2179 MOROCCO (Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima) - Tangier

Located on the North African coast, at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier had long time a strategic importance. Founded by Carthaginian colonists in the early 5th century BC, it was ruled through the centuries by Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Portuguese, and English. It became an international zone in 1923, between 1940 and 1945 was ruled by Spanish, the restoration of full sovereignty taking place in 1956.

0545, 1914 MOROCCO - Berber women

1914 Morocco - A Berber woman

Posted on 08.03.2013, 26.09.2015
Even if is practical almost entirely Islamic, the Moroccan society isn't a conservative one, and has no particular rules, but the Moroccans have kept alive the custom to wear the traditional dress. As in all Maghreb, the overwhelming majority of the Moroccans (99%) is considered to be Arab-Berber, with an Arab ethnic identity. However, probably that a third of the population is made up of Berbers, who aren't Arabs, but neither a homogeneous ethnic group, encompassing a range of phenotypes, cultures and ancestries. The unifying forces for the Berber people may be their shared language, belonging to the Berber homeland, or a collective identification with the Berber heritage and history.

0545 Morocco - Young Berber woman from Imilchil

To can cope neighbors, many of the Berber tribes have united throughout history in large confederations. One of them is Ait Yafelman, which lives on the eastern High Atlas, its capital being Imilchi, now a small town, with less than 2,000 inhabitants, located in the valley of Assif Melloul (White River). The area is home of the Ait Hdiddou tribe, and the town, known for its Betrothal Festival (in the early days of September), represents a symbol of Berber culture. The legend say that two young from different tribes fell in love, but were forbidden to see each other by their families. The grief led them to cry themselves to death, creating the neighbouring lakes of Isli (his) and Tislit (hers), near Imilchil. The families decided to establish a day on the anniversary of the lovers' death - when members of local tribes could marry each other. Thus was born the Imilchil Marriage Festival.

0607, 1058 MOROCCO (Souss-Massa-Drâa) - Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou (UNESCO WHS)

Posted on 19.04.2013, 04.03.2014
Ksar is the Maghrebi Arabic term for "castle", but it has a more general meaning of "fortified village", or "fort". It form one of the main manifestations of Berber architecture, and consists of attached houses, often having collective granaries and other structures surrounded by a single, continuous wall, reinforced by corner towers. The building material of the entire structure is normally adobe, or cut stone and adobe. The most famous ksar in the Ounila Valley is Ait-Ben-Haddou, located in the foothills on the southern slopes of the High Atlas in the Province of Ouarzazate, along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in present-day Morocco. The oldest constructions dates from 17th century, the community areas including a mosque, a public square, grain threshing areas outside the ramparts, a fortification and a loft at the top of the village, an caravanserai, two cemeteries (Muslim and Jewish) and the Sanctuary of the Saint Sidi Ali or Amer.

Unlike others, the Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou has preserved its architectural authenticity with regard to configuration and materials, probably because most of the town's inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river, only eight families still living within the ksar. Large houses, called tighremt in Berber and dar or kasba in Arabic, bring together, around a central rectangular courtyard, four tall fortified wings, topped by angle towers. Ait-Ben-Haddou is known for its kasbahs, a type of medina, Islamic city, or fortress, a place where lived the ones of  wealthy classes and a defense when the city was under attack. Most of them are country houses, the ground floor was used for agricultural purposes and the upper floors served as living quarters in winter (upper portion) and summer (lower portion).

0989 MOROCCO - Two women, two colours, the same hayek

The Qur'an instructs both Muslim men and women to be modest. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World, this modesty concerns to gaze, gait, garments, and genitalia. The consequence is the hijab (that literally means in Arabic “screen" or "curtain”), which not only refers to the physical body covering, but also embodies a metaphysical dimension, where al-hijab refers to "the veil which separates man or the world from God." As clothing, hijab is a veil that covers the head and chest of the Muslim women beyond the age of puberty in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family. He may have a broader sense, refering to any head, face, or body covering worn by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, privacy and morality. A traditional Muslim garment is the abaya, a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, traditionally black, a large square of fabric draped from the shoulders or head, or a long caftan. The abaya covers the whole body except the face, feet, and hands. It can be worn with the niqāb, a face veil covering all but the eyes.

0977 MOROCCO (Souss-Massa-Drâa) - Aït Larbi Kasbah on Dadès River valley

A kasbah is a type of fortress (citadel) in the Islamic cities, built by local leaders to live in it, and as defense when the city was under attack. On the valley of Dadès River, which rises in the High Atlas and then turns south crossing through the Dadès Gorge, then westward between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountain ranges, are many such kasbahs. One of them is Aït Larbi, located near of Dadès Gorge, not far from Boumalne Dades, a town situated at the edge of a desert plateau. Built in the late 19th century, it consists actually of three kasbahs: Aït Hamid, Aït Amer, and Aït Juia Ali. The landscape that surrounds further increases their artistic value, by providing one of the most spectacular in the region settings.

0749 MOROCCO - Traditional clothes and musical instruments

Even if the 99.1% of the Moroccans have an Arab and / or Berber ethnic background (therefore the population has a high degree of homogeneity), the Moroccan folklore is very rich and diverse, and I dare to say that music and dance are keystones of Moroccan traditional culture. If I should choose a single Moroccan folk performance at that I could attend, one and only one, I would choose, without doubt, the dance, because it provides many elements of this culture: the dance itself, but also the music and musical instruments, as well as dancers and musicians costumes.

