Worldcrunch
Glimpsing through the crack of the imposing brass doors was as much as we were going to see of the Royal Palace of Fes: Visitors are (still) unfortunately not allowed in. See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World.
A guiding principle of modern democracy holds that a system of checks and balances helps prevent any single person or faction from making radical changes to the existing order. That the wheels of legislation move slowly, and recourse is available through courts or other branches of government, may be a hair-pulling reality for those trying […]
CASABLANCA — Morocco is no stranger to the jihadist violence afflicting other Muslim countries: In 2003, a suicide bombing killed 33 people in the country’s largest city, Casablanca, while a 2011 attack killed 17 in Marrakesh. But unlike most of its neighbors, Morocco has a detailed policy to reform rather than destroy followers of Salafism, […]
Emma Tobin decided to take a gap year in Africa to work on women’s empowerment issues. Little did she know she was about to join all those women across the world who are little more than objects in the face of a male-dominated culture.
CASABLANCA — With one proposal to criminalize tobacco and another to legalize marijuana, Moroccan politics these days is smoking. Casablanca-based daily Aujourd’hui Le Maroc reports that the governing Justice and Development Party (PJD) is proposing a law that would prohibit the sale and consumption of tobacco from hookah water pipes across the country. The moderate […]
These beautifully fortified walls protect the old medina quarters of Fes, the “Mecca of the West.”
In the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, this Moroccan boy was selling lizards by the roadside. I wasn’t the only one who thought this improbable scene would make for a good photograph.
Here’s a Moroccan version of “like a bull in a china shop.” I must say “like three sheep in a pottery souk” doesn’t have quite the same ring.
This isn’t even the most famous or the most monumental of the 27 gates in northern Morocco“s city of Meknes.
This article is part of sponsored series from the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity EL BRECHOUA — A small but significant revolution is underway amidst the golden wheat-covered hills of the Moroccan municipality of El Brechoua, 60 kilometers from the capital of Rabat. The fields of wheat extending as far as the eye can see […]
I’ve always thought that the best aspect of religion was art — be it music, architecture or painting. Enough to inspire stubborn unbelievers like me.
From local politics to the the battle against polio to a banned prostitution film, here’s a quick tour of what has been happening in Morocco in recent days.
From Facebook to Google, Baidu to VKontakte, the world’s biggest technology companies talk about their singular dedication to their users. Yet the road to becoming a global tech titan is inevitably lined with hard choices and conflicts of interest. Here are five prominent controversies where companies are accused of ceding to questionable demands of the […]
The tanning pits at Fes” Chouara tannery look like a giant painter’s palette. But the tanning process requires that hides be first soaked in a mixture of cow urine, quicklime, water, and salt. The stench is such that tour guides will often provide visitors with sprigs of fresh mint to help them face the odor.
Rolling sand dunes and ascetic silence. Kites and boards flying over lagoon waters. And tomato farms. It’s Dakhla, the windy Moroccan city of sustainability.
Morocco was among the first Arab and Muslim countries to approve the birth-control pill. Now women activists are fighting for the right to choose to have an abortion.
In 60 years of travels, I have very few mishaps to report. But this slide comes with a story. My wife and I were traveling through central Morocco with four other people in a Volkswagen van. On the road to Midelt, we were surprised by heavy rain, which caused rocks to fall and block our […]
For the past 50 years, religion has been a key element in Moroccan diplomacy with its African neighbors. Now it’s part of the fight against Islamic terrorism on the continent.
CHAMBÉRY — Seen from afar they might be mistaken for a father and son. Dominique is 56. Mohammed is 23. But talking to them and seeing how they interact, it’s clear they’re a couple in love. They agreed to meet early in the morning, in a fast food restaurant in the Landiers industrial zone in Chambéry, southeastern France. It’s an impersonal place, where people come and go without paying much attention to others around them. Dominique and Mohammed prefer it that way. The couple shows up late, which somehow makes sense. It’s their privilege. They’re in love. The rest of […]
The Jan. 29 front page of Morocco’s weekly magazine Alwatan Alane features French President Francois Hollande wearing a Nazi outfit, complete with a swastika armband and Adolf Hitler’s trademark mustache. The controversial photomontage is accompanied by the title, “Will the French revive Hitler’s concentration camps to exterminate Muslims?” Contacted by francetv info, publication director Abderrahim […]
EGYPT’S ISIS TARGETS MILITARYAt least 26 people were killed yesterday in a series of attacks by an ISIS-affiliated group in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, Al Jazeera reports. Most of the victims were Egyptian troops, but civilians were also among the victims. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi cut short his visit to Ethiopia, where he was attending […]
CASABLANCA — Jews in Morocco stand in front of 2,000 years of history, and some more recent events. Seventy years ago, some 300,000 Jews lived in the country, which was then the largest Jewish minority in the Arab world. Today only about 5,000 Jews live here – the others have migrated for a variety of […]
I remember discussing the topic of veiled women with a local in the souk of Fes, where I took this picture 40 years ago. He said wearing a full niqab was considered “surprising” in Morocco.
