Welcome to the MoroccanCulture Blog

Citadel of Chellah Gardens in Rabat, Morocco

2008-11-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

Morocco is a very fascinating place of travel and vacation. It is a perfect place for nature lovers as well as architecture and history enthusiasts. The landscapes, monuments, historical sites, architecture, ruins, desert, beaches, and even its markets are welcome attractions to be explored that would appeal to any tourist. Rabat is the administrative capital of Morocco and is also known as the ‘Garden City’. Rabat is a mixture of the old and new, a traditional city but also a modern one. Rabat is known for its bedecked alleys, beautiful white houses, and beaches. Chellah Rabat is said to be the first place to be settled along Bou Regreg river around the third century BC. Rabat is also home to many impressive monuments and other attractions and one of these attractions is the beautiful Citadel of Chellah Gardens. It is beautifully landscaped with various flowers that bloom during springtime and fills the place with its wonderful scent. Its sanctuary was used as royal burial place and its entrance door is magnificently decorated and inscribed with Arabesque calligraphy. Chellah Rabat experienced a very strong earthquake during the 18^th century which destroyed many of its structures from ancient Morocco. What used to be a thriving city and port, Chellah is now a major tourist attraction and is converted to a lush and beautiful garden.

"Travel and Vacation Abodes: Citadel of Chellah Gardens in Rabat, Morocco." 2 Nov. 2008 .

Marrakech: and Thomas Cook City Spots Guidebook

2008-10-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

Marrakech: and Thomas Cook City Spots Guidebook

Eeek! She had had a book published!

Oh my, that pseudo-Moroccan girl clearly was prone to exaggeration. She most definitely had not had a book published. But she had updated a guidebook on Marrakech: Thomas Cook City Spots, to be exact. She was told it was on the book stands on this very day. And she assumed that her name was in tiny letters somewhere inside.

In addition to oodles of phone and address confirmations, highlights of the guide book updating process included:

* Testing home made ice creams in ice cream parlors. Demanding second tastes just to make absolutely sure of quality. Putting only her most favorite in the guidebook.

* Loitering in gorgeous riad guesthouses, pretending to be a potential guest, meanwhile stealthily taking undercover notes

* Spending ridiculous sums of money while updating the shopping section. Rationalizing the purchase of approximately 63 pairs of Moroccan sequined leather slippers. Sigh.

* Sneakily slipping in a few of her own photos. (shhh....don't tell the publishers!)

* Observing whether the snake charmers on Jemma el-Fnaa square were truly able to charm the snakes or whether the snakes had a skeptical look in their eyes.

Needless to say, it was arduous, and it was harrowing, and the blogging girl barely made it out alive. But it was all for the good of her beloved new homeland. (Isn't this when the national anthem is supposed to start playing in the background?)

"My Marrakesh: Marrakesh." 12 Oct. 2008 .

Marrakech: and Zara Home tribulations

2008-10-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Marrakech: and Zara Home tribulations

The blogging girl slipped through the doors of the new Zara Home in downtown Marrakech. She was instantly surrounded by pretty ethnic chic, with bold pops of color. She made her way through the aisles, stroking a coverlet here, admiring a glass vase there. Everything so enticing.

On her way down the marble stairs, a large and perfect image loomed before her. She reached into her bag and pulled out her camera. Click, click.

Stop! Cried a voice.

She looked down the stairs. A burly security guard glared up at her.

No photos allowed! Erase them from your camera immediately! He said, in a not-so-nice voice.

But I want to post them on my website to encourage people to visit Zara Home, she protested.

I repeat, erase those photos immediately! He shouted, threatening.

They wound up before the check out counter where a slight girl who looked no older than 22, listened to the security guard, shrugged her shoulders in a woebegone way, and said nothing.

The blogging girl slid her camera back into her purse. Then, she looked defiantly at the security guard, and she marched out the store....

PS See more Moroccan-influenced Zara Home photos right here at Sandman Chronicles. (He is one of the sweetest bloggers around, too.)

P.P.S. For Peacock Pavilions three vintage Saarinen tables like the ones in these images were purchased from the Italian Cultural Attache in Marrakech a few months back. Another story for another time...

"My Marrakesh: Marrakesh." 12 Oct. 2008 .

.....

