Moroccans and the Arabic Genome

One of the intriguing things about Moroccans is their insistence that they are "not African" and "not Arabic". When asked they will normally respond by saying they are "Mahgrebi" - that is Moroccan. And now it turns out that science is on their side. A recent publication from National Geographic reports on the research...

The Genographic Project was launched in 2005 by geneticist Spencer Wells. The study analyzes historical trends of the DNA of subjects spread across the world to understand our genetic roots. The researchers collected DNA samples from all continents. This long sampling work allows to dissect the movements of populations through the history and origins of 60 ethnic groups. The study revealed surprises in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The Genographic Project, produced by the National Geographic Corporation, decrypts the DNA of populations across the planet. In the Maghreb, it helps to deconstruct prejudices about the predominance of the Arab genome.

The human leukocyte antigen HLA DNA data suggest that most Moroccans are of a Berber origin and that Arabs who invaded North Africa and Spain in the 7th century did not substantially contribute to the gene pool. It now appears that the Arabisation of the area was mainly a cultural process, rather than a demographic replacement of the Berber populations that inhabited the region where the Arabic expansion took place

The Arab genome is not dominant in North Africa

Maghreb and North Africa are often referred to as part of the "Arab world". For example, the results show that the Arab genome is a minority in Tunisia, which has a similar population to Morocco and the rest of the Maghreb. Only 4% of the genome is Arab, compared with 88% of the genome of North Africa.

Typical genome distribution in the Maghreb

The Arab component came in two waves: first with the arrival of agriculture came from the Middle East some 8000 years ago, then during the Islamic conquest in the seventh century. Egypt, which thinks of itself as the country of Arab civilisation, has only 17% of the Arab genome, compared with 68% of the genome from North Africa and 4% from the Jewish diaspora.

The Arab genome has not spread so widely in the neighbouring countries of Europe

While historically the Arab conquest has gone to Europe, very few traces of the genome of this ethnic group have been found in the DNA of the populations of the old continent. There are none, for example, in France, Italy, Spain or Portugal. On the other hand, the genome of North Africa is present in 9% of the samples of Spanish and Portuguese population. Its content is 2% among Italians and French. " North African components represent the historical population migrations through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Iberian Peninsula in the last 2 000 years ", scientists explain.

The genome of North Africa present in unexpected places

The Genographic project reveals that the populations of North Africa would have gone much further than we imagined. Traces of their genome have been found even in South America! In Peru, 3% of the population genome comes from North Africa, as is Puerto Rico (3%), compared with 6% in Colombia. The project's initiators explain on their website that the presence of the North African genome in these areas is due " to the slave trade from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, which had a significant influence on local genetic models ."

The country where the Arab genome is most present is Kuwait (84%). The genetic makeup of the populations of this area also includes 7% of Asia Minor, 4% of North Africa and 3% of East Africa. " The small component of North Africa reflects the proximity of Kuwait with Africa, and could have been increased by the Arab slave trade between the eighth and the nineteenth century ," explains the National Geographic website.

The Lebanese population also has an important ratio of the Arabic genome (44%). The remaining percentage is very diverse, with 14% in the Jewish diaspora, 2% in East Africa, 11% in North Africa, 10% in Asia Minor and 5% in Southern Europe.

But the biggest surprise...

Tracing the ancient roots of the Moroccan Amazigh (Berber) brings some unexpected results. DNA analysis has found commonalities between Amazigh Moroccan populations and those of the Saami (Lapp) people of Scandinavia showing a link dating from around 9,000 years ago.

Saami families

This unexpected finding not only confirms that the Franco-Cantabrian refuge area of southwestern Europe was the source of late-glacial expansions of hunter-gatherers that repopulated northern Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum but also reveals a direct maternal link between those European hunter-gatherer populations and the Amazigh. See the research here: Saami and Berbers—An Unexpected Mitochondrial DNA Link

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Minister of Education Fires Another Salvo in the English Debate

At a study day organised by the Faculty of Science and Technology in Settat, the Minister for Higher Education for Scientific Research and Training, Lahcen Daoudi, said that any student who does not study English was "digging their own grave"

Students are "digging their own grave"

English is the language of science, of aviation, computers, diplomacy, and tourism. And most Moroccan acknowledge that English increases the chances of getting a good job. Yet, despite an ongoing debate, students appear reluctant to take up the challenge.

Lahcen Daoudi, who has been a longtime advocate for importance of English, said he was unsatisfied with the lack of interest among students in studying this language. He admitted his “call has not yet had its effect.”

The minister also stressed the need to promote and modernise the Moroccan universities, calling on the regional councils to play a role. Concerning higher education fees, Daoudi said that the wealthy should pay for their studies, because not doing so is “unjust and does not serve social justice in Morocco”.

Back in 2014, Lahcen Daoudi came out strongly in favour of adopting English in the education system. “students who want to have access to science departments at Moroccan universities must be proficient in English,’’ Daoudi said and declared that the ministry’s policy of adopting the French Baccalaureate in the country was “a dubious solution”, to Morocco’s ailing education system, explaining that “French is no longer useful”.

