Circus in Salé

National Circus School Shems'y in Salé on 19th, 20th and 21st - Admission is free!

SHARE THIS!

Morocco's Shems'y Circus School Presents "Peer Gynt"

SHARE THIS!

Mohammed VI Opens Rabat Bypass

On Thursday, His Majesty King Mohammed VI opened the 3.2 billion dirham Rabat motorway bypass and the longest cable-stayed bridge in Africa. The bridge has been named "The Mohammed VI Bridge"

Construction works were launched by the King in February 2011 as part of Mohammed V1's major structural projects policy after his accession to the throne.

This section of the highway has been a traffic bottleneck for years causing major disruptions and slow travelling times because it was the confluence of the major highways serving the South, Central, North and East of the country.

The project will not only relieve traffic on the existing ring road of the city of Rabat, but cut down the high numbers of heavy goods traffic, significantly reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. It is expected that the bypass will carry some 20,000 vehicles each day with economic benefits for the major centres of the Rabat and Salé with time savings and lower route and transport costs.

In a press statement, the Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Logistics, Aziz Rabbah, stressed that the bypass highway "will reduce transit times between regions, contributing to strengthening road safety".

This new road infrastructure originates in the existing motorway from Casablanca-Rabat north of Skhirat. It bypasses the towns of Mers El Kheir, Tamesna El Menzeh to Technopolis in Sala Al Jadida, where it ends by plugging into the beginning of the highway Salé-Kenitra.

On the terms of accessibility and connectivity, Rabat motorway bypass includes several improvements: a junction with Highway Casablanca-Rabat, an interchange to serve the new city of Tamesna, an interchange at the Common menzeh overlooking the boulevard Mohammed VI (Rabat), an interchange at Sala Al Jadida and another at Technopolis.

The bridge over the Oued Bouregreg is an exceptional structure, and at 950 metres, is the longest cable-stayed bridge Africa. Its two towers are 200 meters high and there is a wide apron of over 30 meters. This contemporary bridge, which provides several advantages in terms of aesthetics, safety, technical and environmental prowess, is distinguished by its architecture inspired by the Arab-Muslim civilisation. The two towers symbolise the new doors to the cities of Rabat and Salé.

The construction of the Rabat motorway bypass required a multitude of structures, including 16 underpasses, 14 overpasses, 7 vehicle passages and two pedestrian crossings.

SHARE THIS!

Rabat-Salé tramway to be Extended

The Rabat-Salé tramway will be extended by 2.3 kilometres, a decision that has been warmly welcomed by potential passengers  

Rabat-Salé tramway. Photo credit: Yassine Toumi

The Rabat City Council has given unanimous approval for an extension of a second tram line connecting the neighbourhoods of Bettana in Salé with Akkari in Rabat.

The new line of the network will be extended along the side of the Akkari neighbourhood from the  Moulay Youssef Hospital through to the intersection of El Kifah Assalam and Assalam Boulevards, a distance of 2.3 km. There will be four stations located approximately 500 metres apart. It is expected that the extension of this line will service an additional 10, 000 users.

The operation of the two Rabat-Salé tramway lines began in May 2011. The operating company say that the Rabat-Salé Tram System (STRS) aims to carry 180,000 passengers daily between the two banks of the Bouregreg River through two lines: Hay Karima (Salé) - Agdal (Rabat), a distance of 11.7 km and Yacoub Mansour (Rabat) - Bettana (Sale) -7.8 kilometres.

Residents in Salé say the extension is very welcome and will cut the cost and time of transport across the Bouregreg river.

SHARE THIS!

Marrakech: The City '1062-1957 - Exhibition in Salé

An exhibition that journeys into the heart of the history of urban Marrakech is set to open on October 11 in Salé. Featuring texts from travellers, writers, architects and planners, as well as engravings and drawings of antique prints, "Marrakech: The city '1062-1957', will draw the crowds at the Mulay Rachid Maamara in Salé before showing at other cities around the country.

The exhibition has been produced by the Montada Project and Barcelona's College of Architecture and Engineering ​​in collaboration with the Sala Al Moustaqbal Association and the Regional Development Centre of Tensiff. The show will feature a variety of valuable works.