The Marrakech medina: and buying babouches at the slipper souk

2008-10-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Marrakech medina: and buying babouches at the slipper souk

Wouldn’t it be lovely, really, wouldn’t it be lovely to wear pajamas the whole day……..? And wouldn't it be equally lovely to simply wear slippers all the time? Why then life would be rather like one big pajama party, wouldn’t it?

(Sigh, let’s face it, the blogging girl was simply trying to rationalize why she so often found herself in Marrakech’s slipper souk, known as the souk de babouches. At this rate, it might just be easier for her to set up a small cot nearby.)

PS Many thanks for all the comments on my Marrakech magazine articles! So sweet:)

"My Marrakesh: Marrakesh." 12 Oct. 2008 .

Home-made hash

2008-09-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

Home-made hash

How To Roll

2008-09-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

How To Roll

Erowid

2008-09-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

Erowid

4723-chart_DrugToxicity.jpg (JPEG Image, 600x480 pixels)

2008-09-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

4723-chart_DrugToxicity.jpg (JPEG Image, 600x480 pixels)

Morocco drives out its Berbers, then follows them here

2008-09-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

By Mohamed Amezian and Nicolien den Boer*

19-09-2008

The Moroccan Secret Service's attempts to recruit spies in the Netherlands has angered the Dutch government. And in Morocco, the espionage affair has provoked heated discussion. It seems that Morocco feels threatened by the Berber population living abroad and wants to monitor the life of its second-class citizens in foreign countries. Most of the Moroccans living in the Netherlands are Berbers from the Rif region.

The furore erupted after the dismissal of the Rotterdam police officer, Re Lemhaouli, following allegations that the policeman had been passing information to the Moroccan Secret Service via the embassy in The Hague. The Dutch government protested to the Moroccan Embassy. This week, the Dutch current affairs TV programme NOVA revealed that Rabat had recalled two its diplomats two months ago, after receiving the complaints about the alleged espionage. Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has made it very clear that he does not appreciate Morocco's interference in internal Dutch affairs. The Dutch parliament is to hold an emergency debate on the affair next week.

Dutch FM Maxime Verhagen
condemns "vile practices"

Activity well-known
It has since transpired that the Rotterdam police officer is not the only person to have been approached. Fouad el Haji, a Labour local councillor, claims that he was also contacted, "just like a former Dutch MP of Moroccan origin." Mr el Haji was apparently referring to former Socialist Party MP Ali Lazrak, who denies having been approached himself, adding that "it was well known that the Moroccan Secret Service was active in the Netherlands" and that other prominent politicians of Moroccan origin were asked to lend their co-operation.

A colleague at Radio Netherlands Worldwide confirms that certain Dutch citizens of Moroccan origin are routinely approached by the secret service. "The Moroccan government approached me years ago, when I first came to live in the Netherlands," says the journalist and describes the way Rabat works as: "Scary. First, I got a call on behalf of the Moroccan ambassador asking if I wanted to help improve the image of Morocco here." The journalist declined, but was "accosted by the press attaché at a conference", though he was able to brush the embassy staff member aside. Afterwards the journalist was rung again, once at work and once at home.

Monitoring the Berbers
Two articles from the Arabic department of Radio Netherlands Worldwide, which were published word for word on Morocco's largest website Hespress, have received reactions from dozens of Moroccans living in various European cities and Morocco. Rabat wants to monitor the Berbers living in the Netherlands, is basically the gist of the commentaries. "What frightens Morocco is the fact that half a million Berbers are living in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is the third largest Berber town after Nador and Huceima," says one reaction. Another, written by someone who calls himself "the star of the Rif" says "The liberation of the Rif is taking place in Europe." An emigrant Berber writes: "First, this regime drove us out of our country, then they followed us here."

Language and culture
No less than three quarters of Moroccans in the Netherlands are of Berber origin. Ethnically, there is no difference between the Berbers and the Arab Moroccans; only language and culture divide the two groups. In the past, Berbers were treated as second-class citizens, but nowadays their language and culture are more recognised by Moroccan authorities. Arabic is still the official language of the country.

Mahjoub Benmoussa of Platform Foreigners Rijnmond, an association which assists integration into Dutch society, thinks the reason Rabat wants to keep tabs on Moroccans in the Netherlands is because they "can move freely in political, trade union and cultural circles here without being monitored. Their influence affects Morocco." Former chairman of the Dutch Cooperative of Morccans and Tunisians, Said Boudouft, believes that economic factors also play a role - a lot of money generated by Moroccans in Europe passes back into the Moroccan economy. Fear of "Islamic cells operating from Europe who have proven that they can strike within Morocco" is another factor.