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Magana Bouanania - The Famous Water Clock in Fez

Among the nearly 11,000 historic buildings in the Fez Medina, one of the most visited sites is the famous Magana Bouanania - the remains of the ancient water clock on the Talaa Kbira

The hydraulic clock was built on the orders of the  Merinid Sultan Abu Inan Faris. He commissioned Abou al-Hassan Ibn Ali Ahmed Tlemsani to undertake the construction which was completed on the 6th of May 1357. Tlemsani was the muwaqqit - the man in charge of maintaining clocks that indicated the correct times for the muezzin to announce the call to prayer. However, the clock fell into disrepair and has remained silent and inert for almost five centuries.

Dar al-Magana today - still awaiting reconstruction

How the clock, with its wooden decor and sculpted plaster, originally functioned is a mystery that has long puzzled scientists.

The clock consists of 13 windows and platforms carrying brass bowls. The motion of the clock was presumably maintained by a kind of small cart which ran from left to right behind twelve doors. At one end, the cart was attached to a rope with a hanging weight; at the other end to a rope with a weight that floated on the surface of a water reservoir that was drained at a regular pace. Each hour one of the doors opened; at the same time a metal ball was dropped into one of the twelve brass bowls. The rafters sticking out of the building above the doors are identical to the rafters of the Bouinania Madrasa (Islamic school) and originally supported a small roof to shield the doors and bowls.

Dar al-Magana in the beginning of the last century

On December 16th, 2004 specialist heritage experts under the guidance of the  Agency for the Development and Rehabilitation of the city of Fez (ADER-Fez) removed the bowls and began to investigate the possible reconstruction of the clock. ADER later stated that they were confident that after reconstruction the clock would be operational again.

A possible clue to the workings of the clock lie in treatise Ktab 'Amal al-sa'at wa-l-amal biha (On the Construction of Clocks and their Use) written by the Arab engineer Ridwan b. al Saati in 1203. The book contains a description of the Jayrun Water Clock,  built by Muhammad al-Sa'ati, which was positioned at the gate of Damascus, Syria, at the exit of the Umayyad Mosque in the 12th century.

The Jayrun Water Clock,  built by Muhammad al-Sa'ati

The scholar Al Jazanaî in his book "Zahrat Al Aas" (the flower of myrtle) gave a description of the Magana Bouanania, saying that " in front of the north gate of his new madrasa Abu Inan Al Mérini built a " Magana "with cups and bowls of brass. To mark the hour, a weight falls in one of the cups and a window opened. This building was erected in the last days of the construction of the Bouanania madrasa."

Other clues may lie in the work of Alī Ibn Khalaf al-Murādī, an 11th century mechanical engineer and author of the unique technological manuscript wonderfully entitled Kitāb al-asrār fī natā'ij al-afkār (The Book of Secrets as the Results of Thoughts).

A fragment of The Book of Secrets

ADER can certainly be forgiven for the years of waiting for the water clock to be restored. Their work involves protection and preservation of a huge number of historic sites in the medina of Fez, including 43 Islamic schools, 83 mausoleums and zaouïas, 176 mosques, the Quaraouiyine university, 40 hammams and some 70 km of water networks.

At a recent ADER meeting its director, Fouad Serrhini, pointed out that the Medina is home to 1.276 artisanal art workshops employing nearly 40,000 artisan and that there are 12 specialised souks, 9,600 shops and three major traditional tanneries.

Serrhini also noted that the Medina of Fez is a living example an intact medina and that ADER would continue to safeguard the urban and architectural heritage and ensure its integration into the economy and the development of commercial, craft, culture and tourism, in addition to enhancing the attractiveness of the Medina for its inhabitants as well as visitors.

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Eleonora's Falcon - Will Morocco's Conservation Plan Be Acted On?

Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae) is a migratory raptor that arrives in Morocco each year to breed on the island of Mogador off the coast from Essaouira. Although it is not critically endangered (listed as "least concern") the Moroccan Department of Water and Forestry is taking steps to conserve the species on Mogador

The Water and Forestry Department together with researchers from Morocco and Spain have been working for several years on a conservation action plan, that is intended to help them better understand Eleonora's falcon, improve reproduction space and increase its population. The plan is yet to be finalised and implemented.

"The falcon Eleonore is an emblematic species of Moroccan fauna. Hence the importance of conservation," says Zouhir Amhaouch, from the Division of Natural Parks and Reserves.

The ongoing study programme in Morocco mobilises a team of six researchers and three doctoral students working in partnership with the University of Alicante and a research institute in Spain.

"As researchers, we provide scientific information," explains Hamid Rguibi, ornithologist and professor at the University Chouaib Doukkali of El Jadida. "Personally, I work on the reproductive success. Eleonora's falcon lays three to four eggs per nest. I follow them until they fledge."

Researchers also want to study the falcon's migration route. "It will be a better target our actions for the conservation of this species," says Rguibi. However, they have not been as successful as other researchers. Their study in 2013 did not succeed due to lack of budget.

"We started in September following two adult falcons. But we lost the satellite signal in December at the Sahara in Niger," the researcher said, adding that they have since dropped the research because of the cost of such an operation. A satellite transmitter costs about 1200 euros (over 12,000 dirhams), and a further 2,600 to 2,70070 euros (26,000 27,000 dirhams) for a satellite subscription.