Marrakech and El Badi Palace in 1640 , by Adrian Matham 

Among these are reproductions, such as an engraving (above) by Adriaen Matham, Palatium Magni Regis Maroci In Barbaria (1640-1641) from the Rijksmuseum, and the map of the Palace of the Emperor of Morocco, by Antonio de la Conceiçaeo (1549-1589) from the Royal Library of the Monastery of San Lorenzo in Escorial.

The exhibition, which is aimed at integrating different ages and cultures, also includes reproductions of works by urbanist Henri Prost (1874-1969).

"During Project Montada we have promoted the use of high quality information and materials", project director and Unesco expert Xavier Casanovas told ANSAMed.

"We want to bring reproductions of great prints and engravings and historic sights of Marrakech to the people. At the same time we want to show the short textual works of the writers, architects and planners linked to the city, who symbolize the bridge between cultures", he said.

The Montada Project, part of the Euromed Heritage IV Programme, is co-funded by the European Union for three years. "The great fortune of this city is that so much remains of its heritage to study and to learn", Faissal Cherradi, a specialist on Morocco's cultural heritage, told ANSAmed.

And, if our readers are wondering how the English saw Salé in the 1600s - The View from Fez recently discovered this ancient delight! (note: this is not in the exhibition).

SHARE THIS!

African Archery Championships to be held in Morocco

The Federation of African Archery Championships are to be held in Rabat between 11-16 March 2012. 


 The Championships, which are held every two years, will also run concurrently with the Olympic Qualifier for London 2012 and will be preceded by a week long coaches course organized by World Archery and funded by scholarships for Olympic Solidarity. Thirty-nine athletes and coaches from across the continent qualified for the bursary.

About one hundred athletes from sixteen African countries, including Algeria, will take part in the 9th Africa Archery Championship in the cities of Rabat and Salé. The event in Rabat will be at the Moulay Rachid Sports Complex.

The Federation of African Archery is recognised by the International Federation, World Archery, as the governing body of the sport on the African Continent. The FAA is comprised of all African members in good standing with World Archery.

Morocco has had some outstanding archers in past years. Among these is the female archer Khadija Abbouda.

Khadija Abbouda

Results and photographs of the event will be available on line at: African Archery

SHARE THIS!

Morocco and Salé feature in Pirate King

The View from Fez is always happy to receive guest posts. Today our guest is the author Laurie R. King.  Laurie is the bestselling author of 21 crime novels, including a historical series featuring young Mary Russell and her somewhat more famous husband, Sherlock Holmes. King’s new novel Pirate King is set in 1924 London, Lisbon, and Morocco. Laurie explains what attracted her to our part of the world.

The USA edition (left) and the UK edition

Pirate King - A synopsis


In England’s young silent-film industry, the megalomaniacal Randolph Fflytte is king. Nevertheless, at the request of Scotland Yard, Mary Russell is dispatched to investigate the criminal activities that surround Fflytte’s popular movie studio.

Russell is traveling undercover to Portugal, along with the film crew that is gearing up to shoot a cinematic extravaganza, Pirate King. Based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, the project will either set the standard for movie-making for a generation or sink a boatload of careers.

Nothing seems amiss until the enormous company starts rehearsals in Lisbon, where the thirteen blonde-haired, blue-eyed actresses Mary is bemusedly chaperoning meet the swarm of real buccaneers Fflytte has recruited to provide authenticity.

But when the crew embarks for Morocco and the actual filming, Russell feels a building storm of trouble: a derelict boat, a film crew with secrets, ominous currents between the pirates, decks awash with budding romance—and now the pirates are ignoring Fflytte and answering only to their dangerous outlaw leader, La Rocha. Plus, there’s a spy on board. Where can Sherlock Holmes be? As movie make-believe becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout.

Why Morocco?

Sometimes a place chooses you. Sometimes you’re just wandering, simply headed somewhere, maybe even out for a holiday, and you walk past a place and it reaches out and grabs you. People travel for different reasons. We humans are curious creatures, and we wonder about others—how they live, act, eat, sound. Of course, curiosity about others is often an extension of curiosity about ourselves: What would I look like in a different setting? How would I act away from home? How would my thinking change if I ate different food, slept under different roofs, wore different clothing? And if you’re a writer, you may be looking for a place where your mind can spend a year or so while writing the next book.