Dutch Foreign Minister Verhagen has condemned the actions of the Moroccan Secret Service and says the Netherlands is "ill served by the vile practices". Next week's debate in parliament will no doubt lead to heated debate. Reacting to Moroccans who allow themselves to be influenced by Rabat, Conservative VVD MP Fred Teeven said: "They have two passports. If they think their future lies in Morocco, then they must clear off there as quickly as possible." And with incidents of Moroccan attempts at espionage also reported in France, Spain and Belgium, the heat from next week's debate in the Dutch parliament could be felt across Europe's political plains.

*RNW translation (jn)

"Morocco drives out its Berbers, then follows them here - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - English." 19 Sep. 2008 .

Morocco 'king slur' blogger freed

2008-09-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Image by kuribo via Flickr

Morocco 'king slur' blogger freed

By James Copnall
BBC News, Rabat

A Moroccan blogger who was sent to jail for criticising the king has been cleared on appeal.

Mohamed Erraji had written an article for an online newspaper suggesting that some royal practices did not help the development of the country.

The appeals court in the southern city of Agadir overturned the conviction and dropped all charges against Mr Erraji.

Morocco has allowed greater freedom of expression in recent years, but there are still limits on what can be said.

Mr Erraji's had originally been sent to prison for two years, and given a fine of 5,000 dirhams ($635; £350) for lacking the respect due to the king.

He had written an article in which he said King Mohammed VI's charity towards the people encouraged them to look for handouts rather than to work hard.

In particular, he criticised the practice of giving lucrative licences to run taxis to those able to approach the king to beg for them.

Media outcry

The appeals court said proper procedure had not been followed in the initial trial.

However, as many international and local organisations have accused the Moroccan justice system of not being free and fair, the suspicion will be that the outcry provoked by the case proved too embarrassing to the Moroccan authorities.

Moroccan newspapers wrote critical articles after Mr Erraji's conviction, and internet sites were set up to defend him.

Morocco undoubtedly allows much greater freedom of expression than it used to, but the monarchy remains a taboo subject.

Earlier this year, a young engineer, Fouad Mortada, was sentenced to three years in prison in another internet case concerning the monarchy.

He had created a fake internet profile on the website Facebook, in the name of the king's brother.

Mr Mortada was later released after he received a royal pardon.

Moroccan blogger convicted for criticising the king

2008-09-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Published: Tuesday 09 September 2008 18:38 UTC
Last updated: Wednesday 10 September 2008 15:59 UTC

A Moroccan blogger has been sentenced to a fine and two years imprisonment for criticising the king. On his web-site Hespress, Mohamed Erraji wrote that the Moroccan population has little self-respect because the regime has created a culture of dependency, whereby loyalty is rewarded with favours.

Mr Erraji was arrested on Friday and tried on Monday. His family says no lawyer was present at the trial. Journalists organisation Reporters Without Borders is demanding his release. The blogger comes from a poor family and has bad health. He has been writing about political and social issues under his own name since March 2007.

"Latest News - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - English." 12 Sep. 2008 .

2008-09-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia The court of appeals of Agadir on Thursday ordered the provisional release of Moroccan blogger Mohamed Erajji, the official Maghreb Arabe Presse agency (MAP) reports.

Erraji had been sentenced to two years in prison on Monday for "lacking the respect due to the King" and the Royal family. He had been arrested last Friday after posting an article on the popular e-journal Hespress, in which he claimed that the King's charitable habits were "encouraging a culture of dependency" and the Moroccan people to be "lazy."

According to one of Erraji's relatives who was present at the trial in Agadir, Erraji was denied access to a defense lawyer and was convicted after a ten-minute trial.

The court of appeals ruled on Thursday that the lower court had failed to respect certain legal procedures under the Press and Publication Law. The public prosecutor's office did not object to Erajji's release.

Mohamed Erajji was the first blogger in Morocco to be given a prison sentence.

From MENASSAT:

Two years for criticizing the King
Posted on 10/09/2008 - 15:04
Moroccan blogger Mohamed Erraji has been sentenced to two years in prison for posting an article in which he criticized the policies of the King.

Source URL:
http://www.menassat.com/?q=en/news-articles/4600-moroccan-blogger-mohamed-erajji-released

Muslim Morocco's music festivals promote liberties; youth enjoy chance to party

2008-09-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

Image by oNico® via Flickr

Aug 24, 2008

CASABLANCA, Morocco — This is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, but you wouldn't know it from the music festivals.