Recent satellite tracking of falcons from Italy and Spain confirming that the birds migrate over the Sahara to Madagascar.

This is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Madagascar. The migration route has been recently confirmed by Spanish and German researchers, and, contrary to previous suggestions, it has been demonstrated by satellite telemetry to be inland through the African continent. Traditionally it has been suggested to be coastal, with birds from the western end of the Mediterranean flying to Suez before flying south down the Red Sea, and across the Horn of Africa. However, recent satellite tracked an inland route through the Sahara Desert, the equatorial rainforests until reaching Kenya and Mozambique. The total distance covered during the flight has reached up to 9,000 km (5,600 mi) for a single one-way trip.

The Moroccans are also studying an eco-tourism project on the island of Mogador at the request of the authorities of Essaouira. The target would be primarily students in groups limited to twelve at a time.

Eleonora's Falcon - all you need to know

Eleonora's falcon is named after Eleonor of Arborea, national heroine of Sardinia. Eleanor was particularly interested in ornithology and was the first person to legislate protection to a certain species of bird (falcon). Based on this, the Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae) was named after her.

This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (extent of occurrence 20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and past declines are not believed to have been be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (30% decline over 10 years or three generations). The population size is moderately small to large, and it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in 10 years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern. - Birdlife International

Eleonora's Falcon is mainly insectivorous outside the breeding season. During the latter season, which is very late (from July to October) as an adaptation to coincide with autumnal bird migration, both adults and chicks consume migrating birds (mainly passerines but also small non-passerines like Hoopoe and swifts) that fly through Mediterranean islands and Atlantic coast.

During a fieldwork study in 2014, scientists recorded an unusual predation behaviour by this falcon in the Mogador archipelago off Moroccan Atlantic coast.  It was recently observed catching and imprisoning small birds, removing their flight feathers and feeding them, sometimes days later, to their young. This is unique among bird species. The authors remarked that Eleonora's Falcons kept alive some of the captured prey. To do this, "the falcons keep or ‘imprison’ some prey in a relatively deep cavity or in a fissure of rocks from where they can’t escape as their flight feathers (both tail and wings feathers) were already pulled out. Or by keeping them trapped in a tight and deep hole which makes them unable to move neither their wings nor their hanging legs (photo below of the Common Whitethroat)".

The authors reported also that this behaviour can occur even before the eggs hatch, and was already well known to a local fisherman who is staying in the archipelago in a more or less regular basis for decades.

The authors interpreted this hitherto unknown behaviour for this falcon or for any other raptor species as a form of food storage behaviour. They wrote: “Keeping prey alive, one or two days (the precise period not yet known), may allow the falcon to have a fresh food on the right moment, because the dead prey brought to the nest and untouched can no longer be consumed as it dries out too quickly”.

This unusual predation behaviour was described in  the last issue of Alauda: Qninba, A., Benhoussa, A. Radi, M., El Idrissi, A., Bousadik, H., Badaoui B. & El Agbani, M.A. 2015. Mode de prédation très particulier du Faucon d’Éléonore Falco eleonorae sur l’Archipel d’Essaouira

One of the last bird species in Europe to be discovered by science, and noted for its late breeding season and unusual feeding habits, Eleonora’s falcon is a fairly large and slender falcon, with long, narrow wings and a relatively long, rounded tail. The species occurs in two quite different colour morphs, a light and a dark form. Around 30 percent of both males and females belong to the dark form and 70 percent to the light form. The less common dark form is dark brown to slate black all over, often with a cream throat, and sometimes a reddish tinge on the lower underparts. Faint grey to buff bars can usually be seen on the tail when the bird is seen at a close distance. In contrast, the light form is dark only on the back, with white or cream cheeks and throat, a dark ‘moustache’ stripe on the face, and buff underparts, which become more reddish lower down, with black streaks. The vent is usually plain, and the greyish tail may have reddish-brown bars, with a dark tip. The degree of streaking, and of shading from buff to reddish-brown on the belly, varies between individuals, and intermediates between the dark and light forms also rarely occur. In flight, Eleonora’s falcon can be distinguished from other, similar falcon species by the dark underwing-coverts, which contrast with paler flight feathers.

The most common call of Eleonora’s falcon is a harsh keya, extended into kje-kje-kje-kjah .

Eleonora’s falcon breeds later in the year than almost any other northern hemisphere bird, a behaviour that is linked to the species’ other unusual feature, its seasonal switch in diet. For most of the year, Eleonora’s falcon feeds mainly on large flying insects, such as butterflies, beetles, locusts, dragonflies, and winged ants and termites, with prey usually caught and eaten in flight. However, during the breeding season the diet switches to small migrant birds, passing on the autumn migration from Europe to Africa. Breeding late in the year allows Eleonora’s falcon to raise its young on this seasonal glut of food. Birds are caught in the air, with hunting usually taking place over the sea, where a number of falcons may fly into a headwind, so remaining almost on the spot and forming a ‘barrier’ to intercept passing prey

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A Majority of Moroccans Want English as Second Language

For months the debate about  linguistic identity has raged in Morocco. The tussle is between French, the English, with clear lines between those who favour retaining what they describe as the "language of history and the protectorate" and English, the language of "science and civilisation" 

The politicians have been vocal in the debate with Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, expressing his desire to give English prime importance in the educational system and to become the second language after the Arabic.  The Minister of Higher Education, Lahcen Daoudi, has repeatedly stressed of English in the scientific disciplines, saying "We are obliged to gain proficiency in English" .