Salé - where the dead have front row seats

I came to Morocco as much on a whim as anything else: I was staying with family members in Lisbon when we decided to take a short trip somewhere else, and chose Morocco. The book I was working on was about pirates, and although it’s a comic sort of a romp, there was an appeal in setting part of it in the old pirate kingdom of Bou Reg Reg, in Salé. So we flew into Casablanca and took the train to Rabat, and poked around the area for a day or so, finding enough local colour to make things fun and making a close enough survey of the area for a work of historical fiction.

Then we went to Fez. And my plans for the next year or so were instantly hijacked.

Our introduction to the city was appropriately confusing, yet firmly grounded in its own unique brand of logic. When we arrived, the man we were to stay with was elsewhere, and the arrangements he had made to have us met seemed to have wandered away. However, when we showed his card to a bunch of fellows washing cars near Bab Guissa, they instantly knew him. Or, claimed that they knew him. And with no further ado, one of them proceeded to bundle our possessions onto a cart and race away into the medina.

Now, in many other parts of the world, this would be cause for some degree of alarm. In some parts of the world, one would be insane to follow, lest one’s person disappear along with the luggage. And no doubt luggage theft is not a crime that is completely unknown in Fez. But in this case, it was indeed the logic of the medina, taking us to safe haven.

And so it went, for the days we were there. The tangle of streets seemed to make sense to our feet, if not our eyes, so that we were never definitively lost. We were greeted with good cheer even by those with whom we had nothing apparent in common. The city went about its business, and taught us more about the country and its people than any museum could.

At the end, it became a battle to keep Fez from taking over my pirate book. My characters longed to set off inland from Salé. I had to lock them behind city walls to keep them from wandering off, taking the plot with them. Finally, I made a bargain with them: if you stay in Salé and Rabat for Pirate King, you can head for Fez as soon as it’s finished. Reluctantly, they agreed.

I’d had no intention of writing a book set entirely in Morocco, but next year’s novel, Garment of Shadows, is all about Fez, and the Rif revolt, and the French Protectorate under Lyautey. However, even after that, it’s going to be tough to get the characters to move on.

Thanks to Laurie for this post.

Buy a copy of Pirate King - click here    or see all Contemporary Literature 

And, now a little known fact -The character Robinson Crusoe in Daniel Defoe's novel escaped from the pirates and sailed off to liberty from the mouth of the Bou Regreg river in Salé!

See The View from Fez Postcard from Salé here ! 

Rabat-Sale Tramway now open

The long-awaited tramway system linking Rabat and Sale was opened by HM King Mohamed VI yesterday, 18 May.

HM the King crosses the new bridge in a tram

It's been a long time coming and is around six months late opening, but that's hardly surprising considering the huge amount of work that has taken over four years to complete. The project has cost 4.7 million Dirhams.

There are two tram lines across the capital and its twin town of Sale. The enormous Hassan II bridge spans the Bouregreg River for a distance of 1215m. The bridge not only carries the two tram lines, but also a six-lane highway, cycle tracks and pedestrian walkways.

The tram will revolutionise travel within the city, and provides a ecologically sound public transport system. During its construction, around 4000 jobs were created, and now that it's operational, there will be a further 1000 jobs.

Try as we might, the View from Fez has been unable to find a better map of the tramlines than the one below. The fare is Dh7, and it's thought that there will be around 180 000 passengers per day. The trams travel at a speed of up to 20kph and are manually operated.

There are a total of 32 stations over the 19.5km of tram lines. Line 1 runs from Hay Karima in Sale to the Rabat suburb of Agdal, passing through the centre of the city on Avenue Al Alaouiyine. It caters for the high-traffic areas of Avenue Mohammed V in Sale, the government offices, Sale and Rabat Ville railway stations, the university, Agdal and Souissi.

Line 2 serves the high-density areas of Ocean, Moulay Youssef Hospital, through Yacoub el Mansour and Bettana to the Sale bus station.

The tram stations themselves are 60m long and spaced about half a kilometre apart. They have been specially designed to cater for handicapped people and baby's prams and pushchairs. They are each decorated with a mashrabiya-type metal screen depicting tree branches which separates the platform from the street.

During the inauguration of the Hassan II bridge, HM the King awarded medals to several people involved in the project: Lamghari Essakel, director general of the Bouregreg Valley Development Agency, was awarded the Wissam of Al Moukafaa Al Watania of the Order of Officer; Marc Mimram, architect of the Hassan II bridge, was granted the Alaouite Wissam of the Order of Officer; Nada Kassimi, delegate director general of the Rabat-Sale Tramway Company and Loubna Boutaleb, director of the bridge building works, were given the Wissam of Al Moukafaa Al Watania of the Order of the Knight.