The Casablanca festival turns the commercial capital into an urban Woodstock, with masses of young people clogging the mosque-filled streets and partying to the pulse of hip-hop, rock, pop and Arab music. An estimated two million people attend free concerts at a dozen venues, many snapping up the action on their cellphones.

And Casablanca is only one of about 400 yearly festivals sponsored by authorities across the country, not to mention the sports, dancing and singing contests organized on popular beaches every summer.

The promotion of culture and leisure by Morocco's moderate government has a political undertone. The country's increasingly powerful Islamist groups view it as a deliberate attempt to deviate youth from traditional Islamic values. Even some government officials admit the aim of the merrymaking is to promote the liberal values they'd like to see society embrace rather than radical Islam.

Most youth don't see it that way. They just enjoy the free music and the opportunity to party in this country of 34 million where unemployment is particularly high among young adults and where parents usually keep a tight grip on their children.

"I like these concerts ... the artists are role models for young people," said 19-year-old Fadoua Hakki at a hip-hop event in Casablanca. Oumaima, 17, praised the "big strides" made by the new generation of homegrown Moroccan rap singers. "They're very good, and they voice our concerns," she said.

The streets full of trendy teenagers dancing to the Tecktonik craze that has swept Europe stand in striking contrast to the near-medieval living conditions in Morocco's countryside or the sprawling slums around Casablanca, which have become a hotbed of Islamism.

Such festivals would be unheard of in more rigorous Muslim states, where the mixing of boys and girls, free sale of alcohol or even dancing in public can be forbidden. But Morocco, a strong U.S. ally and a major tourism destination, prides itself on a cultural diversity that allows scantily clad girls to attend a concert side by side with women wearing Islamic headscarves.

Artists in Casablanca this year included international reggae and hip-hop stars. The yearly Gnaoua mystical music festival in the resort town of Essaouira attracts top jazz and rock players, and in Rabat, Morocco's capital, this year's edition of the Mawazine world music fest included Whitney Houston for her return to the stage, jazzman George Benson and French electro DJ David Vendetta.

Mawazine takes place a stone's throw from King Mohammed VI's palace and under his direct patronage.

Organizers say bringing in big names to festivals reflects Morocco's traditions of mixing cultures and people from Europe and Africa.

"That openness can only continue if there is an exposure to cultures from the rest of the world," said Ahmed Ammor, the head of the Casablanca festival organizing committee. "It's part of the king's project for society, that's why you see a festival in nearly every town."

With a budget of about $3.18 million, Ammor's festival remains the largest. Like many official events in Morocco, it is half funded by public money and half by large companies close to the government. Ammor himself works for free, presiding the rest of the time over a subsidiary of the national carrier Royal Air Maroc.

Massive police presence can been seen around most festivals, as at any other public event in Morocco. Organizers say unruliness is rare, noting that parents often attend with their children and then take them home.

But many have qualms with all this revelry. Some critics say funding the stars' contracts costs the state a fortune. Others deplore the import of western music such as rap, which they accuse of corrupting Moroccan youth. Others still say the large spring festivals are badly timed because they interfere with exam periods.

"There are too many festivals in Morocco... as soon as one finishes, another starts: No wonder young people don't read anymore," said Zine Eddine Bekkal, a Casablanca shopkeeper.

The most vocal critics are usually affiliated with the Islamists, who hold growing sway in Morocco. The gap between the educated, wealthy and westernized elite and the vast majority of the impoverished population has been widening.

"We stand against the debauchery observed during these festivals," the leader of Morocco's biggest authorized Islamist group, the Justice and Development Party, Abdelilah Benkirane, said on a state TV talk show. "Have you seen the type of groups they invite? The suggestive, scantily clad women?" he was quoted as saying by the liberal-leaning TelQuel weekly magazine.

More hardline Islamist groups, like the semi-legal Justice and Charity movement - viewed as the largest in Morocco - see more than bad morality to the partying.

"It's not only dissolute, it's cynical," said Nadia Yassine, spokeswoman for the movement and the daughter of its founder, Sheik Yassine.

"It's like ancient Rome: bread and circus to keep the masses happy," she said, accusing the government of trying to divert public attention from Morocco's lasting problems, such as unemployment, poverty and corruption.