According to a recent poll by the Hespress newspaper, the overwhelming majority of voters want English over French in Morocco's educational system in Morocco.

The results of the poll of  41,526  people saw the support rate for English at 85.98 with only 14.02 percent of respondents wanting to keep French.

Dr Abdel Kader Fassi Fihri

International expert in the field of  linguistics, Dr Abdel Kader Fassi Fihri, says the result was"good news", because it reflects the awareness of Moroccan citizens in regard to the choice of foreign language, and the language of education in particular.

Fassi Fihri stressed that English, "being the universal language, is the language of trading and if you want to reach out to the world or want to move between one region and another, even in the Arab countries or  China, you need English. "

He also pointed out that English is the global language of science and scientific journals internationally are all indexed in English.

Dr Abdel Kader Fassi Fihri noted that "English has become the first language in Europe.  For example, in Spain, Germany, Portugal, and France the first other language is English," adding that he "You only find  French as the first foreign language in some African countries, which were a colony of France and Belgium."

According to Morocco World News, Moroccans have become more outspoken about the importance of switching the country’s education system from French to English. For the majority of them, as it is the case with the sample surveyed by Arabic-speaking news website Hespress, French is limiting their access to knowledge and economic opportunities. Even Moroccan officials have expressed on numerous occasions the importance of adopting English over French within the Moroccan educational system. For the head of government Abdelilah Benkirane, for instance, English is the language of today’s science, technology and commerce.

However, there are still people in Morocco who fiercely lobby for French to be kept the first foreign language of the country. Their efforts have yielded results as the Supreme Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research is said to be reconsidering earlier recommendations to replace French with English in the Moroccan curriculum. The new recommendations, if adopted, will be included in the Supreme Council’s Strategic Report to be submitted to King Mohammed VI.

The council headed by Omar Azziman, an advisor to King Mohammed VI, is said to have ordered the formation of a sub-committee to review the proposal of replacing French with English, a proposal already hailed by many members of the Council’s Permanent Committee on Curriculum, Programs, Training and Teaching tools in earlier sessions.

As one school teacher in Fez summed up, "The longer we take to make the switch to English, the longer we limit Morocco's possibilities."

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Total Lunar Eclipse Visible in Fez

Early Monday morning a total lunar eclipse will be fully visible in Fez.  The total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a blood moon, as the moon turns red. What should make this eclipse spectacular is that the moon is at the nearest point to earth for this year

Phases and local times of this eclipse in Morocco

Start of the partial eclipse will be around 02:07
The maximum eclipse will be around 03:47
The end of the partial eclipse will be at 05:27

The total time of the eclipse is 5 hours and 11 minutes.

Earlier tonight  - and the forecast is for clear skies and good visibility

UPDATE:  Sadly the sky in Fez clouded over and although The View From Fez team were up to watch the eclipse - there was nothing to see.

The eclipse as seen from the UK

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Partial Solar Eclipse ~ Darkness at Noon

A rare partial solar eclipse occurred on Sunday afternoon in Morocco

a natural phenomenon was watched by large crowds throughout the country. The partial solar eclipse that began at around 11.30am, reached its maximum at noon and ended around 12:30.

Professor Samir Kadiri, head of the astronomical observatory of the Ribat Al Fath Association for Sustainable Development, said the eclipse, which lasted about an hour, is rare for the simple reason that is not visible at every new moon, or of the same place on earth.

"This astronomical phenomenon is at its maximum when the moon covers up the sun around noon," said he said.

According to experts, the show was seen in over 40 countries worldwide. Almost all of Africa and the southern Mediterranean region observed partial phases of this event.

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Atlas Lions on the Come-back Trail?

The Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo), also known as the Atlas lion is a subspecies of lion that became extinct in the wild in the 20th century. Its former habitat range was in North Africa encompassing the region from Morocco to Egypt. And over the last few years there have been growing calls for the reintroduction of the Babrary lion to the wild in Morocco.

What makes this extraordinary is that there are many scientists who believe the lion is extinct. Yet others claim there are 90 lions alive in zoos including 35 in Rabat.

The Moroccan Ministry of Water and Forests had raised the matter in 2000, with the growing awareness of the danger threatening this species.

The reintroduction of the Atlas lions in their natural sphere is deemed a long-term project that would necessitate both significant human and financial efforts to achieve it.

The former popularity of the Barbary Lion as a zoo animal provides the only hope to ever see it again in the wild in North Africa. Many zoos provide mating programmes, which will help to increase the population of the species.

After years of research into the science of the Barbary Lion and stories of surviving examples, WildLink International, in collaboration with Oxford University, launched their ambitious International Barbary Lion Project.