0739 MOROCCO (Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz) - Medina of Marrakesh - Majorelle Garden (UNESCO WHS)

Founded in 1062 AD by Abu Bakr ibn Umar, chieftain and second cousin of the Almoravid king Yusuf ibn Tashfin, Marrakesh remained a political, economic and cultural centre for a long period, being even the capital of the Almoravid Emirate, which stretched from the shores of Senegal to the center of Spain and from the Atlantic coast to Algiers. After a period of decline, the city was surpassed by Fes, but in the early 16th century, it again became the capital of the kingdom. Beginning in the 17th century, the city became popular among Sufi pilgrims for Morocco's seven patron saints, who are entombed here. In 1912 the French Protectorate in Morocco was established and T'hami El Glaoui became Pasha of Marrakesh and held this position nearly until the reestablishment of the monarchy in 1956.

0688 MOROCCO - A peddler of oranges

In Morocco, as in all the Mediterranean countries, oranges are among the fruits grown typically. Although the groves occupying relatively small areas, more than 20 varieties of oranges and mandarins are produced in this country, and the peddlers of oranges aren't rare in some area in Morocco.

0632 MOROCCO (Souss-Massa-Drâa) - The Ichbakan village

Located on the High Atlas Mountains, at 2,100m altitude, after the impresive gorge of Tessaout River (actually an oued), which allowed the deposit of fertile silt washed from the mountains, Ichbakan is a Berber village composed by two distinct agglomerations, placed at 500m from each other, each perched on its peak around a tighermt, a fortified granary which was in the past the defensive core of the inhabitants. Between the two agglomerations are walnuts and grain fields. In summer, the herds are on the heights, apart from a few cows which returning to the barn in the evening. Ait Affans, who inhabit this mountainous enclave, are among the most isolated populations of the Atlas. In the winter, six months a year, Tessaout, swollen by snowmelt, cut the communications with the outside world.

About the stamp I wrote here.

sender: Hanane (direct swap)
sent from Taroudant (Morocco), on 05.02.2013

0564 MOROCCO - A Berber village on the M'Goun Mountain

The High Atlas, the greatest mountain range of North Africa, is perhaps the most beautiful and intriguing part of Morocco, with its high plateaux, its gorges and box canyons, and its peaks sometimes splintered by erosion. Several peaks exceed 4,000m, Jbel Mgoun (M'Goun Mountain) being the highest (4,068 m). The area is populated by Berbers (about who I wrote a little here and here), and it has retained a remoteness which until recent decades was virtually complete and contains villages where the way of life has changed little for centuries. Unfortunately, lately "civilization" gets also here, and an conclusive example is the road from Azilal to Ait Bougmez, tarmacked a few years ago, which led to the disappearance of traditional villages. The revenue from tourism has given villagers the means to put to one side the traditional building materials such as adobe and stone, and to instead embrace unsightly and ecologically-unfriendly alternatives such as concrete, following the false perception that modern materials and methods are always superior.

0503 MOROCCO - Fantasia or Game of Gunpowder

Fantasia is a traditional equestrian performance practiced during cultural festivals in Morocco, and occurs traditionally to close Berber wedding celebrations in Maghreb. Fantasia is an imported name (adopted probably to eliminate any military tint), the actual term used being lab el baroud (game of gunpowder). The performance is inspired from historical wartime attacks of Berber, but in nowadays it's considered a cultural art and a form of martial art. It also symbolizes the strong relationship between the man and the horse (very important in Arab countries), as well as the attachment to tradition.

0486 MOROCCO - The map and the flag of the country

Commonly named by the arabs al-Mamlakat al-Maghribiyyah, which means The Western Kingdom (because is the most westerly of the Maghreb countries), Morocco is an islamic country and a constitutional monarchy. Its political capital is Rabat, although the largest city is Casablanca. Morocco administers also most of the disputed region of the Western Sahara as the Southern Provinces. The geography of Morocco spans from the Atlantic Ocean to the mountainous areas and to the Sahara Desert, a large part being mountainous.  Its rich culture is a blend of Arab, Berber, European and African influences.

0455 MOROCCO - A knife sharpener

Eid al-Adha, that means the Feast of the Sacrifice, named also in Yemen, Syria, and North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt) Eid al-Kabir (the Greater Eid) is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims to honour the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his first-born son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of submission to God's command, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a lamb to sacrifice instead. This happening is narrated also in the Bible in the same way.

0026 MOROCCO - The biggest mosque of Africa

"Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow but soon and for the rest of your life", told Humphrey Bogart (Rick Blaine) to Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa Lund). There is someone between 20 and 120 years on this planet who doesn’t know what I mean? I don’t think so. "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friends."

Well, yes, you guessed it, yesterday I received a postcard from Casablanca. Even if it’s the first one came to my address from Morocco, I'm not going to talk today not about the fascinating history of The Western Kingdom (al-al-Maghribiyyah Mamlakat) or about the revolt in February this year, not even about the soccer player Zakaria Zerouali, who died after he swallowed three packs of paracetamol in 24 hours. I don’t have the mood now. I will speak only about the mosque in the image.