Moroccan government officials say the drive for culture comes within a wider plan to improve public education and build new infrastructure throughout the destitute hinterland.

But they also gingerly admit they are waging a struggle for the hearts and minds of the country's youth.

One high-ranking Interior Ministry official, who spoke anonymously because this is not a publicly avowed government policy, recalled how some Islamists began speaking out against public beaches. Groups walked the seafront to preach for better morals and fewer bikinis, or set up segregated areas.

"No one wants to be bothered on the beach, so people began shying away," the official said.

He said the government's reaction was to promote sports and leisure activities as well as song and dance contests on beaches during the summer.

"Sure, this bothers the 'bearded ones,"' grinned the official, using a slightly derogatory slang to refer to Islamists because of the long beards they often grow.

Ammor, the festival organizer, said the government is on a mission to make Morocco a place where Arab and western cultures can interplay, rather than dwell on the growing tensions of the last decade.

"People call it a clash of civilizations," he said. "I think it's a clash of ignorance."

Associated Press writer Hassan Alaoui contributed to this report.

"The Canadian Press: Muslim Morocco's music festivals promote liberties; youth enjoy chance to party." 7 Sep. 2008 .

Hassan Hakmoun brings Moroccan music to Bangor

2008-09-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hassan Hakmoun brings Moroccan music to Bangor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS

Hassan Hakmoun and his ensemble play the danceable music of the Moroccan Gnawa on the Railroad Stage during the opening night of the American Folk Festival on Bangor's Waterfront.

By Judy Harrison
BDN Staff

If any evil forces were lurking Friday night along the Bangor waterfront, Hassan Hakmoun drove them away and called down healing spirits that blanketed the American Folk Festival crowd at the Railroad Stage.

“Feel the spirit,” he told the crowd, “and pray for the world to become one.”

Hakmoun was born in 1963 in Marrakech into a musical family whose roots are Gnawa, or, the people from southern Morocco. At 7, he began playing the santir, a three-stringed, long necked lute that he calls “the granddaddy of all bases,” for traditional Gnawa healing ceremonies. After studying his craft and playing throughout northern Africa and Europe, Hakmoun moved to New York City in 1987. He still is based there and has won awards for blending traditional Moroccan music with funk.

Three men joined him on stage – one played a traditional American drum set, another played the qaraqeb, a set of metal double castanets, and third played a set of drums called tbel that resembled bongos but produced a much richer sound. Hakmourn danced as he played while the qaraqeb player twirled around like a whirling dervish, the tassel on his red satin hat arcing in a circle around his head.

Hakmoun and his group resembled a jazz ensemble. They seemed to be improvising rather than playing songs passed down from one generation to another or written down somewhere.

If the Acadian music is the soul of this year’s folk festival, then Hakmoun’s Moroccan tunes are its pulsating heart pumping blood through every vein, igniting flashes of ecstasy, filling festival goers with a passion they never suspected they were missing. It also healed whatever had been ailing them all week.

Hassan Hakmoun will perform at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Railroad Stage and at 4:45 p.m. Saturday at the Dance Stage.

"Hassan Hakmoun brings Moroccan music to Bangor - Bangor Daily News." 5 Sep. 2008 .

LSD — LSD Symposium

2008-09-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia LSD — LSD Symposium: "LSD

Explanations on the Three Most Misunderstood Letters in the History of Science

Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated 'LSD', is a derivative of lysergic acid which occurs in the alkaloids (nitrogen compounds) of ergot (permanent form of the ergot fungus) growing on cereals and grasses. Already in the microgram (the millionth part of a gram) area the colorless LSD crystals have a mind-altering effect. The threshold dose for slight bodily and weak psychic effects for most people is under 25 microgram; at techno parties the doses usually are 50 to 150 microgram; during the hippie area 300 microgram were prefered; within therapeutical frameworks up to 850 microgram are used. (A fatal LSD dosis for humans is not known.) On the black market LSD mostly is sold in the form of paper trips ('blotter acid' or 'tickets'), or as micro tablets containing between 50 and 250 microgramm of the active substance."

A Few Drinks You Might Not Know : College Drinker

2008-09-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

A Few Drinks You Might Not Know : College Drinker: "Are you ever tired of getting a $4 beer special or just a Jack and Coke whenever you go out drinking at a bar?"

Muslim Morocco's music festivals promote liberties; youth enjoy chance to party

2008-09-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

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