“Splendors of Morocco”

“SPLENDORS OF MOROCCO” Smithsonian Journeys Charles and Judith Moore October 9‐21, 2011 www.charlieandjudith.com 1 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Why Morocco?..................................................................................................................... 4 Welcome to Morocco: A History………………………………………………………………………………………… 5 The Berbers……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8 Arrival in Casablanca – October 9………………………………………………………………………………………. 11 Exploring Rabat – October 9 & 10………………………………………………………………………………………. 13 On the road: Rabat, Meknes‐Volubilis‐Fez – October 11……………………………………………………. 14 Two days to explore Fez – October 12 & 13……………………………………………………………………….. 18 Traveling through Berber country – October 14…………………………………………………………………. 21 Chasing fossils and camels – October 15……………………………………………………………………………. 24 Traveling through mountains and gorges – October 16……………………………………………………… 27 Over the mountains and through the passes, to Marrakech we charge… ‐ October 17………. 29 Only two days to explore Marrakech – October 18 & 19……………………………………………………. 31 Returning to Casablanca – October 20……………………………………………………………………………….. 35 Tarik‐Slamma – October 21………………………………………………………………………………………………… 37 Personal takeaways from Morocco……………………………………………………………………………………. 38 3 Why Morocco? That’s the question we were repeatedly asked before departing on our Splendors of Morocco journey. Our answer: it’s on our “bucket list”! Judith and I care a lot about archaeology and we knew nothing about the Berber culture. While these are legitimate reasons for visiting a new country, we way underestimated what was to unfold in the next 12 days and its impact on us. To start with, how can you go wrong when every day includes a blue sky, perfect temperature, no humidity and a light breeze… and they sell fresh squeezed orange juice on the streets for 4 dirhams (less than 50 cents)? King Hassan II described Morocco as “a tree whose roots lie in Africa but whose leaves breathe in European air”. Our own impression is that Morocco is a country of images and colors; continuity and contrast; history and modernity. The Roman ruins at Volubilis are as thrilling as we have ever been privileged to see. Vast parts of the country still appear to be wasteland but the Berber tribes make even that work. The Berber culture is complex, but their loyalty to family, tribe and country knows no bounds. France imposed a Protectorate on Morocco, through the Treaty of Fez, in 1912. It took 22 years of struggle for the French to bring the country under their control. The Protectorate ended in 1956. While Independence had been won, it still took some time to achieve national unity, largely through the popularity of Mohammed V. Contrast that with the rest of the Arab world’s monarchies that have been replaced with despotic regimes, like Iraq, Egypt, Yemen and Tunisia. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy headed by King Mohammed VI, who followed Hassan II (1961‐ 1999) and his predecessor, Mohammed V (Sultan from 1927‐1953, exile, then King from 1956‐1961). Mohammed VI is wisely addressing appropriate political and cultural reforms. For example, he has agreed to select a new Prime Minister from the majority party (as opposed to someone of his own choice); the election will take place in November. While Morocco is not rich in natural resources, it does a good job of aligning its commercial interests with Europe and other Arab countries. The economy depends largely on tourism, agriculture and the handcraft and textile industries. Although Morocco imports much of its power, significant amounts of oil and natural gas have been discovered and the fishing industry thrives. Morocco is challenged by a high unemployment rate (over 39% for ages 18‐35), a high rate of child mortality (28 per 1000 births, compared to 6 in US) and illiteracy. Our travel partners numbered 21 plus our Smithsonian Study Leader and his wife, 25 in all. Six of our fellow “students” were from Seattle, four from Omaha, Nebraska, four from California and the rest from Mississippi, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey and New York. Some of them were retired; most of the others were in various professions, including the law and academia. What we all had in common: all of us were interested in Morocco; and no one was disappointed in the outcome of the experience. We were blessed with an outstanding Moroccan guide, Sedddik Aassim, whose extensive knowledge on everything Moroccan as well as his grace and patience were inexhaustible. 