Oxford used the very latest DNA techniques to identify the DNA 'fingerprint' of the Barbary Lion subspecies. Researchers took bone samples from remains of Barbary Lions in museums across Europe. These samples were returned to Oxford University where the science team extracted the DNA sequence which identified the Barbary as a separate subspecies.

Although the Barbary may be extinct, and is certainly extinct in the wild, WildLink International looked to identify a handful of lions in captivity around the world that may be descended from the original Barbary Lion. These descendants were to be tested against the DNA fingerprint and the degree of any hybridization (from crossbreeding) can then be determined. The best candidates were to then enter a selective breeding programme slated to 'breed back' the Barbary Lion. The final phase of the project intended to see the lions released into a National Park in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

As of March 2010, two alleged barbary lion cubs have been moved to 'The Texas Zoo' in Victoria, Texas where efforts are being made to preserve the endangered species under the WildLink International conservation programme

In Morocco a protected area of 10,000 hectares has allegedly been defined in a sparsely populated area in order to build this ambitious project.

As recently as last week La Vie Eco was writing that "Moroccan civil society has been mobilized recently in support of the kingdom’s mountain lions". There is reportedly an internet a petition circulating calling for the reintroduction of the atlas lions to their natural environment, which proponents say is Morocco’s Atlas mountains.

The main sources of natural prey for the predators of the Atlas Mountains were Barbary Stag and gazelle. Another particular favorite, and somewhat easier target, were the herds of cows and sheep kept by man. The method of hunting was never documented, but it is believed that they used the same death by strangulation method as do the other big cats of the world.


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Moroccan Mars Meteorite to Go Under the Hammer

A meteorite that landed in the Moroccan desert last summer was ejected from the surface of Mars 700,000 years ago, a new study reports. The meteorite is composed of an abundance of black glass, with noble gases trapped inside. On Sunday a piece of it will be offered at an auction in New York.

The meteorite ( fragment pictured above), named Tissint, after a nearby village, is only the fifth Martian meteorite that people have witnessed falling to Earth. There are about 60 known meteorites thought to be from Mars. But Tissint is unique because it fell into the desert and suffered little damage from Earth’s environment.  According to  Dr Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane, an astronomer at the Hassan II University in Casablanca, it is in perfect condition. “We had no rain between the moment it fell and the moment it was collected,” Dr. Aoudjehane  said. “It was fresh, and it is very exciting to be able to analyse this. Based on the noble gas measurements, we could calculate the ejection age of the meteorite”.

The meteorite may have been knocked loose from Mars by an asteroid or some other large body that hit the planet, the researchers believe. The impact may have also caused some melting, creating the black glass and preserving a Mars “signature” inside the glass.

When Dr Aoudjehane first heard news of the fireball that lit up the sky she traveled 700 miles from Casablanca, over the Sahara, to find the "strewn field" — where pieces spread across the sand. She was not the first one there. "The first thing that I see is hundreds of people in the middle of nowhere. And this is something that I will never forget." Men, women and children were camped out, hunting for the pieces. Meteorites are often found in North Africa — unusual rocks stand out in the desert — and they bring a good price.

A piece of the Tissint meteorite will be offered at a meteorite auction in Manhattan that is billed as the biggest ever, and the fragment on auction starts at $230,000.

It is believed that the fragment on auction fits exactly with the piece (pictured above) at the Natural History Museum in London. Hopefully someone will be generous enough to reunite them.

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Taxi Counter - a win for Moroccan app developer

BeMyapp is a mobile app development competition aiming to build successful startups by fostering the encounter of various people and profiles among them idea holders (called “idea generators”), developers, designers, and people with specific abilities (called “super powers”). This year the winner was from Morocco.

On July 29th, 400 creatives, doers and makers got together in 4 different countries to build mobile applications as part of the BeMyApp World Cup. Sao Paulo, Brussels, Casablanca and Sousse held a BeMyApp WeekEnd all at the same time and competed for the Global Winner title. More than 20 projects were built throughout the course of the weekend and long-lasting collaborations were sparked. The event brought together people with diverse expertise and skills, and the variety of apps developed is remarkable!

The winner, announced on July 5th, was mobile app “Taxi Counter,” from Morocco which won this year's BeMyApp World Cup.

Taxi Counter is a mobile app that meets the needs of hundred thousands of people not only in Morocco but also worldwide. Thanks to Taxi Counter, people that own a smartphone and take a taxi will be able to estimate the fare of each of their route. The application also contains a route map from Google maps using its API and the user’s route will be drawn on the map in real time so they can record the trip on their Smartphone and come back anytime. The beauty of this function is that you can record it even without an internet connection to networks and back the way after the login.

The concept of the BeMyApp weekend is similar to Startup Weekend, with a global competition twist. Every registered idea generator has 1 minute to pitch a mobile application concept to a specialised jury on the first day (Friday, June 29th this time). The jury is composed of people with mobile/tech/digital and entrepreneurship backgrounds who select the best mobile application concepts, around which teams are formed. The best ideas are developed during a full 48 hour marathon weekend of designing, business modelling and coding. On Sunday in every country, each team presents its mobile application to its jury, which nominates the best local mobile app. Then the four finalists from Brazil, Belgium, Morocco and Tunisia enter 48 hours of online public voting.

