a trip to morocco...

a photographic trip to morocco in 2013

By Francisco Morais

September 13^th, 2014

Transportation...

With billions of dollars committed to improving the country’s infrastructure, Morocco aims to become a world player in terms of marine transport. The 2008-2012 investment plan aims to invest $16.3 billion and will contribute to major projects such as the combined port and industrial complex of the Tanger-Med and the construction of a high-speed train between Tangier and Casablanca. The plan will also improve and expand the existing highway system and expand the Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport. Morocco’s transport sector is one of the kingdom’s most dynamic, and will remain so for years to come. The improvements in infrastructure will boost other sectors and will also help the country in its goal of attracting 10 million tourists by 2010.

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the blue city of ChefchaouEN

Chefchaouen or Chaouen (Arabic: شفشاون/الشاون‎, Shafshāwan (pronounced IPA: ʃəfˈʃɑˑwən), Ashawen, Spanish: Xauen, lit. “horns“) is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name, and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue. Chefchaouen is situated in the Rif Mountains, just inland from Tangier and Tetouan. The city was founded in 1471,[1] as a small fortress which still exists to this day, by Moulay Ali Ben Moussa Ben Rached El Alami (a descendant of Ibn Machich and Idris I, and through them, of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) to fight the Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco. Along with the Ghomara tribes of the region, many Moriscos and Jews settled here after the Spanish Reconquista in medieval times. In 1920, the Spanish seized Chefchaouen to form part of Spanish Morocco. Spanish troops imprisoned Abd el-Krim in the kasbah from 1916 to 1917, after he talked with the German consul Dr. Walter Zechlin (1879–1962). (After defeating him with the help of the French force Abd el-Krim was deported to Réunion in 1926). Spain returned the city after the independence of Morocco in 1956.

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the old city of Fes

The name is probably taken from the word Fazaz, the old Berber name for the Middle Atlas mountains near the city. The name is also attested as that of a Berber tribe living south of Fes. Today, Ait Fazaz is the name of a small town just west of Meknes. Until the Almoravid rule in the 11th century, Fes consisted of two cities or medinas: Madinat Fas and Al-‘Aliya, the former being founded by Idris I, the latter by his son, Idris II. During Idrisid rule the capital city was known as Al-‘Aliya, with the name Fas being reserved for the separate site on the other side of the river: No Idrisid coins have been found with the name Fes, only al-‘Aliya and al-‘Aliya Madinat Idris. It is not known whether the name al-‘Aliya was ever referred to both medinas. It wasn‘t until 1070 that the two agglomerations were united and the name Fas was used for the sites.

Medina of Fez

Medina of Fez Founded in the 9th century and home to the oldest university in the world, Fez reached its height in the 13th–14th centuries under the Marinids, when it replaced Marrakesh as the capital of the kingdom. The urban fabric and the principal monuments in the medina – madrasas, fondouks, palaces, residences, mosques and fountains - date from this period. Although the political capital of Morocco was transferred to Rabat in 1912, Fez has retained its status as the country‘s cultural and spiritual centre.

FES Tanneries

The process of turning animal hides into soft colorful slippers has basically remained unchanged since medieval times. Welcome to the tanneries of Fes.

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Atlas mountains

The Atlas Mountains (idurar n Waṭlas, Arabic: جبال الأطلس‎, Classical Arabic: Daran; Dyrin) is a mountain range across the northwestern stretch of Africa extending about 2,500 km (1,600 mi) through Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of 4,165 metres (13,665 ft) in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert. The population of the Atlas Mountains is mainly Berbers. The terms for ‘mountain‘ in some Berber languages are adrar and adras, believed to be cognate with the toponym. The mountains have been home to a number of plant and animal species unique in Africa, often more like those of Europe; many of them are endangered and some have already gone extinct. Examples include the Barbary Macaque, the Atlas Bear (Africa‘s only species of bear; now extinct), the Barbary Leopard, the Barbary stag, Barbary Sheep, the Barbary Lion (extinct in the wild), the Atlas Mountain Badger, the North African Elephant (extinct), the African Aurochs (extinct), Cuvier‘s Gazelle, the Northern Bald Ibis, Dippers, the Atlas mountain viper, the Atlas Cedar, the European Black Pine, and the Algerian Oak.

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the desert and oasis

Ouarzazate is relatively small (~60 000 inhabitans) and for Morocco quiet town, built mostly along main street - Avenue Muhammed V. Ouarzazate is situated at an elevation of 1,135 metres. Its name comes from a Berber phrase meaning “without noise“ or “without confusion“. Once in its history, Ouarzazate had been crossing point for African traders seeking to reach northern cities in Morocco and Europe. During the French period, Ouarzazate expanded considerably as a garrison town and administrative centre. It is largest town in saharan Morocco.

the atlas villages

Berbers are the indigenous North Africans, having inhabited the north coast of Africa ranging from present day Morocco to Egypt, for at least 5,000 years. The Arab invasion of North Africa in the 7th century forced Berbers to assimilate, or take refuge in the Atlas mountains. It is said that as much as 80% of the Moroccan population is racially Berber, however only half of those people live culturally Berber lifestyles. Berbers have adopted Islam as their primary religion, but continue to speak dialectic Berber in their villages, and practice Berber music, spirituality, and art. The Atlas mountains are home to relatively pure Berber populations, who live in earthen adobe houses. Marrakech is the only Moroccan city with a recognizable Berber ambiance, being situated at the base of the southern Atlas mountains. The color of Marrakech is the color of the Berbers - reddish, ochre and earth tones are the only colors you see adorning the adobe buildings, giving the impression that the entire city springs from the earth.

Desert and oasis

Tafilalt or Tafilet (Arabic: تافيلالت‎) is a region and the most important oasis of the Moroccan Sahara; it is also considered one of the largest oases in the world. Entirely located along the Ziz River, the oasis is ten days‘ journey south of Fez, across the Atlas Mountains. It is celebrated for its large and luscious dates. Al Hassan Addakhil, ancestor of the reigning Alaouite Dynasty of Morocco, cultivated these with such success around 1250 that he could fund the dynasty‘s rise to power. The inhabitants of the oasis and region occupy fortified villages (Ksar). In Ifli, the central portion, formerly existed the town of Sijilmasa, founded by Miknasa Berbers in 757. It was on the direct caravan route from the Niger to Tangier, and attained a considerable degree of prosperity. Medieval traveler Ibn Batuta wrote about visiting Sijilmasa (near Tafilalt) in the fourteenth century on his journey from Fez to “the country of the blacks“. It was later destroyed, but even its ruins extend five miles along the river bank. The name Tafilalt is a Berber name with an uncertain meaning. It is a relatively recent name, in use only since the 16th century. The current royal family of Morocco, the Filalis, have taken their name from the region. Since 1648 it has been the custom of Moroccan sultans to despatch superfluous sons and daughters to Tafilalt. The first European to visit Tafilalt in the modern era was René Caillié (1828), the next Gerhard Rohlfs (1864). A later visit to the oasis by WB Harris is described in his book Tafilet (London, 1895). “The oasis is ten days‘ (historic, by animal) or one day‘s (modern, by motor vehicle) journey south of Fez, across the Atlas.”