Looking for family members who have emigrated to Europe, or in search of better opportunities, Congolese girls instead find themselves prey at the hands of human traffickers.
There’s a very famous Festival of Roses every year in the Kalaat M’Gouna oasis, near Ouarzazate in southern Morocco. But it’s held in May, not October, so unfortunately it smelled more of camel than flowers when we traveled there.
The Moroccan sun was strong on the market place in Larache, a small harbor on the Atlantic coast between Tangier and Rabat. Unfazed by the heat, this vendor was selling herbs, spices and … a giant turtle shell, whose scales he also used to make trinkets and jewels.
RABAT — At the mouth of the Bou Regreg River in Morocco, the small blue boats go from one shore to the other. The tireless rowers have assured the exchange of goods between Rabat and Salé, a commuter town on the other side of the river. “We wanted to preserve the boats, because they are […]
NADOR — Papa Africa carefully wraps his only possession, a cooking pot, in a cover. He then climbs up to the top of a tree to hang it. “It’s because of the police. When they come, they burn and break everything,” he explains as he jumps back to the ground. Next stop is the “Tranquilo,” […]
Peace is a process, never a single event. Negotiations for peace are always far more complicated than the public understands, and the results are not always miraculous. Even so, the majority of modern conflicts — 80%, according to the School for the Culture of Peace in Barcelona — eventually end after negotiations. The school’s reports […]
Mohammed VI pardoned a Spanish pedophile, before reversing himself. The case raised questions about the monarchy, but also exposes Morocco’s inability to confront the plague of sex abuse.
RABAT – Like Asia did in the second half of the 20th century, Africa can move up to the economic big leagues only if it can manage to industrialize and learn to increase its productivity. The future of the continent as a whole, notes economist François Fadi Farra, will not depend on one single economic […]
CASABLANCA – For a Moroccan tomato to be sold on the Algerian market, it first has to pass through Marseille. This sounds like a joke, but it describes a well-known reality: While in all other continents, countries group themselves in a common market or free trade zone (ASEAN in South-East Asia, Mercosur in Latin America, […]
FEZ – It is the fourth stage of the Tour du Maroc bicycle race, and we are somewhere between Guercif and Fez. Since this morning, the wind has not stopped sweeping this stretch of road, and the cyclists with it. Everyone is pedaling in slow motion, at about 15 kilometers per hour. Some of the […]
FEZ – It had served over the years as a prison, a carpet factory and a boxing gym. But last week, the building in this ancient Moroccan city’s central medina was officially returned to its original incarnation: the Slat-al-Fassiyine synagogue was inaugurated by King Mohammed VI after a long-anticipated restoration. Rare in the Arab world […]
Nawal El Moutawakel was ignored by Morocco when competing in the 1984 Olympics — until gold made her a national hero. Now she’s looking to clear another hurdle or two.
-Essay- RABAT – Along with Arabic, French has long been one of Morocco’s languages. It is the language of culture; it is the flipside of our identity — of our double identity, if you will, which is the result of a long coexistence and exchanges between generations. Even though Morocco has been independent from French […]
–Analysis– RABAT – Recent estimates from the Moroccan High Commission For Planning (HCP) found the median age for marriage in Morocco was 31 for men and 27 for women. There are many reasons for this – more years spent studying, and the high cost of housing and wedding ceremonies being the most obvious. Some, it […]
CASABLANCA – Saturday September 1st was a sunny day, the afternoon sky was blue and the summer holidays not quite over. A young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Ajouhi wanted to bring their six and three-year-old children to the Tahiti Beach Club on the Corniche Boulevard in Casablanca, Morocco. Established in 1940 and currently owned by […]
– Editorial – PARIS – A revolution is a riot that has succeeded. A riot is a revolution that has failed… For the second time since 1990, Algeria has missed another rendezvous with history, the Arab Spring. Like Saudi Arabia, it remained mostly extraneous to the unrest that overwhelmed the Arab world and led to […]