The Moroccan's were well organised, having set up the first co-working space in Morocco called iNSANE! (إنسان) by evento, a young startup specialised in the organisation of events around the web. It paid off , and when the votes were counted, Morocco was a clear winner.

As a boost to the winner and finalists, it has been announced that one of the most renowned accelerators in Europe, Springboard, is giving to all 4 BeMyApp World Cup finalists the unique opportunity to directly pitch to the Investors Board and join the Springboard Mobile Program in London in late 2012.

The finalists will be able to skip the application process and will be given a fast-track application access to the program. In addition to 15,000 pounds seed funding, office space and mentorship, Springboard will assist with the visa application and second round of funding if the team is accepted in the program after the interviews with the investors. We wish the Moroccans good luck.

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Solar Impulse Continues Flight to Morocco

The Solar Impulse aircraft of Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg took off from Madrid early today for its final destination of Rabat-Salé in Morocco. The prototype is expected to land before midnight in Rabat.

The solar powered aircraft, which will soon be attempting a round-the-world flight has been using the flight as a test programme while at the same time participating in celebrations around the construction activities in the Ouarzazate region of what will be the world’s largest thermo-solar power plant. Of a capacity of 160 MW, the plant is part of Morocco’s energy plan whose goal is to build, by 2020, five solar parks with the capacity of 2000 megawatts, reducing CO2 emission of 3,7 million tons.

The Solar Impulse team said it supports this pioneering project which is in line with its own message and its philosophy of renewable energies.

The first leg of the trip from Switzerland to Spain (see our story here), was completed by pilot André Borschberg, now Bertrand Piccard takes over the controls to complete the mission to complete of flying for over 2,500km without a drop of fuel. The aircraft will take-off from the Madrid-Barajas airport and climb to an altitude of 11,000ft (3,600 metres) toward Seville. The HB-SIA will then cross the Gibraltar strait over the Mediterranean at an altitude of 26,000ft (8,500m) at around 16:00UTC entering Moroccan airspace via Tangier for Rabat. The landing in Rabat is expected at 10 pm.

Official events for youth and adult audiences, seminars and conferences organized by MASEN will take place throughout the week in Rabat. Although the flight has been confirmed, the flight director may still decide to postpone it or alter the route up to a short time before takeoff.

You can follow the aircraft in real time on www.solarimpulse.com.

VISIT THE LIVE FEED 



Landing took place at 11.30 pm Rabat time.

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Solar Powered Flight To Arrive In Morocco Next Week

Solar Impulse is ready for the first ever solar powered intercontinental flight From Switzerland to Morocco. The trip will coincide with launch of construction of largest ever solar thermal plant in Morocco's southern Ouarzazate region.

Solar Impulse will be welcomed by Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy

The Swiss sun-powered aircraft Solar Impulse will on Thursday attempt its first intercontinental flight, travelling from Switzerland to Morocco without using a drop of fuel, organisers said. If successful it will be the longest journey to date for the craft after an inaugural flight to Paris and Brussels last year.

Organisers announced at the end of March that the 2,500 km (1,550 mile) trip will coincide with the launch of construction of the largest ever solar thermal plant in Morocco's southern Ouarzazate region.

The plane is scheduled to take off from a military airport at Payerne in Switzerland at 06:45 am (0445 GMT), piloted by Andre Borschberg, who is expected to land in Madrid at around 2:00 am on Friday for a stopover.

Pilot and CEO of Solar Impulse Andre Borschberg    Photograph by: Michel Euler

Bertrand Piccard will pilot the second leg on to Rabat, scheduled to leave Madrid on Monday at the earliest, organisers said.

In Morocco, Solar Impulse will be welcomed by the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN).

The trip would be a rehearsal in the run-up to the plane's round-the-world flight planned for 2014.

The high-tech aircraft, which has the wingspan of a large airliner but weighs no more than a saloon car, made history in July 2010 as the first manned plane to fly around the clock on the sun's energy. It holds the record for the longest flight by a manned solar-powered aeroplane after staying aloft for 26 hours, 10 minutes and 19 seconds above Switzerland, also setting a record for altitude by flying at 9,235 metres (30,298 feet).

The Flight Route

The aircraft will took-off today (24 May 2012) from the Payerne airfield (Switzerland) crossing the border via the Jura in the direction of Pontarlier (France) ascending to an altitude of 3’600 meters. The aircraft will then fly over the Massif Central and proceed in the direction of Toulouse before crossing over the Pyrenees at an altitude of 8’500 meters. The prototype is expected to land in Madrid-Barajas airport sometime around 02:00AM (UTC+2) at Madrid-Barajas airport avoiding the peak of international air traffic. Bertrand Piccard will then take the lead and take-off some days thereafter crossing the Gibraltar strait and will land in Rabat in the evening.

Solar Impulse is expected to land in Rabat on Monday or Tuesday.

Follow the flight on line

During the Crossing Frontiers Flights, each flight can be tracked live on www.solarimpulse.com as well as via Twitter (for André or Bertrand), Facebook and via the Smartphone app “Solar Impulse Inventing the Future”, available free on Appstore and Androïd Market. The airplane’s position, altitude and speed will be shown live and cameras fitted inside the cockpit and at “Mission Control Center”, the mission’s nerve center, will allow you to experience the adventure live.

