccan rug filtered into the mainstream only in the past 10 years, thanks in part to magazines such as the original Domino, whose editors drew attention to the rugs with their signature arrows and simulated handwriting typeface that said things like “try this neutral Moroccan rug as an alternative to sisal.”

Companies caught on. Although vintage pieces are still available on the market, they are too long and narrow for many spaces. (Check out 1stdibs.com for examples.) Bigger, new off-the-rack and custom sizes are available from both high-end companies, such as Beauvais, and mass-market brands like Pottery Barn. Ironically, however, very few new Beni Ourain-style rugs are made in Morocco. As Ffrench explains, Morocco is still tribal, so production is hard to control, which is why companies have found weavers in Egypt and China.

Prices at Beauvais start at about $160 per square foot for new rugs. Beauvais also sells vintage pieces that range in price from $5,000 to $8,000 for mid-century rugs and as much as $25,000 for older rugs. For a less expensive rug, Pottery Barn offers a Moroccan rug style at $599 to $1,099. A West Elm version is $179 to $1,299.

Elizabeth Mayhew, a “Today” show style expert and former magazine editor, is a contributing writer for The Washington Post
http://triblive.com/business/realestate/4984200-74/rugs-rug-beni#ixzz2ji5DSfaC
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Lost and found in Moroccan city’s maze Exploring the ancient medina in the city of Fez
November 2, 2013 By MELENA RYZIK The New York Times

The craftsman was alone in his workshop, a cubbyhole barely larger than a closet. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of such stalls in the medina in Fez, an ancient Moroccan city within a city of winding paths and centuries-old artisanship, where vendors tout their leather and oils on every corner.

But this stall stood out. It was nearly bare, not crammed as most of the others were with doodads to be negotiated over. A few tools hung on the wall, alongside some old photos of the craftsman, now white-haired and wearing a traditional long robe.

It was early afternoon, and the craftsman sat on the floor, a few feet above the sidewalk, his wares spread out before him: delicate combs and spoons, in pearlescent cream and black, seemingly crafted out of bone.

Suddenly, he rose, stepped out of his shop and shuttered it. My photographer and fellow traveler, Ben Sklar, and I thought that perhaps it was time for midday prayer, or tea, and that our interaction was over. But the man beckoned us to follow him as he walked up the street in his orange djellaba, pausing to talk to a man outside a cafe, who turned to us. “He wants to invite you to his home for lunch,” he said in English, smiling.

And so off we went, trailing after our new host — whose name, we later learned, was Mohammed Saili — as he led us through this labyrinthine North African city, toward a meal with his family.

It was one of the many instant connections we made during our trip to Morocco where immersing ourselves in medieval history, and leapfrogging cultural and geographical obstacles, proved smoother than we’d imagined.

Stepping into history

Traversing Fez, as many visitors have noted, is like stepping back in time. Laid out in the ninth century, its 540-acre medina, Fez El-Bali, was a scholarly and commercial center of North African and Muslim life, and claims to be the home of the oldest university in the world, University of Al-Karaouine, founded in 859.

Socially and architecturally, the city reached its heyday in the 13th and 14th centuries; the expansion known as the “new town,” Fez Jdid, dates to this period. Once the capital of Morocco, Fez remains a cultural and spiritual locus. The medina, named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981, is said to one of the largest car-free urban zones in the world.

To navigate this bustling walled area, many visitors hire a guide. Indeed, from the moment we’d parked our car in a dusty lot just outside one of the medina’s gates, there were young men and teenage boys offering, in good English, to show us around for a negotiable fee. There’s nothing wrong, of course, with employing a little local assistance. But Ben and I were used to doing things on our own, and preferred self-guided adventure. And as we discovered on our four-day trip, exploring Fez independently is not only possible, it’s also vastly rewarding.

Which doesn’t mean we didn’t get lost.

The UNESCO designation means that the architecture of Fez is meant to be preserved. The twisting cobblestone paths will not be enlarged or smoothed out, the tight jumble of sand-colored mosques, bazaars and homes — their colorful tiled courtyards rendered invisible by imposingly thick outer walls — will not be broken by a sleek, modern building.

Our hotels provided hand-drawn maps, and staff and shopkeepers graciously sketched out walking directions. But one wrong turn and we were adrift in a maze of nearly identical alleys, each without street signs or visible outlets.

Sometimes we didn’t need to look to find our way. Place Seffarine, a breezy square, was recognizable by its soundtrack: metal clanging on metal. Under the shade of a three-story tree, a man in a soccer jersey was banging out a copper pot. On the steps surrounding him, others hammered and sculptured, chiseled, polished and buffed. This was a central marketplace for brass and copper cookware, and each finely wrought teapot or 3-foot plate produced its own resonating chime as it was hand-finished, a cacophonous public orchestra.