Traffic rules and more information can be found at the tramway website: http://www.tramwayrabatsale.com

Casablanca's tramway is around half way through its construction.

Postcard from Salé

The character Robinson Crusoe in Daniel Defoe's novel escaped from the pirates and sailed off to liberty from the mouth of the Bou Regreg river

If it were a fairy story or folk tale, then Salé would probably be the ugly sister or maybe the ugly duckling. Sitting next to Rabat, Salé has been seen as the twin sister. Nice to look at from the train on the way to Fez, maybe, but certainly not a place high on the list of those "must visit" places. But now the team from The View from Fez can report that the "ugly duckling" is a myth - a beautiful swan beside the Bou Regreg river, is a more appropriate image.

Salé is a fascinating place. Its history is full of mystery and mayhem, of piracy, slavery and a journey from riches to rags. And the history goes a long way back.

In Pirate Utopias, Peter Lamborn Wilson says: Salé dates back at least to Carthaginian times (around 7th century BC). The Romans called the place Sala Colonia, part of their province of Mauritania Tingitane. Pliny the Elder mentions it (as a desert town infested with elephants!). The Vandals captured the area in the 5th century AD and left behind a number of blonde, blue-eyed Berbers. The Arabs (7th century) kept the old name and believed it derived from "Sala" (sic., his name is actually Salah), son of Ham, son of Noah; they said that Salé was the first city ever built by the Berbers.

In the 17th century, Salé became a haven for Moriscos-turned-Barbary pirates. The Salé pirates (the well-known "Sally Rovers") roamed the seas as far as the shores of the Americas, bringing back loot and slaves. They formed the Republic of Salé.

These days the city is a large "dormitory town" with its critics claiming it has little community life and is devoid of a "centre" of its own. Most of its influential and wealthy inhabitants have departed to live in Rabat on the other side of the river.

However, things are changing rapidly and Salé has a lot of potential that will make this an important and interesting place to visit. Recent developments, including a new bridge for the Sale-Rabat tram system, marina and coastal development, all show that this is changing with the government and private development companies pouring money into the area.

When visiting Salé, take a pleasant stroll along the walls (pictured above) until you come to the view of the old cemetery (pictured below). It is fair to say that in Salé, the dead have the best real estate, right on the foreshore.


After enjoying the views, cross the road behind you and go into the old medina. While not as spectacular as that in Fez, or as tourist-oriented as Marrakech, it does have a charm of its own and some wonderful hidden treasures.

Locally made grass matting

Relaxed shopping in the souqs

...and when you need a rest, the park.

There is a peaceful central park, a Mellah, or old Jewish quarter and several interesting souqs. One of the specialities of the city is the production of grass matting designed for mosques, but now sought-after for other interior design functions.

The Great Mosque

Look out for the Great Mosque which was completed in 1333. Situated at the top of a small incline, it has the Medersa of Abu al-Hassan on the left with an exquisite gate and carved balcony. The madrasa admission is 10dh, open daily 9.00-12.00 and 14.30-18.00. Do check out the view of Rabat from the roof.

Through an alley on the left of the mosque you can make your way to the orange/yellow door surrounds of the Tijani Zaouia on a corner to the right. Keep on along the alley and you will eventually come to the Sidi Abdullah ibn Hassoun Zaouia. Just in front of the zaouia is a short lane that takes you back to the road and the sea wall. It is a lovely circuit to walk in the early evening.

The mosque interior

Finding good accommodation in Salé used to be a problem. Thankfully this too is changing and there are a growing number of places to stay. One that we checked out was The Repose. With an easily accessible address in the Medina, it is stylish without being over the top.

The Repose - a haven in the Medina

The peaceful atmosphere is enhanced by superb staff and very hospitable owners who speak a variety of languages including English. The food is vegetarian, but not of the bland variety. Stuffed peppers, delightful salads and wicked chocolate desserts are the order of the day and reasonably priced.

All in all, we regretted that it took so long for us to "discover" Salé. With all the improvements that are in train, we suggest it is a tranquil and interesting place to stay. And, of course, if you are after more high octane nightlife, well, Rabat is merely a bridge away. Of course, if the weather is good and you are in a romantic mood, forget about bridges and taxis and after making your way down to the marina, haggle over the price to be rowed across the river in one of the splendid little blue boats.