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From Morocco to Australia - the Healing Power of the Fez!

The Humour Valets ready for action

It was a case of "if the hat fits; wear it". One of the most unusual requests that the team at The View from Fez received in recent months was an appeal from a bunch of clowns for thirty Fez hats - literally from a bunch of clowns. The clowns are the Humour Valets of Australia and were about to embark on some medical research with dementia patients. According to the theory, a dose of laughter may be just the medicine elderly people need to combat dementia.

Accordingly, The View from Fez found the thirty Fez hats and dispatched them to Australia. Then we received an urgent email saying that the programme was about to start and the hats were all too large. Another thirty Fezes were procured and mailed to Australia. This time we were taking no chances and included an assortment of sizes.

Some of the hats preparing to head to Australia

Thankfully, either the hats were big enough or the heads small enough and the Australian Humour Valets launched into action. The Valets are part of the work of Jean-Paul Bell, a man whose face is described as 'the face that could launch a thousand laughs'. Jean Paul Bell is one of Australia's great 'Humour-manitarians'  He believes that humour helps put life into perspective. It helps us understand the orthodox, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected and survive the unbearable.

Jean-Paul Bell

Since creating and co-founding the Humour Foundation and their Clown Doctor Program in 1996, Jean-Paul has moved on to found a new company of Valets who are busy showing the world that laughter is the best medicine. In 2010 he wrote Laughter is the Best Medicine which chronicles the experiences of a number of Humour Valets as they do their rounds in children's hospitals around Australia.

Jean-Paul takes big risks, taking his physical comedy to war-torn countries like Afghanistan and East Timor. He proves that the more stressed or threatened people are the greater the potential for laughter: "Humour can have an effect similar to an 'out of body experience', where you look down from the position you are in and embrace the absurd and the ridiculous. Comedy in these situations is more like an extreme sport!" He has also spent an extended time in staying in Fez, a city he feels "totally at home in".

Jean-Paul Bell's great passions are health and education. For twelve months he was involved in a unique project, The Smile Study, a federally funded randomised trial with the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre at UNSW, visiting 18 aged care homes delivering fun and laughter to elderly people suffering with dementia. "I am a great believer in the collaboration of the Arts and Sciences in developing ways of communicating with elderly people suffering from dementia. As we age, more and more funding will be needed to cope with the swelling numbers of Baby Boomers entering this difficult part of their lives," says Jean Paul.

Vera Gracie with Dr Jean-Paul Bell at Whiddon Group Aged Care Facility 

Since December, staff at a number of aged care centres have been joking around with residents all in the name of good health. That is where the Fez hats come in. The staff don fez hats and special uniforms as part of a humour therapy program called Play Up.

An initiative of the Arts Health Institute, it was developed during a study by the University of NSW Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, which looked at the effects of humour therapy on 400 people in 36 aged care centres.

The research findings found that humour therapy could be used to manage agitation experienced by people living with dementia. More than that, the therapy was found to be as effective as anti-psychotic drugs that are used to treat people with dementia.

It can also improve communication and trigger memories.

Jean-Paul Bell, says the type of humour used could penetrate the foggy and confused world of dementia to improve people's quality of life. "We like to provoke them and push them around," he said. "Slapstick also works really well and there is a certain wisdom that only people with dementia have and it's quite remarkable to see."

A film about the work of Jean-Paul and the Humour Valets is about to be released. See the trailer: The Smile Within

The work of the Humour Valets is going so well, that today The View from Fez received a new order for Fez hats, which will soon be winging their way to Australia.

Trivia Fact:  A lot of the best quality Moroccan Fez hats are made from felt-wool from Australian and New Zealand sheep. So for part of these hats it is a return home! 


See also our story: Fezes are Cool

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Science, Ancient Architecture and Quasicrystals !

Probably the very last place you would expect to come across a reference to the Medrassa al-'Attarine in Fez is the online specialist physics site Physicsworld.com. Yet in late January this year the Medrassa got a mention in relation to quasicrystals.  The article, by James Dacey, Physics World's multimedia projects editor, is a fascinating look at how ancient Islamic architects created perfect quasi crystals.

Atomic model of an aluminium-palladium-manganese (Al-Pd-Mn) quasicrystal surface.

A quasiperiodic crystal, or, in short, quasicrystal, is a structure that is ordered but not periodic. A quasicrystalline pattern can continuously fill all available space, but it lacks translational symmetry.

Now, Rima Ajlouni, an architectural researcher at Texas Tech University, believes that she has identified three examples of quasiperiodic patterns, without any imperfections. in Islamic architecture.

The first pattern is a quasiperiodic cartwheel pattern that commonly used in the architecture of the Seljuk region, an empire that stretched from Turkey to Afghanistan. Ajlouni identifies specific cases in Iran at the Darb-i Imam shrine and the Friday Mosque in Isfahan.