Lunch with the locals

Back with Saili, we walked through the street market, down garbage-strewn alleyways and through three tightly locked doors to his home. The narrow entryway and dune-colored building opened to a vast, multistory oasis, with high ceilings, blue, green and white tile and traditional woodwork. His wife, Aziza Krimi, had prepared lunch: spiced lamb, served with fluffy pita and French fries. It was easily the best food we had in Fez.

Saili’s granddaughter Nouha El Alloui joined us and served as a translator. Her grandfather, she said, was 82. He carved his combs and spoons not out of bone but out of cow horns. It was a common skill generations ago, but now practitioners are rare.

After lunch, Saili led us back to his shop, at 39 Rue Mechatine. It was only later that we noticed the official city placard at the top of the street. Rue Mechatine was once filled with horn-carvers, it said. Now, as we’d just learned, there was only Saili. http://seattletimes.com/html/travel/2022157715_moroccofezescapesxml.html
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Penn Libraries Acquire Unique Collection of Moroccan Lithographic Books.
November 5, 2013, Volume 60, No. 12

Penn Libraries recently acquired a collection of lithographic books printed in Fez, Morocco, during the latter half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. It includes some 108 titles in 136 volumes and represents one of the largest private assemblages of Fez lithographs outside of Morocco. This collection, built by Dr. Fawzi Abdulrazak, the leading scholar of the history of printing in Morocco and author of the authoritative bibliography of Fez lithographs, gives Penn Libraries the distinction of owning an exceedingly rare and invaluable resource, and one that few other libraries can match.

“I am very glad to have my collection at Penn Libraries. It is in great hands. I know that it will be carefully preserved, and will be freely available for use by scholars. This is very important to me,” said Dr. Abdulrazak, the former long-time Arabic librarian at Harvard Libraries.

The bulk of the collection dates from 1865 to 1936, covering most of the span of Moroccan lithographic printing from its beginning in the city of Fez to its end during the French Protectorate. It is important to note that five of the works included in the collection are the very first lithographic books produced in Fez. In initiating their printing industry, the Moroccans chose the lithographic method over moveable type, because they felt it preserved a link to their country’s rich heritage of manuscript production. As is common in Moroccan manuscripts, five different types of Arabic script were used in making the lithographs, and Penn Libraries’ newly acquired collection reflects this.

Initially, the royal court was the driving force in the printing of the new lithographic books, but soon private firms appeared. The collection includes works made by all of the various printers in Fez. In general, the Moroccan intelligentsia felt that printing would preserve and invigorate their scholarship in the face of French and Spanish challenges by making books, and the knowledge they contained more widely available. The Penn Libraries’ collection includes works by over 101 scholars and editors whose work represents the pinnacle of Muslim scholarship in North Africa during the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Islamic law and mysticism are the most common subjects; other subjects include Islamic doctrine, religious life, philosophy, Arabic grammar and rhetoric.

The lithographs were much sought after at the time of their issue due to their first rate materials and printing, their exceptional scholarly worth, and the meticulous editing done to the texts. Their value has increased immeasurably today. They are superb examples of the printer’s art in the Islamic lands, and of the intellectual achievements of Moroccan scholars of the time.

“The Fez Lithograph Collection will offer Penn scholars unparalleled opportunities for study in the fields of the material history of printing in Morocco and the Islamic world as a whole, and of the intellectual history of Morocco during a crucial period in its history,” said David Giovacchini, Middle East Studies Librarian at Penn Libraries.
In addition to the lithographs, the collection includes a number of Arabic manuscripts from Morocco. There are 41 titles in 23 separate items on diverse subjects, ranging in date from the 17th century to the early 20th. In addition, there are also a number of moveable type style books, printed in Morocco under the French Protectorate.

The Collection is being processed in the Middle East section of the Library; after cataloging, the collection will be permanently housed in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Van Pelt.

Dr. Abdulrazak will present this material and explain its history and significance in a talk, Leaves from The Kingdom of the Book: Thoughts on the History of Printing in Morocco (1865-1935) and Penn’s Fez Lithograph Collection, onTuesday, December 3, at 5:30 p.m. in the Lea Library, on the sixth floor of Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center. Registration for this talk is appreciated, but not required. To RSVP, contact:rbml@pobox.upenn.edu or (215) 898-7088.
http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v60/n12/moroccanlithographic.html
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“Where is My Home?” An American Muslim Wife Asks
By Carissa D. Lamkahouan Freelance Writer, USA Sunday, 03 November 2013

I’m still not sure where my home is. I think of going back to Marrakech, and I’m filled with warmth and excitement for everything that await me there

Though I was born and raised in the United States, for much of 2012 and the beginning of 2013 I lived in Marrakech, Morocco, my husband’s hometown. My two young children attended school there, coming home every day reciting Quran, practicing their Arabic-language homework and singing snippets of French songs.