Information: You can reach Salé by train, by car or Grand Taxi from Rabat.
For more information on The Repose, email info@therepose.com

See all The View from Fez POSTCARDS HERE.

Postcard from Rabat

On our trip up the coast of Morocco in search of new stories for The View from Fez, the team is now in Rabat, the capital.

the new train station in Rabat

The first thing to strike you if you're arriving in Rabat by train, is the newly refurbished station. The lovely old building has been retained, but inside it's all black marble and chrome, and very smart indeed. Upstairs is a food court with a number of different outlets serving anything from paninis to tagines to pizzas. On the ground level is a Budget rental car agency, a post office, foreign exchange bureau, Venezia icecream parlour, coffee shop, and a newspapers and magazines outlet. Wifi is free everywhere, as in Fez. There are lifts and escalators to take you to each floor.

RABAT-SALE TRAMWAY

The greatest innovation that is changing the face of Rabat is the tramway, due for completion later this year.

With two lines, the tramway will link Sale to Rabat much more than just the road. It will be a boon for the local population, and will also open Sale up to more tourism as it will be more easily accessible. At present, petits taxis cannot take passengers from Rabat to Sale; only the grands taxis can ply that route.


Traffic congestion and parking problems will be eased, and of course a tram is much more ecologically sensitive than cars and buses. The fare is likely to be about Dh7 per trip. This is on a par with a short taxi ride around town, but slightly more expensive than a bus.

See all The View from Fez POSTCARDS HERE.

Moroccan News Briefs

Seven Moroccans on aid flotilla

Morocco announced on Tuesday that seven of its nationals had been on board a Gaza-bound aid fleet that was attacked by Israeli forces early Monday morning

The seven Moroccans will be moved to the Jordanian capital of Amman shortly. There are no details on their condition.

On Monday morning, Israeli naval forces attacked the Freedom Flotilla, killing at least nine and wounding dozens. The forces also seized the ships and vessels and prevented the fleet from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Nabil Sharif said on Tuesday that the Jordanian embassy in Tel Aviv was taking steps to transfer the activists on board of the ships to the Arab kingdom to travel later to their countries.

Sharif said the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, Algeria and Pakistan requested Amman to transfer their nationals who were on board of the ships to the kingdom, adding that coordination will continue with other countries whose nationals were among the participants in the flotilla.

Morocco Vigorously Condemns Israel's "Vile" Attack

"The Kingdom of Morocco vigorously condemns the vile attack perpetrated on Monday by Israel against Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ships." - Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri.

"The Kingdom of Morocco, HM the King, and the Moroccan people and government vigorously denounce the vile attack perpetrated Monday morning by the Israeli army against the peace caravan," the Foreign Minister told the press on the sidelines of his participation in the 25th Africa-France summit in Nice.

"At the political, diplomatic and humanitarian levels, this attack is unjustifiable, unacceptable and does not make any sense," he said, recalling the humanitarian aims of the caravan which "was meant to bring support to the blockaded Palestinian brothers in Gaza."

"No pretext can be used to explain this military operation against innocents," Fassi Fihri made it clear, deploring that the attack took place at a time when direct negotiations with the Palestinians have been launched under the aegis of the United States.


British Criminal Jailed in Morocco

On Tuesday, the appeal court of Salé sentenced Ibrahim Lee Murray (pictured left) to 10 years in prison for setting up a criminal gang, armed robbery, kidnapping and forgery.

The court ordered the seizure of the convict's 800 shares in the Lee Inter Immobilier company, the house located in Rabat's Souissi neighbourhood, and other frozen assets for the benefit of the Moroccan State.

Murray is said to have masterminded the £53 million ($77 million) robbery of Kent Securitas depot in Tonbridge, England, in February 2006, then fled to Morocco, where he also has citizenship (Murray’s father is Moroccan). The British authorities requested the extradition of Lee Murray.

However, last June the Moroccan authorities refused to extradite Murray after establishing his Moroccan nationality. Since then detectives have worked closely with their overseas colleagues to ensure Murray did not escape justice.

He has been held in prison since his arrest at a shopping centre several months after the raid and has already served time for drug-related offences.

"I'm pleased that Murray, who played a key role in the conspiracy to kidnap the Dixons and rob the depot, has now been held accountable." - Detective Superintendent Mick Judge

Salé's appeal court confirmed the eight-month sentence handed down by the first instance court against Lee Lamrani Ibrahim Murray and Paul Allan, a British citizen extradited to Britain in May 2007.