Detail inside the Attarine in Fez

The second pattern is from the interior walls of the courtyard of the Medrassa al-'Attarine here in Fez. The Medrassa dates back to 1323. And the third case, dated to 1197, is seen on the external walls of the Gunbad-I Kabud tomb tower in Maragha, Iran.

In her paper, Ajlouni also shows that ancient Muslim designers were able to resolve the complicated long-range principles of quasicrystalline formations. In other words, these designers were fully aware of the extent of connectedness within their work. In all three examples, Ajlouni reconstructs the patterns and shows that the size of a central "seed" figure is proportional to the size of the overall framework of the pattern. She demonstrates that the three patterns could have been created using nothing more than a compass and a straightedge. This construction method that was widespread in Islamic societies to create a variety of media such as woodworks, ceramics and tapestries.

Rima Ajlouni's upcoming paper, which will be published in the March issue of Acta Crystallographica Secion A. also describes how the designers were creating these geometric patterns from as early as the 12th century CE using nothing but rudimentary tools. It was not until the 1970s that academics began to develop mathematics that could explain these striking patterns seen in nature.

Rónán McGrath, a quasicrystals researcher at the University of Liverpool in the UK, is fascinated by the strictly geometric approach developed by Ajlouni. "The suggestion that this method was used by the ancient Islamic architects is a fascinating conjecture, and the paper is an interesting contribution to the sometimes controversial debate on the degree of quasiperiodicity of these patterns," he says.

If quasicrystals are your things, then read the full article here; Physics World

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Mars Rocks Morocco

Even if you were in Morocco last July, you could be excused for not noticing an extraordinary event - Martian rocks falling to earth. Yet, that did indeed happen and scientists have now confirmed that the extraterrestrial visitors did originate on Mars. 

The chances of being hit by a meteorite are astronomically small, but even if you were hit by one of the recent chunks of Mars, the chances are you wouldn't know a thing about it. The size of the rock fragments were big enough to kill someone instantly. The largest  of the 6.5 kilogrammes (15 pounds) of fragments weighed in at a kilo. At the very least you would have a nasty headache.

The scientists say this is only the fifth time experts have chemically confirmed fresh Martian rocks fell to Earth. The last time was in 1962. Scientists believe the most recent meteorite fell last July outside of the town of Foumzgit, saying there were sightings of an unidentified object falling from the sky at that time. A special committee of meteorite experts, which includes some NASA scientists, confirmed the test results today.

Astronomers think the fragments were discarded by the Red Planet millions of years ago, after a large object crashed into the planet and sent fragments hurtling through the solar system. Occasionally, they believe, some of those rocks fall to Earth.

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Scorpions in Morocco - Update

Androctonus mauritanicus (Pocock, 1902)

Scorpion's are not everyone's favourite pets and certainly not on the invitation list for an outdoor picnic. They are a subject of great interest to scientists and yet the Moroccan scorpion population and distribution has not been the subject of intensive research until now. So it was with some excitement that we (who find scorpions fascinating) discovered that research has been recently completed in the Sidi Ifni province in Morocco.

 Androctonus mauritanicus

 Butheoloides littorali

 Buthus elmoutaouakili

 Hottentota gentili

Scorpio mogadorensis

Researchers, Oulaid Touloun (who took the photographs above) and Ali Boumezzough, have studied the scorpion fauna of the province of Sidi Ifni and have reported on five species, all native to Morocco.

What is even more interesting is the discovery in 2011 of the Butheoloides (Butheoloides) littoralis by Lourenço, Touloun and Boumezzough.

Here is a short abstract from their paper on the subject:  

Our investigations in the Sidi Ifni province has allowed to us to inventory five species of scorpions, all of them endemic from Morocco. The family Buthidae is represented by four species Androctonus mauritanicus (Pocock, 1902), Butheoloides (Butheoloides) littoralis Lourenço, Touloun & Boumezzough, 2011, Buthus elmoutaouakili Lourenço & Qi, 2006,Hottentota gentili (Pallary, 1924), that of Scorpionidae is represented by a single species Scorpio mogadorensis (Birula, 1910). This work has also helped to complete the distribution areas of some of these species.

The full text of this interesting paper by Touloun and Boumezzough is available free as a PDF download here:

Morocco counts more than 30 kinds of (in layman's terms) yellow and black scorpions. And, a word of warning, the black ones are deadly.

How deadly?  Well according to some rather dated figures from CAPM (Centre Antipoison et de Pharmacologie du Maroc), 91 people died in 2006 due to scorpion stings, compared to 98 in 2005 and 93 in 2004. Scorpion stings are also the primary cause of 50 to 60 % of intoxication cases documented in Morocco, said Ghizlane El Oufir a doctor with CAPM . He was speaking at an awareness-raising day to control scorpion stings on Argan tree farms.

Children under 15 make up 95 % of deaths, she explained, noting that four out of 1,000 die of scorpion stings. Scorpion stings are a grave and recurrent problem, especially in the province of Essaouira, where they represent 4.6% of all scorpion-related incidents reported in Morocco. Scorpions claimed the lives of 528 people between 2001 and 2006.

 A brave photo of Hottentota gentili taken in the lower Draa Valley by Michel Aymerich 

For those interested to dig deeper, we recomend you take a look at the website Geres

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