I spent my days soaking up the local language and culture, shopping in the markets and roadside food stands, wandering around and exploring my adopted city, shopping with other American friends who had found their way to Marrakech, relaxing with my Moroccan family, and just doing my best to carve out a life for myself.

In all, it was a wonderful experience with one notable exception: I was living this life, having this adventure of living in another country, but I was doing it all without my husband.

When we decided that I would move temporarily with the children to Morocco, It wasn’t a decision we relished, it was one of necessity. With his job firmly rooted in the states, we had no choice, especially with my decision to introduce my children to the Moroccan culture of their heritage and to a family with which they had virtually no contact.

Little did I know that fateful decision would lead me to ponder on whether I should make Marrakech a permanent home, or that I would one day decide to leave it all and return to the States. I didn’t know that even after returning home, I would again yearn to live in Morocco, or that all of it would lead me to what I am today: an anxiety-ridden mess of indecision over the future course of our life.

In fact, I’m essentially torn between staying in America with my husband until he can find work in Morocco or going back now without him and living a fulfilling and enriching yet incomplete life in Marrakech.

Many Women’s Dilemma

Despite how strange my dilemma may seem to some, it’s not so unique, especially for Muslim women married to men from countries other than their own. Take the story of Aisha Chudnoff, an American who hails from New Mexico but living in Meknes, Morocco, with her two young sons while her husband stays in the United States for work. She said her faith is what brought her to Morocco in 2011.

“The truth is living for Allah is harder than the words,” Chudnoff said. “When we make a decision to go in that direction we can’t expect we won’t be tested. But moving to a Muslim country was the best decision I ever made. Even with only seeing my husband for two weeks at a time every three months, I don’t look back and think I should have stayed in the States.”She added.

Chudnoff said there are benefits in living in Morocco that simply cannot be replicated in a non-Muslim nation.

“Hearing the adhan five times a day, seeing my children going to Dar al Quran every week, learning Hadith and good Islamic manners in school,” she said.

As a convert and a non-Arabic speaker myself, it was this type of thinking and desire to live amongst other Muslims that drove me to Morocco in the first place. When we first reached Morocco while my husband was with us, we enrolled and started the children in school, we motored around Marrakech on a motorbike, we toured the city on foot and enjoyed its cafes, mint tea, delicious cuisine, and we spent lots of time with family.

Then, my husband left for the United States alone and I was heartbroken Even though I knew his leaving us there had been the plan all along, seeing him walk through those airport doors, watching his face contort with pain and hearing him urge me, “Don’t cry. Be strong for the kids,” was almost more than I could bear.

Our initial time alone in Morocco lasted five months before my husband returned and, after a short visit with his family, we all returned home to the States together. However, during my time in Marrakech a stint that was supposed to be temporary- I realized that my children were learning a wealth of information in school, they were speaking Darija (Moroccan Arabic) and they were learning to read, write and understand classical Arabic, something that would not be so easily achieved at our home in Texas.

As a Muslim convert who herself cannot read, write or understand Arabic, I quickly realized I couldn’t take my children out of that environment and a second decision was made for me and the children to return to Morocco after a summer spent with my husband in the States. So, my two little ones and I returned to Marrakech, again without my husband.

I quickly settled into my routine again, this time meeting more friends and getting out on my own more. Time passed and my husband was due for a visit, this time for seven blissful weeks. Looking back on it now, those weeks together were my undoing in Morocco because when that time was over and my husband once again packed his bags and left us behind, we both realized we couldn’t live that way any longer. I remember sobbing silently on the staircase the day of his departure. It was such a deep sorrow, and I wondered how I could face another airport goodbye.

As it turned out I couldn’t handle it and it wasn’t long after he left that I began slowly falling apart. I started to have anxiety attacks and crying jags. It was as if I couldn’t bear to be apart from my husband any longer and the quicker I could get home and be reunited with him the better.

So,I landed back on American soil on Feb. 2013. I was home with my husband and again I quickly settled into a routine, reenrolling my child in school, and finding and furnishing a new apartment.

Though my husband was just as eager to be reunited with us, he feared my decision was being made purely on an emotional basis and he thought I should take some time to make sure that leaving Morocco was what I really wanted. Knowing what I know now, those were wise words. However, I didn’t heed his advice and I made the hasty decision to return home.