4 Bottom line, we loved our trip to Morocco. We got so much more out of it than we expected and believe it should be on everyone’s “bucket list”. What follows is a simplified history of Morocco, a brief accounting of the fascinating Berber culture, a journal of our impressions as we travelled from Rabat to Fez; Erfoud to Ouarazate; Marrakech to Casablanca, and finally, a personally tally of our own “take‐aways”. King Hassan II (1961‐1999) King Mohammed VI Marhaba Ila Al Maghrab: Attarikh Morocco is an ancient kingdom. It came under the influence of Carthage and Rome but its origins are Berber, Arab and African. Since the arrival of Islam in the 7th century, the country has been an independent power and at times, part of an empire. The only Arab country not to have fallen to the Ottomans, it entered the modern era under the Alaouite dynasty at the close of the seventeenth century. For 40,000 years, Morocco has been a bridge between the East, Africa and Europe. Archaeological finds and rock engravings prove that it was settled in the remote past but little is known of the first Berbers who may have come as early as 8000‐7000 BC. The Phoenicians (c.1000 BC) were fearless navigators who established trading posts along the Mediterranean coastline. They introduced iron‐working and the cultivation of vines. In the 5th century BC, Hanno, a naval commander from Carthage (modern Tunisia) set out to explore the Atlantic coast westward and soon, those early trading posts were taken over and further developed by Carthage. Under their influence, the Berber tribes eventually joined forces and helped to settle what was then called Mauritania (present day Morocco). The Vandals, whose King Genseric (428‐77 BC) conquered North Africa followed by the Byzantines, maintained a lasting presence at a few points along the Mediterranean coast. Religious unrest and local uprisings gradually extinguished the hold of all these ancient civilizations. 5 The Romans, having destroyed Carthage in 146 BC, extended their control westwards over the northern half of Morocco. Emperor Augustus made what is now known as Tangier, a Roman city. In 25 BC, the ancient kingdom of Mauritania was entrusted to Juba II, King of Numidia, a Berber ruler who had been Romanized and educated and was married to the daughter of Antony and Cleopatra. In the 3rd century, Christianity began to spread in the area and Roman domination was severely diminished. From the end of the 7th century, a new set of invaders, and with them a new religion, began to make their mark on Morocco. Meeting some resistance, Islam was introduced to the Berber population. Quickly rallying a mainly Berber army, new conquerors turned their attention to Europe, initiating the conquest of Spain in 711. Meanwhile, Islam branched into two main sects, Sunni and Shia. In 786 the Sunni, Ummayad Caliph crushed the Shi’ite Muslims. One of them, Idriss ibn Abadallah, escaped the massacre and was received in Morocco as a prestigious religious leader. In 789 the Aouraba, a Berber tribe in Volubilis, made him their leader. Idriss II carved out a small kingdom and set about building the new cityof Fez. In the meantime, an unexpected push came from the south. A tribe of nomadic Sanhadja Berbers, based in present day Mauritania converted to Islam in the 9th century giving rise to a powerful new empire. The founder of the Almoravid empire, Youssef ibn Tachfin, proclaimed himself Leader of the Faithful, founded Marrakech (Morocco’s second capital) in 1062, and conquered the country as far north as Tangier, and in 1082 as far east as Algeria. He then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and extended his empire north to Barcelona. Heading south, he had taken over Senegal and the Niger by 1076. Under the Merinids (1248‐1465), Morocco was gradually reduced to the territory that it covers today. Since the time of Idriss I, Arabs of high social standing who are descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, have always played an important part in the social and political life of Morocco. Putting an end to Berber rule, they emerged from the south and governed Morocco from the 16th century to the present day. At the beginning of the 16th century, the encroachment of Christian armies on Moroccan soil stimulated a vigorous renewal of religious fervor. There followed a period of relative prosperity under the Saadians, an Arab tribe from the Draa valley. Their leaders traded with Europe and drew up treaties with England and the Netherlands. This period of relative prosperity culminated with the reign of Ahmed el‐Mansour (1578‐1603) who set up a central administration and opened trade lanes with the Saharan countries. The Alaouite dynasty, the seventh and present ruling dynasty, has given the country some rulers of great stature. Moulay Rachid (1664‐1672) needed ten years to gain control of the country. His younger brother, Moulay Ismail (1672‐1727) in a long and brilliant reign, transferred the capital from Fez to Meknes, imposed central authority and maintained relations with the courts of Europe. Several other rulers prevailed until Moulay Abderrahman was defeated by the French at Isly in 1844. He and his successors were forced to concede control until, at the Conference of Madrid of 1880, foreign powers assumed commercial and consular control of Morocco. When Moulay Abdel Aziz, a weak ruler, ascended the throne in 1894, France already had an imperial presence in Algeria and Tunisia. The French now aimed to secure a free hand in Morocco, parallel with Britain’s designs in Egypt and those of Italy in Libya.

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