They were also fined 10,000 dirhams ($1,223) each and sentenced to jointly pay 303,100 dirhams ($37K) to the Moroccan customs.

OPINION

US Marines in Fez

For those of us who live in Fez from day today, life in the Fez Medina can see quite ordinary. Here is how it looked to a group of marines on a whirlwind tour. The report was written by Maj. Paul Greenberg, Marine Forces Reserve

One Marine described the store as “a scene out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Marines deployed here for exercise African Lion stepped outside their comfort zone May 29 to travel several hundred kilometers by bus to visit the historic Moroccan city of Fes and indulge in the local culture.

A detachment of Marines and sailors from Marine Aerial Refueling Squadron (VMGR) 234, a Marine Forces Reserve unit based in Fort Worth, Texas, is here on a two-week reserve summer deployment in support of this theater security cooperation exercise.

Over the course of about 17 days in country, the Marines are conducting both day and night operations in their KC-130 aircraft with the Royal Moroccan Air Force, performing their primary mission of refueling the Moroccan F-5 jet fighters while in mid-air.

In addition, the squadron is a key logistical arm of the Task Force, moving hundreds of troops around and out of the country.

However, all work and no culture can make a deployment a drab experience to quickly forget.

“This is good for the Marines to learn something about Moroccan history and culture,” said Sgt. Khalid Tament, a Moroccan Gendarme who accompanied the Marines on the tour.

Tament, who is fluent in English, French and Arabic, formed friendships with the Marines in the squadron while working on the Royal Air Base here. He assisted the tour guide and gave the Marines advice on bargaining for the best price for artisan goods in the shops.

“Today, they don’t have to worry about missions,” said Tament. “Today they can relax and be tourists and experience the real Morocco.”

The Marines and sailors spent most of their day in the Fes el Bali Medina, which is one of the oldest in the country. It was constructed in its current configuration in the 9th Century, and remains both a world-renowned tourist attraction and a routine place of commerce for locals.

“When you hear the word ‘Balak!’ that means get out of the way,” instructed Mohammed, the troops’ tour guide. “When you hear that, it means that a donkey cart will be coming through.”

Although the narrow walkways of the medina are off-limits to all vehicle and bicycle traffic, donkeys laden with produce and other goods clopped along the pavement behind their masters.

The Marines heeded the instruction of their guide, and backed against the walls or jumped into doorways to stay out of the way of the animals.

While in the Medina, the Marines had the chance to visit a traditional leather tannery which dates back to the 13th Century. The guide explained the leather tanning process in detail, and handed each of them a sprig of mint. He instructed them to shove the mint into their nostrils to ward off the strong stench of the tanning dyes, which are made primarily from pigeon excrement, limestone and salt.

Next to the tanning vats was a multi-tiered store with a maze of narrow doorways and stairwells. The walls of each room were lined with leather goods. One floor had jackets; another pants; an entire room was filled with handbags and backpacks of indeterminate age and endless variety of design. One Marine described the store as “a scene out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Despite the aroma, which ranged from mild to noxious depending on the room’s proximity to the tanning vats, the Marines bargained with the vendors and bought leather jackets, backpacks and various other items.

“It was really interesting,” said Staff Sgt. Seth Cavarretta, a squadron maintenance controller and airframes mechanic. “I really liked walking through the medina, seeing all the windy passages, artisans at work in the shops, the garments, and the spices.”

After several hours of touring the Medina, the troops were overdue for lunch. Their guide took them to a traditional Moroccan restaurant in the medina. They had their choice of couscous, tajine or pastilla.

“Too often, Marines go to foreign countries and only focus on the mission. They get stuck in their workspaces and don’t get out to really experience the culture. This is an important part of their deployment. They only get four days off out of the 25 days that we’re on this mission, and I wanted to make sure they got to see this,” said Maj. Mike Quirk, the VMGR-234 detachment commander.

“This is especially good for the maintenance Marines, who don’t get to deploy a lot,” said Quirk. “They spend most of their time back on the flight line in Fort Worth. So it’s really important that they get out and can experience this type of thing.”

After lunch, the group departed Fes, driving on a country road through lush rolling hills and fields of hay, vegetables, grazing livestock, vineyards and pungent olive groves.