Where Is My Home?

Quickly, I realized that I didn’t feel as settled and happy at being back “home” as I thought I would. Of course I was thrilled to be back with my husband, our family reunited and complete. But, despite having my own space again after sharing a small room at my in-laws’ house, despite being surrounded by everything familiar and comfortable, I was not at ease.

I began having anxiety; feelings of nausea as I watched my youngest child - who in Morocco was attending school and learning so much - sit home day after day because of being too young to attend Kindergarten in the States. I began to feel sick to my stomach as I saw my children forgetting all what they learnt in Morocco. I watched helplessly as all this went on, and I was filled with regret and worry that I had made the wrong decision.

There was even a particularly bad incident which further fueled my regret and made me question my choices. Soon after we returned home, I had a verbal altercation with a woman at a playground who I found yelling at my son for no tangible reason. She simply said she did not want my son to play with her son and went on to call him a string of horrible names.

I was so upset and hurt and out of anger and blind rage said some nasty things to this woman in return. What she said to me next both turned my stomach and gave me serious pause. Looking only at my hijab and assuming I was a foreigner she yelled at me saying: “Go back to my own country”.

This is something I’ve never been told since I converted to Islam nearly eight years ago. The irony of her cruel words was not lost on me. Should I go back to my own country, to Morocco? Was Marrakech, Morocco, my true home and was that why my very spirit seemed to be rebelling against being back in the States, making me physically ill?

My close friend and Muslim convert Elizabeth Johnson, who is planning on moving to Casablanca, Morocco, with her two small daughters while her husband remains in America to complete his university degree, said she experienced similar feelings when deciding to make her life in Morocco rather than raise her girls in the United States while her Moroccan husband finished school.

“I asked myself, ‘Do I see myself here in 10 years, and the answer is NO; so what am I waiting for?’” Johnson said, adding that her husband will do his best to visit her and the girls during semester breaks. She admits the long separation will be hard and she will have to play single mother most of the time, but she feels the sacrifice is worth it in the long run.

My friend knows her path and knows her true home is in Morocco. As for me, I’m still not sure where my home is. I think of going back to Marrakech, and I’m filled with warmth and excitement for all the opportunities that await me there. I miss my Moroccan family and how they all congregated together often, laughing and eating and arguing together. I miss hearing my children speak in different languages from my own, their knowledge surpassing mine. I miss the novelty of living halfway across the world from my native home, the adventure of it all. Part of my heart stayed behind in Morocco.

But when I think I am on the verge of deciding to return to Morocco, my thoughts go to my husband and our family life together in the States and how I treasure the time we spend together as a couple and with our children. Therein lays the other part of my heart, the part that has no attachment to place or to a certain country but only yearns to be with the person who matters most.

In essence, no matter how much I am sure that moving back to Morocco would benefit our children and me in many ways, knowing that the decision means facing another painful and tearful airport goodbye terrifies me. “Home” may be in Morocco or “home” may be where my husband is. I’m not sure right now. But what I am sure of is that wherever I make my home I’ll be doing so at the expense of my heart.
http://www.onislam.net/english/family/your-society/torn-apart-/465651-where-is-my-home-an-american-muslim-wife-asks.html
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In North Africa, a Story of Morocco and the Rest
By Robb Young 5 November, 2013

Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya may be North African neighbours, but their fashion markets are running at distinctly different speeds

CASABLANCA, Morocco — Looking down at Earth from the awe-inspiring perspective of Outer Space, the Mediterranean coastline, at night, appears as if encrusted with a thick strand of white diamonds. Stretching from Spain to Greece to Turkey, the Levant and around towards the Nile Delta, the shore sparkles as an epic reminder of just how many people are clinging to the edge of this sea connecting three of the world’s most central continents……….
http://www.businessoffashion.com/2013/11/in-north-africa-a-story-of-morocco-and-the-rest.html
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Road to Morocco Stops in Yonkers.
By ALICE FEIRING November 5, 2013 YONKERS

It is sometimes said that if you go to the makeshift Jewish museum in the medina of Fez, Morocco, and quietly ask the custodian there if he has any mahia, you might get lucky. Then again, you could simply turn to a married couple in downtown Yonkers.

Mahia, the traditional eau de vie, or schnapps, of Morocco, is made from dried figs, unlike the European spirits made from fresh fruit. And it is traditionally distilled by Jews like David Nahmias, a Moroccan expatriate who with his wife, Dorit, makes and markets his own under the brand Nahmias et Fils.

Read more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/dining/road-to-morocco-stops-in-yonkers.html?_r=0
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