“This looks just like central California,” commented Sgt. David Goldblatt, one of the squadron’s KC-130 loadmasters, who hails from the Golden State.

They passed through the city of Meknes and back into the country again, arriving at the final stop on their tour.

The Marines got out of their mini-buses and entered the site of the ancient Roman city of Volubilis.

These crumbling pillars, walls and columns represent the remains of a bustling city built by the Romans more than 2,100 years ago.

The troops hiked and climbed around the site with the European tourists there, taking photos and reading inscriptions.

“It was pretty amazing that this was the Romans’ western outpost at one time,” said Sgt. Alan McBride, an Active Reserve Marine from Yuma, Ariz., who works in the squadron’s flight operations department. This is McBride’s first overseas deployment in his six years in the Marine Corps.

“I didn’t realize that the Roman Empire stretched this far south,” commented McBride. “This has really been a great trip.”

The troops headed back to Kenitra as the sun set over the horizon.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Paul Greenberg

Moorish Corsairs: The History of Salé

Inspired by Professor Leila Maziane's new book, The Corsairs of Salé, Helen Ranger looks at the history of piracy in the small port of Salé that lies across the Bouregreg River from Rabat.

Salé

Unlike most Moroccan ports, Salé is turned towards the Atlantic, while others have a more Mediterranean focus. In the 17th century, this geographical factor greatly helped the city of Salé and other, smaller Moroccan ports to participate in the construction of an 'Atlantic World' through fishing, trade and piracy.

Both Morocco and Europe faced political and social crises at the time. In Morocco, the death of the Sultan Ahmad al Mansur in 1603 caused civil strife and the disintegration of the country. Several small republics came into being, including one in Salé. In Europe, the Moors were finally expelled from Spain (1609-1614) and 13 000 of them settled in Salé, joining the existing 3000 Estremadurans. In addition, Salé also became home to some English pirates from neighbouring La Mamora, whose stronghold had just been taken by the Spaniards.

Morocco received also hundreds of renegades who were running away from the numerous conflicts Europe experienced in the 17th century. Salé was the natural gathering point for these men in search of fortune. They just had to convert to Islam. For example, Dutch sailor Morat Rais was captured by the Algerians in 1618. He converted to Islam and then became a 'Turk by trade' (ie a pirate), operating out of Salé. He undertook daring raids all over the Northern Atlantic - he is most famous for raiding Reykjavik in 1627. When he returned, he became the first governor of Salé and the admiral of the fleet.

corsairs prepare to raid a galleon

Salé played an important part in the economic development of Morocco. It provided the primary materials necessary for shipbuilding as well as food. The forest in particular proved crucial for the city’s development. Indeed, although the Salétins (residents of Salé) were famous for reusing captured European ships, they usually built their own vessels.

Besides, the region provided the crews for some sixty corsair ships. In the lists of captured corsairs we spot names typical of the mountains indicating that people came from as far as the Rif to become corsairs. In effect, the hinterland of Salé kept growing until it reached Algeria and even Tunisia. Salé was supported by other ports such as La Mamora (taked from the Spaniards in 1681) and Larache (captured in 1689) that provided men and shipyards. The network expanded along the European coasts, even as far as the Netherlands where pirates would buy materials and hire sailors. The Salétins and the Algerian community of Tetouan and other North African piracy hubs all supported each other; this lasted until the end of the age of piracy around 1800.

Salé was completely reliant on piracy. Little was produced in the city; normal trade existed but the bulk of commerce was in stolen goods that were distributed by a network of Jewish traders. It was a cosmpolitan place of about 20 000 people; the Moors still spoke Castellan, there were diplomats, merchants, black slaves belonging to the sultan and as many as 6000 captives. People came from all over Morocco to try and get a job as a corsair, as there were political and social problems as well as famines and epidemics. There was no ideological issue - they were fighting the Christians.

There was good money to be made. Spoils were democratically distributed, everyone invested in piracy, owning perhaps a small share in a ship.

But it couldn't last. Things ground to a halt in 1666 when the sultan Moulay al-Rashid conquered Salé and tried to control the piracy directly, instead of it being private enterprise. His plan simply didn't work - people lost interest, officials embezzled money and the ships gradually lost the quality that had made them the most feared vessels on the Atlantic.

a Barbary galley

Leila Maziane has a PhD from Caen University in France, and now teaches at the Hassan II University in Mohammedia.